KellysWoman Page 4

  He glanced over at Kate, his smile as warm as the look in his eyes that was just for her. “As I recall, you were never too happy about driving this old thing,” he reminded her.

  She smiled back. “Times change—so do people. Some people.”

  Did she mean that she’d changed and he hadn’t, he wondered. There was something different about her—he’d noticed it the moment she accepted him into her bed, but Sean knew that he’d changed too, in ways that he could never let anyone but Kate see. “You know we still need to talk, a chuisle. Why you called me last night…why we split up three years ago…why neither of us has been with anyone else since.”

  “I know.”

  Sean shifted the Land Rover down a gear, put his foot down and accelerated past a tractor—he’d be glad when they got to the motorway. “Are you going to run away from me again?”

  “No.”

  He believed her, but he could still hear the underlying nervousness in her voice. And then the stifled yawn. “Why don’t you get some rest? You didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  He only winced slightly when she punched his thigh.

  * * * * *

  As it happened, the journey north wasn’t too bad. Sean stopped for a break just north of Birmingham, where Kate insisted on taking over the driving for a while so that he could get some rest. For the first few miles, he kept one eye open, enjoying the confidence with which she was handling the old Land Rover.

  The farther north they traveled, the more noticeable the drop in temperature became. Sean toyed with the idea of breaking the journey for the night, but with the way the weather was looking, his instincts were telling him that they’d be better carrying on with the journey.

  “Do we need to pick up any supplies on the way?” Kate asked at one point.

  He shook his head. “There’s a farm a couple of miles from the cottage. Mrs. McAndrews, the farmer’s wife, has a key and I asked her to stock up for me ready for today. If she runs true to form, there’ll be enough to feed five thousand.”

  “Your appetite’s not changed then.”

  More teasing. He could get used to this, Sean thought. It was as if she were continually dipping her toe in the water before plunging in for the first time. And then he wondered why she was doing it. Didn’t she know that she didn’t need to break the ice with him, that he’d quite happily pick up where they left off?

  Well, maybe not exactly where they left off. He’d prefer to pick it up before it all went pear-shaped. But on the other hand, he’d go along with anything Kate wanted so long as it kept her in his life and maybe, just maybe, led to their relationship developing into the kind of relationship he wanted with her. He’d been in it for the long haul back then and as far as Sean was concerned, that hadn’t changed.

  They carried on traveling north, until they reached the last service area before they’d be leaving the motorway and heading across country. It made more sense for Sean to take over again for the last leg of the journey. When he saw Kate stretching sinuously after getting out of the Land Rover, he went around to her and took her in his arms to rub her back. To his immense surprise, she leaned into him, accepting the comfort readily.

  “Mmm, that’s nice,” she murmured, holding onto his waist while he massaged the kinks out of her spine, her head resting against his shoulder.

  “Maybe we should break the journey after all,” Sean offered.

  “How much farther do we have to go?”

  “We’re making good progress—another hour, an hour and a half at the most.”

  She tilted her gaze to meet his eyes—hers looked sleepy but happy. “If you can manage that, it hardly seems worth a stopover.”

  “Hey, I’m the big, bad SBS Special Forces officer, I can do anything.” Laughter tempered his ferocious expression.

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s not a lot of water around here.”

  He shrugged it off. “I’ll improvise.”

  * * * * *

  When he’d told her the cottage was in the middle of nowhere Sean wasn’t kidding.

  Kate shivered. She was sitting in the Land Rover, waiting for him to get the generator started. He’d only been gone about five minutes, but it felt like a lifetime, sitting in the dark and trying to stamp some life and warmth back into her frozen feet.

  Light suddenly burst from the cottage and Sean came running out of the door.

  “Sorry it took so long,” he apologized, lifting her down from the Land Rover. “Bloody generator wouldn’t start.”

  “That would be the state-of-the-art generator that you had put in three months ago? The one with the almost infinite mean time between failures, quote, unquote?”

  “I claim operator error.” He grinned unashamedly. “Get yourself in, I’ll bring the bags.”

  On the way there, he’d warned her that it wasn’t huge—what it was was cozy and Kate loved it on sight. The main room had a large kitchen at one end with a rough, rustic kitchen table and chairs At the other end, clustered around the hearth, there was a low coffee table and a couple of comfortable-looking sofas, old and saggy, covered in cushions and throws. The place was a curious blend of masculinity and restfulness.

  Kate could imagine eating dinner at that table and then spending the evening in front of a roaring fire, with Sean’s arms around her while they talked or listened to music or made love. There was no TV but he did have satellite broadband out of necessity, to keep in touch with his men and with the outside world, a satellite phone for backup and emergencies and a sound system with a docking station for an MP3 player. Well, Sean had said that he’d bought the place as a bolt-hole, so he could get away from it all occasionally.

  The door banged behind her. Sean of course, laden with bags that he left on the floor and laptop cases, which he put on the kitchen table before coming to her to wrap his arms around her.

  “Well, here we are. There’s not much beyond this, a ghrá. There are four doors through there.” He pointed to a doorway. “Bedroom on the right, bathroom first on the left, boot room-utility room-general dumping ground second on the left, and the door at the end leads to the yard. Across the yard is the outhouse where the generator is, along with the backup generator and freezer. We have lights, hot water, heating and sustenance—what more do you need?”

