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How on earth would she cope when they started dancing? Perhaps she should start praying now. With luck, the band at the Reef Club played loud, fast music where dancers more or less jigged around without touching.
No such luck.
One step into the foyer of the Reef Club and she saw that the lighting was low, the music slow and bluesy, and the dance floor dark and crowded. One look at the dangerous smoulder in Liam Conway’s blue eyes and she knew she was in trouble.
Liam sent her a slow smile. ‘Shall we dance, birthday girl?’ And without even waiting for her reply, he took her hand and led her onto the shadowy dance floor. And suddenly it was happening. Alice was in his arms.
She was excited, terrified—electrified, her senses on full alert. Cocooned by the darkness and the sexy croon of a saxophone, they swayed together slowly and she felt everything super-keenly—the touch of Liam’s breath softly stirring her hair, the muscled strength of his shoulder beneath her hand, his taut, lean body brushing tantalisingly close to hers.
If she closed her eyes her nostrils filled with the subtle tang of his aftershave, and if she opened them again she was captivated by the lazy sweep of the strobe light, giving her glimpses of Liam’s face and the contrast between her pale skin and his tan.
From the moment she’d met this man she’d been walking a tightrope. Perhaps her emotions were tipping her off balance? She felt spellbound by him—by their coinciding birthdays, by the kind way he’d listened to her sob story, by the hungry way he looked at her. And now, in his arms, she was incredibly ablaze.
Clearly the long months of loneliness during her separation and divorce had taken their toll.
She wanted Liam to kiss her. She wanted his hands on her body, and yes, she wanted him to make love to her.
The wanting filled her head, blanking out reason.
And she suspected that Liam’s mind was on the same fast-track. Despite the ease with which he moved about the dance floor, there was no mistaking the subtle tension in his body, or the unsubtle desire in his eyes.
His lips brushed her forehead and a soft, almost desperate little sigh escaped him.
The dark, masculine sound plunged deep within Alice and the last, fragile threads of her resistance gave way. Helpless, she melted against him and desire flowered, surged and spilled inside her.
He drew her even closer, and nudged against her with sweet, unbearable precision. With his mouth against her ear, he murmured, ‘Have you any idea how bloody beautiful you are?’
They were hardly the words or the actions of a gentleman and she knew she should have been shocked. But she was too lost inside her cloud of desire. And her throat was so choked with emotion she couldn’t have voiced a protest even if she’d tried to.
And then, in the lull between one song and the next, he said, ‘Birthday girl, I want to take you home.’
Oh, God. Alice buried her face in his shoulder, her heart beating like a wild creature. She’d known from the moment she left the Hippo Bar that there was every possibility the evening was heading in this direction, but for one hot, terrifying moment of panic her courage failed her. A casual fling was so outside her experience.
Liam gently stroked her neck. ‘Bad idea?’
Was it? Alice tried to think calmly, but she was such a swirling mass of emotion and desire she was beyond the point of rational decision-making.
But she knew there was one important question she had to ask. She tilted her face so that her husky whisper reached him. ‘Tell me one thing; are you married?’
‘No.’ He said that so definitely she knew that he spoke the truth.
Raising her eyes to meet the hot intensity of his, she said, ‘It’s not a bad idea, Liam.’
The rasp of his indrawn breath made her shiver. He was as tense, as consumed as she was. She could hardly breathe.
They left the Reef Club holding hands and yet hardly daring to look at each other as they passed beneath the glow of overhead lights.
‘I didn’t bring my car,’ Alice said. ‘Did you?’
For the briefest moment she sensed a different kind of tension in him. ‘No; I haven’t organised a vehicle yet.’
‘Well,’ she said lightly, ‘there should be plenty of taxis around tonight.’
She felt impossibly shy as they stood near the edge of the footpath, waiting for a taxi. ‘I—I guess this is where one of us says, your place or mine?’
His light blue eyes seemed to shimmer. ‘I’m sure that should be your choice.’
The taxi arrived and they slipped into the back seat. Liam glanced at Alice as the driver waited expectantly. This was it; no turning back now. And it was her choice.
