No Mistaking Love

CHAPTER NINE

'WELL,' said Luke, leaning back in his chair after he had finished dictating some letters the next morning, `how did you get on with Xavier 1ast night?’

'We had a very nice evening, thank you.' Kate ignored the sarcastic edge to his voice as she picked up her notebook and got to her feet. She had no intention of telling Luke that she had spent the whole time thinking about him.

`Very nice? Is that all you can say?' Lu sneered. `It must have been dull!'

`It wasn't dull. It was… very pleasant.'

`Pleasant!' Luke gave a shout of laughter `That's even worse.' He leant over the desk towards her. `If I'd taken you out on Valentine’s Day I'd have made sure that you had an evening that was wild, exciting, unforgettable… anything other than pleasant!'

Kate clutched her notebook defensively in fro of her and kept her composure with an effort. I might not have enjoyed that so much.'

`Why not? Too daring for you? I can't belie that after the way you were carrying on in Paris!’

The mockery in his voice hurt her. So he had had a wild evening with Helen, had he? He obviously thought she was no fun compared to her.

`Surely it's who you're with on Valentine's Day that matters more than what you do?' she said coldly. `You don't have to paint the town red to have an unforgettable evening if you're with the right person.'

Luke's face closed. `How right you are!' he said, and spun round in his chair, effectively dismissing her.

He was withdrawn for the rest of the day. Kate knew that she should have been pleased at having been able to hide her feelings so successfully, but she was restless and miserable, and eagerly accepted Serena's invitation to go and see the latest release at the cinema that evening. The film had been slated in the reviews: mindless entertainment was just what she needed.

It didn't take Serena long to worm the truth out of her. In spite of all Kate's attempts to appear bright and cheerful, her friend brushed aside assurances that she was fine and demanded to know what the matter was. In the end, Kate gave in.

`It's Luke,' she admitted as they queued to buy their tickets.

`I knew it!' Serena crowed. `You've fallen for him, haven't you?'

Kate nodded, shamefaced.

`It was inevitable,' Serena reassured her. `I guessed as soon as you started going on about how difficult he was; it was a dead giveaway. I don't blame you. He's terribly attractive, even if he is as awful as you always say he is.'

`He's not awful!' Kate sprang instinctively to Luke's defence, and then subsided. `Well, not all the time, anyway.'

Serena glanced at her mischievously. `I thought you said he was rude and arrogant and horrible and thoroughly unpleasant?' she said in an innocent voice, recalling all Kate's phone conversations over the past weeks. `Not to mention overbearing and unreasonable!'

`He is, but…' Kate trailed off, unable to explain, and Serena rolled her eyes.

`Oh, Kate, you have got it bad!'

`Yes,' Kate said a little wearily. `I have.'

Serena touched her arm with quick sympathy. `What does he feel about you?'

'I don't know.' Kate thrust her hands in her pockets and stared glumly down at the pavement. `Sometimes I think he finds me quite attractive, but the next moment he's being unpleasant again. He wouldn't go out with Helen and Lynette if he was interested in me, would he?'

'He might if he was trying not to be,' Serena said not very clearly. `He's awfully proprietorial as far as you're concerned, isn't he? Look at the fuss he made about your going out with Xavier! It sounds to me as if he was jealous.'

`You wouldn't have thought so if you'd seen him this morning. He was impossible!' Kate remembered morosely. `I made the mistake of telling him I'd had a pleasant evening, and he sneered all day, comparing it to the wild, exciting time he'd had with Helen.'

`In that case, he's definitely jealous!' Serena said wisely. `Why don't you tell him how you feel?'

'No!' Kate recoiled instinctively. `I couldn't possibly.'

`Why not?'

'He doesn't want to get involved with anyone.

He's told me as much. He'd hate a clinging, emotional woman.'

`You wouldn't be clinging, though,' Serena pointed out. `You're not the type.'