  What indeed? Kate knew the answer to that question—one tall, devilishly attractive former Royal Navy officer. On tiptoe, she kissed Sean on the mouth and then told him to go and sit down and unwind. “I’ll make us a drink.”

  A short time later, armed with two mugs of her special hot chocolate, she found Sean sprawled on one of the sofas, eyes closed, his boots an untidy heap on the floor. He’d plugged his MP3 player into the docking station and was letting the soothing music wash over him. Now that he could relax, he looked absolutely exhausted. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been quite so demanding last night…and this morning.

  Kate put the mugs on the coffee table, then sat on the floor in the space between it and the sofa, so that she could take a closer look at Sean. She didn’t think he was asleep, but he wasn’t far off. They’d eaten on the way up, both of them agreeing that they probably wouldn’t want to be bothered with preparing a meal once they got to the cottage.

  “Oh Sean,” she whispered, wishing she could tell him what was going through her mind, but it was too soon—she wasn’t ready to say the words yet. Instead, she picked up the hand closest to her and held it to her cheek. He looked so vulnerable like this, an image so at odds with the man he was—an image that brought all her protective instincts to the fore. Two weeks stretched ahead with Christmas beyond—she couldn’t help but wonder where this time together might lead them both.

  “Hey.” Fingers moved against her cheek. “You looked miles away then.”

  “I was,” she admitted with a sheepish smile. “Get your hot chocolate before it goes cold.” She passed him a mug.

  Sitting up, he took a hearty swig then stopped d
ead as he swallowed. “That’s not just hot chocolate. What the hell have you put in there?”

  “Tut. And you an old sea dog as well.” She sipped her own drink, enjoying the warming flavor of the dash of rum she’d added to both mugs, the slight burn at the back of her throat—glad that she’d stopped long enough to add the tub of her favorite chocolate drink and the half-bottle of spirits to one of her bags while packing for this little jaunt.

  “I know it’s relatively early,” Kate went on, “but maybe bed would be a good idea. It’s been a long day for you especially—you look done in.”

  She deserved the look he gave her.

  “And whose fault would that be? I could barely walk out of the hotel this morning,” he complained.

  Kate knew he was exaggerating. “Let me think. Yours?”

  Another look. “How the hell do you work that one out? You made me lie there while you fucked me senseless.”

  She feigned complete innocence. “If you weren’t so attractive, I wouldn’t have had this compulsion to do that. See? All your fault.”

  “Thanks.” He looked all set to grumble some more but thought better of it. His beautiful face settled into a gentle smile. “Actually, bed’s not a bad idea.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go, a chuisle. Just don’t expect me to—“

  Kate cut him off with a kiss. “I expect you to lie with me and hold me in your arms and sleep soundly ‘til morning,” she told him, her voice as soothing as a summer breeze.

  “I can do that.”

  The bed was big and old-fashioned, with sheets, blankets and an eiderdown. Sean stripped in seconds, making himself comfortable while he watched Kate follow suit. He gathered her to him, her back to his chest, his arms enfolding her, warming her with his not-inconsiderable body heat. She nestled back, fitting herself more snugly against him and gave a supremely contented sigh.

  Sean heard the sigh and felt the woman he loved relax in his arms. He was tired—God, he was exhausted, truth be known—but he couldn’t sleep, not just yet. In his mind, he was replaying the day down to the last detail.

  Kate right here, right now, was more than he’d dared hope for. They’d been together for more than twenty-four hours and there hadn’t been even the suggestion of any disagreement between them. She’d let him comfort her. They’d made love with even more passion than they’d shared right at the start of their relationship and they’d driven close on five hundred miles in a combination of companionable silence and carefree intimacy.

  It seemed to Sean that today, he’d had the very best part of Kate with him all day, with no trace of the demons that had haunted her when they were first together. He stroked the long hair he’d always adored, drawing it back away from her face and took a deep breath, inhaling the heady mix of scents. The smell of her shampoo, the perfume she’d applied to her pulse points—a fragrance she’d never worn until he’d bought it for her birthday—he loved it all, but most of all he loved the essence of Kate herself.

  He didn’t know if she was asleep yet but she was certainly relaxed and Sean found himself wondering what had happened in her life since they’d parted company. While he hadn’t been as far away from her as she would have believed, he hadn’t been close enough to know any details. Not that he wasn’t interested—he just hadn’t wanted to hear Jonas tell him that she’d found happiness with another man.

  And they still had to talk. There was plenty of time for that. He just had to be prepared for the conversation possibly leading to a place he didn’t want to go.

  Still, he wasn’t going to push her into having that conversation before she was ready. He’d tried to do that before and had ended up losing her. She knew they needed to talk and she’d agreed to come all the way to Scotland with him—matters would take their natural course and Kate would let him know when the time was right.

  He wrapped his arms around her, the gesture both protective and possessive and closed his eyes.

  Now he was ready for sleep.

