The Reluctant Duke (11 page)

‘So what’s your problem with meeting Cathy Barton?’ Lucan prompted as soon as he rejoined Lexie in the kitchen once John had left.

‘Sorry?’ Lexie raised innocent brows as she turned from staring accusingly out of the window at the falling snow.

To Lucan’s sharp gaze Lexie’s expression looked a little too innocent to be true. ‘You seemed… unsettled earlier by the idea of meeting Cathy Barton.’

‘Don’t be silly, Lucan,’ she dismissed lightly. ‘If I appeared concerned then it was probably at the thought of a heavily pregnant woman even thinking of venturing outside in this weather.’

Except Lucan knew that John hadn’t mentioned that his wife was pregnant until
after
Lexie had responded so alarmingly to his statement that Cathy wanted to meet Lexie.

‘Your concern is admirable,’ he drawled dryly. ‘So you don’t have any objections to meeting her?’

‘I’ve just said that I don’t,’ Lexie answered slowly, warily, not at all happy with the challenge she sensed in Lucan’s attitude.

He nodded. ‘In that case there’s no problem with my having accepted the Bartons’ invitation for both of us to join them for dinner this evening.’

Lexie’s only outward show of emotion at that statement
was the curling of her hands into fists at her sides. Hands that clenched so tightly her nails were digging painfully into her palms.

Have dinner with the Bartons? With Cathy Barton—a woman Lexie was becoming more and more convinced was the Cathy Wilson she had known and been friends with all those years ago.

She swallowed hard. ‘Is it a good idea for us to go out in this weather?’

Lucan gave a rueful shrug. ‘I think we’re going to have to if we want to eat something other than toast.’ He gave a pointed glance at the empty plate in front of Lexie, with several toast crumbs still on its surface.

‘We still have Cathy’s casserole from last night,’ Lexie reminded him.

He grimaced. ‘I doubt that’s going to be very appetising when it’s already been warmed up once and left.’

Lexie was starting to feel more and more as if she were standing in quicksand rather than snow.

‘We could always go to the pub in the village, I suppose,’ Lucan continued lightly. ‘Although that might be a little insulting when I’ve already accepted John’s invitation.’ He quirked dark questioning brows.

‘Why don’t
you
go?’ Lexie encouraged, her voice brittle. ‘I’m not really hungry after eating toast, and I’m feeling a little tired, too, after my walk this morning. I’ll probably just read for a bit and then have an early night.’

‘An early night sounds good.’

It also, Lexie thought warily, sounded slightly threatening when Lucan said it in that sensually husky voice.

She looked at him searchingly, sure she saw a glint of laughter lurking in the darkness of his eyes before it was quickly masked. Could he possibly be playing with
her? If he was, then he had chosen the wrong woman to play with!

‘You
have
to go to the Bartons, Lucan,’ she insisted. ‘It would look rude if neither of us showed up after you’ve accepted the invitation.’

He shrugged. ‘I’ve never had a problem in the past with people thinking I’m rude.’

‘I can personally vouch for that,’ Lexie muttered disgustedly.

‘And it isn’t a problem for me now, either,’ Lucan continued dryly. ‘But if it bothers you…’

‘It doesn’t,’ she assured him quickly.

‘Then I’ll telephone and make our excuses.’

She gave an impatient shake of her head. ‘That isn’t very fair, when Cathy has probably already started cooking for you.’

‘For
us,’
he corrected pointedly.

‘You’re the one that’s important,’ Lexie reasoned derisively. ‘After all, I’m just an insignificant PA—a temporary one at that. Whereas you’re the local celebrity. The illustrious Duke of Stourbridge,’ she added tauntingly.

He gave a rueful shake of his head. ‘Temporary PA or otherwise, there’s nothing in the least insignificant about
you,
Lexie,’ he said dryly.

‘You know exactly what I meant!’ she snapped impatiently.

Yes, Lucan knew exactly what Lexie was up to.

‘Neither is there anything in the least illustrious about the title of Duke of Stourbridge! ‘ he added bitterly.

‘Oh?’

‘Oh,’
he echoed unhelpfully, having no intention of satisfying her obvious curiosity by opening up that particular can of worms. ‘As I’ve already told you, the title doesn’t interest me.’

‘Whether you choose to use the title or not, that’s obviously how the people of Stourbridge think of you,’ she came back dismissively.

