Stranger at the beach house (6 page)

“What’s in the box?”
 
I gulped, trying to avert my eyes and divert
my attention from wondering what it would feel like to kiss those lips.

 
“They’re your mother’s things. Alice asked me
to have a look through it. I think she found it too painful. There are some of
her reviews and paper cuttings and a number of letters”. I had never seen these
before and wondered why Alice had entrusted them to Sam.

“What sort of letters?” I asked,
intrigued.

 
“Love letters from your father. Alice and I
came across them when we were sorting through some of her old things,” he
answered tenderly.

“Have you read them?” I asked,
feeling that once again he had delved into my private world and had me at a
disadvantage.

 
“Yes. Alice asked me to,” he said
unapologetically. “There’s no surname but there are a few clues in there. It
might be possible to try and trace him, Rose, if you wanted to. That’s why
Alice wanted you to have them, just in case. She could never bring herself to
pry, she thought it went against your mothers wishes, but she wanted you to
have the choice,” he said as I stared at the box.

“Oh,” was all I could muster.

Would I want to find him? I
really didn’t know I thought, cutting off a huge piece of cake with my fork,
revelling in the comfort of the rich chocolate sweetness. “I suggest you read
them,” he offered, “It might help you with your decision”.

He followed me as I walked to the
window to watch the storm unfolding beyond the beach, sheets of light momentarily
illuminating the thunderous black water, the frenzied waves battering the
jutting cliffs with relentless fury. This was nature as an awesome force.
Driving rain lashed at the windows as howling wind whistled across the open
shutters and every few seconds the great torch from the distant lighthouse
shone across the night before plunging the view into a wall of darkness again.
It was a truly entrancing sight.

I could feel Sam’s gentle breath
on the back of my neck as he stood behind me. His image reflected in the glass
was relaxed and calm, in total contrast to the wild aggression of the weather
battering the house and coast outside. It was hard to believe how much had
changed in the last 24 hours and I knew without doubt that coming home had been
the right thing to do. This was another revelation. Letters from the distant
past that might open a door I thought had closed long ago. In those letters
were clues, the small possibility that I may be able to trace my father. It
wasn’t a decision I could make lightly, there was a lot to consider....BANG.

Something crashed loudly into the
glass directly in front of me, shocking me from my thoughts and I jumped back
startled into Sam. My heart was pounding as he turned me instinctively to face
him, one hand securing me tightly, the other gently holding the back of my head
as I stilled against his hard chest, trying to bring my heavy and erratic
breathing under control. His shock soon dissolved into a small smile and he
laughed gently, moving his hand to cup my face and lifting it to meet his gaze.
“I don’t know what the hell that was. You OK?” he whispered, scanning my face
until I nodded slightly, stroking his thumb slowly across my jaw.

 
I was frozen still, stunned from the shock and
awestruck by the black pools eclipsing the blue of his eyes. Bathed in the warm
glow of the firelight his features were simply beautiful and I was utterly
captivated. My gaze lowered slowly, taking in his full soft lips before raising
it again to meet his eyes head on and I don’t think I had ever wanted anyone to
kiss me as desperately as I wanted it now. Something in the air around us had
shifted and I couldn’t move or breathe.
Kiss
me Sam
, my brain urged, my stomach fluttering as we held there for what
seemed like an eternity. “I promised her I’d look after you, Rose,” he
whispered faintly before raising his head and tucking mine back into his chest.

 
I could feel his heart pounding and the gentle
movements of his chin against my hair as he shook his head and I let out the
breath I’d been holding in a deep sigh. I was immobilised by the intensity of
the last few seconds and the deep connection and longing that had stirred
inside me. All I felt now was humiliated and exposed. If he just wanted to be
friends I could do that, but not right now. Right now I needed to be alone to
nurse my wounded pride.

“I’d better get back,” I said
quietly, pulling myself from his warm embrace and the musky sweetness that
invaded my senses and turned again to look out on the raging storm.

“Rose,” he said quickly, catching
my elbow but I couldn’t answer, moving away to retrieve the box from the table
before making my way to the patio door.

“Goodnight, Sam,” I smiled,
summoning every ounce of strength to hold back the tears pricking at my eyes.

 
“Goodnight,” he whispered apologetically as
his gaze fell to the floor.

The wind and rain whipped at me
for the short distance back to the house, mingling with the wetness from the
tears I had held back just long enough. I wasn’t sure why I was crying. Partly
the shock of buried feelings about my father being dragged out in to the light,
and partly an overreaction to a non kiss with someone I barely knew.

