The Reluctant Duke (5 page)

‘Unusual, but the answer to that would appear to be yes,’ he drawled ruefully.

‘Wow!’

‘Wow, indeed,’ Lucan echoed dryly. ‘This is going to be a long drive, Lexie, so why don’t you pass some of the time away by telling me a little about yourself?’ he encouraged.

Lexie stiffened warily. Lucan wanted her to tell him about herself? Such as what? Who her parents were? Her grandmother?

Every part of Lexie’s life was a minefield of facts that, if revealed, would probably result in Lucan stopping the car right now and simply throwing her out into this stark and snow-covered landscape!

Which wasn’t an altogether bad idea, considering the circumstances.

She moistened dry lips. ‘Why don’t you tell me about yourself instead?’

His mouth tightened. ‘Perhaps we should just put on some music?’

Lexie slowly breathed her relief that Lucan wasn’t going to insist on pursuing the subject of herself. It was also interesting to realise that Lucan was as reluctant to talk about himself as she was.

She couldn’t help wondering why that was. Surely the life of Lucan St Claire, billionaire entrepreneur, was pretty much an open book? The business life of billionaire entrepreneur Lucan St Claire, maybe, but obviously there were things about his private life that Lucan preferred not to talk about.

His reticence instantly made Lexie wonder exactly what those things could be.

Perhaps a woman…?

She looked at him from beneath ebony lashes. The darkness of his hair really would look more attractive if worn a little longer, and the bleak expression in those almost black eyes as he concentrated on driving was off-putting, but neither of those things detracted from the fact that his was a magnetically handsome face. As for the leashed power of that taut and obviously toned body—

Oh, please, no…!

Lexie recoiled with inward horror. She had only wanted to meet Lucan St Claire—to see for herself how cold and ruthless he was. Becoming physically aware of him, actually finding him attractive, had
not
been part of her plan.

As much as accompanying Lucan to Mulberry Hall in Gloucestershire hadn’t been part of Lexie’s plan.

‘What sort of music do you like?’

Lexie blinked before focusing on Lucan with effort. ‘Classical, mostly.’ She shrugged.

Dark brows rose over those almost black eyes as he glanced at her. ‘Really?’

‘Yes, really,’ she confirmed sharply. ‘Did you imagine I might like heavy rock or something?’ she added scathingly.

‘Not at all. I’m just surprised that we have the same taste in music, that’s all.’ He reached forward to switch on the radio, and the car was instantly filled with the soft and haunting strains of Mozart.

It would
have
to be Mozart!

Her grandmother’s favourite composer.

Lexie had occasionally stayed with Nanna Sian on her own for several weeks during the school summer holidays when she was growing up and her parents had had to work.
Weeks when Mozart would invariably be playing on the CD player her grandmother kept in the kitchen.

In the kitchen of the cottage where her grandmother still lived—which was only half a mile away from Mulberry Hall.

Lexie was starting to feel ill—and it had nothing to do with travel sickness.

‘Perhaps when we get there you’ll find the damage to the house in Gloucestershire isn’t as bad as Mr Barton thinks it is and we’ll be able to return to town tomorrow?’ she said hopefully.

Lucan glanced at Lexie from between narrowed lids as he heard almost a note of desperation in her voice. Because she didn’t want to spend a couple of days in rural Gloucestershire with him? Or because she had a need to get back to something—someone—in London as soon as possible?

Both of those explanations were somehow unsatisfactory to Lucan.

‘And perhaps I’ll find it’s worse than I thought and we’ll have to stay for a week,’ he drawled mockingly—a remark that resulted in those blue eyes widening slightly in dismay before the emotion was quickly controlled. ‘Do you have personal commitments that make being away awkward for you?’ Lucan asked, and scowled.

‘Personal commitments? ‘ She frowned.

‘Husband? Live-in-lover? Boyfriend?’

‘No, of course not,’ she answered irritably.

Lucan relaxed slightly. ‘And I’m sure you must have had to go away on business before with your employers?’

‘Well… I—Yes. Of course.’ She seemed slightly flustered. ‘It’s just—I’m only supposed to be working for you for a total of three days,’ she reminded him tersely.