`No, but I couldn't be detached either.' Kate's eyes were clear as she turned to look at her friend. `I love him, Serena. I've never felt like this about anybody before. If it were just a crush I might be able to laugh it off. We might even be able to have a brief affair. That's all he'd be interested in, but that kind of casual physical relationship wouldn't be enough for me.'

She paused. The queue was moving closer to the doors and her eyes fell on a still advertising the film. The hero and heroine were exchanging a passionate embrace. It reminded her of the time Luke had kissed her on the street corner. `I love all of him,' she went on slowly. `I love the difficult, annoying things about him as much as the way he looks, or the way he makes me feel. If I can't have all of him I'd rather keep my feelings to myself and carry on as his secretary. That way, neither of us is embarrassed.'

Easy to say, but as the days passed Kate found it more and more difficult to hide her feelings for Luke beneath her aura of cool efficiency She watched him with a heightened awareness, and flinched whenever he brushed against her inadvertently, reaching for a file or leaning next to her to look at the diary.

She was terrified that he had guessed. The astringent quality in their relationship that h2 stimulated as well as infuriated her had gradual evaporated. Instead of their snippy exchange there were long, awkward silences intersperse with sticky lumps of conversation. They only talked about business and avoided looking at each other.

Kate felt strangely lonely. Luke was remote, detached, and she missed arguing with him more than she would have believed. She even missed his being rude.

Was he trying to warn her off?

She was dreading their return to Paris. The contract was due to be signed the following Tuesday, early in the morning, and Luke had suggested that they fly out the night before to make sure they were there in time. He had even asked if that was agreeable to her! Kate agreed in a colourless tone. Paris held too many memories. She didn't want to go there with this stranger.

The week seemed endless; Kate couldn't decide whether she longed for the weekend, or dreaded it for bringing the Paris trip nearer. She was glad that Solange was coming out of school for the weekend, and planned a non-stop whirl of activities, as much to distract herself as amuse her niece. By the time she had taken Solange back to school on Sunday evening, she was exhausted, but had recovered her composure.

It seemed unbearably intimate to be travelling to the airport together after a largely silent day at the office. Kate stared out of the window of the limousine as it crawled through the rush-hour traffic on the M4 heading towards Heathrow.

If things didn't get any better she would have to start looking for another job. Her heart cracked at the thought of leaving Luke, but he seemed to have put her at a deliberate distance, as if trying to discourage her from getting involved. Kate was humiliated by the idea that her emotions were that transparent. She had been trying so hard to appear unaffected by his sudden change of attitude.

It was after seven by the time they reached the hotel.

`I suppose you've arranged to see Xavier tonight?' Luke said in a distant voice as he signed the register.

`Xavier?' Kate repeated blankly. She had been watching his broad wrist where it emerged from an immaculately white cuff and for a moment couldn't remember quite who Xavier was. `No.'

Luke glanced at her. Was it her imagination, or did his expression lighten slightly?

`We'd better go and have something to eat together, then,' he said, but in such a colourless voice that she decided that she must have been mistaken.

`All right,' she said, equally wooden.

`Shall we meet down here in half an hour?'

'Fine.'

This is awful, she thought as she washed her face and combed her hair drearily. Everything was so different to the last time they had been here. Even when they had been arguing she had felt excited, alive.

Her eye fell on the black dress in her open suitcase. She had been so angry with Luke when she had put it on last time! There had been little point in bringing it, but somehow she had been reluctant to leave it behind.

Now she picked it up thoughtfully. It was a wonderful dress, the kind of dress that made you feel a million dollars. On an impulse, Kate stripped off her sensible travelling clothes and slipped it on. If ever she had needed some extra confidence it was now!

She kept her make-up understated, but at the last minute pinned the brooch Luke had given her across the revealing slit. She didn't feel as exhilarated as the last time she had worn this dress, but she certainly felt a lot better!

With renewed confidence in her ability to keep her true feelings hidden from Luke and return to the relationship they had had before her emotions had started to behave in such a stupid way, Kate made her way down to the foyer.

