The Man Every Woman Wants (9 page)

‘L
AURA
! For God's sake!' Ryan exclaimed as he rapped sharply on the bathroom door. ‘What's taking you so long in there?'

He'd returned to the bedroom around six-thirty to find Laura sitting cross-legged in the middle of the four-poster bed in the corner, talking to someone on the phone. Given she was giggling, he assumed it was her girlfriend, Alison something-or-other. Nothing annoyed Ryan more than the furtiveness of females when they talked to each other on the phone. If only women could be as straightforward as men, then the world would be an easier place to live in and life wouldn't get so damned complicated.

Laura did interrupt her conversation briefly to tell him to use the bathroom first to get ready for the dinner, so he had, all the while perversely peeved by her lack of attention to him. He should have been pleased that she'd stopped looking at him like he was her favourite dessert. And he should have been proud of himself for resisting the temptation to take advantage of the sexual frustration that she claimed she'd
have
to be suffering from to fancy him all of a sudden.

Instead, he'd gone about showering and shaving in quite a foul mood, even nicking himself once with his razor, which he hadn't done for years. He'd also forgotten to take his clothes in with him, forcing him to come out of the bathroom with nothing on but a towel wrapped around his hips. Now, Ryan knew he had a good body, but what had Laura done? Nothing; not a
single stare in his direction. Instead, she'd nonchalantly gathered up her clothes and sashayed past him into the bathroom without giving his bare chest a second glance.

Ryan's considerable male ego had been severely dented, so much so that he almost decided then and there to abandon his resolve to keep his hands—and his mouth—well away from her. He spent ten gratifying minutes fantasising about what he was going to do when she emerged. First he would kiss her until she started moaning again. Then, when she had totally melted against him he would lift her up and carry her onto that incredibly sexy bed where he would show her that, even if she didn't truly fancy him yet, she sure would soon.

Unfortunately the passage of time had a way of ruining perfectly good fantasies, and at the same time of increasing one's level of frustration. Which was why, after Laura had been in that infernal bathroom for forty minutes, an extremely irritated Ryan started banging on the bathroom door.

‘Cynthia said to be down in the front lounge at seven-thirty for pre-dinner drinks,' he said through gritted teeth.

‘I'm having a bit of trouble with my hair,' she replied airily. ‘Why don't you go down and make my apologies? I'll join you as soon as I can.'

‘Fine,' Ryan bit out, thinking that maybe a drink or two would soothe his ill temper.

Laura sighed with relief when she heard the bedroom door open, then close. She wasn't really having trouble with her hair, or her make-up. She'd surprised herself by doing both very well indeed. The fact was she'd been ready for some minutes but just hadn't been able to find the courage to leave the bathroom and face Ryan, looking the way she did in her new dress and shoes.

Which was crazy. It was what she wanted, wasn't it—to see his eyes darken with desire for her? To drive him mad with how sexy she looked?

And she did. Oh yes, she very definitely did!

Alison had given her strict instructions over the phone as
to how to present herself if she wanted to get laid that night: hair down and curled lightly around her face. Lots of dark eye-liner and mascara. The reddest of red lipsticks. And she wasn't even to consider putting some silly pin into the neckline of the dress to hide her cleavage.

Laura had gone along with everything she had suggested and the result was wicked! She could hardly believe it was her staring back. She could also hardly believe that Alison had been so eager to have her succeed in going to bed with a man like Ryan.

When Laura had first told her what had happened so far, Alison had been genuinely shocked—not by Ryan making a pass but by his backing off.

‘I don't understand it!' Alison had exclaimed. ‘Not if he's already got rid of the girlfriend. It just doesn't make sense.'

Laura explained that he had this life rule about not dating anyone he worked with. She didn't tell Alison about his near-disastrous fling with a client, as she felt that had been a confidential confession.

‘But you don't want him to
date
you,' Alison had shot back, exasperation in her voice. ‘You just want him to bonk you silly all night. Isn't that right?'

‘Er…yes,' Laura had admitted, her throat drying at the thought.

‘In that case, this is what you must do…' At which point Alison had relayed a long list of instructions as to how Laura was to look. And to act—especially after they returned to the bedroom at the end of the evening.

Laura had been laughing over her outrageous suggestion in that regard when Ryan had walked back into the room. Suddenly, she had realised it was one thing to talk about seduction techniques over the phone and quite another to go through with them; just having him in the same room made her hyperventilate with nerves. But she knew she would only have this one chance. So she'd hurriedly shunted him off into the bathroom, putting some calming distance between herself
and the object of this insanely powerful desire. Then later, when he'd emerged—wearing no more than a towel, for pity's sake!—she'd kept her eyes rigidly averted from his breathtakingly beautiful male body and followed Alison's advice to act cool and indifferent to his charms.