 
I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. I had come
through a lot and it was no surprise I was emotionally vulnerable.
 
Struggling with the box and the door I
finally got inside and was relieved to be home. Dart had followed me,
whimpering at the sound of the clapping thunder outside which was rolling
closer and closer to the shore. I could see from his sad brown eyes that he
knew there would be no chance of a walk tonight and he looked as dejected as I
felt.

 
I ran over the events of the night in my head.
The question about my father was a huge one and I would take my time to find
out more about the contents of the box before I made any decisions. There was
no guarantee I would find him and no guarantee that he would want to know me if
I did. He was unaware that I existed. Sam’s image occupied my mind, his gaze,
the unmistakable flirting and the pounding of his heart when he pulled me
close. I knew it wasn’t just me, he felt this too, but he was unwilling or
unable to do anything about it. Maybe it was out of a sense of loyalty to
Alice, maybe because of his ‘situation’ or maybe because he was already spoken
for. Hell, what did I know, the man was just as much a mystery now as he had
been before. I fired a quick text to Joy;

I don’t know what is going on in his fucking sexy head.
 
x

Her reply was instant. She had clearly not got lucky either.

Don’t worry. Just find out what’s going on in his fucking sexy pants. X

Typical Joy I thought, falling into a night of restless
sleep.

Chapter 4

 
It was late when I woke, desperate for coffee
and slightly forlorn about the amount of work I had to do in the house. I
should keep busy. It would do me good and stop my overactive mind from musing
too much about the humiliating events of last night. I had only two choices,
forget it had happened, swallow my pride, move on and be friends or ignore him
forever.

Hell, I could guarantee I wasn’t
the first woman to fall for his charms. I was sure there would be so many women
who had wanted him to kiss them over the years, that if you lined us all up you
would see us from space, a bit like the Great Wall of China. You just couldn’t
go around looking like that and not cause a stir. The second one wasn’t really
an option so I’d have to suck it up. I would call round later. The longer I
left it, the harder it would be. I’d have to forget the ‘almost kiss’, but from
the way my body responded to his touch last night I wasn’t sure I could. I had
never reacted that intensely to a man. Not even Daniel.

Sauntering into the kitchen for a
caffeine hit, I spotted the note immediately. When the hell had that arrived? I
really need to check these doors.

I owe you a dinner. I have settled on pasta as it doesn’t need peeling.
Please let me know if you don’t like pasta. Otherwise I’ll see you at 7.00.
Looking forward to it Sweetheart x

My stomach flipped and my heart
lurched. Talk about mixed signals, and just like that my brain was in overdrive
again. The house cleaning was laborious but cathartic and I loved how the place
looked when I finished. The dust and cobwebs that had accumulated over the past
few weeks were gone and I was proud of the place. Everything had been put away
and I’d dotted pictures of me and Alice in happy times around every room. In
some ways it felt like she was still here. “Come on then, boy,” I slapped my
thighs and Dart came bounding over. Last night’s storm had cleared the skies
and there was time for a good walk before dinner.

Sam’s note had had my head
buzzing all day.
Sweetheart?
 
It certainly felt like he was interested last
night. I’d had friendly innocuous kisses at every opportunity but when it came
to the crunch he had backed off. Maybe
friends was
all
it was destined to be. Was it a friendly kiss on the note or was it more? Was
he just being kind, trying to lessen my humiliation because we lived in near
isolation and it would be as awkward as arse if we couldn’t get past this?
Either way, I sure as hell wasn’t putting myself on the line to be humiliated
again. I would be cool, calm and collected I decided, throwing the ball down
the beach for Dart to retrieve. The only obstacle to that plan was that it was more
easily said than done.

Having walked almost all the way
down to the
brigg
and back, it was gone six when I
returned to the house. I showered, drying my hair into long gentle curls and
dressed, deciding on casual jeans and a sweater. Only my heels and small
diamond studs indicated I had made any effort at all for my neighbourly
encounter I thought, as I made my way to the kitchen door and knocked, waiting
for him to answer. Except in circumstances of extreme weather I wasn’t in the
habit of letting myself into other people’s homes, unlike some.

His welcoming smile was dazzling
as he bent to kiss my cheek and I caught the familiar scent which made my
stomach flip. This was not going to be easy. He’d already made a start boiling
the water for the pasta and a pan of sauce was warming gently next to it. “I’ve
done the honours,” he smiled, handing me a chilled glass of white wine.

