This she said to Celia, who thought that she already had. Deliciously. Twice. In the space of about five minutes. ‘Absolutely,’ she said, wishing she could give herself a good kick. ‘Give me a moment to put on my shoes.’ And find her underwear, regain her composure and exert some sort of control over her brain.
‘Great.’
Celia watched Lily lift her dress and rush off, and muttered, ‘You’re mad,’ in Marcus’ general direction.
‘Probably,’ he said, thrusting his hands in his pockets, at which point his jaw tightened and his dark eyes glittered. ‘You can thank me later if you like.’
Celia hmmed non-committally because she wasn’t sure if his plan was going to make things better or worse, stalked over to the bench and scoured the ground. ‘Where the hell are my knickers?’
‘In my pocket.’
‘Can I have them back, please?’
‘Not really much point.’
‘Why not?’
Colour slashed along his cheekbones as he gave her the kind of smile that suggested he was enjoying a memory. ‘There’s not much left of them.’
‘Oh.’
He tilted his head and his smile widened, becoming wicked. ‘Don’t you remember me ripping them off you?’
Celia bit her lip and felt her blush deepen. She’d been so lost in desire and desperation she hadn’t felt anything except the deep hammering urge to have him inside her. ‘I forget the details,’ she said a little huskily.
‘I don’t think I’ll ever forget any of the details. I think they’ll for ever be burned into my memory. That was hotter than I’d ever have
imagined. You’re hotter than I’d ever have imagined.’
Celia really didn’t know what to say to that. ‘Thank you. And thank you for suggesting the bouquet thing,’ she added, deeming it wise to get off the subject of hotness and the circumstances surrounding it.
‘You’re welcome. But you should know my motives aren’t entirely altruistic.’
‘No?’
Marcus shook his head and looked down at her, his eyes burning right through her. ‘It occurred to me that the sooner Dan and Zoe leave, the sooner we can.’
* * *
He might not yet know it but Celia wasn’t going anywhere with Marcus.
Now that the heat and the recklessness of her behaviour in the kitchen garden had faded, reality had struck with the force of a mile-high pile of legal documents hitting her desk.
What the hell had she done back there? What had she been thinking?
Well, she hadn’t been thinking at all, that much was clear. Because if she had, she’d have considered the fact that they’d effectively been in public. That fifty or so people had been within spitting—hearing—distance. That a dozen security people—thanks to Dan’s high profile and his deep dislike of the press—had been monitoring the perimeters of the garden, on the lookout for gatecrashers and long lenses and possibly even couples having wild sex amongst the vegetables.
If someone had discovered them...
Dear God. It didn’t bear thinking about. Quite apart from eternal humiliation and probably being the subject of rumours for years to come, she could have been fired. Her partnership prospects would have been history. She could have been struck off for bringing her profession into disrepute. Her father would have been beside himself with the knowledge that Marcus had followed up on the suggestion that he sort her out.
And OK, so none of that had happened, but the fact still remained that at some point shortly after walking into that garden with him she’d completely lost her mind. A couple of hot and heavy kisses and she’d abandoned the self-control she valued so highly. For the first time in her life she’d given in to the needs of her body. Without a single moment’s consideration. He’d given her an out, given her a chance to put a stop to things, and all she’d said was, ‘Be careful of the dress.’
Be careful of the flipping dress.
As if he could do anything he wanted with her and all that mattered was that she looked presentable afterwards.
Not that she’d even managed that. Her hair was a mess and her face was still burning—although hopefully if anyone noticed they’d assume it had something to do with the hideousness of standing in the drive with Lily, Kit and Marcus while Zoe smiled widely, turned and, to the cheer of the guests, tossed the bouquet high into the air.