Lucan’s eyes narrowed. ‘And how would
you
know how the people of Stourbridge think of me…?’

Yet another slip, Lexie realised with a self-disgusted wince. She really wasn’t very good at this.

Damn it—it was a little late for her to realise that she should have just refused to come here and invited Lucan to do his worst where Premier Personnel was concerned!

‘It’s pretty obvious that John Barton is slightly in awe of you.’ She shrugged. ‘Besides, all small villages function on gossip, don’t they?’

‘Do they?’

‘Oh, stop being difficult, Lucan! If you had bothered to consult me before accepting John’s invitation then you would have known that I’m not in the mood to play lowly servant to your arrogant duke in public!’

Lucan’s eyes narrowed on Lexie as he drew in a long, slow, calming breath, knowing that by referring to his title again she was deliberately trying to annoy him. He had no intention of giving her that satisfaction.

He knew that something was slightly off about Lexie’s behaviour. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on but nevertheless could sense was there.

Perhaps it was her avoidance of telling him where she had gone on her walk this morning? Or her reluctance to go to the Bartons’ for dinner? Or perhaps the fact that she’d seemed just as reluctant to eat at the pub in the village, both last night and again today?

At the moment, all Lucan was sure of was that there had been something different about Lexie’s behaviour, something guarded, since they’d arrived at Mulberry Hall yesterday.

He regarded her consideringly. ‘What
are
you in the mood for?’

Lexie gave a start even as she eyed him warily. ‘I told you—an early night.’

Lucan shrugged. ‘And I’ve already agreed that sounds like a good idea.’

As far as Lexie could tell Lucan hadn’t moved from his stance near the cooker, and yet she still found herself taking a defensive step backwards. Away from him. Away from the danger Lucan suddenly represented. The physical danger.

Her tongue moved nervously, moistly, across her suddenly dry lips. ‘I have no idea what your usual arrangement is with your PA, Lucan, but I can assure you—’

‘Oh, I think my “usual arrangement” with my PA has been made more than obvious by the fact that the last one walked out on me before Christmas, without giving notice, and that I didn’t even get her name right yesterday,’ Lucan drawled. ‘Don’t you? ‘ he added challengingly.

Yes, Lexie was more convinced than ever that part of the reason—the
main
reason—Jessica Brown had left her employment at the St Claire Corporation was because she hadn’t succeeded in tempting Lucan into a personal relationship with her.

So why did Lexie suddenly feel that without even trying the opposite was true where she was concerned? That if she gave Lucan the slightest encouragement she would be in his arms. In his bed.

Maybe it was the heat she could now see in Lucan’s coal-black eyes as they swept over her slowly from her toes to the top of her head? Or the sensual softening of that sculpted mouth? Or perhaps it was the fact that he was once again standing much too close to her, the heat in his dark gaze intensifying as it shifted to her mouth.

How could she not have noticed, been aware of the soft, panther-like tread that had brought Lucan across the kitchen so that once again he stood only inches away from her?

This time Lexie had nowhere to go. She was already backed up against one of the kitchen cabinets. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at Lucan, her throat moving convulsively as she swallowed before speaking. ‘Look, I realise this is the warmest room in the house, but even so I don’t think that gives you the right to try and make love to me every time we’re alone in here together.’

‘Try
and make love to you, Lexie?’ he drawled softly.

Her cheeks felt warm. ‘Don’t you have some sort of unwritten policy concerning not getting personally involved with your employees?’

He gave a derisive smile. ‘I think it’s a little late to worry about that in our particular case, don’t you?’

Because this man had already kissed Lexie, caressed her, touched her more intimately than any other man ever had in all of her twenty-four years!

‘Besides,’ Lucan continued dryly, ‘you and I both know that you have no intention of still being my employee once we get back to London.’

‘Do we?’

His smile widened, revealing even white teeth against those sensually carved lips. ‘Oh, yes,’ he acknowledged softly. ‘Which means there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t… pursue a relationship now.’

‘Pursue a relationship…?’ Lexie repeated inanely. And was that high-pitched squeak
really
her voice? She sounded like Minnie Mouse on helium!

Lucan frowned his impatience with what he was sure was Lexie being deliberately obtuse. She knew—couldn’t help but know—of the physical awareness between the
two of them. Of the way the very air seemed to sizzle with that awareness whenever the two of them were alone together.