‘I’m sure your agency will understand if our return
is delayed for any reason,’ Lucan growled unsympathetically.

‘I’m not sure that I will!’ she came back pertly.

Lucan felt his irritation increasing at Lexie’s continuing arguments. Damn it, hadn’t his New Year got off to enough of a bad start already without—?

Redirected anger, Lucan recognised grimly. Not that Lexie wasn’t infuriating—she undoubtedly was. But Lucan knew it was his own frustration and annoyance at having to return to Mulberry Hall again so soon that was making his mood so volatile. Otherwise Lucan knew he would have put this woman firmly, chillingly, in her place by now.

Except Lucan wasn’t completely sure what her place was.

Stretched out naked on his bed, that glorious long dark hair splayed behind her on the pillows as he explored every inch of her silken body with his lips and hands, was the place he could most easily picture her.

Lucan shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he felt himself harden just at imagining kissing every silken inch of her naked body. ‘As I believe I have already made clear—several times,’ he added grimly, ‘your own requirements in this matter are of little importance to me.’

Lexie gave a snort as she shook her head disgustedly. ‘With a selfish attitude like that I have no idea why you were in the least surprised when Jessica Brown walked out on you without notice!’

Lucan gave a hard and humourless smile. ‘What a pity you aren’t in a position to do the same…’

‘Isn’t it?’ Lexie returned, saccharine-sweet.

Really, this man was totally obnoxious. Arrogant. Haughty. Cold. Mocking.

And so darkly attractive he took Lexie’s breath away. Something that certainly wasn’t going to help her through the next trying couple of days.

‘W
ELL,’
Lucan bit out tersely, having climbed out of the Range Rover to pull on his heavy jacket, before moving round to the passenger side of the parked vehicle to open Lexie’s door for her.

Lexie’s heart was beating a wild tattoo as she slowly got out of the car to look up at the mellow-stoned magnificence that was Mulberry Hall as it towered majestically over the snow-covered grounds of the Stourbridge estate.

A house and estate Lexie was more familiar with than she wanted the man at her side ever to know.

She turned to look up at him challengingly. ‘Well, what?’

He raised dark and mocking brows. ‘It’s been my experience so far in our acquaintance that you usually have something to say about most things…’

Lexie deliberately kept her expression non-committal as she glanced back at Mulberry Hall. ‘I’m betting the electricity bills are high!’

Lucan’s bark of laughter was completely spontaneous. Something that seemed, surprisingly, to have occurred several times in the company of this particular woman. Rare indeed, Lucan acknowledged ruefully, for a man usually known for his grimness rather than his sense of humour.

Even rarer for Lexie not to have made some sort of
cutting remark on the obvious and exclusive grandeur that was Mulberry Hall.

‘Shouldn’t we go inside? ‘ she prompted pointedly.

Lucan nodded abruptly. ‘Time to assess the damage.’ He took a firm hold of Lexie’s arm as he glanced up at the blue tarpaulin that had been fixed temporarily over part of the roof of the west wing of the house. ‘I wouldn’t want you to fall over and break a leg,’ he drawled mockingly when she frowned up at him.

‘In case I sue you? ‘ she taunted.

‘The way this year’s gone so far, it’s a distinct possibility!’ Lucan’s other hand reached out instinctively to steady her as she would have slipped on one of the icy steps leading up to the huge front door, the movement turning her slightly and bringing her into close contact with the hardness of his chest.

Lexie stopped breathing as she felt the warmth of his body envelop her. As she became totally aware of the hardness of his chest and abdomen against her breasts, his firmly muscled legs against her much softer ones.

Even the air about them seemed to still in recognition of that awareness. There had been another fresh fall of snow the previous day, and several inches now covered the surrounding countryside, seeming to surround them in eerie silence.

Lexie slowly raised her head. And then wished she hadn’t as she was immediately held captive by the intensity of Lucan’s dark and fathomless eyes. The stillness of that air about them became charged, heated, as Lexie found herself unable to look away.

Close to, like this, she could see that those eyes were a deep chocolate-brown surrounded by a ring of black. Dark and compelling eyes. Eyes that Lexie knew she could drown in. Deep and fathomless eyes that seemed to turn to
the deep brown of hot liquid chocolate as she continued to stare up at him.

