His to Command: the Housekeeper

CHAPTER FIVE

THE violet shadows of evening were lengthening and the fading light seemed to pick out the brightness of the flowers which were packed so tightly into the small garden. Xaviero paused, his eyes narrowing as he took in the unexpected kaleidoscope of colour which appeared before him.

The path leading to Cathy’s cottage was lined on either side by the purple haze of lavender and tall delphiniums which stood like cobalt arrows against the grey flint of the garden wall. Creamy-pink roses scrambled over a trellis—while blooms which looked like bells and others which resembled stars all jostled and billowed for space in the flowerbeds. And everywhere there were drifts of scent—some subtle, some powerful but all of them beguiling to his senses. It was a place of real beauty, and of calm.

For a moment he lingered there, his senses drinking in the extraordinary peace of the place as he realised that his expectations had been confounded. Hadn’t he thought that the little chambermaid might live in some faceless and featureless little apartment in the nearby village? A humble abode whose very modesty would reinforce her subservience to him.

Yet this place was nothing like that.

At that moment the front door opened—she must have been watching him from inside—and there she stood, framed in the doorway and staring at him, as if she couldn’t quite believe he was there. Truth to tell, he couldn’t quite believe it himself.

But the fire Cathy had lit within him still burned. It had been burning all day, all during the dull, dry lawyers’ meetings and his subsequent sessions with a local horse-breeder. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind, remembering with painfully acute clarity just how good it had felt to thrust into that hot, virgin tightness of hers. Maybe he had underestimated the primeval pleasure that her innocence had given him.

Subduing the aching response to his thoughts, he raised his black eyebrows. ‘Ready?’

Although she registered the fact that it wasn’t the most affectionate of greetings, Cathy’s smile was nonetheless wide and genuine—because hadn’t she been dreading that he might have had second thoughts and changed his mind about taking her out? But no, he was here to take her to some fancy polo-club do and it hadn’t been some kind of wild and crazy dream, after all. Prince Xaviero of Zaffirinthos really had taken her bed and then announced that she was to be a royal mistress and he was to instruct her in the things which pleased him!

Could she have said no?

She thought of his cold-blooded reasoning. That way, we can call it quits. In view of that, then shouldn’t she have said no? But the truth of the matter was that her heart felt a bursting kind of happiness that he was here at all—and wasn’t her body eager for more of his expert touch?

She looked up at him uncertainly, fingers fluttering over the black dress which skimmed her hips. ‘Is this…okay? They say you can’t go wrong with black but I wasn’t sure if it would be suitable for a polo club? You see, well—I’ve…well, I’ve never actually been to one before.’

Golden eyes swept over her. The dress was unremarkable—a cheap creation which neither emphasised nor concealed her figure, while the glorious sun-ripe hair was tied back in some sort of ribbon. But at least she had heeded his words about not plastering her face with make up—the lightest touch of mascara and lipstick now emphasised her subtle beauty rather than parodying it.

‘The dress is fine—although in future I may buy you dresses more pleasing to the eye. But there is one thing about your appearance which jars.’ He walked towards her and, without warning, reached for the band which constrained her hair, slithering it off with an impatient jerk so that her hair tumbled wildly all over her shoulders. For a moment, he stared down into aquamarine eyes so wide and so deep that he felt as if he might drown in them. ‘Don’t ever wear your hair like that when you’re with me,’ he said unevenly. ‘I like it loose. Understand?’

Cathy felt the tendrils falling around her face, acknowledging the dark mastery of his command even while a squeak of protest demanded to make itself heard. It was outrageous that he should come out with something as old-fashioned and bossy as that, she thought weakly. Prince he might be, but did he have the right to speak to her in that way?

‘Understand?’ he repeated.

Yet, dazed by his proximity and the sensual recall of his touch, all she could do was nod. ‘Yes,’she whispered.

For a moment the sight of her wide eyes and trembling lips tempted him into ringing up the club and telling them he’d changed his mind. But something was stopping him and he wasn’t sure what it was. Perhaps the faint air of insecurity about her which, infuriatingly, made him feel that he ought to spoil her. Take her out and give her a taste of the high life—as if in that way he could repay her for what he had already taken and would later take from her again.

