Without giving a second thought she lashed out at it. There was a grunt as her fist connected with something hard, or was it a growl? Then she was pinioned in its arms.
‘Take it easy, Ellie.’
Patrick’s voice was so reassuringly normal that she slid her arms around his waist and buried her face in his jumper with relief. ‘You scared me, I thought you were something spooky.’
‘Did you now?’ His hand crept under her hair and cradled her against him. A rumble of laughter purred in his chest. ‘You haven’t been cooking up spells again, have you?’
‘Shut up, Patch Morgan.’ He’d voiced her subconscious fear and she felt like the biggest of fools. ‘Of course not,’ she lied, crossing her fingers behind her back. ‘I thought the oven had blown up, and something spooky had escaped?’
He laughed again, deliciously against her ear. ‘
That
I can believe.’
‘Stop putting a jinx on my cooking,’ she warned. ‘One of these days you are going to beg me for a second helping.’
‘If we stay in this position I’m going to be begging for a first helping,’ he growled. ‘Any thoughts I have of continuing my celibate life evaporate when you’re around.’
‘You’ve been celibate since your relationship broke up?’ Astonished, she lifted her face to the shadowy outline of his head. ‘Completely?’
‘Mind and body.’ He pushed her to arms length and held her there.
No wonder he was bad-tempered. ‘How long?’
‘Over three years.’
He must have loved Todd’s mother and awful lot. ‘What happened, Patrick?’
His pain crossed the gap between them in one big wave.
‘The relationship started going wrong before Todd was born. Her parent’s didn’t think I was good enough for her. When my business went under and the money ran out she decided they were right.’ For a moment his fingers dug cruelly into her shoulders. ‘Sometimes you remind me of her.’
A cold shudder went through her. ‘I look like her?’
‘No.’ The ragged breath he dragged in was drowned by another roll of thunder. Ellie’s reflexes twitched, but she managed to resist the urge to jump. ‘It’s just the way you are. She was fire on the outside and ice on the inside. She promised everything and gave nothing.’
‘I’m not like that,’ she protested. ‘You’re making an unfair comparison.’‘You’ve got it wrong, Ellie. You’re the other way around. Ice outside - fire inside. If you set your mind on something you go after it with chilling persistence.’
‘And you think I’ve set my mind on you?’ She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was ludicrous. It was his brother she was after. Was it? She hadn’t thought of Andrew for days. With Patrick around everyone else went out of her head. Had he picked that up? Was he scared of becoming involved with her?
‘Whether you realize it or not, you’re sending out signals. I’m not willing to take a risk.’ His arms dropped from her shoulders. ‘I don’t want to hurt you, Ellie.’
* * * *
‘It’s
yourself
you don’t want to hurt.’ The knowledge of Patrick’s unwitting admission was dangerously exhilarating. ‘I didn’t pick you for a coward.’
‘
And I didn’t pick you for a fool.’ Lightning chose that moment to illuminate them both. The strangely glittering eyes she encountered both repelled and attracted her. ‘If it’s punishment you want perhaps I can satisfy that need.’ His hand snaked out, twisted through her hair and applied pressure until her face turned up to meet his. ‘Spell it out, Eloise,’ he whispered. ‘If you want to be my temporary lover, start acting like one. If you don’t ... say so, right now.’
A thrill of excitement surged through her when she realized she was actually toying with the idea. She’d also been without a partner since David had gone.
A sexual relationship with Patrick would border on the edge of unreality. Like the rain after a drought, they’d both be relentless until they were satiated.
What then? Patrick could offer her nothing more. That’s what he’d been trying to get through to her. He
wanted
nothing more. He’d loved once, now his heart was as cold and gray as yesterday’s ashes.
She’d survived her brush with love. Perhaps she hadn’t loved deeply enough for her heart to die with it. Perhaps she was incapable of loving someone so utterly and completely that she could surrender her all to make that person happy.
Patrick had warned her that he’d hurt her. Physically they attracted each other. It was there with every glance, a fine thread of tension that stretched between them. Every parry and thrust added to it, every touch.
She knew what havoc his hands in her hair could cause. They would bring to life every pulse in her body and satisfy her cravings until they became a drug she needed. She in turn would satisfy his, find ways of making him want her until every physical aspect of lovemaking had been exhausted. What then?