‘Your gran was right,' Alison had said earlier. ‘Playing hard to get is the way to go. If I'm any judge at all of the male sex, then once he sees you in that dress and shoes you won't have to do much later on. But if he's still resistant you might have to go to plan B.'

‘Plan B' was performing a none-too-subtle striptease.

Laura swallowed as she tried to imagine following that last piece of advice from her friend. She wasn't sure if she could be that bold. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to
that
.

Right now, she didn't even feel bold enough to go downstairs. Everyone was going to be shocked when they saw her, not just Ryan. They weren't used to seeing her dressed like this. She wasn't used to seeing
herself
dressed like this. It had been years since she'd shown her cleavage in public. Years since she'd spent the night in a man's arms. Years since she'd trembled at the thought.

Laura frowned as she accepted that she'd never felt quite like the way she felt at this moment. She might have become concerned if her brain had still fully been connected with her body. But logical thinking had become difficult since Ryan had kissed her earlier this afternoon. Her mind had shrunk to one focus and one focus only: to get him to make love to her tonight.

Now she frowned some more. For she didn't want him to ‘make love' to her, did she? That would suggest an emotional involvement with the man. Only a fool would fall for Ryan Armstrong, and she was no fool.

So, rephrase that, Laura Ferrugia. You want to have sex with him. That's all. Then, once this weekend is over, you don't want to see him ever again!

‘G
O AND
see what's keeping that girl, Ryan,' Bill said when ten to eight came round and Laura still hadn't made an appearance downstairs.

Ryan had spent a sociable twenty minutes in the elegantly furnished living room, talking to Laura's cousin and his pretty blonde wife and sampling some of Bill's top-quality scotch. Laura's grandmother hadn't joined them for drinks but she would be at dinner, he'd been told. His earlier irritation had dissipated somewhat with Laura's absence. But it seemed his respite was at an end.

‘She's probably still having trouble with her hair,' he said, repeating the excuse he'd made for her not accompanying him downstairs at seven thirty.

‘Yes, well, Cynthia said dinner would be served precisely at eight,' Bill said ruefully. ‘And when Cynthia says eight, she means eight.'

Ryan knew Laura wouldn't want to offend her aunt or anyone else in the family. This weekend was supposedly about impressing them.

‘I'll go get her,' he said, and headed for the double doors which led out into the main hallway. He was just approaching the bottom of the staircase when Laura appeared at the top.

He couldn't help it—he stared. And then he swore, a crude four-letter word which echoed what he would have liked to
do to her in no uncertain terms. Fortunately, he hadn't said it loud enough for her to hear.

‘You'd better get yourself down here,' he managed between gritted teeth. ‘The natives are getting restless.'

And so am I, by God
, he thought agitatedly as he watched her sashay down the stairs.

No one would have recognised her as the drearily dressed creature that showed up at his office every Friday. He'd thought she looked pretty good today when he'd picked her up. But this was something else.

She was shockingly gorgeous in that low-cut red dress and those incredible shoes. He didn't know where to look at first, his eyes raking over her impressive cleavage before dropping to her shapely legs which were on show as she moved slowly down the stairs. He'd always thought her legs were good. But in those shoes, they looked unbelievable. Not wanting to ogle her like some lecher, he lifted his eyes back up to her face. No peace there, however. Made up, and with her expertly waved hair moving slinkily around her bare neck, she looked like one of the sultry screen-sirens of the forties and fifties. Ava Gardner, with a bit of Lauren Bacall thrown in.

There had been times in Ryan's life when he'd regretted things he'd done. He supposed everyone had regrets. But right at this moment he really regretted telling Laura that he'd sleep on the floor tonight.

‘I think I made a mistake telling you to buy a red dress,' he bit out when she finally made it to the bottom of the stairs.

She seemed taken aback. ‘You don't like it?'

He laughed a dry laugh. ‘You know damned well that I like it. You look absolutely stunning.'

‘Thank you,' Laura said, thrilling to his compliment. ‘You look pretty good yourself.'

‘In this old thing?' he returned, smiling a crooked smile.

It wasn't the first time Laura had seen him in a suit and tie. But usually his suit was business black, the shirt white and his tie a conventional grey or blue. Tonight he was wearing a
single-breasted one-button charcoal-grey suit combined with a silk shirt in a burgundy colour and a striped tie in burgundy and silver. He looked every inch an irresistible man of the world.