She gave the driver the address of her flat in Edge Hill. Better to be on home ground. The thought gave her an illusion of control. Besides, she was rather proud of her flat; she’d bought it with her share from the sale of the house she’d shared with Todd.
It was ultra-modern and brand new and it was such a novelty to have her very own private space that she kept it looking fabulous. Her friends teased her that she was expecting Home Beautiful magazine to call, begging to feature her place in their next big spread.
Thinking about her friends’ gentle teasing helped to calm her as the taxi sped them through the dark streets. It helped too that Liam sat a little apart from her and she was relieved that he wasn’t panting all over her on the back seat.
Nevertheless she could sense his tension and her body burned with breathless, coiling anticipation. What kind of lover was this man?
What kind of lover was she? Not much of one, if Todd’s straying from her bed was any indication. But there was something about Liam’s frank and open appreciation of her that shored up the confidence Todd had undermined.
A welcome cool breeze greeted them as they stepped from the taxi. Above them a new moon spilled a romantic silver sheen over the lush fronds of the palm trees that lined Alice’s street.
‘Nice location,’ Liam said and then he fell silent as they walked along the brick path flanked by newly landscaped gardens.
It wasn’t till Alice was fishing in her bag for her door key that she was hit by a rush of sudden doubts. Was she making a terribly stupid mistake? She didn’t know anything about this man. She didn’t do this kind of thing.
If a clairvoyant had told her she would bring home a good-looking stranger from a bar, she would have laughed in her face and demanded her money back.
When it came to dating trends, Alice had been left behind in the last century. Although her unattached friends seemed to think nothing of having sex for no other reason than because they fancied a guy, until tonight Alice had never dreamed of being so rash. Not in her wildest fantasies. Well, OK, maybe in her wildest fantasies—but since when were they reliable?
Perhaps she should suggest coffee. She had a lovely new espresso machine and she could take Liam Conway into her shiny, trendy kitchen and make coffee and insist that they talk some more. She could get him to talk about himself. There were so many things she should know before they—
Too late. Liam reached for her as soon as the front door closed behind them. And thoughts of coffee and the questions that had seemed so important scampered clear out of her head as he drew her in to him. And his lips met hers.
Oh…His lips were soft and firm and warm and super-slow. Alice’s legs almost buckled beneath her.
‘You have the most gorgeous mouth,’ he murmured.
‘I’m…rather taken with yours.’ She was a little stunned to hear how sinking-out-of-control she sounded.
And then he touched his lips to the side of her throat. ‘And you have the most kissable neck.’
Ah, yes. Flattery and sensuous, lazy lips were a heart-stopping combination. So different from Todd.
No, she wasn’t going to think about Todd. Just Liam. Just this—his mesmerising lips exploring her skin, making her body warm and wanton. She knew now that she’d been starving for intimate contact.
A hot, honeyed languor seemed to fill her. In a dazzle of warmth, she pressed her thighs and hips against Liam’s and arched her neck, silently begging him for more kisses.
Liam obliged. While his hands wedged her body hard against his, his mouth traced a sensuous path down her neck, into the little valley at her collar-bone and then up again. He kissed her ear lobe.
‘Best ears in the southern hemisphere,’ he said and he teased her ear with the tip of his tongue, and she was overtaken by a desperate need to nibble-kiss the rough skin all the way along his jaw.
His response was a sexy choked groan and the next moment he scooped her up in his arms. ‘Which way?’ he murmured as her feet left the floor.
Without a beat of hesitation she pointed down the hallway to her bedroom.
CHAPTER TWO
IT FELT a little crazy to wake next morning with Liam Conway in her bed. Crazy and wonderful. And just a bit sad. This was going to be the hard part—the morning after the night before.
She and Liam could hardly pretend to be strangers after a night of amazing, heaven-on-earth passion, but just the same, the deeper getting-to-know-you stuff that they’d skipped wasn’t going to happen now. Soon Liam would be leaving, walking out of her life, and Alice would have to put on a brave face and remember that she didn’t mind; it was what she wanted.
Besides, now that she knew she was infertile, casual dating was probably all men would want from her.
With her head propped on her hand, she lay on her side and watched Liam wake, his eyes blinking, showing her snippets of blue like glimpses of morning sky.
