One Hot Winter's Night (18 page)

“Oh, I don’t know. They’re both very cuddly.”

He put the glasses on and gave her a determined look. “The Silver Fox is
not
cuddly.”

She studied him. “No, you’re probably right.” Cuddly didn’t do him justice. Delectable, gorgeous, sex-on-legs, yes. She licked her lips. It took all her self-control not to push him onto the bed and rip all his clothes off.

“You carry on looking at me like that,” he said wryly, “and there won’t be time for dinner.” She smiled, licking her lips again, letting her desire show in her eyes. He folded his arms. “Okay, for that I’m going to get you slightly drunk tonight.” He tipped his head, giving her a wicked smile. “Then I’m going to make you play out one of my fantasies.”

“Which one?”

“I’m not going to tell you. But I’m going to be thinking about it all evening, and every time you look at me you’re going to wonder what’s on my mind.” He pulled on his jacket and shoes. “I’ll see you in the restaurant, eight o’clock?”

“Okay.” She was already missing him.

He gave her one last, hot look before leaving the room.

When Alexander knocked on the door just before eight o’clock, she was putting in her earrings. She opened the door and let him in, then went back into her room and slipped on her shoes. She wore a chocolate brown V-necked sweater and a calf-length beige skirt, with sheer black thigh-highs and black high heels. She’d pinned up her hair, leaving soft tendrils to fall around her neck. Alexander smiled as she grabbed her bag and walked over to him. “You look lovely, my dear.”

“Thanks.” She cleared her throat. “Alex… I hope you don’t mind. I…um…invited Heath to dinner.”

He studied her thoughtfully. “I see.”

“I kind of felt I should. He’s pretty cross with you.”

“With me?”

She showed him the penguin. “He went all over China looking for this.”

Alexander burst out laughing. “Well, well. At least he tried.”

“That was wicked. You knew he’d never heard of the biscuits.”

“Of course he has—he went to Oxford for his MA and PhD so he must have lived in England for several years. He was being dense.”

She followed him out of the room, letting the door click shut behind her. “How do you know he went to Oxford?”

Alexander shrugged. “I did some research.”

“Oh, did you?” Her voice burned with disapproval, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“I was just…”

“Stop thinking about him like an Edwardian suitor,” she said irritably. “We’re friends. With benefits.”

He looked across at her but didn’t say anything.

They reached the elevator and he pressed the button, and they stood in awkward silence until it went ping. She felt irritable and nervous about the meal. How was she going to get through it with the two of them concocting every sort of plan behind her back?

In silence, they went down to the ground floor, and he offered her his arm. They walked to the dining room together, he leaning heavily on his cane.

Just before they got to the doors, however, he stopped.

“Cat…”

“Don’t,” she said immediately. “Please.”

He reached forward and kissed her. “I was only going to say sorry.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks went hot. “I’m sorry too. I’m kind of on edge tonight.”

“Well, don’t be. Let’s go and have a nice time together, shall we?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

They walked through the doors into the dining room. Heath was already there, seated at a table by the window, reading a paper, but he put it down as they came in and stood to welcome them. He still wore his jeans, but had donned a casual light-blue shirt and dark grey jacket. He looked gorgeous, his silver hair shining in the subtle lighting. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, either, and she realised he must have his lenses in. He looked her up and down before kissing her on the cheek, his eyes warm with approval. “You look lovely.”

“Thank you.” She suddenly felt very self-conscious with the two of them there, and as she took the seat opposite him, she knew her cheeks were reddening. She was going to have to stop blushing every five minutes when he was around.

Heath shook Alexander’s hand. “Are you sure you don’t mind me joining you?”

“Of course not.” Alexander sat to Cat’s left, hooking his cane over his chair. “Did you have a pleasant afternoon?”

Heath looked at Cat, and she started laughing. He gave Alexander an exasperated look. “I can say with authority that Chinese shops are severely lacking in Antarctic cuddly toys.”

“I admire your stubbornness,” said Alexander, amused.

“Oh, I always get what I want.” Heath winked at Cat. Alexander caught the look and raised an eyebrow at her.