Patrick seemed in capable of any emotion but anger towards women. Yet he cared enough to warn her. Perhaps there was a spark of love still smoldering in him and yesterday’s ashes could become tomorrow’s fire.
She frowned, uncertain. Either he was lying to himself or he was frightened of becoming emotionally involved. Whichever it was, an affair would only reinforce his belief in himself. There was no way she was going to exploit that. He’d end up hating her, and she him.
‘No.’ Her voice was as gentle and regretful as a sigh. ‘I’m not a masochist, Patch. I have other plans for my life.’
‘Marriage and motherhood.’ A kiss fluttered across her eyelids before he let her go. ‘I envy the man you choose, Eloise. Good hunting.’
She felt like crying. It might be
you,
Patch Morgan. She’d groped her way back into the kitchen when the unlikely thought insinuated itself into her mind. It took root there as she searched through the dresser for candles. Good hunting? The nuance of those words indicated a challenge. Was Patrick that devious?
She gazed at him sharply when the candle spluttered into life, and surprised an enigmatic smile on his lips. It was gone in an instant as his eyes caught hers. She sucked in her breath. Yes, he
was
that devious, but to what end. Did he need convincing he was worth something?
‘What culinary delight do you have in store for us tonight?’
A fleeting thought crossed her mind when he curled a grin at her. She could easily fall in love with this man if she tried. His temper was mostly bluff, she could handle that. If she could win his heart he would be completely faithful, like he’d been to a memory. There was nothing complicated about Patrick. A home, a loving partner, and a good mother for his children would make him whole. She could supply that. She returned his grin. ‘Hocus-pocus pie?’ she said.
‘What’s octopus pie like?’ Todd advanced into the kitchen behind a beam of a torch. ‘Has it got crunchy black bits on like last night?’
‘And smoke curling out of the top like a volcano?’
‘Neither of those things.’ Her attempt to sound casual as she checked her dish fell flat. She choked out an incredulous laugh. ‘Would somebody pass the matches please. I forgot to light the oven.’
* * * *
‘Another glass of wine?’
Basking in the glow of Patrick’s approval, Ellie held out her glass. She still couldn’t believe that dinner had turned out so well.
Todd was sound asleep, the storm was over and the wine making her mellow. There was nothing like a roaring log fire, a glass of wine and the companionship of a dishy male on a cold winter evening. Did it matter if that male was determined to remain indifferent to her? When the subject matter became general rather than personal, Patrick turned out to be a good conversationalist with an off beat sense of humor.
They’d moved into the sitting room. The smell of the freshly applied ivory paint still lingered. The colour was exactly right for this room. The moss colored carpet stretched towards the French windows like lawn, making the leafy courtyard outside an extension of it. When the Marguerite daisies and lavender bloomed in the summer they would match the print of the chair covers. There was a peaceful harmony of design in the decoration that Ellie wouldn’t have expected from a turbulent-natured man like Patrick.
‘I like what you’ve done to this room.’ She still couldn’t understand why he’d undertaken the job at his own expense. What favor did he owe Aunt Vera?
‘Thanks.’ His wine glass flickered with dancing amber light as he turned towards her.
‘Have you known Aunt Vera long?’
‘Quite a while.’
How long was quite a while? She would have liked him to be more specific, but didn’t push it. Was there a connection with Todd’s mother leaving? ‘I’m surprised we haven’t met before.’
‘I’m not.’
Patrick’s jaw tightened. ‘I’ve deliberately avoided you.’
Choking on a mouthful of wine Ellie spluttered in astonishment. ‘Why should you do that?’
‘Because with your background, I knew we wouldn’t hit it off.’
Trust
him
to spoil the mood of the evening. Ellie shot to her feet and glared at him. ‘That’s not a reason, it’s prejudice, and it stinks. It’s not my fault you lost your money when my father’s firm went under. I didn’t have anything to do with his business.’
‘Who told you I was involved with him?’ The crack of his tongue stilled her angry voice. ‘Not even Vera knew that?’ He was on his feet in an instant, towering over her, his eyes demanding an answer.
She wanted to move away from the angry energy that crackled between them, but didn’t. It was obvious that Patrick used his anger to get his own way, and Ellie
wouldn’t
be intimidated by him. ‘That’s my business.’