He saw that she was watching him, and he smiled at her. ‘Good morning.’
‘Morning.’
His eyes were drinking her in now and he reached to touch her hair as it tumbled about her shoulders. Did she look a mess? Or like a woman who’d enjoyed a night of blissful ravishment? There was something about broad daylight that was so, well, revealing.
Liam, of course, looked better than ever. The darkening shadow on his jaw gave him a trendy, designer-stubble sexiness, and his bulky shoulders were bronzed, almost glowing, an effect no doubt enhanced by the sunshine filtering through the filmy bedroom curtains.
Not that she should be lying here ogling him. Her job this morning was to facilitate his farewell—a friendly but matter-of-fact exit.
‘It’s going to be a nice day,’ she said and immediately winced. Not a clever start. She sounded like a tour guide setting off with a group of holidaymakers for the Great Barrier Reef. But what was she supposed to say? Thanks for the most amazing, beautiful, emotionally moving, best sex of my life?
It was the absolute truth. But would Liam believe her? She’d travelled to the stars last night, but for all she knew their lovemaking might have been everyday-average for him.
He stretched and, with his hands stacked beneath his head, he glanced where she’d been looking, at the window and the branches of palm trees against the patch of blue sky. ‘Another day in paradise, as the tourist brochures say.’ He switched his gaze back to her and smiled lazily. ‘And you and I are another day older.’
Indeed. Their birthdays were a thing of the past. Here today, gone tomorrow.
Alice sat up, holding the sheet around her. ‘I’m glad you stayed the night,’ she said shyly. ‘I would have felt a bit cheap if you’d left as soon as we’d finished—um—celebrating.’
Liam frowned. ‘It would be a crime to make you feel cheap. You’re a very special woman, Alice.’ The creases in his brow melted as his frown morphed into a smile. ‘And as I remember it, we spent most of the night celebrating.’
Alice felt herself blush. Then the rest of her began to warm up as Liam continued to look at her. And look.
Oh, heavens. The daylight made no difference. She was as susceptible to him now as she had been in the night.
She wished she was savvier about how these things worked. Where did a one-night stand end and the beginning of a relationship start?
She wasn’t looking for a relationship, couldn’t bear to leave herself vulnerable, only to be hurt again.
‘I—I’ll make some coffee,’ she said, edging away. ‘Or perhaps you’d prefer tea?’
If Liam was surprised by her withdrawal he made a quick recovery. ‘Coffee would be fantastic.’
She drew a deep breath of relief. She’d half expected him to drag her into his arms and she knew she would have been too weak to resist. But fortunately, he accepted her decision with good grace. When she wriggled towards the edge of the bed, he didn’t try to stop her.
She headed for the bathroom and, once she’d finished there, she wrapped herself inside a white towelling bath robe and went through to the kitchen to start the coffee. It wasn’t long before Liam joined her, showered, but still unshaven, and dressed in the clothes he’d worn last night.
The sight of him strolling into her kitchen was enough to make her heart do a somersault. Darn. Here she was, safely surrounded by pots and pans, and Liam Conway had the same disturbing effect on her as he did on the dance floor or in her bedroom.
‘That coffee smells sensational,’ he said.
She held up a packet she’d taken from the freezer. ‘Would you like croissants?’
‘Is that what you’re having?’
She nodded. ‘It’s my Saturday-morning treat. Croissants and coffee and the weekend papers out on the deck.’ She fingered the lapels of her bathrobe. ‘I wasn’t going to bother with the papers this morning, but if you want them it’s not far to the shop. You can grab them while I warm these croissants.’
He thought about this for a moment and then shook his head. ‘I can do without news from the outside world today. I don’t officially start work here till Monday. There’s time enough then to come to grips with what’s going on.’
‘So you’ve actually moved to Cairns to start a new job?’ She tried not to sound particularly interested and she ducked her face as she slipped the croissants into the oven.
‘I’ve bought a new business that has a branch here,’ he said in an offhand way that suggested he didn’t want to go into details. ‘This is a great place by the way.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I take it that green is your favourite colour?’
He was looking at her collection of green crockery and glassware which she kept on display on open shelving.