She picked up the menu. “You two have got to promise not to gang up on me tonight. One of you teasing is bad enough, but both of you…”

They laughed. Underneath the table, Heath stretched his long legs out, brushing hers. She didn’t look up, but she smiled.

They ordered their meal and a couple bottles of wine, and Cat finally began to relax as she sipped from her glass. The two men kept the conversation light, talking mainly about archaeology, and she phased in and out of the conversation, joining in, but maybe being a little more reserved than she would normally have been.

She felt strangely shy. These two men both knew her intimately in different ways, and between the both of them, she had hardly any secrets. She was an incredibly private person, and didn’t quite know how to deal with this situation.

The two men had stopped talking, and she blinked as they both looked at her with amusement. Alexander glanced away, smiling, and picked up his napkin to lay it carefully across his legs. Heath just grinned at her, however, and she realised she’d been staring at him. He flicked a gaze at Alexander, saw he was looking away, and mouthed: “Six,” at her, drawing the number in the air with a finger. Then he winked.

Cat looked down, biting her lip, suddenly remembering his promise to her that he was going to get her slightly drunk.
Every time you look at me, you’re going to wonder what’s on my mind.
She glanced up at him again. He knew exactly what was going through her head as he sat back in his chair, fingers linked, a saucy smile on his lips.

She cleared her throat. “I’m just going to powder my nose before the meal comes.” Casting him a warning glare, she stood and left the table.
Jeez
, she thought as she made her way to the ladies’. How did he do it? How was he able to keep her in a sexual haze for hours on end?

Chapter 23

Heath watched Cat walked away, admiring her butt in the tight skirt, knowing he’d got to her. He loved making her blush like that—it was like a neon light coming on every time she thought about having sex with him.

He glanced across at Alexander, whose expression was unfathomable. Heath sipped his wine, saying nothing, sensing the older man was about to say something. He was right.

“She’s not going to make it easy for you,” Alexander said.

“I know.”

“The ‘friends with benefits’ thing was your idea, I guess?”

Heath gave a short laugh. “She said she missed me. And it upset her. She doesn’t want to get involved. I’m still not sure why, but I know better than to push her. I just suggested that if we happen to be in the same vicinity, we make the most of it.” He sipped his wine.

Alexander rearranged his cutlery. “And she was happy with that?”

“The idea appealed to her. The reality…the idea of being able to see other people… She wants her freedom, but I don’t think she was so keen on me having mine.” He grinned.

Alexander frowned. “Are you saying you’ll continue to see other women?”

“Alex, give me some credit, please. I’ll wait for her.” Heath played with his napkin. “I always get my own way in the end.”

Alexander seemed amused at that. “Yes, but that was before you met Cat. She’s particularly stubborn. Still, I hope you’ll persist. I gave your words quite a lot of thought.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I’ve always tried to give Cat confidence, to make her feel able to stand on her own two feet and have a steady job and a place to live. If something happens to me, the house goes to her. And she’s invaluable to the British Museum—they’ll never let her go.”

He studied his fork. “But what you said rang true with me. And because of that, I think there’s something you should know.” He looked up at Heath, his light blue eyes clear. “I’m not a well man.” Heath’s eyes slid to his cane, and Alexander added, “I don’t mean the limp. I have a heart condition.”

Concern flickered through Heath. “I’m sorry to hear that. Does Cat know?”

“No.”

He turned the wine glass around in his fingers. “Are you going to tell her?”

“No. I don’t think she’ll cope well with the news. She’ll fuss, and force me to take it easy, to stay at home, and I don’t want to do that. Until I hurt my knee, I was an active man. I’ve always travelled, seen the world, and I don’t want to stop now. But I just thought you should know. If something were to happen to me, I hope you’d be there for her. Even only as a friend.”

“Of course.”

“You promise you’ll look out for her?”

“Yes, I promise.” Heath said it with absolute faith. He had no doubt at all that he would eventually be able to talk her into having a relationship with him. They were too good together. There was no excuse she could come up with that would convince him staying together was a bad idea.

He glanced across the room. “She’s coming back.”

“Please don’t tell her,” Alexander begged.

“I won’t.”