* * * *
‘For someone who had no part in her father’s business you seem to know a hell of a lot. What else did that yuppie lover of yours tell you?’
How had David Lessingham suddenly got into the picture? She gave an unbelieving grimace. David wouldn’t have given the smaller creditors a second thought, let alone discuss business with her. He’d said he didn’t believe in mixing business and pleasure. He’d lied of course. She’d come under both headings.
His smile took on a sadistic edge. ‘I’ve underestimated you, Eloise. That sob story you fed me was all lies, wasn’t it?’
‘If you say so.’
‘What’s the score? Did he salt some money away in a Swiss bank account for you both. Is he waiting for you to join him after the dust has settled?’
‘How clever of you to figure it all out.’ Her cold sarcasm surprised her when every instinct urged her to shout a protest of furious denial. He was accusing her of a crime. Not only that. He’d appointed himself judge and jury, and then pronounced her guilty. How dare he!’
‘That’s exactly what happened, of course. I’m the master-mind behind the whole thing.’
Shut up, Ellie
, an inner voice cautioned. She ignored it. ‘David’s waiting for me in Switzerland. We’re going to buy a huge mansion to live in and raise yuppie babies.’
Shut up, Ellie, for God’s sake. You’re losing it.
‘And what’s more we’re doing it with money we embezzled from my father and Patrick bloody-minded Morgan.’
She shuddered. ‘I suppose you think my father found out and that it caused the heart attack that killed him?’ Her face was wet. Damn it, she hadn’t meant to indulge in the weakness of tears! ‘No wonder you deliberately avoided meeting me.’
‘Stop it, Ellie.’ Roughly pulled into Patrick’s arms she discovered she was depleted of energy. ‘You fight dirty.’
‘Not as dirty as you.’ How could she even
consider
falling in love with this man. She loathed everything about him, except for his wonderful, muscular body, the scent of him in her nostrils, the deep
deep
blue of his eyes, his warm honeyed voice and his son. ‘I found a letter in the washing machine from the auditor,’ she murmured, feeling the need to explain. ‘I wouldn’t have read it if I hadn’t recognized the heading.’
A sigh shivered along her scalp. ‘I guess I owe you an apology.’
Did he have to sound so reluctant? ‘And an explanation. Why didn’t you want to meet me?’
‘Ah, yes.’ His lips explored her hair. ‘I’d prefer not to give you one. Aggravating creature! Her eyes narrowed. ‘I could take a stab at it.’
‘You jumped to the wrong conclusion last time,’ he reminded her, trying to hide his grin.
‘So what’s new?’ She slanted her head to one side. ‘It’s something to do with Aunt Vera, isn’t it?’ The slight start of surprise was all the encouragement she needed. ‘I would guess she’s been trying her hand at match-making.’
‘Something like that.’ The sardonic mask was back. The flickering firelight emphasized the planes of his face, highlighting the taut cheekbones and bringing them into sharp relief. He looked as if carved out of stone.
‘If you thought me repulsive enough to avoid, why did you come up here?’
‘I didn’t know you were here until I saw the house lit up. Both Andrew and Vera conveniently forgot to tell me.’
So
that's
why you were so mean?’ A laugh tore from her throat. ‘Vera only mentioned you to me twice, and that was with reference to your temper. “If you ever run into Patrick Morgan watch out for his temper,”’ she said, raising a smile from Patrick when she imitated her aunt’s voice to perfection. ‘She was right.’
‘She was right about you, too.’
‘Why, what did she say about me?’
‘I doubt if I’ll ever be in the position to need to tell you.’ He shifted away from her. ‘It’s getting late, Ellie. I want to make an early start of the kitchen tomorrow.’
He was as transparent as glass at that moment and laughter lilted her voice. ‘You don’t have to panic, Patrick. Aunt Vera did my star chart recently. It predicted a Libran would play a major part in my future. Besides ... if I want to know what she told you about me, I only need ask her.’
Patrick looked decidedly uncomfortable. ‘There are other Librans beside my brother, Ellie.’
He changed tactics beautifully. What he didn’t know, and what she wasn’t going to tell him was that Andrew was out of the picture as far as she was concerned. The smile she gave him was whipped cream. ‘You’ve got to agree that your brother is a good catch.’