Luke was waiting for her. In his grey suit, he looked taciturn and remote. Hesitating outside the lift, Kate felt herself stung by unfamiliar protectiveness as she caught sight of his dark head. If only he weren't so determined not to depend on anyone else!

As if aware of her gaze upon him, Luke turned. Something blazed in his eyes as he saw that she was wearing the black dress, but the shuttered look dropped back into place almost immediately

Kate's chin went up at that unmistakable sign of uninterest, and she walked unhurriedly towards him.

`I haven't booked anywhere,' Luke said abruptly as she came up to him. `I thought we could just walk out and see what we find. I could do with stretching my legs anyway.'

Kate agreed in a neutral voice, and made sure there was a good two feet between them as they walked down the hotel steps and on to the street. Being too close to him would be too much of a temptation.

Lights flashed and blurred as they walked p~ neon advertisements and garish cafe signs and impatient cars held up at traffic lights. Horns tooted and pedestrians hurried past; she and Luke seemed to be the only people in Paris not anxious to get to their destination, Kate thought.

They looked at everything except each other until, as they came up to the Place de l'Opéra, Luke suddenly stopped at a crossing, pulling Kate back as she made to step off the kerb.

`Kate, why are you being like this?' he demanded.

Kate looked down at his hand on her sleeve and then up into his face.

`Like what?'

As if aware that he was still holding her, Luke dropped his hands and thrust them into his pockets. `You've been so distant lately,' he grumbled.

`I've been distant?' Kate stared at him in astonishment. `You're the one who's been distant!' `No, I haven't!'

'You made it very clear that you were only concerned with work,' she said. `You discourage every attempt at conversation. Every time I say good morning I feel as if I'm invading your privacy!'

`But that's exactly what I thought about you!' Luke protested. `After you went out with Xavier you seemed to retreat behind a sort of chilly façade. It was like working with an ice-cube!' He looked down at his shoes. `I know we used to fight, but after the last time we were here I thought we'd become friends.'

They were blocking the crossing. The crowds pushed past them with fulminating glances and the occasional muttered exclamation, but Luke and Kate were oblivious.

`We were friends,' Kate said.

`Then why aren't we any more? Why did you clam up like that?'

'I thought that was what you wanted. I thought you wanted to keep things strictly business.'

`A businesslike relationship doesn't preclude friendship, does it?' Luke said crossly.

No, but it made it very difficult to be in love at the same time. `No,' Kate said.

`So you mean all this time I thought you were ignoring me you thought I was ignoring you?'

'Well… yes.'

A dangerous smile lurked about his mouth. `That wasn't very sensible of you, Kate!'

`Whereas you behaved impeccably, I suppose?' Kate retorted, and he laughed, a sudden, exuberant laugh of relief. Despite herself, Kate felt her own mouth quiver in response.

`I've missed the way you answer back when you're cross,' Luke said, holding out his hand. `Come on, let's shake on a friendly, businesslike relationship with no more misunderstandings,

shall we?'

It was what she had wanted, wasn't it? Kate felt his hand close round hers and tried to ignore the jolting response of her heart to his touch, and the small, insistent voice that said that friendly and businesslike would never be enough.

`Now that that's sorted out, where were we?' Luke asked cheerfully as they crossed the road at last. The grim look he had worn for so long now had vanished and he looked buoyant, even happy.

Kate struggled to match his mood. `Looking for somewhere to eat.'

`Well, what about here?' They peered at the menu displayed outside a small restaurant. `We don't need anything grand.'

Inside the restaurant was dark and noisy. It seemed to be full of people talking and laughing and waving their hands about. Kate felt horribly overdressed in her sophisticated black dress, but nobody seemed to notice.

She and Luke were squeezed into a corner, side by side on a plastic banquette. Their thighs kept touching, their arms brushing against each other. Luke made no effort to put some space, however small, between them.

Kate's appetite had deserted her. She picked at the trout she had ordered with a creamy herb sauce, and sipped her wine nervously. A candle flickered on the table and she kept her eyes fixed on it, hoping that Luke wouldn't see the desire written on her face.

