The Society Groom. Mary Lyons
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it includes you as well—the answer is thanks, but no thanks!’ she snapped, her nerves not improved by the sight of his wide grin and the glint of ironic amusement in his eyes, clearly visible beneath the sodium glare of a nearby streetlight.
‘Calm down, darling,’ he drawled, helping her down from the vehicle and issuing her in through the front door of a large house. ‘I can promise you, on my word of honour, that I won’t lay a hand on you.’
‘You’d better keep your promise—or you’ll be sorry!’ she muttered grimly as he led the way into a sitting room.
So much for the ‘small pad in Chelsea’! Olivia told herself, recalling how Dominic had described his home in London as she gazed around the large, elegantly decorated room. Having been forced to save up every penny for her own small mews house, she was in no doubt that this huge building would, on the open market, fetch well over a million pounds.
‘Now...why don’t we both relax and have a drink?’ he was saying, with a slow, sensual smile which practically made her hair stand on end. ‘I can offer you some whisky, or brandy, or...’
Olivia gave a nervous shake of her head. ‘No, thanks all the same, but I’m really feeling very tired. It’s been a long day,’ she added quickly. ‘If... if you don’t mind, I’d like to go to my room straight away.’
‘Of course,’ he said, opening the door and waving for her to go ahead of him up the wide flight of stairs, before leading her along the landing and throwing open the door of a large guest room.
‘As you see,’ Dominic told her, walking across the large room and opening a door in the far corner, ‘this guest bedroom has its own en suite bathroom. I’ll just check...’ He switched on the lights and peered around the door. ‘Yes, there appear to be plenty of towels. But let me know if there’s anything else you require, OK?’ he murmured as he retraced his steps across the room, giving her a slight smile before closing the bedroom door behind him.
Well, things could definitely be a lot worse, Olivia told herself some time later, almost groaning with pleasure as she lay back in the deliciously oily, highly perfumed bath water, closing her eyes and letting all the stresses and strains of the day drain out of her tired body.
Although she’d been fed up at not being able to relax in her own bed, it was kind of Dominic to have placed a spare room at her disposal. Not that he wasn’t the same tricky, conniving, two-timing rat that she’d known all those years ago, of course, she quickly reminded herself. Leopards didn’t change their spots—right? And the way that blonde bimbo had practically glued herself to his tall, broad-shouldered figure on the dance floor had been nothing short of disgraceful!
But why should she care? It was, after all, years since she’d first tumbled headlong into love with Dominic. But she was no longer a silly teenager, and if he wanted to make an exhibition of himself—or go to bed with half the women in London, for that matter—it was absolutely nothing to do with her.
Well, yes...OK...she had been upset to see him again. But that was only because his appearance at the wedding had been so totally unexpected. Any woman would be likely to feel slightly shocked and thrown a bit off base by the sudden appearance of an old flame. So her reaction had been a quite normal one, she assured herself firmly. And, after a good night’s sleep, she would be perfectly capable of saying a cheerful goodbye to her host before going back to her own home and never giving him another thought.
Having sorted out the current situation to her own satisfaction, Olivia felt a whole lot more cheerful. Of course, the relaxing effect of a hot bath had a lot to do with it, she told herself, climbing out of the deep tub and wrapping a thick fluffy towel about her slim figure. However, it wasn’t until she was walking slowly back into the bedroom that she suddenly realised she had a slight problem.
Although many of her friends slept in the nude, she’d never been at all keen on getting into a cold bed stark naked. And, since she’d made the mistake of rinsing out her underwear and leaving it to dripdry by morning, she was now well and truly stuck without anything to wear. However, just as she was wondering whether to wrap a fresh, clean towel about herself, in place of her usual night attire, she heard a brisk tap on her door.
‘I hope you haven’t gone to sleep in the bath,’ Dominic’s amused voice called out from the other side of the door. ‘Would you care for the use of a spare dressing gown?’
Hesitating for a moment, she quickly wrapped the towel more tightly about her before opening the door.
‘Yes, I would,’ she admitted, noting from his damp, curly dark hair that he, too, must have recently had a bath or shower. And, instead of his elegant morning dress, Dominic was now wearing a knee-length, dark red silk dressing gown. And not much else, if the sight of his long, tanned bare legs was anything to go by, she told herself grimly as he walked across the room to open the door of a large cupboard.
‘There’s a spare gown in here,’ he said, taking out a long, silky garment and handing it to her. ‘There are also one or two nighties—but I’ll leave you to make your own choice.’
‘That’s very kind of you, but I really don’t think that—’
‘Don’t worry—they are definitely not my old girlfriends’ castoffs!’ He turned to give her a quick grin as he closed the door of the wardrobe. ‘My older sister, Connie, was over from the United States last year, and she left some articles of clothing behind when she returned home.’
‘Oh, right,’ Olivia muttered, feeling slightly flustered by his uncanny ability to read her mind. Because of course she couldn’t have faced wearing anything left behind by any of his usual girlfriends,. Most of whom—if the glossy magazines were to be believed—consisted of glamorous film stars with truly amazing chest measurements.
‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’ he asked, moving slowly towards her.
‘No, I’m fine,’ she murmured, instinctively backing away from his advancing figure.
There really ought to be some sort of law to prevent highly attractive, sexy men from walking around practically stark naked, she told herself grimly. Because the sight of his tall figure in the deep red dressing gown—despite the fact that it was tightly belted about his slim waist—was enough to make any poor, susceptible woman feel distinctly lightheaded.
Viewing the soft, silky material clinging so closely to his damp body, emphasising his broad shoulders, slim hips and strong, muscular chest covered in dark curly hair, Olivia could almost physically feel her senses being assailed by his overpowering aura of sheer, rampant masculinity.
‘I think that I’ve got everything,’ she muttered helplessly, moistening her lips, which had suddenly become dry and parched. ‘I expect...I’m sure...that you must be as tired as I am...’ Her voice trailed away as she noticed his eyes gleaming with amusement at her obvious confusion.
‘Are you quite sure that you’ve got everything you want...?’ he drawled softly, the low, sensual note in his voice playing havoc with her nervous system, her pulse almost racing out of control as she took another step backwards.
But then, as she felt her spine jar against the wall beside the door, she made a desperate effort to pull herself together.
‘I—I’m not interested in playing stupid games,’ she told him as firmly as she could, bitterly aware of the breathless, hoarse note in her voice as she clutched the towel tightly about her slim figure. ‘So, will you please leave this room—and return to your own bedroom.’
‘Of course I will,’ he murmured, continuing to move forward until his figure was virtually touching her own. ‘I was merely intending to kiss you goodnight before I go.’
‘Cut it out—Dominic!’ she protested huskily as she felt the weight of his hard, firm body pressing her up against the wall. ‘I thought you’d promised not to lay a hand on me?’
‘You’re absolutely right!’ he agreed with a low rumble of laughter, before placing the palms of his hands