  Chapter Four

  It was the music that woke him. Specifically The Rolling Stones and Jumpin’ Jack Flash. The next thing he became aware of was Kate’s absence, swiftly followed by the unmistakable aromas of grilling bacon and fresh coffee. Pulling on his jeans, he padded out of the bedroom and down the passage to the kitchen—to be greeted by the stunning sight of Kate, barefoot and bumping and grinding her delicious denim-clad curves around the kitchen in perfect time with The Stones. The table was set for two and there was a full pot of coffee on the machine. A decadent cooked breakfast was almost ready.

  He leaned against the doorway, arms folded across his chest, legs crossed at the ankles, simply loving the sight of his woman so clearly enjoying herself. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Kate so happy. Nor had he had any idea that she had a set of moves like that—first time around, whenever he’d taken her dancing she’d been much more restrained. He’d obviously picked the wrong song for the dance at the wedding reception. Or maybe not, he remembered, feeling her in his arms again.

  At least she wasn’t singing—his woman couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. A combination of Kate, tequila and karaoke was about the most lethal weapon of mass destruction known to man. Sean still shuddered at the memory.

  At that moment, she caught sight of him watching her. She stopped dead in her tracks, her face almost as red as the shirt that clung to her luscious breasts. Eyes wide, teeth worrying her bottom lip, toes literally curling with embarrassment, she just looked at him, waiting for him to say something.

  “Don’t let me stop you,” he grinned, pushing himself away from the doorway. “I was enjoying the floor show.”

  And then she smiled, filling the room with sunshine. It was a smile that released something in his chest, something he hadn’t even realized was held captive there—something he couldn’t put a name to. Her pace slow and deliberate, she came toward him, stopped right in front of him and stood on tiptoe. Without touching him in any other way, she placed a sweet, gentle kiss on his lips. “Good morning, sir. May I show you to your table? Breakfast is almost ready.”

  “Sir, is it?” His lips twitched into a small, teasing smile. “A man could get used to that. Just got to wash my hands—I’ll be right back.”

  With a smile, she spun away from him, heading back to the range—but not before he could land a well-aimed swat on her backside. There was only so much temptation a man could withstand.

  “Hey! Kelly!” She rubbed the place where his hand had connected—if he had to describe her frown, Sean would have said it was playful…and amenable to the possibilities.

  A plate of beautifully cooked food was waiting for him when he came back a couple of minutes later. He sat down, smiling to himself as Kate brought him a glass of juice, her hand gentle on his shoulder as she leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Have you looked out of the window this morning?”

  Mouth watering in anticipation of the feast—and given that her breasts were inches from his mouth, he wasn’t thinking about food—Sean shook his head, glancing appreciatively at the chef as she moved away to take her place at the table.

  “Coming straight here last night was a good call—there’s a foot of snow out there and it’s still coming down. We could be snowed in for days.”

  Not that she sounded too upset about the prospect. Nor was he, Sean had to admit as he made a start on breakfast.

  “My God, woman, I had no idea you could cook!”

  Sean winced. Bad move, Kelly—engage brain then open mouth. He risked a glance at Kate. She looked frighteningly calm. At one time he might have expected her to be upset by a stupid remark like that, but not now—she simply smiled sweetly at him and carried on with her own breakfast, although he did experience a feeling of imminent doom curling round his spine like a snake. That sweet smile held the promise of revenge—he was done for. She wasn’t going to let this slide.

  Holy crap. At that moment, the significance of Kate’s interest in the view from the window and the possibility of being
snowed in coalesced in his consciousness, coming together around the memory of one of her childhood tales, of the snowball fights she used to have with her little sister. It had been the look on her face that had given her away…a fiendish enjoyment of chasing Jilly around the garden, melting snowball in hand, ready for delivery and then running away screaming when Jilly came after her bent on revenge.

  He was doomed—he could feel the snowball going down the back of his neck already and her next words confirmed it.

  “For that, Kelly, when we go outside later…you’re toast.”

  Oh well, at least the condemned man was having a hearty breakfast.

  “Would it help if I offered to do the dishes?” It was worth a try.

  “You doing the dishes is a given.” She sipped her juice. “It doesn’t get you off the hook. I’m not mad, Sean—but I will be getting even. Count on it.”

  At the end of breakfast, Sean cleared the table, very aware of Kate’s eyes on him at all times from where she sat on the sofa with her legs curled up beside her. He was having a hard time not smiling—he liked the feeling of being on the receiving end of Kate’s amused indignation. He liked the thought of her keeping him in line.

  As he washed the dishes, looking out of the window at the snowy landscape beyond, he liked the other thoughts that tumbled through his mind, the ones that followed on—like having a sense of order in his private life as well as his professional life, a sense of purpose. The order was having a home life that consisted of more than just crashing out and sleeping for a few hours when he got home from work—the purpose was caring for a family.

  He especially liked the thought of coming home to Kate every night. Suddenly, the idea of dealing with the suits instead of being out in the field wasn’t quite as appalling as he’d originally thought.

  Leaving the dishes to drain, he strolled over to join her. Her nose was buried in an eBook reader, but he just knew she was keeping one eye on him.

  She glanced up at him. “Shower!”

  “Join me?” he prompted hopefully.