His mouth hardened, because the last thing he wanted to feel was any kind of conscience about her. She had wanted him just as badly—and every woman had to lose her virginity some day. So why not lose it to the best? ‘My car is parked at the end of the lane,’ he said.

It felt odd to be walking down a dusty summer lane with the golden-eyed Prince and odder still to remember what had taken place between them. Cathy was conscious of the chauffeur’s curious looks as he held the door open for her. Was he wondering what the Prince was playing at? Or maybe this was the kind of thing he did all the time and she was only one in a long series of women who had climbed so meekly into the back of the luxury limousine.

That thought sat uncomfortably with her and she waited for—and wanted—Xaviero to take her in his arms once they were enclosed within the tinted luxury of the car. To blot out all her misgivings with the power of his kiss. But he didn’t. Instead, he simply leaned back against the soft leather seat, his long legs spread out in front of him while he surveyed her from between the narrowed golden eyes.

‘Your house is not what I was…expecting,’ he observed slowly.

It sounded more like a question than a compliment and Cathy knew exactly what he meant. ‘On a chambermaid’s salary, you mean?’

He shrugged. ‘How the hell should I know? I have no idea what chambermaids earn.’

No, of course he wouldn’t. Princes didn’t draw salaries like ordinary folk, did they? What must it be like to exist inside a great, privileged bubble which separated you from the rest of the world? she wondered. ‘My great-aunt left it to me. She brought me up when my parents died. It’s…’ Her words trailed off. Wasn’t he, as the Prince, supposed to initiate all conversation—so maybe that meant just answering his questions and not bothering to elaborate on them. She clamped her lips shut.

‘It’s what?’

‘You aren’t really interested.’

He felt a mixture of amusement and irritation. ‘Oh, aren’t I?’ he questioned silkily. ‘One session of sex and already you can predict what I’m thinking? I know that all women like to think they’re mind-readers—but that really must be breaking some kind of record.’

Cathy blushed. How cynical. How hard-bitten. What had he said? One session of sex. It was a hateful way to describe what had happened between them.

‘The cottage is one of the reasons I stay round here—well, the garden mainly,’ she said stiffly. ‘I can’t imagine ever finding anywhere else as beautiful. And…well, gardening’s my hobby—though it always sounds so tame when someone my age admits that they like it.’

‘Or elemental,’ he amended surprisingly. ‘Some people might consider it sexy to think of a woman bending over a flowerbed, with mud on her hands.’

‘Really?’ she questioned, not believing him.

‘Yes, really.’ Hearing the wooden quality of her tone, Xaviero studied the way her little teeth were digging into the cushioned curve of her lower lip, and he smiled. ‘You look disappointed,’ he murmured. ‘Are you wondering why I haven’t yet kissed you?’

‘Not at all,’ she lied.

He laughed. ‘Ah, but you must learn not to blush when you tell an untruth,’ he murmured and saw her colour deepen even more.

‘I wasn’t—’

‘Yes, you were. There should be few secrets between lovers. If you’re wondering why I haven’t yet kissed you, can’t you think of a reason why that might be?’

Like the class dunce who had been unexpectedly picked out to answer a question by the teacher, Cathy was eager to please. ‘Because you don’t want your driver to see us?’

Xaviero clicked his tongue. How very mundane of her—but then what could he expect? She was a very ordinary woman. Impatiently, he shook his head. ‘You think I would leave that to chance?’ he mocked. ‘The back of the car is completely soundproofed so the driver hears nothing. At the touch of a button, blinds will float down over all the windows, concealing us from the prying eyes of the outside world. Why, I could make love to you now and nobody but us would know.’

‘Oh,’ said Cathy, aware of an aching feeling of disappointment.

His impatience fled as he registered her unashamed frustration. ‘Yes, I know. You want it and I want it, but it will be a rushed encounter—and what is more, we will both arrive at the club in a state of disarray which will not be particularly good for my reputation.’

And what about mine? Cathy wanted to ask. ‘Oh, I see.’