Cat approached the table and slid into her seat. She looked at Alexander, then at Heath. “Okay, you can stop talking about me now.”

Heath mimed zipping up his mouth, and she laughed and sipped her wine. He hadn’t been joking when he’d said about getting her slightly drunk. Not hammered, obviously, he didn’t want her falling asleep while he was making love to her, but in his experience, a glass or two of wine was the best way to loosen up and release your inhibitions, and, for what he had planned later, he needed to make sure she was nicely relaxed.

As Alexander poured her another glass, she glanced up at Heath, and he met her eyes. They studied each other for a moment, and he could see the curiosity deep in the silvery-green orbs. She was wondering what he’d planned for the evening. He smiled and raised his eyebrows knowingly.

His gaze dipped to her breasts where the V of her sweater showed the top of her cleavage. He could just see a hint of the black lace of her bra.
Hmm
. Black lace. Nice. He felt a twinge in his pants and shifted in his seat. Raising his eyes to hers again, he saw the amusement lighting them. Who was playing whom here?

Cat saw Heath’s eyes spot her bra and couldn’t stop the smiling stealing onto her lips. So he thought he could tease her throughout the meal? He thought the control of their sexual relationship rested in his hands, did he? Well he wasn’t the only one able to use their talents to put the other in a sexual stupor.

From that moment, she turned on her charm and used every technique she’d ever learned to make men hot. When she leaned forward, she propped her bosom on her arms, which pushed her breasts up, giving him a nice eyeful. She pretended not to notice, talking about the latest excavations at Petra in Jordan, but all the while she was well aware his gaze kept dipping to her cleavage and, from the way he kept shifting in his seat, it was obviously having an effect on him.

She played with her hair, fanned herself, licked her lips, gave him sexy looks, and generally had great fun. When she took a bite of his dessert, taking time to suck the spoon clean, she nearly laughed aloud as he closed his eyes and gave a tiny shake of his head.

Eventually the meal was over, and Alexander finished his coffee and gave them both a smile. “Well I think I’ll head upstairs. I hope you two continue to have a pleasant evening.”

“Are you sure you won’t have a liqueur first?” Heath asked. “Brandy? Whisky?”

“No, thank you. I’m sure the two of you have enough to talk about without an old man playing gooseberry.”

Guilt washed over her, and she stood up to give him a hug. “Oh Alex, I’m sorry, have we been unbearable?”

“Not at all, my dear.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and glanced at Heath. “Ask them to put the meal on my bill, would you?”

“If you’re sure. Thank you, sir.”

They exchanged a look before Alexander nodded and, taking his cane, walked stiffly out of the restaurant.

She dropped her gaze to her glass, went to sip it, and realised it was empty again. How many had she had? Three or four? Heath had kept filling it up, and she’d lost track.

“Fancy something stronger?” he asked.

She shot him a look. “It’s okay, I’m already ‘slightly drunk’. You haven’t got to keep plying me with alcohol.”

He laughed. “There was actually nothing sinister meant in that sentence. I just fancy a Scotch.” Standing, he held out a hand. “Let’s go and sit by the fire.”

A small bar nestled in the corner of the restaurant, with a sofa in front of an open fire, the cushions decorated with curling Chinese dragons. She stood and took his hand and let him lead her over there. On the way, he stopped a waiter and ordered an Islay malt. “What would you like?” he asked her. “Baileys? Sherry?”

“Sherry? Jeez, Heath, I’m not sixty-five. I’ll have a malt too, please,” she said to the waiter.

Heath grinned. “That’s my girl.” He led her to the sofa. They sat, about six inches apart, slightly turned toward each other.

She studied him thoughtfully. He’d called her “my girl”. She thought about the look he’d exchanged with Alex. They were concocting some sort of plan, she could smell it. Unease settled on her like a mist.

Heath saw the shadow settling over her. She was bothered about him talking to Alexander, he could tell. Her words echoed in his head.
I don’t belong to any man, Heath. Never have, never will, you get me?
He had to keep his possessiveness firmly under wraps.

He studied her, one eyebrow raised. “I know what you’ve been doing, by the way.”

The shadow lifted, and she smiled mischievously. “I don’t know what you mean.”