‘I guess it must be.’ She smiled, pleased that he’d noticed them. ‘Virgos are supposed to like white best.’
‘Are we?’
‘According to the experts. But I’ve been collecting green bits and pieces since I was about twelve. It started with a plate shaped like a water-lily pad and went on from there.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s become a minor obsession.’
Todd had hated her green collection. ‘We’re not Irish,’ he’d yelled at her and in one of his bad moods he’d smashed her favourite piece. For the past five years she’d kept the collection locked away. Now it was free again.
Liam picked up a green and white bowl fashioned like a field of clover with delicately scalloped edges, and he turned it over and examined the maker’s name on the base. ‘This is great. It has personality and it sure beats the plain white minimalist stuff you get in restaurants.’ He set it back carefully.
As she selected napkins from an overhead cupboard, she framed a question in her head about his new business, but she hesitated to ask because he could have already told her if he’d wanted to. But then she decided to dive in anyway.
‘What business have you bought?’
‘A travel company.’
No. Alice stiffened and felt cold all over. She stared at him. ‘Which travel company?’
He stared back at her, warily, without answering.
‘Please tell me you haven’t bought Kanga Tours?’
A muscle in his jaw jerked and he continued to frown at her as he very deliberately straightened his shoulders and folded his arms over his chest. ‘Would it matter if I had?’
‘No…well, yes—it would.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
She felt a slam of panic. ‘I can’t believe this.’
‘Can’t believe what?’ His eyes narrowed and, if it were possible, his expression was even more cautious. ‘Why? What’s the problem?’
She switched her gaze to the glass-fronted door of her oven. The croissants were already turning golden.
‘What do you know about Kanga Tours?’ Liam demanded. ‘I had the company checked out thoroughly. I got the best advice. I know the growth in the north hasn’t been as strong as expected, but that’s why I’m here. To turn it around. I believe in hands-on management. Overall the company seemed to be a damn good business proposition.’
‘Oh, it’s a good business,’ she said while her heart hammered. ‘If you’re a good manager, you’ll make plenty of money here.’
‘So, why are you looking like it’s really bad news?’
She bit her lip. He wasn’t going to like this.
‘For God’s sake, Alice. You look like I confessed I was a terrorist.’
‘I—I work there. At Kanga Tours.’
His jaw dropped. Fast. He stared at her and, as her words really sank in, he glanced away sharply. Cursing, he raked angry fingers through his hair.
Alice knew what he was thinking—that if word leaked out that the new boss had slept with one of the staff on his very first night in town, there could be all sorts of unpleasant ramifications. He could be branded as a sleaze, a predator, and she would be the tart, the wild divorcee, sleeping her way into the new boss’s favour.
Office affairs made ripples that very often became waves, waves that could swamp the boat. It could be just awful. For both of them.
She remembered the stir among the staff last week when Dennis Ericson first told them that a new boss was arriving from Sydney.
And then she was struck by a light-bulb moment. ‘Conway! For heaven’s sake. Now I remember why your name sounded familiar last night.’ Clasping her hands to the sides of her face, she let out a groan. ‘If only I’d thought of it earlier, but I didn’t make the connection. When I went to the Hippo Bar the last thing on my mind was my work or a new boss.’
‘Quite.’
The single, carefully clipped monosyllable seemed to cut through her. Neither she nor Liam had been thinking about work last night. They’d been totally distracted. Just thinking about how very distracted they’d been made her blush.
The oven pinged and she was grateful for a different kind of distraction. Shoving her hands into padded gloves, she pulled the croissants from the oven and avoided Liam’s gaze as she popped them onto the plates she’d already set on a tray, along with the coffee and cutlery and a pot of strawberry jam.
In one bound Liam was across the room and taking the tray from her. ‘Let me carry that.’
‘Thanks.’ At least he wasn’t so angry that he forgot his manners.
Their hands brushed as Alice handed him the tray and she made the mistake of looking up. His eyes were so close to her now. Too close. A look passed between them, a look that spoke of intimate secrets, of everything they’d shared last night—of Liam’s caresses, his whispered endearments, and her wild response to the satiny heat of him thrusting deep inside her.
