Bittersweet Love - Cathy Williams [38]
She stared vacantly at the television and the image of Kane in her mind was so powerful that he could just as well have been standing in front of her. What a big joke it must have been for him, proving that he could stoke the fires burning underneath that cool, controlled face of hers.
Was that why he had come into the bedroom? Hoping that Eric would not be around? Or was it just an opportunity which he had seized, a spot of early morning amusement?
Whatever, the consequences remained the same. She had reacted to him like a gauche schoolgirl and he had laughingly played on her response as skilfully as a musician playing his instrument. The fact that Eric’s presence in the bathroom had not deterred him only showed the contempt in which he held all her declarations about caring about Eric, about being passionate about him.
She picked at her salad and tried to focus on the television screen, but it was difficult. In the end she dumped her plate in the kitchen and retrieved her book from where it was lying on the table next to her bed.
She was re-reading chapter three for the fourth time when the doorbell rang. One short, sharp buzz and she rose to her feet crossly. She was not in the mood for company this evening. It was late, she looked a mess in her faded jeans and faded T-shirt, and, besides, she knew the identity of her caller. Eric. Who else could it be?
Well, she would have to have a strong chat to him if he thought that he could turn up at her flat any old time. She didn’t want that kind of relationship with him. Not now. Maybe not ever. Friends or no friends. She pulled open the door with a sigh and her eyes widened at the figure standing in front of her.
‘What are you doing here?’ In all these years, Kane had never before come to see her at her flat. She had been adamant about that one thing—there was no way that she would ever let him intrude into her private territory, even if it was only for the purposes of work. She didn’t object to working at his place, if absolutely necessary, but that was it.
Now she stared at him, aghast Had he come here straight from the airport? It looked like it. He was still in his suit, although the jacket had been discarded as had the tie, and the sleeves of the white shirt had been carelessly rolled to the elbow, exposing the firm brown flesh of his arms, with their sprinkling of dark hair.
‘ Aren’t you going to let me in?’ Kane asked drily.
Natalie reluctantly stepped aside and watched while he walked into her flat, his tall, powerful body filling it with his charisma. She stayed by the door, one hand still on the doorknob, praying that what he had come for would only take five minutes.
There was no point in trying to hustle him out because that would only encourage him to stay longer. All the same, she couldn’t resist repeating her question of what he was doing in her flat. At this hour. Without an invitation. She phrased her question as tactfully as she could, but his eyebrows shot up in feigned surprise and she met his eyes evenly.
‘Do I take it that you’d rather I was not here at all?’
Natalie didn’t say anything and he read her silence for agreement.
‘You weren’t expecting any other company, were you?’ They both knew who he meant by company and she shook her head.
‘I only just got back here about an hour ago myself,’ she confessed after a while. ‘I decided to work late to-night and clear the backlog.’
‘What a dedicated little thing you are.’ He prowled around the room, and then sat down on the sofa, picking up her book and twirling it around in his hand, as if trying to discover something about her from her taste in literature.
Reluctantly Natalie shut the door and moved into the room. She didn’t want this at all, but he could be totally insensitive if it suited him, and clearly he had no intention of leaving just yet, however pointedly she stood by the door tapping her foot and glaring at her watch.
‘Aren’t you going to offer me anything to eat or drink?’ He smiled at