‘No, I don’t think you do.’ He reached over to take a silken lock of hair between thumb and forefinger and twisted it. ‘The sexual appetite is like any other, Cathy—its needs are many and must be tempered accordingly. Sometimes—like what happened between us today—the hunger is fierce and urgent and must be instantly assuaged. And at other times, well—the anticipation of the feast to come sharpens the taste buds and heightens the pleasure.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘This evening may be tedious—as so many of these functions are—but rather than sinking into the torpor of that tedium, I shall instead allow my senses to tingle with the thought of just what I am going to do with you later.’

Cathy’s mouth dried—partly with desire and partly with shock as she registered his arrogant statement. Just what I am going to do with you later. Why, he made her sound so malleable! ‘That’s if I let you,’ she retorted.

Xaviero tensed and then gave a slow smile. ‘Oh, you’ll let me,’ he vowed softly. ‘Now come over here and kiss me, little chambermaid.’

‘But I thought—’

‘Mistresses aren’t required to think—their talents are of a far more practical nature,’ he amended silkily. ‘So come over here. Now. And kiss me.’

For a moment Cathy sat there. His words made her feel more like a doll than a person and she suddenly realised that this man could easily hurt her. So wouldn’t it be sensible to get out now—before it was too late? She could feel his eyes on her—that distinctive golden gaze raking over her. He was sprawled back against the seat, eyeing her with lazy amusement as if sensing her inner struggle.

So did he feel triumph over the way she lost the battle she had half-heartedly been fighting? Leaning over him instead and eagerly pressing her lips to his—not caring about pride or conscience or reputation or getting hurt. Not caring about anything—other than the urgent need to find herself tightly in his arms once more.

She heard him give a little murmur of approval as he drew her against him, before she felt him take control—expertly coaxing her lips open and letting his tongue slide inside her mouth.

Cathy gasped as, in an instant, all those new feelings he had ignited earlier came flooding back in a thick, sweet wave and she clung to his broad shoulders as if she could never bear to let him go. Pressing her body closer, she heard his shuddered little groan and that felt like some kind of small victory.

But if it was Cathy who initiated the kiss, it was Xaviero who demonstrated his mastery by terminating it, gently prising her fingers from his shoulders and placing them firmly in her lap, leaving her breathless and aching as she stared up at him in mute disappointment.

‘You must learn to control your appetite, my eager young pupil,’ he chided softly, though he felt the wild thunder of his heart as he steadied his breath. ‘There is a time and a place for greed, and that time is not now.’

In an effort to distract himself, Xaviero turned to glance out of the window as the car passed through wide gates and up a long gravelled drive. At its end stood an imposing brightly lit and colonnaded white house with a whole fleet of top-of-the-range cars and several chauffeurs standing in a little huddle beside them. He saw one of them glance up and spot the car approaching and it was as if they were all suddenly galvanised into action. Inside the illuminated building he could see figures beginning to hurry around and mentally he prepared to deliver the image of himself the public always expected.

‘We’re here,’ he said, raking his fingers back through his hair. ‘And they’ve seen us.’

Cathy glanced at the sudden cool mask which had replaced the dark passion on his face. ‘You don’t sound very…keen.’

He should have been irritated by her intrusive observation—but the appeal in her wide blue eyes meant that he was momentarily disarmed. Couldn’t he relax his guard for once, just a little? This little chambermaid would never make the error of attaching any significance to any confidences he might share with her—and if she tried, he would merely point out her error so that she would not repeat it. ‘I’d much rather be making love to you,’he admitted softly.

And that one murmured comment, along with the sizzling golden look which accompanied it, was enough to make Cathy feel as if she were walking on air as the car door was opened for them.

‘And so would I,’ she whispered shyly, but her momentary pleasure was eclipsed by nerves as she saw the glamorous women who were assembling to meet them. They were decked in glittering jewels, their skin faintly tanned, pampered and massaged—she felt anxiety flood through her. How could she possibly compete in her cheap little chain-store dress when they all looked like expensive birds of paradise?

Uncomfortably, Cathy followed Xaviero into the banqueting hall, where every table setting seemed to contain a whole canteen of cutlery—but at least she’d helped out at enough formal banquets at the hotel to know which was the correct knife and fork to use.

