Michael shook his head. “Thank you, but your mother and I need to head back to Melbourne shortly.”
Just then, Nicole babbled something and everyone’s head swiveled toward the playpen, where her daughter played happily with her toys. She looked so cute that Cassandra’s heart surged with love.
“Oh, look at that little poppet,” Laura said, putting her cup down on the coffee table. “I have to give her a cuddle. I—” The older woman went to get to her feet, turned pale, then sat back down.
“Mum?” Dominic got to his feet.
Michael leaned closer to his wife. “Honey, you’ve lost all color.”
Laura put out a hand, taking a moment to speak. “I’m fine. I just felt faint all of a sudden.”
“Are you sure?” Michael asked, frowning.
She swallowed. “Don’t fuss, darling. I’m okay.”
“You’ve got some color back now,” Dominic said, studying her with concern. “Things have been too much for you, Mum. I insist that you both stay here overnight before heading back to Melbourne.”
“Oh, but—”
“No buts. You’ve just driven over two hours to get here. You don’t need to turn right around and go straight back.”
“Dominic’s right,” Michael said. “I think it may be too much for you. And for me, too, seeing we didn’t bring our chauffeur,” he added for good measure. “Besides, we did bring an overnight bag in case we decided to stay somewhere.”
Laura bit her lip. “But we don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be intruding,” Cassandra heard herself say, knowing she honestly couldn’t send her mother-in-law away when the woman wasn’t feeling well. “There’s more than enough bedrooms.”
Tears welled in Laura’s eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Michael looked relieved, his eyes softening a little as he looked at Cassandra. “Yes, thank you.”
Cassandra’s heart wobbled as she inclined her head. Then she pushed aside sentimentality as she realized her in-laws hadn’t expected her and Dominic to have shared a bed last night. She’d be embarrassed if they found out otherwise right now.
“I’ll just go upstairs and find a suitable room for you both,” she said, not looking at Dominic as she left them to it and hurried up the stairs.
First, she needed to make sure she hadn’t left any of her clothes lying around his room. Of course, Laura and Michael must accept eventually that she and Dominic would share a bed. Just not now. Heck, maybe Dominic wouldn’t want her to share his bed again, anyway. She’d been assuming he would. Both thoughts caught at her breath.
The larger bedroom farthest away would be perfect for the older couple. And the only thing in Dominic’s room to show she’d been there was the imprint of two heads on the pillows. She hurriedly tidied the bedclothes, trying not to think about being in Dominic’s arms.
She was quietly closing his door, when she turned around and he was there behind her in the hallway. She jumped.
“Looking for something?” he said silkily.
Her heart started to race. “Er…no. I was just making sure—”
“That there was no incriminating evidence?”
She could feel a blush rising up her neck. “If you like.”
The tension in the air shot up like a thermometer. “Oh, yeah, I like,” he murmured, moving an inch closer. “Dominic, I—”
A noise downstairs broke the moment, and that was just as well. Dominic was such a powerful lover that she wanted to be in his arms again. She was melting so fast where he was concerned. She needed to step back and put some sort of distance between them. He was getting too close and she was in real danger of letting him become more than she should want.
Thankfully he had a remote look about him now. “I just came to say thank you for encouraging my parents to stay.”
“It was the right thing to do.”
“You could have sent them to a motel.”
“No.” It hadn’t occurred to her, and she wouldn’t have done that even if it had.
“You were nicer to them than they deserved.”
The comment surprised her. “They’re Nicole’s grandparents. I have to be.”
“No. You don’t.”
Her brows drew together. “Whose side are you on, Dominic?”
There was a longish pause.
“No one’s,” he said curtly, then turned and walked away.
The housekeeper came later that morning to give the place a tidy up, bringing a selection of fresh food and supplies. By this time, Laura felt better and she suggested they go into town to buy a couple of things she hadn’t brought with her for an overnight stay.
So they drove the short distance into Lorne and took a stroll around the town. Then they had lunch in one of the finer restaurants, but not before Cassandra took the opportunity to buy a one-piece swimsuit, aware she’d be too embarrassed to wear her skimpy bikini in front of his parents.
Once they were back home, Laura insisted on carrying her granddaughter up the stairs when Cassandra went to put Nicole down for her afternoon nap. She couldn’t help but notice the satisfied look in her mother-in-law’s eyes when it was obvious she was sharing a room with Nicole, not Dominic.
But thankfully Laura said nothing about it, and soon they’d changed into their swimsuits and joined the men poolside. It should have been relaxing in the summer sun. But that wasn’t remotely close to how she was feeling, Cassandra decided, watching Dominic come up the steps of the pool, water dripping from him. She tried not to look, but there was something sexy about a man all wet and awash. She’d learned that last night in the shower. She went all goose-bumpy at the thought.
