Free Mistress at a Price by Sara Craven Page A

alone, a silent statue amongst the post-wedding clutter, came into her mind. And for some reason that odd expression on her father ’ s face as he watched her mother catch Belinda ’ s bouquet. Even Belinda, putting a brave face on the humiliation she ’ d suffered on what was supposed to be her great day.

    ‘ Cat? ’ Liam was sitting up, his brows drawn together in a frown. ‘ Cat — what is it? You look as if you ’ ve seen a ghost. ’

    ‘ Do I? ’ She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. ‘ Liam — there ’ s something I have to say. ’

    His frown deepened. ‘ My sweet, if you ’ re about to tell me that you ’ re married after all, then you ’ ve chosen a seriously bad moment. ’

    ‘ No, ’ she said. ‘ No, of course I ’ m not married. I told you yesterday that doesn ’ t feature in my plans — now or ever. ’

    ‘ Yes, ’ he said. ‘ We both talked a lot of nonsense yesterday. But that was then. Last night changed everything. It had to. You must know that too. ’

    ‘ Perhaps, ’ she said. ‘ But not in the way you think. ’ She paused. ‘ What are your plans for the rest of the day — as a matter of interest? ’

    ‘ Nothing very extraordinary. ’ The grey-green eyes were suddenly searching. ‘ We both have our own cars, so I thought on the way back to London we could meet up in Richmond. There ’ s a good place to eat by the river. ’

    ‘ And afterwards? ’

    Liam shrugged. ‘ We could go for a walk in the park. Talk to each other. Start getting properly acquainted. Unless, of course, you have a better suggestion? ’ he added levelly.

    ‘ Maybe not better. ’ She shrugged. ‘ Just — different. ’

    There was a silence, then Liam swung himself off the bed. ‘ You got dressed to have this conversation, ’ he said quietly. ‘ I ’ m starting to think I should do the same. ’

    He walked over to the chair where his discarded clothes were piled and began to pull them on. It didn ’ t take long. He faced her in faded khaki pants, which closely hugged his lean hips and long legs, and a black V-necked sweater in thin wool, his bare feet thrust into loafers.

    He said, unsmilingly, ‘ So — what ’ s on your mind? ’

    Her whole body clenched in yearning as she looked at him. She swallowed.

    ‘ I need you to know that everything that ’ s happened between us has been — wonderful, ’ she began. ‘ Last night was unbelievable — the most exciting of my entire life. ’

    Liam leaned a shoulder against the wall. ‘ Thank you, ’ he said. His eyes were guarded — watchful. ‘ I think. For what it ’ s worth, I found it totally amazing too. And unforgettable. ’ He paused. ‘ But if you ’ re now about to tell me that this — brief encounter of ours is all there is to it, ’ he went on grimly, ‘ that you ’ ve decided for some reason to lock me out of Paradise, then I have to warn you, lady, that you ’ ve got a fight on your hands. ’

    ‘ No, ’ she said. ‘ That ’ s not what I mean at all. More than anything I want to go on seeing you. ’

    ‘ I ’ d like to feel encouraged by that, ’ he said slowly. ‘ But somehow I can ’ t. I wonder why? ’

    Cat decided to ignore that. She said, ‘ Do you want to know why I found our time together so exciting? ’

    ‘ I thought it might be because we clearly wanted each other so desperately, ’ he said. He shrugged a shoulder. ‘ But what do I know? ’

    ‘ And because it was so unexpected, ’ she said eagerly. ‘ So — overwhelming. We met — we made love. ’

    ‘ I don ’ t recall it being quite that simple, ’ Liam said drily. ‘ But go on. ’

    ‘ One of the things that made it special was that we knew so little about each other. We weren ’ t bogged down in a lot of extraneous detail. We both knew what we wanted, and we went for it. It added an extra dimension — a kind of danger. Because we were free. ’ She paused, giving his expressionless face an