Eyes that Lexie suddenly realised were coming closer as Lucan lowered his head and that firm and yet sensual mouth came within touching distance of her own.

Lexie reared back sharply before wrenching her arm out of Lucan’s grasp. ‘You really don’t want to do that!’ she warned.

He returned her gaze steadily. ‘I don’t?’

‘No.’ She scowled, and had to reach out instinctively to place her hand on the wall at the side of the steps as she felt herself in danger of slipping again.

Lexie might have every reason to despise Lucan St Claire, but she had absolutely no doubt that if he were to kiss her—to kiss the granddaughter of the despised Sian Thomas—Lucan would have reason to dislike himself, too.

What a bitter irony it would be, Lexie realised heavily, if he were to find himself attracted to the very last woman in the world he would ever want to feel such an interest in.

She gave a disgusted shake of her head. ‘Do you think you could possibly unlock the door so that we can go inside out of the cold?’ she snapped in her impatience.

Lucan drew in a rasping breath. His first for several long seconds, he realised. The whole of the length of time he had held the softness of Lexie’s body moulded against the length of his, in fact.

Her breasts beneath her sweater had felt full and lush as they’d pressed against his chest, her thighs in the fitted denims soft and enticing against the hardness of his arousal. Her mouth, those deliciously provocative lips, moist and slightly parted in invitation. An invitation Lucan would have been only too happy to accept.
Would
have accepted, damn it, if Lexie hadn’t pulled away so abruptly!

For a few brief moments it had been pleasant to anticipate spending the next two or three days—and nights—dealing with the hunger Lucan seemed to have developed for Lexie’s curvaceous softness, rather than with the real reason he was here.

Except there was really no escaping the fact that Mulberry Hall loomed large and overpowering before him.

‘Of course.’ Lucan’s mouth was set grimly as he turned away to climb the last two steps, pausing briefly to draw in a deep and controlling breath before unlocking and pushing open the front door.

Standing in the doorway, looking into the cavernous marble-floored entrance hall, Lucan instantly detected a slightly musty smell that hadn’t been there a week ago. An indication that the water damage Lucan had seen on the outside of the building had, as John Barton had already warned, actually entered the house.

The west wing of the house, to be exact, where that damned portrait of his father hung so regally.

With any luck the portrait would be one of the things to have been damaged!

‘Lucan…?’ Lexie prompted uncertainly as he seemed transfixed in the doorway, apparently as reluctant as she was to actually go inside the house.

‘Sorry.’ He drew himself up abruptly and stepped aside to allow her to enter.

It felt slightly warmer as Lexie stepped inside, but not much. ‘Does anyone actually live here any more?’ she turned to ask huskily as she gave an involuntary shiver before wrapping her long coat more tightly about her.

‘Not for years.’ Lucan’s expression was as bleak as his tone of voice as he followed her inside, before closing the door behind him to shut out the icy blast of the cold wind.
‘Wait for me here while I go to the back of the house and turn up the heating.’ He turned abruptly on his heel and strode off down a hallway without waiting for her to reply.

Not that Lexie had been going to make one. She was as unnerved at being back at Mulberry Hall as Lucan appeared to be.

She huddled further down into her coat as she stood looking around the familiar surroundings. She hadn’t actually been inside Mulberry Hall since Grandpa Alex had died, eight years ago, but it didn’t look as if anything had changed in that time.

The huge cut-glass Venetian chandelier still hung from the cavernous ceiling overhead, and the two doors directly off the entrance hall led, she knew, into a graciously furnished sitting room and a spacious dining room that would seat at least a dozen people at its long oak table.

Another door further down the hallway opened up into what had once been a mirrored ballroom, big enough to hold a hundred or so guests, but which was now a gym and games room.

Years ago Grandpa Alex had taught a nine-year-old Lexie to play table tennis and billiards in that room, while an indulgent Nanna Sian looked on fondly.

Lexie felt an emotional lump in her throat and an ache in her chest as she remembered the laughter that had filled the bleakness of this house in those days. The same love and laughter there had always been wherever Grandpa Alex and Nanna Sian were together.

A togetherness that Lucan St Claire and the rest of his unforgiving family had wanted no part of.