And then she looked into Dominic’s eyes before he slipped his sunglasses back on, and she knew there was something just as sexy about the way a man looked at a woman he found attractive. Her pulse raced as his gaze briefly slicked down over her sea-green one-piece as she lay on the lounger. Amazingly, her swimsuit had looked rather demure inside the boutique, but in front of Dominic the outfit shouted “seduce me.” She suspected he would have, too, if his parents hadn’t been there.
The rest of the afternoon dragged on, though there were moments when everyone was surprisingly pleasant. Nicole was the common thread between them all, and once the little girl woke up, her grandparents were delighted to spend time fussing over her.
Eventually, Laura tired and took a nap, while Dominic and Michael played chess and kept an eye on Nicole so that Cassandra could prepare the dinner. But as the sun sank in the distance, she could feel the tension escalating inside Dominic. It was spine-tingling to know he wanted her, but she had to keep her own feelings of desire under control. She knew he wouldn’t make love to her tonight with his parents in the house, but what about tomorrow after they left? Would he still want her then? Would she want him? God help her, but the answer was yes!
Later, they watched a movie, then Laura and Michael retired for the night. Cassandra decided she couldn’t stay downstairs with Dominic, so she yawned and said she was going to bed, too.
He got to his feet. “I’ll come check on Nicole with you.”
She blinked. “Oh…okay.”
The air hopped with sensuality as they went up the stairs. She could feel it in every step they took, but he didn’t say a word as they stood over the crib and looked down at the sleeping infant. Then he lifted his head and looked at her, and Cassandra held her breath as his eyes moved over her face. She suspected he was about to kiss her good-night.
He spun away with a jerky movement and walked back to the door. “Good night,” he rasped.
She stood there, swallowing her disappointment, but aware this was for the best. “Good night.” She went to bed.
A restless night followed. She kept imagining Dominic in his bed across the hallway, tossing and turning, thoughts of the previous night in his mind. So it was sweet revenge to see the dark circles under his eyes the next morning when she entered the kitchen with Nicole. At least she wasn’t the only one to feel tired and tense.
Laura and Michael were already there and they both looked rested. They fussed over Nicole, but once things settled down and they’d finished eating, their attitude toward Cassandra took on a slight chill again. It was as if having to go back to Melbourne reminded her in-laws of everything wrong she’d “supposedly” done to Liam. Her heart cramped with the unfairness of it. She couldn’t win. Not with Dominic. Not with her in-laws.
The older couple left midmorning, kissing Dominic and Nicole goodbye, but managing to avoid kissing her, so it was with a mix of relief and despair that she stood watching their car go down the driveway. She doubted she’d be afforded a peck on the cheek by them ever again.
Dominic shifted beside her, and thoughts of her in-laws faded from her mind. She and Dominic were now the only adults here for the rest of the week. Would he make love to her? There was nothing to stop him.
Then Nicole squirmed in her arms.
Nothing…except Nicole.
“I have some work to do in the study,” he muttered, turning to go back inside. He stopped. “Will you and Nicole be okay?”
She was surprised he asked. She nodded and said, “Yes.”
An hour later, Dominic still hadn’t put in an appearance. Cassandra had tidied up the kitchen and played with Nicole, but now it was her daughter’s nap time. She put her down in the crib, then decided to go downstairs and read by the pool. First, though, she changed out of her summery dress into a pair of shorts and a halter top, not quite brave enough to change into her bikini or one-piece suit.
Five minutes later she padded out on the patio and sank down on the lounger. She was aware that Dominic had seen her from the study, where she’d caught a glimpse of him standing at the window, talking on his cell phone. She’d felt the impact of his gaze even at this distance.
She opened her book and pretended to read, not that she was taking in any of the words now. Her heart was pounding and the pages were a blur. Dominic had made her his the other night and his look just now told her he wanted her again. She was weak, but, oh, she wanted him again, too. It had been building since yesterday morning.
Ten minutes later he still hadn’t come outside. Had she imagined that look from the window? she wondered, pushing to her feet and going to the kitchen to see what they could have for lunch.
She was looking in the refrigerator when she heard a noise behind her. Straightening, she turned around. Dominic was standing in the doorway. His eyes were filled with hot desire. He didn’t say a word as he came toward her—and made straight for her lips.
His kiss was white-hot, plundering her mouth like he’d been starving for her forever. It was a mind-numbing experience having a man devour her like this, wanting her this much, his tongue painting her with his taste.
Velvet on velvet.
He pushed her back against the coolness of the refrigerator and began kissing nibbles the length of her collarbone to the curve of her shoulder. She inhaled the faint citrus aftershave he wore. Combined with his own scent, it went straight to her head.