It was all very well to talk about a friendly relationship, but when Luke's body was pressed so close to hers it was impossible to think about anything but how muscular his thigh felt, how strong his arm. She could see his hands out of the corner of her eye as he lifted his glass or reached for the bread, and wondered how they would feel against her bare skin.

She talked feverishly, unnerved by his eyes or her face, the pressure of his leg against hers, and when at last they stood up to go her knees fell weak. Luke helped her out from behind the table and kept his hand under her arm as they went outside. Kate wanted to pull herself away, but was afraid she would fall.

Luke fell silent as they walked. She had no idea where they were going, but talked on until her tongue felt thick and unwieldy and she floundered to a halt. Instead she looked up at the sky a narrow strip between the tall Parisian buildings. The moon was almost full, and fuzzy through the reflected city lights.

Kate was ensnared in lassoes of desire, shimmering over her head, shivering down her skin and tightening, tightening, until all she could think about was Luke's mouth, Luke's hands the feel of his hard body.

Eventually they found themselves back at the hotel. They took the lift to the third floor without touching, without speaking, and walked down the thickly carpeted corridor that muffled ever their footsteps. Kate was sure that Luke must hear her heart pounding in the enveloping quiet.

Her hand shook slightly as she unlocked her door and turned to say goodnight.

Luke didn't reply. He just looked at her and then reached out to draw her slowly towards him

`I don't think this is a very good idea,' Kate managed to whisper, even though she didn't seem to be able to drag her eyes away from his.

`Why not?'

'We… we agreed to keep things strictly business.'

A half-smile lifted the corner of his mouth. `To hell with business!' he said, and jerked her into his arms.

His kiss was hard and passionate, and Kate was powerless to resist. It was what she had been thinking about all evening, his lips demanding, irresistible, evoking a deep, trembling fire that, once lit, burned quickly out of control.

Kate's arms crept up his arms, around his neck, as her lips sought his in reply. There was a breathless hunger between them, their kisses almost angry as they were swept along on a tide of desire that had been suppressed too long and now threatened to engulf them.

Luke was breathing heavily as he lifted his head and half pushed, half pulled Kate into the room. She collapsed weakly back against the door as he closed it and leant his hands on either side of her.

`I've wanted to kiss you for weeks,' he said, and the husky note in his voice seemed to vibrate through her. `Every time you came into my office and sat down primly with your notebook and looked at me with that cool look you have I'd think about kissing you.' His lips nibbled tantalisingly at the corner of her mouth until Kate turned her head to meet them with her own. `I'd think about kissing you like this,' he murmured against her parted lips, and pressed her back against the door.

His hands cupped her face, his fingers tangling in her hair as their kisses deepened hungrily.

For Kate-sensible, practical, capable Kate, the past was forgotten and the future abandoned. Nothing mattered but the here and now. She couldn't have stopped even if she had wanted to. Her blood was pounding in wild surges of excitement, her body tingling with the instinctive thrill of response.

Her arms slid beneath his jacket, and she spread her hands over the smooth cotton of his shirt. His back was broad and solid and she could feel his muscles ripple at her touch.

`Did you ever think about kissing me too?' Luke was demanding, mumbling provocative kisses along her jaw.

Kate quivered as he reached her ear, the very spot she had fantasised about as she had stood in front of the fromagerie. `No,' she gasped, tipping her head back with luxuriant pleasure.

`You're lying.' She could feel him smile against her throat. `Tell me you're lying. Tell me you wanted me to kiss you.' His hands tightened as he raised his head to look down into her eyes.

`I'm lying. Of course I'm lying,' Kate said with a slow smile as he bent to kiss her again. Her hands were busy pulling out his shirt so that she could slide her hands up and down his skin, warm and smooth and unyielding beneath her fingers.

`Kate!' Luke's breath was ragged as he pulled away slightly. His gaze dropped to the brooch, and he unfastened it with unsteady hands, laying it carefully to one side before turning back and pressing his lips to the shadowy cleft revealed between her breasts.