Picking at her meal, Cathy noticed that everyone waited until Xaviero had begun to eat before they, too, followed suit. How wearing that must get, she thought. She found herself seated in between two very wealthy landowners who wouldn’t have given her a second glance if she’d been changing their duvet cover.

But Xaviero had, hadn’t he?

Cathy swallowed. He might be arrogant, and proud. He might have taken her to bed and she might have foolishly let him—but nothing could detract from the fact that he had wanted her, just the way she was. And she had wanted him. In fact, if only he really were that man in denim and not a prince, then they wouldn’t have to be sitting here, having to endure these stilted conversations. They could have been snuggled up under their own duvet—making love and maybe making some kind of future together.

‘I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before, Cathy,’ one of the landowners was saying to her.

Cathy felt her heart begin to pound with trepidation. ‘I… I don’t think so—’

‘Good heavens—you’re not…’ The man pushed his scarlet face closer and frowned. ‘You don’t by any chance work at Rupert Sanderson’s hotel, do you?’

Cathy froze and looked across the table in alarm—to find a pair of curious golden eyes fixed on her. Obviously Xaviero had heard every word and was watching her, waiting to hear what she would say.

For one tempting moment she thought about the reaction she’d get if she told the truth. That she was the chambermaid at the hotel he was currently buying and that she’d tugged Egyptian cotton sheets over the Prince’s king-sized bed before letting him make love to her on it?

She realised that the landowner was still waiting for her answer and she looked into Xaviero’s eyes as if seeking an answer there and, to her astonishment, he gave her a slow smile.

‘Yes, Cathy works locally at the hotel—and has kindly agreed to be my guide while I’m here. Aren’t I lucky?’ he murmured, noticing that the redhead who had been flirting with him all evening was now flicking the little chambermaid a superior glance. Thoughtfully, his eyes narrowed, as he realised that he had not done Cathy justice. ‘It helps that she’s very beautiful, of course,’ he added softly.

Cathy felt the rush of colour to her cheeks at the faint ripple of surprise this remark produced—before the chatter resumed around the table. And although she was pleased that Xaviero had come to her rescue, she wished he hadn’t felt the need to tell a blatant lie like that.

Under his mocking stare she noticed the fractional dilation of his eyes. Saw the way the tip of his tongue had touched one corner of his lips as if deliberately reminding her of the sweet delight those same lips had brought to her earlier. And suddenly she didn’t care if he’d lied about her being beautiful. When he looked at her like that, she actually felt beautiful. Just as she’d felt when he’d gazed down at her naked body as if he couldn’t quite believe his eyes.

Was she alone in feeling the tension which fizzed across the table between them? Was he aware that every time his lips curved into a slow and speculative smile she experienced the warm pooling of desire at the pit of her stomach? The impatience to be alone with him and away with these people who fawned over every word he said. The women on either side of him might have been flirting outrageously—but she was the woman he had chosen to be his lover!

Her pulse skittered as he stood up and made a brief speech, telling the enthralled audience how delighted he was to have purchased such a prestigious club and his plans to create a world-class polo school there. But Cathy watched the faces of the other diners as they listened to him and laughed conspicuously loudly at his jokes. Rapt and rapacious—the women surveyed him with open hunger while the men regarded him with a kind of grudging envy. What a strange world this was, she thought. One where everyone wants something from him.

And don’t you? taunted the voice of her conscience. Don’t you want most of all?

No. She was modest by nature and modest in her expectations. All she wanted was to feel his arms around her again. To feel the warmth of his skin and the thunder of his heart against her heart. She felt her mouth drying as he finished his speech and looked straight into her eyes as the applause rang out through the vast room.

Needing the washroom, she rose to her feet and saw that Xaviero had mirrored her movement—which in turn caused the entire table to stand up! How awful, she thought. You could never just sneak out if you were a royal. In the restroom, she splashed some cold water over her heated cheeks, battled a brush through the thick hair, and when she emerged it was to find Xaviero standing by the entrance to the ballroom. It took a moment or two before she registered that he was waiting for her.

In that moment she felt nervous and slightly out of her depth—but she had to say something. ‘Thank you for coming to my rescue back there,’ she said quietly.

He shrugged and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘No thanks are required. The man was nothing but a crashing snob and I’m sorry you had to be subjected to him.’