It had been bad enough trying to carry on at work through the mess of the divorce. But how could she cope now, while her boss was a walking reminder of more things she needed to forget? The memories of their intimacy would stay with her. Every day.
A mask seemed to slip over Liam’s features and he turned to carry their breakfast things onto her back deck, which was cleverly designed to give privacy while offering a view of the tropical courtyard below. For the next few minutes their conversation was confined to the coffee and croissants and whether Liam would like milk or sugar or jam. But Alice was bursting with the need to talk about their predicament.
‘We were supposed to be going our separate ways this morning,’ she said.
He sent her a sharp, searching look. ‘Is that what you wanted?’
Her heart gave a startled leap. ‘Well, yes, of course. It’s what you wanted, too.’ The stern expression in his eyes prompted her to add, ‘Isn’t it?’
To her dismay he didn’t answer. Instead, he took another sip of coffee and put the cup down slowly. ‘Let’s sort this work issue out. What’s your role at Kanga Tours?’
He was changing the subject. Why? Was he upset with her? Had she read him incorrectly? Surely he hadn’t hoped for more than last night?
The thought that Liam might have wanted to continue their relationship set Alice suddenly adrift, swept away without warning by a flash flood. She struggled to remember his question.
‘I—I’m one of the specialist consultants,’ she said at last. ‘I look after the customers who want specialised tours in tune with particular interests.’
Liam nodded. ‘Do you cover everything? The reef, the rainforest and the outback?’
‘Sure.’ Pride set her chin at a tilt. ‘Everything from snorkelling or diving on the reef, to night-time spotlighting in the rainforest and outback cattle musters. They want it, I package it for them—even speciality restaurant tours.’
A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. ‘I’m sure you’re very good at it.’
‘I really enjoy my job. Since my divorce it’s been my life saver.’
He didn’t respond immediately.
‘Look,’ she said. ‘I know it’s going to be awkward for you to have me at work, but I won’t let on that I—I’ve met you. I can be discreet and professional.’
‘Yes, you’re a bright girl.’
A bright girl. It was rather a comedown from a very special woman, which was what he’d called her half an hour ago.
‘I think that’s the best way to play it,’ he said as his long fingers broke off a piece of croissant. ‘From now on our relationship will be entirely professional.’
‘Yes.’
‘There’s no need to compromise either of us. We’re mature adults. We can give each other space and get on with our jobs.’
‘Yes,’ she agreed again. ‘There are at least ten employees at Kanga Tours, so we won’t be falling all over each other.’
But…there would be almost daily contact.
‘I imagine I’ll be out of the office a great deal,’ Liam added, as if he was reading her mind. ‘Especially at first. There’s a lot to do to ensure the company’s viability, so I’ll be out and about. I want to find new premises.’
‘So our old building in the backstreets isn’t good enough for…?’ Alice saw the warning spark in Liam’s eyes and broke off in mid-sentence.
‘I need a prime location,’ he said crisply. ‘Something where all the action is—on the Esplanade with mountain and ocean views perhaps, right on the tourist and backpacker thoroughfare.’
She drained her coffee-cup. ‘I’m sure you’ll want to put your own stamp on the company.’
He didn’t answer. He helped himself to the strawberry jam and then ate his croissant slowly and seemed to pay close attention to a cluster of Golden Cane palms in the courtyard beneath them.
When he finished, he said, ‘Thanks, Alice, that was excellent, but now I should leave you to get on with your weekend.’
She forced a smile and hoped it was broad enough to give the impression that she had so many exciting things lined up for this weekend she didn’t know where to start.
Liam began to gather up their breakfast things. ‘Leave them,’ she insisted. After all, she had two whole days to carry them inside and wash them.
What else was she going to do?
Weekends had always come as a bonus at the end of a busy working week, but suddenly this one loomed emptily before her. She was already focusing on Monday morning, and seeing Liam again. But she was worried too. Darn it. Why did he have to be her boss?
‘Would you like me to call a taxi?’ she offered.
‘No, thanks, I’ll walk. It’s a great morning for having a look around and getting to know my new home-town.’
Her bare feet padded on the timber floor and she knotted her bathrobe more tightly at the waist as she followed him to her front door. A lump jammed her throat as he opened the door and turned to her.