She wondered momentarily just how many lovers he'd had. Hundreds, no doubt. Whereas she'd had the grand sum of two.

But she was going to crank up that number to three tonight, or die trying. Not of humiliation, she hoped.

Surely he would not reject her? She'd seen the hunger in his eyes just now. All she had to do was convince him that she wasn't the fragile emotional flower that he thought she was.

‘Ryan,' she said abruptly when he stopped at the lounge and reached for the knob.

‘What?' he returned a tad impatiently.

Laura cleared the lump which had suddenly filled her throat. ‘I…er…don't want you to sleep on the floor tonight,' she blurted out, trying not to blush but failing miserably.

Ryan's eyes narrowed as they ran over her once more. ‘I see,' he said, and she wondered what it was that he saw.

‘So it was just an act up in the room just now?' he went on.

Laura winced. ‘Yes,' she admitted, and blushed some more.

‘There's no need to feel embarrassed. I'm flattered that you want me enough to bother playing games, since that's clearly not your style. Frankly, however, I'd much rather you were straightforward with me. I despise deception and hypocrisy and holier-than-thou attitudes towards sex. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to get laid, Laura. As long as you don't make a big deal out of it.' He looked at her, banked heat in his eyes. ‘Are you sure this is definitely something you want to do? Think about it over dinner and we'll speak later on. Okay?'

Clearly, he didn't expect an answer. Opening the door, he cupped her elbow and ushered her into the lounge.

Dinner was a triumph and a trial. Everyone thought she looked fantastic, and said so, even Aunt Cynthia. The food was surprisingly good, the wine superb and the conversation
lively. If Laura didn't say all that much, no one seemed to notice. Once everyone had stopped complimenting her on her appearance, the attention had naturally swung to Ryan who was a much more interesting subject. Shane bombarded him with questions about his soccer career. So did Bill. Jane seemed content to just sit and smile at the happy couple across the table.

Laura could not have felt less content. Or less hungry—for food, that was.

She could not stop thinking about what Ryan had said. What if, because of her so-called sensitivity, he ultimately rejected her again? What if he did indeed sleep on the floor and leave her to lie in that big bed all alone, all night long? How could she bear it? She could hardly bear sitting here at this table, listening to everyone talking absolute rubbish and making each course last much longer than it should. Didn't they know that she wanted the meal over and done with in record time? She had to know one way or another what was going to happen. Not knowing was killing her.

By ten, dessert had finally been cleared away and they all moved back into the front lounge, where Cynthia served up coffee in ridiculously small gilt-rimmed cups that she no doubt thought elegant. Laura supposed they were. She didn't want coffee at first, until she remembered that coffee kept you awake. After that, she had her cup refilled three times from the large silver coffee-pot which they were told had once belonged to a French Count and which Cynthia had bought online. When Gran declared she was tired and wanted to go to bed, she asked Laura to take her. Naturally, she couldn't refuse. As she rose from the sofa, Bill also stood up, suggesting the men retire to the billiard room whilst the women cleared up. In the past, Laura would have made some cutting remark over this chauvinistic attitude, but decided to bite her tongue this time. She did, however, glance at Ryan, who smiled in wry approval at her silence.

‘Thank you, darling,' Jane said when she was safely tucked
up in bed. ‘Now, don't let Ryan forget to take me for that ride in his car before you go tomorrow.'

Laura just stared at her grandmother. ‘What ride?'

Her gran smiled a soft smile. ‘You
were
away with the pixies at dinner tonight, weren't you, dear?'

‘A little bit.'

‘Thinking about that man you love, I dare say?'

‘Yes,' Laura agreed. It was only a half-lie. Her mind had been full of Ryan but not with thoughts of love.

Jane sighed. ‘I don't think you should wait for him to propose, dear.'

‘What?'

‘Before you go to bed with him.'

‘Oh. Oh yes. I think you could be right about that.' If she waited for him to propose then she'd never go to bed with him!

‘I am right. Now, off you go. It's time I went to sleep.' And she yawned.

Laura gave her grandmother a kiss and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

The old servants' quarters were just across the back hallway from the kitchen where she found Cynthia and Lisa busily washing up a huge stack of dishes. It still annoyed Laura that her uncle and his son felt that housework was entirely a woman's domain, but Cynthia didn't seem to mind. If truth be told, her aunt liked having total control in the house. Possibly, Lisa was of a similar ilk. Although younger, she must have been a bit like Cynthia for Shane to marry her.