 
“Thank you, Sam, it smells scrumptious. I’m
impressed. Is it homemade?” I quizzed, wondering if he had spent the afternoon
chopping mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and garlic.

“Yes, just not by me,” he winked,
the ensuing laugh easing the tension.

“Well I’m still impressed,” I
smiled as he added the pasta to the bubbling water.

 
“I hope you are when you’ve tasted it. I’ve
got Mr Hongs menu on standby if not,” he smiled, moving closer. Despite craving
the proximity and ignoring my instincts to go towards him, I took a step
backwards. I was going to have to be careful. I couldn’t tell if he was doing
it on purpose, playing with me, or whether he really didn’t realise the effect
he was having. Both options seemed unlikely.

 
“Sit down, Rose” he gestured at the pre set
table, “I think it’s almost ready,” and I was struck by how impossibly cute and
out of place he looked, continually checking his watch to time the pasta. If I
wasn’t mistaken it was an Omega which looked seriously cool against the dark
hairs of his olive forearms. I recognised it from Bond and it had probably cost
more than my car.

The watch, the Vanquish, mission
HQ in the next room. Yes, I could definitely picture him as a spy, all dark,
brooding, mysterious and dangerous and I couldn’t help but drink in the sight
of him as he drained the pasta with his back to me, hard muscles flexing under
dark skin.

So much for the rules I had set
myself tonight. I’d already broken the no ogling one, quickly deciding that as
he hadn’t seen me it didn’t count. “Shit,” he scowled, flustered as the boiling
liquid splashed his exposed arms, pulling me from my thoughts.

“You’re a liability in the
kitchen, Sam,” I laughed and embarked on my mission to know more.

“What made you decide to come and
settle here, Sam, so far away from London?” I asked.

 
“Are we really going there again, Rose?” he
smiled playfully as he put the plate down in front of me.

 
“No, I just mean why
here
specifically, there are lots of places you could go if you
want to be
low profile,
” I grinned,
dragging out my last two words and popping the pasta into my mouth.

“Harry told me about the place
and when I came to see it I loved the views, the house and the peace and quiet.
I wanted somewhere bigger initially, but it’s got everything I need and Alice
was a wonderful neighbour. Much less inquisitive than the one that’s just moved
in,” he grinned back.

“She didn’t need to be inquisitive.
You told her everything there was to know,” I pouted. “Did you have a
girlfriend in London?” I asked quickly, pulling the most innocent looking face
I could manage. So much for playing it cool I thought to myself, but trying to
get to the bottom of his ‘situation’ tonight was keeping my mind from other
more carnal thoughts. Coming here to get over a relationship seemed highly
plausible and at one time I’d even considered it myself.

He raised his eyebrows, fixing
his gaze directly on mine, his eyes darkening. “No, Rose I didn’t” he said
firmly and I tried to hide my pleasure at that admission before blurting out,
“And do you have one here?”

He eyeballed me as my cheeks
flared. “No, I don’t,” he said quietly, clearly enjoying the discomfort I had
caused myself by not switching on my brain to mouth filter.

 
OK, I was a little embarrassed but the direct
approach had been easier than I thought and got one of my major questions
answered. So there was no girlfriend either here or back in London. I was on a
roll and decided to stretch my luck a bit further. “No crazy ex hunting you
down and baying for your blood?” I giggled as he hooked my gaze, a small smile
tickling the side of his lips.

 
“No crazy ex,” he said dryly as I scrubbed
‘relationship gone sour’ off my mental checklist of things relating to Sam’s
‘situation’.

 
I needed to get off the subject and quick. No
doubt he would mistake my search for clues for something else entirely. “So
what exactly do you do in finance?” I continued, his eyebrows raising again,
black eyes twinkling.

“Hedge fund manager,” was all he
offered, loading another fork full of pasta into his mouth.

“It’s really delicious, Sam, you
did
good
,” I said before taking another mouthful myself.

“Did I now?” he said slowly, a
small smile etched on his lips. This meal might be turning into the Spanish
inquisition, but I was getting some answers and wasn’t about to stop now.

 
“Do you have a family?” I quizzed, enjoying
the pasta as he rolled his eyes. I couldn’t suppress a small giggle at that
reaction. My constant questions were beginning to irk him but that was fine.
Friends should know about one another and if he wouldn’t volunteer information
as to why he was here, I was sure as hell going to find out as much as I could.
For all I knew I could be having dinner with an escaped prisoner, a psycho, a
fugitive on the run from God knows what, and they were actually some of the
less weird and most plausible explanations that had run through my mind in the
last two days.

