‘Roth!’Was that really her own voice, that soft, husky, and, yes, somehow invitingly sensual little thread of sound, gasping his name in a slow-drawn-out moan that was more invitation than protest?But it was too late to correct the erroneous message she knew instinctively, But it was too late to correct the erroneous message she had given; Roth was already acting on what he had obviously interpreted her ‘protest’ to mean, his hands lifting from her waist to her arms, her shoulders, as he drew her closer, his mouth fastening on hers as he kissed her, not as an old acquaintance or a friend of her brother’s, Elena recognised, her senses reeling, but in all the ways she had dreamed of him kissing her all those years ago, as a man kissed a woman.Despairingly she struggled valiantly to resist but it was useless. Her own foolish senses were doing far more to aid Roth than to support her, turning traitor and welcoming his sensual assault of her mouth with the eagerness of parched land gree
She was under no illusions about why he had kissed her like that... It was his way of reminding her not just of the past, but also of his superiority...of telling her that, whilst she might be the one who was in charge of the project they were going to be working on together, he still had the power to control her...to control her and to hurt her.Elena turned swiftly on her heel, not waiting for him to see the emotions she knew were clouding her eyes. knew were clouding her eyes.‘The lake needs dredging,’ she commented crisply as she shuttered her eyes and stared out towards the large ornamental lake several hundred yards away from the house.It was the wrong thing to say. She could hear the mocking amusement in Roth's voice as he drawled, ‘Well, yes, it does, but let’s hope this time you don’t end up head-first in the mud. We’ll have to hose you down out here if you do.There’s no way Mrs Lucia is going to let you into the Rectory smelling of stagnant lake water and covered in mud
She gave him an acid-sweet smile. ‘The Rectory may have been yours, Roth, but as part of the estate it is now owned by the Trust and—’ ‘Not so.’ Roth stopped her even faster than she had him. ‘I have retained ownership of the Rectory and the land. I intend to farm it and to develop the fishing and shooting rights.’ Elena was momentarily caught off guard. It was most unusual for Michael to allow something like that. He normally insisted on buying whatever land went with a property, if only to ensure that as much of its natural background and with a property, if only to ensure that as much of its natural background and surroundings as possible were retainedIf you’d like to follow me we can drive over to the Rectory now,’ Rothoffered coolly.Immediately Elena shook her head. ‘No... I want to see over the house first,’she told him crisply.Roth stared at her and then looked at his watch before telling her softly, ‘Thatwill take at least two hours, possibly longer; it’s now five o’
THEY had covered the ground floor of the house, walked the length of the elegant gallery, with its windows overlooking the parkland and the distant vista of the Derbyshire hills, and were just inspecting the enormous ballroom which opened off it when Elena acknowledged inwardly that Roth might have been right to advise her to wait until after she had rested to inspect the house. Haverton Hall’s rooms might not possess quite the vastness of the palazzo’s marble-floored rooms, nor the fading grandeur of the Prague palace, but Elena had already lost count of the number of salons and ante-chambers they had walked through on the lower floor. The gallery felt as though it stretched for miles, and as she studied the dusty wooden floor of the ballroom her heart sank at the thought of inspecting its lofty plasterwork ceiling and its elegantly inlaid panelling. And they still had the upper floors to go over! But she couldn’t afford to show any weakness in front of Roth and have him crowing ov
The next thing she knew, Roth was taking her very firmly by the arm andpropelling her towards the door, ignoring her protests to leave her alone.At the top of the stairs, to her infuriated chagrin, he turned round and swungher up into his arms, telling her through gritted teeth, ‘If you’re going to faint onme, Elena, then here’s the best place to do it.’She wanted to tell him that fainting was the last thing she intended to do, buther face was pressed against the warm flesh of his throat and if she tried to speakher lips would be touching his skin and then...Swallowing hard, Elena tried to concentrate on banishing the agonizing painin her head but it was something that she couldn’t just will away. As she knewfrom past experience, the only way of getting rid of it was for her to go to bedand sleep it off.They were downstairs now and Roth was crossing the hallway, thrusting openthe door and carrying her out into the fresh air.‘What are you doing?’ she demanded as he
The next thing she knew, Roth was taking her very firmly by the arm andpropelling her towards the door, ignoring her protests to leave her alone.At the top of the stairs, to her infuriated chagrin, he turned round and swungher up into his arms, telling her through gritted teeth, ‘If you’re going to faint onme, Elena then here’s the best place to do it.’She wanted to tell him that fainting was the last thing she intended to do, buther face was pressed against the warm flesh of his throat and if she tried to speakher lips would be touching his skin and then...Swallowing hard, Elena tried to concentrate on banishing the agonising painin her head but it was something that she couldn’t just will away. As she knewfrom past experience, the only way of getting rid of it was for her to go to bedand sleep it off.They were downstairs now and Roth was crossing the hallway, thrusting openthe door and carrying her out into the fresh air.‘What are you doing?’ she demanded as he w
She and the fling she had, had never actually been lovers, although she knew that veryfew people would believe that, nor had she ever used drugs; but she had beentainted by his lifestyle, had had her eyes opened painfully to certain harshrealities of life, and after lucas had interceded for her with her mother and withthe university authorities, getting her a place at Vassar where she had been ableto complete her education, she had promised herself that she would pay him andMia back for their kindness and their love and support by showing the world and her detractors just how worthy of that support she was.At Vassar she had gained a reputation as something of a recluse and a swot;dates and parties had been strictly out of bounds so far as she was concerned andher dedication had paid off with excellent exam results.And now, just as she had once felt the need to prove herself to Lucas andMia, she felt a corresponding need to prove herself worthy of Michael's trust inher pro
It had been the house that she had given most of her mental energy andimagination to lovingly creating, though. A house for a family, a house thatwrapped itself lovingly and protectively around you...a house with enough landfor her to have a pony. A house... The house... This house...!Ran had stopped the Land Rover. Shakily she got out, unable to take her eyesoff the house, barely aware of Roth's expression as he watched her.Just for a second, seeing that luminous bemused expression on her face, hehad been transported back in time...to a time when she had looked at him likethat, a time when...Grimly he reminded himself of what Elena had just said, of the terms she hadjust set between them. She had made it more than plain, if he had needed itunderlining, which he had not, that the only reason she was here in his life wasbecause of her job and that, given the choice, she would far rather be workingalongside someone else...anyone else.The gravel crunched beneath her f