‘You know, Aunt Cynthia,' Laura said as she picked up a tea towel to help Lisa wipe up. ‘You really should have a dishwasher installed.' It wasn't as though they couldn't afford it.

‘What on earth for?' Cynthia retorted waspishly. ‘They don't save you any time at all. You still have to scrape all the food off the plates, then rinse them down before you even load the infernal thing. Then you have to unload all the plates afterwards and put them away.'

‘I suppose you're right,' Laura said, determined not to fight
with the woman tonight. ‘By the way, Aunt, that was a lovely meal tonight. Thank you for all the trouble you went to.'

Her aunt turned a surprised face her way. ‘You know, Laura, meeting that marvellous man has done wonders for your attitude. Not only are you looking so much better, you've finally found some manners.'

Laura shook her head whilst Lisa grimaced behind her mother-in-law's back.

Laura was itching to say something seriously catty in return when Ryan suddenly came into the room.

‘How's it going with you lovely ladies here?' he said brightly as he made his way across the floor of the truly large kitchen to where they were grouped by the sink. ‘Need any help?'

‘Heavens no,' Cynthia trilled, lifting her gloved hands from the sink as she turned towards her guest. ‘This is women's work. Anyway, we're just about done here.'

‘In that case, would you mind if I stole Laura away?' he asked as he slid a warm arm around Laura's waist. ‘Driving always makes me tired and I didn't want to go to bed alone.'

Laura was glad that she wasn't required to say anything. Talking might have been difficult at that moment.

‘You go right ahead,' Cynthia said obligingly. ‘We can finish up here. As I said, it's almost done anyway, isn't it, Lisa?'

‘Absolutely,' Lisa concurred. ‘It was lovely to meet you, Ryan. Shane and I have something else on tomorrow so we won't see you again this visit. But I'm sure we'll see you again soon,' she added with a knowing little look Laura's way.

‘I'm sure you will,' Ryan said. ‘
Au revoir
for now, then. See you in the morning, Cynthia.' And he swept Laura away before Cynthia could land them with a specific time for breakfast—which she was likely to do. Cynthia liked to run the house like an army sergeant, with a time for everything.

But Cynthia's rigid schedules were the least of Laura's worries as she was steered with considerable speed along the hallway towards the staircase. Ryan's fingertips were digging into her right hip and his body language reeked of anger.

‘What's wrong?' she blurted out when they reached the bottom of the staircase.

‘Everything's wrong,' he bit out, and started pushing her up the stairs.

‘But… But…' she stammered, totally confused by his suddenly aggressive attitude. He'd seemed so agreeable in the kitchen just now.

‘No buts,' he broke in savagely. ‘And no talking. I've had enough talking for one day. And enough thinking. I already know this is a bad idea. I know that neither of us might be happy about it in the morning. But I'm sure as hell going to be happy about it tonight. And so, by God, are you! Or you will, if you just shut up and let me do what I'm good at. Which sounds arrogant, I know, but there's no virtue in false modesty. I was a damned good goalkeeper and I'm a damned good lover.'

Relief that his bad mood didn't mean he still intended to sleep on the floor swept through Laura. At that moment, she didn't care if he was unbelievably arrogant—which he was. Though maybe he had good reason to be. She'd never doubted for one second that he'd be good at sex. And now she was about to find out.

A shiver ran down her spine, then right down to her toes, making her shudder all over.

Ryan immediately stopped at the top of the stairs and pulled her close. ‘Don't go pretending that you're cold, madam. You're hot for me.'

He was right.

‘I thought you said no talking,' she said huskily, and pressed herself against him.

Ryan laughed, but then he fell silent, his eyes turning to a midnight blue just before his mouth crushed down on hers.

It was a kiss which told a story, if either kisser or kissed could read between the lines. The story was one of total frustration, both sexual and intellectual. Neither could understand the attraction they felt for each other this weekend. It was a mystery to them both. But they'd reached the point of no re
turn, where logic had no power and all that existed for them was desire.

When voices in the hallway below threatened to disturb the marvellous madness of the moment, Ryan scooped Laura up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him. He didn't miss a beat as he charged across the room and fell with her into the middle of the four-poster bed. They kissed on and on, their limbs tangled, neither of them coming up for air.

Ryan was the first to lift his head and draw a decent breath.

‘We're acting like horny teenagers,' he said with a ragged sigh. ‘All speed and absolutely no finesse.'

With almost shocking abruptness, he rolled off her and right off the bed.

Laura could not help the groan of dismay which escaped her lips. Immediately, he sat back down on the bed, leaning over to cup her face with gentle hands.