Having decided last night, and again earlier, that he couldn’t allow Lexie into his life, Lucan had then spent the hour in the study with John Barton thinking of her rather than listening to anything the other man said. Most of all of how his body hardened in arousal every time he was anywhere near her.

The sensible thing to do would be to continue fighting that attraction until they were back in London and Lexie had gone out of his life.

The fact that he hadn’t heard a single word John had said to him during that hour told Lucan that it was already too late for that. He needed to get Lexie out of his system now. And the only way he could think of to do that was to take their relationship to the next level.

Invariably once the chase was over and he’d had sex with a woman—any woman—Lucan completely lost interest. Lexie wasn’t—couldn’t be—any different. Besides, he had never been a man who ran away from his problems. And Lexie was becoming more and more of a problem with every minute spent with her.

‘Oh, come on, Lexie,’ he chided huskily. ‘We’re both adults. We know exactly what’s going on here—’

‘Nothing
is going on here!’ she cut in determinedly. ‘Now, would you please step away from me?’ Her hands rose to push against his chest.

Lucan immediately felt the warmth of those hands through his thin cashmere sweater. Such tiny, elegant hands. Hands that he wanted to feel on every inch of his flesh. Every aroused inch!

His gaze easily held hers as his hands moved up and over hers, pressing their warmth against him, making Lexie
totally aware of the beating of his heart as it throbbed in rhythm with his pulsing arousal. That same heat had caused Lexie’s eyes to brighten feverishly and her cheeks to flush.

‘Do you still think nothing is going on here, Lexie? ‘ Lucan prompted huskily.

Of
course
Lexie knew that something was going on between the two of them; she might be physically inexperienced, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew that there had been something between the two of them from the moment they’d first met. The problem was Lexie had thought it was dislike, when in reality it was the opposite. At least definitely desire.

The look of determination in Lucan’s eyes told her that he wanted to take that
something
a step further.

She gave a shake of her head. ‘I’m not into having casual affairs with my boss.’

‘It doesn’t have to be that casual,’ he assured her huskily.

‘What?’ Lexie’s heart was beating so fast, so loudly, that she was sure Lucan couldn’t help but be aware of it. Or of the heat, the scent of her arousal emanating from her body in heady waves…

Lucan shrugged. ‘Instead of going back to London, maybe meeting up there occasionally, we could stay on here for several more days and see the whole thing through.’

Lexie eyed him disbelievingly. ‘To its bitter end, no doubt?’

His smile was rueful as he shook his head. ‘It doesn’t have to be that way.’

‘Believe me, between us it would be.’ Lexie had good reason for knowing it would.

‘You don’t know that—’

‘How long do your affairs usually last, Lucan? A couple
of weeks? A month? And then what? A nice piece of expensive and ostentatious jewellery as payment for services rendered? A costly gesture to ensure there are no hurt feelings? ‘ Her mouth twisted scornfully.

Lucan’s jaw tightened. ‘My women don’t usually leave with hurt feelings.’

‘No, they leave with that expensive piece of jewellery!’ Lexie gave an inelegant snort. ‘I very much doubt that I’m your usual type of woman, Lucan!’

No, she wasn’t, Lucan acknowledged impatiently. Which was why he had decided the best thing to do was to stay on here and get this inexplicable desire he felt for her out of his system.

He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. This was Lexie, for goodness’ sake. The most frustrating woman—on so many levels—that he had ever had the misfortune to meet.

A woman whose only pieces of jewellery were pearl earrings and that simple gold locket she habitually wore about her slender neck.

Lucan’s eyes narrowed on that gold oval where it nestled against her breasts. ‘Whose picture do you have in the locket, Lexie?’

‘What…?’ She looked panicked as Lucan moved one of his hands up to cradle the gold locket in his palm. ‘Don’t touch that!’ She slapped at that hand.

Lucan’s fingers instantly closed about the locket, his eyes glittering darkly as he saw that the colour had drained from Lexie’s face, leaving her cheeks pale and her eyes dark and haunted. ‘Who is it, Lexie? ‘ he repeated harshly. ‘Some long lost lover you still pine for? Or someone you have in your life now? Someone whose picture you carry around next to your heart? ‘ he added.