Arching her head back, Kate felt as if he were plucking at taut strings inside her that stretched and twanged with desire at his very touch. As his lips travelled slowly along her neckline, lingering on the sensitive hollows of her clavicle and the wild pulse in her throat, she pushed the jacket impatiently off his shoulders and fumbled with his tie and the buttons of his shirt.

Her hands were at his belt before he turned her round and undid her zip with agonising slowness, burning kisses down her spine as he went until her skin quivered uncontrollably. There was a rustle as the dress slipped off her shoulders and slithered to the floor.

Kate stepped out of it as if in a dream. The curtains had not yet been drawn and, though the room was in darkness, the moonlight through the window caught her eyes, gleaming with desire.

Her head dropped back as Luke pressed his face into the fragrance of her neck, and her hair brushed softly against him. He turned her back to face him and slid off her underwear to the accompaniment of long, hot kisses.

By the time Luke had discarded his own clothes and pulled her down on to the bed, Kate was on fire. It was heaven to be able to touch him like this, to forget everything in intoxicating abandon, knowing that there could be no stopping now Their bodies tangled together with increasing urgency and she gasped his name as he ran his hands in insistent exploration over her skin murmuring endearments against her warmth. His mouth followed the path scorched by his fingers, discovering anew the secret places that reduced Kate to arching, shuddering delight.

Rolling on top of him, she held his face between her hands and smiled down at him before lowering her head very slowly to explore his lips with her own. She lay over him, exulting at the feel of his hardness, of the sensuous thrill of skin against skin.

Luke's arms came up to tighten around hi but she slid downwards, teasing soft, tantalising kisses as she went, until with a groan he rolled her beneath him once more and thrust deep inside her, deeper and deeper until they both cried out in an explosion of release, a shattering of exquisite torment that left them trembling in each other's arms.

Afterwards he held her close. There was no sign of the brusque, arrogant Luke in the man whose warm hands gentled lovingly over her skin.

`Do you still think it wasn't a good idea?' he murmured, kissing the lobe of her ear.

Kate's eyes were closed, but a smile curved her mouth. `Perhaps it wasn't very sensible.'

`Who wants to be sensible?’

'You did.'

`I've changed my mind. I changed my mind as soon as Xavier took one look at you and saw the same warm, exciting woman as I did under that cool, sensible mask of yours. I could cheerfully have throttled him that night at the restaurant when you were flirting with him. And then, when he took you out and you seemed so different afterwards, I was nearly insane with jealousy.' Luke smoothed the hair away from Kate's flushed face. `I always thought of you as mine, even when I was pretending you were just another secretary.'

`But I am just a secretary,' she teased, but let her hand drift over his stomach in a gesture that was far from secretarial.

Luke shook his head. `You're different, Kate. You're the only completely honest woman I've ever met. How could I resist those clear eyes?' He kissed her closed lids and, although Kate smiled, her eyes when she opened them were troubled.

She hadn't been completely honest with him. Her hands slid around his back to hold him close while she hesitated. She knew that she ought to remind him about their brief encounter in the past, but he was so warm, so close. She didn't want anything to spoil this moment.

No, she really should tell him… `Luke,' she said hesitatingly.

`What is it?' Luke asked, nuzzling kisses against her throat. His eyes when he lifted his head to look down into her face were alight with a warmth that she had never seen there before, and, despite herself, Kate felt her resolution crumble. She didn't think she could bear to see that expression fade, not here, not now. She would tell him later.

`Oh… nothing.'

Luke's smile almost took her breath away. Who would have thought that the cold, hard man who had kissed her all those years ago would have been capable of such tenderness? `In that case, kiss me again!'

`Please?' she reminded him with mock severity.

`Darling Kate, would you mind terribly kissing me again, please?'

Kate sighed as she pulled him closer. `If you insist,' she murmured against his mouth, and pushed aside her doubts as she surrendered herself to all-eclipsing joy of the night.