 
“Yes, Rose. I have a mother and a father who
is a retired GP and a sister named Jenny who works in fashion. The family dog
is a
staffy
called Rex and they all live in Surrey in
a five bedroom house. They holiday at their villa in Spain twice a year and I
see them at Christmas”. His answer made me laugh out loud but his smile didn’t
crack.

 
“Rex? Not very original,” I quipped.

“No but Dart is though, where did
that come from?” he asked, a small smile curving his mouth.

 
“It’s short for
D’artagnan
.
Alice and I used to call ourselves the two musketeers. He was the third,” I
smiled, and the memory made me laugh until I caught his little smirk.
‘Oh no you don’t, Mister’
, I thought to myself. He was
turning the tables and tonight was not going to be about me again. I needed to
know more about him and pushed on undeterred.

 
“You said you have to go back to London
occasionally, Sam, why?” I asked as he looked at me from under his soft dark
lashes, continuing to chew on his pasta. I stayed silent until he finished,
urging his reply.

“If something comes up,” he said
dryly.

 
“What sort of thing?” I gazed at him, biting
my lip to try and suppress my threatening smile.

“Just stuff,” he replied, putting
down his knife and fork as his eyes burned into mine. He was losing his cool.

“Do you think you’ll ever go back
to London for good?” I asked, picking up our empty plates and breaking the
visual deadlock. His eyes followed me with a brooding stare and he was running
his fingers in exasperation through his hair, ruffling the inky black strands
on top. Oh God that was sexy.

“I don’t know, Rose,” he said
rising from the chair and striding slowly over, his eyes blazing. “But you need
to stop with the questions or I will come over there and find a way to shut you
up”.
Christ
. His delicious threat
sent my heart into overdrive. What the hell was going on? Talk about blowing
hot and cold. But this was hot, red hot.

 
“What do you mean?” I whispered, our eyes
unwavering as he moved closer, a smile playing at the corner of moist, slightly
parted lips.

 
“That’s another question, Rose. I’ve warned
you and I mean it, one more
and
...” I was pinned
against the worktop by his firm torso, intoxicated by his closeness, every
nerve in my body fired up on hyper alert and despite my logical inward protests
about staying cool, calm and collected; I prayed he wouldn’t pull back as he
had last night.

 
His face was centimetres from mine as he
inched closer still, tipping my head with the soft grip of his hands. “Go on,
Rose, I dare you,” he whispered, almost touching my lips. There was only one
thing to do.

 
“And what...?” I challenged as he pulled me
hard against his body, his soft full lips crashing against mine, hands fisting
my hair and exploring my mouth with his urgent tongue. A low moan rumbled in
his throat and was met with my own and I felt the amazing kiss right in my
core. I had never been so desperate for a man’s touch. There was no doubt. He
was as affected by me as I was by him. Digging my hands into his solid back I
could feel his arousal pulsing hard against my stomach and I was lost, totally
entranced by the heady mix of gentleness and possessiveness. It was as if we
felt one another’s need and couldn’t get enough, pulling closer still until
there was no space left between us. I had never felt so alive, so desired and
so fucking turned on.

I felt suddenly adrift as he
pulled away looking past me through the window, his hands still holding my head
possessively, his breathing fast and ragged as I noticed the sound of
screeching tyres over the rushing blood pulsing loudly through my ears. I was
panting hard, confused and dazed.

“Who the fuck is that?” he said,
sounding really annoyed. His mouth was set in a grim line as I turned to see
the dark Mercedes pulling into the drive.

“Is it Harry?” I asked in a voice
I didn’t recognise, trying to catch my breath and get a closer look at the lone
occupant of the C-Class. It was too dark, I couldn’t see.

 
“No,” he said quickly and the blood drained
from my face as realisation slowly dawned that I only knew one other person who
drove a car like that.
Shit.
It
couldn’t be, could it? I looked again as the car ground to a halt.

 
“
I think it’s Daniel,” I
sighed quietly.

“What the fuck does he want?”
snarled Sam smashing his palm hard against the worktop.

“I don’t know,” I whispered,
sensing the growing heat and anger radiating from his body that was still
pressed firmly against me. He was struggling to keep control but it was evident
he was absolutely raging. He held me tighter, cupping my face, hard, urgently,
lifting it to kiss me, gently this time, his eyes still blazing with lust.