Ruthless Russian, Lost Innocence - Shaw Chantelle - Страница 16

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Utterly mortified, she rolled onto her stomach and dragged the pillow over her head. What had she been thinking? she asked herself furiously. But of course she hadn’t been thinking-not properly-and her actions had been fuelled by too much champagne. That must have been the case-because why else would she have decided that she could handle an affair with Vadim, when she knew he was a playboy and the sort of man she usually avoided like the plague?

She would never be able to face him again, she thought miserably, her face burning with shame when she recalled how she had leaned close to him when they had stood on the doorstep, made it clear that she wanted him to kiss her. Had he found her eagerness off-putting? Maybe he had been playing a game, which he’d won once she had shown her willingness to sleep with him? The idea made her feel sick, and she hauled herself out of bed and staggered into her small kitchen to discover that she had run out of milk and teabags.

Several glasses of water and a shower later she felt marginally better-physically, at least. But the recriminations and self-disgust continued, and, desperate to get out of the house, she pulled on jeans and a tee shirt, flung open the French doors and stepped outside. The garden was a blaze of colour, the emerald lawn bordered by flowers in a variety of brilliant shades, but it was the sight of Vadim-sitting at the garden table further along the terrace-that stopped her in her tracks.

‘What…what are you doing here?’ she croaked, so taken aback by his appearance that she could barely articulate the words. Her shock at seeing him, after she had hoped that they would never meet again, had turned her legs to jelly, and she dropped weakly onto a chair opposite him. It didn’t help that he looked utterly gorgeous, in sun-bleached jeans and a black polo shirt open at the throat to reveal a glimpse of bronzed skin overlaid with dark chest hair. Unlike her, he was clearly not suffering any adverse effects from the champagne they had drunk at the club last night, she noted darkly. He looked completely relaxed as he leisurely perused the Sunday papers, while the delicious aroma of freshly brewed coffee rose from the jug in front of him.

‘Good afternoon,’ he drawled, glancing pointedly at his watch. ‘I take it you slept well.’

‘I don’t understand why-or how-you’re here,’ Ella muttered, wishing he would remove his designer shades so that she could see the expression in his eyes. A high-pitched voice drew her attention down the garden, and her surreal feeling intensified when she watched her cousin’s young daughter, Lily, run across the lawn.

‘Ella! We came to see you, but you were asleep,’ the little girl greeted her. ‘Grandpa said we’d better not wake you up.’

‘Yes, I had a bit of a lie-in this morning,’ Ella said weakly, flushing when she caught Vadim’s amused glance. She hugged Lily. ‘Is Grandpa here?’

‘He’s there.’ Lily pointed, and Ella looked round to see her uncle Rex, walking across the lawn towards them.

‘There you are, Ella.’ Rex Portman studied his niece’s pale face and chuckled. ‘Been partying, have you? Good for you. I’ve always said you spend too much time locked away with your violin. Girls of your age should be out having fun.’ His eyes moved from Ella to Vadim and back again, ‘I take it you’ve introduced yourself? I phoned a couple of times earlier, to let you know Vadim was taking over the tenancy of Kingfisher House today, but you must have been out for the count. I don’t suppose you even heard the delivery van arrive, or the army of staff Vadim hired to carry his things into the house-did you?’

‘I…’ Ella made a strangled sound and decided she had obviously been transported into the world of Alice in Wonderland. She wouldn’t be surprised if an oversized white rabbit suddenly appeared and they all had a tea party.

‘Don’t look so worried,’ her uncle said jovially. ‘I’ve explained to Vadim that you currently live in the caretaker flat, and he’s happy for the situation to continue-at least for the next couple of months.’

‘Yes indeed.’ Vadim’s gravelly Russian accent was deep and melodious compared to Uncle Rex’s chirpy, good-humoured voice. ‘I frequently travel abroad for business, and it suits me that the house will not be completely empty while I’m away.’ His smile oozed charm, but for once Ella was immune to it and clenched her fists beneath the table. ‘Until I decide whether or not to buy Kingfisher House I won’t be employing any live-in staff, so you are welcome to remain in the staff accommodation,’ he said smoothly. He paused, and then added softly, ‘I understand you need to find a flat big enough to house a grand piano?’

‘That piano’s a liability, if you ask me,’ Uncle Rex said before Ella could comment. ‘Monstrous thing it is. You might have to think about selling it, Ella.’

She shook her head fiercely. ‘Mama’s piano is one of the few mementos I have of her. I’ll never sell it.’

Her uncle grimaced. ‘Well, thanks to Vadim’s generosity, you won’t have to for now.’

The words on Ella’s tongue, which had been queuing up to tell Vadim in no uncertain terms what he could do with his offer for her to remain at Kingfisher House, juddered to a halt. Her eyes flew to his face, and she was certain that behind his concealing shades his eyes were glinting with satisfaction that he had her right where he wanted her. Nothing would induce her to sell her mother’s piano, and even if she spent every spare moment searching for a flat it would be weeks before she found somewhere suitable, she acknowledged grimly.

‘Grandpa, I want to see the water,’ Lily piped up. She darted, quick as an eel, across the lawn, and Uncle Rex hurried after her.

‘Hang on a minute. Don’t you go too close to the river, young lady.’

Ella watched them go, and then turned angrily to Vadim. ‘Is this your peculiar idea of a joke?’ She snatched a breath and rushed on, without giving him a chance to reply. ‘I can’t believe you had the gall to engineer this.’

Dark brows rose quizzically. ‘Engineer what, specifically?’

‘You taking over the tenancy of Kingfisher House,’ she said fiercely. ‘Don’t tell me it wasn’t planned. I suppose you decided to rent the house after you found out that I live here.’

‘Actually, there was no Machiavellian plot,’ he said mildly. ‘I’ve known Rex Portman for some time, and my company has bought several properties with development potential through his estate agency. When he heard I was looking for a base in the UK he showed me around Kingfisher House, and I immediately decided to rent it for six months.’ Okay, that was stretching the truth, Vadim conceded silently, but he saw no reason to admit to Ella that he had originally decided to move into a house in Belgravia, but had changed his mind the night he had driven her home after the concert at Amesbury House.

Ella blushed as she recalled how he had rejected her the previous night. Of course he had not plotted to share the house with her, she told herself impatiently. But during their dinner date she had been so sure that he desired her, and when they had danced together at Annabel’s she had felt the hard proof of his arousal nudge insistently against her pelvis. Had she read the signs wrongly? Or had Vadim for some reason had a change of heart on the drive back to Kingfisher House and decided that he no longer wanted to explore the sexual chemistry between them? His face was shuttered, giving no clue to his thoughts. He was an enigma, and once again she had the feeling that there were secrets in his past she knew nothing about.

He finally took off his sunglasses, and the amused gleam in his brilliant blue eyes fuelled her temper. ‘You must see the situation is impossible,’ she said bitterly. ‘I can’t live here with you.’

Vadim leaned back in his chair and studied her broodingly. ‘We won’t technically be living together,’ he murmured laconically.

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