“Does that mean you like your present and will keep her?” He asks in a neutral voice. I nod, unable to speak, my face flaming. Why the hell did he come here and give me the puppy, if he doesn’t have feelings for me? Well, he doesn’t have to have feelings for me, plain old desire will do at the moment as well. Don’t boys always grab a chance when they get one? And I can scarcely make it any more obvious, can I? “But be careful, Daisy’s not yet…” In this instant the little dog leaves a wet stain on my cardigan, “…housetrained, I wanted to say,” Cassius grins. Right, that’s not very sexy, being drenched in dog piss. I quickly hand her over to Cassius.
“Take her for a second, I’m going to get changed.” I grab a black mohair sweater from a chair and rush into the bathroom to wash and dress. I cast a glance into the mirror, my face is flushed and my lips parted. Oh crap, he surely can’t reject this open invitation, can he? My pride has deserted me, the earlier mortification is already gone. I don’t care anymore if it’s a one night stand, I just want him and badly.
When I run back into my living room, he’s gone, the dog is tottering on the floor. My heart is in my mouth, he can’t have just left, can he? The door isn’t closed and I rush into the hallway. “Cassius!” I shout at the top of my voice.
“Coming!” he calls back, and I hear his steps on the stairs. Weak with relief I lean against the wall. Now he’s climbing up the stairs, carrying a large box.
“I thought you’d gone,” I whisper, following him into the flat where he deposits the box on the table.
“Here’s everything Daisy needs, her blanket, food, toys and chalk tablets,” he explains while I peek into the box. I’m very aware of how close to me he’s standing.
“And champagne, baguette, salmon and roast beef. She has style, that dog,” I smile in wonder. Cassius clears his throat awkwardly.
“Natalie told me you left before breakfast, so I thought you might be hungry.” I shake my head, I’ve never been less hungry in my life. I take the blanket out of the box and spread it beside my bed. Daisy immediately pads towards it and curls up with a contented sigh. The dog is taken care of, now what? I turn to Cassius and again I feel the charged atmosphere between us. It can’t be just my imagination, can it? He’s watching me intently, his lips pressed into a hard line. In a second he’ll leave. My anxiety finally overcomes my restraint. With two steps I’m standing in front of him, very close, and wind my arms around his neck.
“Thanks for the other present too, the trip to Madagascar,” I murmur, pulling his head down towards me. I feel the heat of his body, his intoxicating smell, his soft black hair and I kiss him again, this time with more fervour. I’ve nothing to lose anymore. But as his strong hands grab my arms and he holds me away from him, something inside me dies.
“Livia, you don’t owe me anything just because I gave you Daisy,” he murmurs, his voice husky. I stare at him, not understanding what he’s saying. I only know that he doesn’t want me, he’s rejected me twice. I’m such a bloody fool! “You’re in love with Rupert, I don’t want to interfere.” I gasp. What? Rupert? Cassius releases me and turns away, but now I grab his hand.
“No, not anymore,” I whisper urgently. “Maybe I never was. It’s you I… want.” There! Now he can laugh, leave or do anything he wants, I’ve done all I can. He stands very still, gazing down at me, his eyes scorching me. “I don’t care if it doesn’t last,” I add, barely audibly. Here goes the last trace of my pride, and I close my eyes. The next moment I feel his hand on my mouth, his thumb caressing my lips.
“Stop talking,” he murmurs and pulls me into his arms, pressing the whole length of his body against mine. I can feel that he wants me after all, very much so, and I dissolve in his embrace. I tangle my hands in his hair as his mouth sweeps down onto mine, very tenderly, but the next moment a low growl emerges from his throat and his mouth devours mine. My heart is racing as his tongue plays with mine, his lips demanding. He presses his hand against the small of my back, cupping my behind. When he finally lets go, I can barely stand, my breath is shallow, my hormones are all over the place. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and looks at me with such longing that I think I’m going to melt. It’s such a powerful, heady feeling to know that he wants me so much. “You’re so beautiful and I’ve wanted you from the first second I saw you,” he whispers, his hand travelling down my neck to my breasts. “Are you sure you want this?” How can he still doubt it? I reach up again, leaning into him, and kiss his cruel, beautiful mouth again while he caresses my nipples.
“More than anything!” I breathe. The world starts to spin around me when in one swift movement Cassius picks me up and carries me to the bed.
Chapter 31
“Why can’t you just stop interfering?” Cassius asks exasperatedly when he meets Natalie at her request in the Spanish bar. Livia has called Natalie, so Natalie knows everything about this weekend, well, nearly everything, and she in turn called Cassius immediately.
“It’s my duty to watch over her!” Natalie declares self-importantly.
“Well, you can leave it to me now,” he smirks, ignoring her beady gaze. “Why can’t you just be happy for us?” Natalie plays with the olives on her plate.
“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” she grumbles. Cassius’ face darkens.
“What exactly do you mean?” Natalie shrugs, pouting.
“What if you don’t want her anymore? Hopefully she’ll be in our family forever and if you two split up, it’ll be a complete mess.” Cassius relaxes visibly and smiles.
“Don’t even think about it. Livia and I will be together forever as well.” Natalie looks at him, shocked. To hear these words from him is unthinkable. She herself can’t imagine what ‘forever’ means, even though she’s a romantic at heart. He must have got it very bad. “You know, it was Randolph who encouraged me to fight for her,” he suddenly says. Natalie’s mouth drops open in surprise.
“No way! He hasn’t even met her yet!” she exclaims loudly. Randolph never took part in the selection process until the very end. Well, he found Ruth, but that was just a coincidence as she had the car accident on his land.
“I’ve a feeling that Randolph knows more about Livia than any of us suspects,” Cassius replies with a small smile.
But Natalie isn’t listening anymore. She’s watching Ruth enter the bar, looking as glamorous as always in a blue Victoria Beckham dress. “Hello, Ruth! Over here!” She waves at her friend, and Cassius suppresses a sigh.
“Hi, good to see you two!” Ruth smiles at them, giving Cassius a weary gaze and sitting down next to him. “How was the party on Friday?” she looks at Natalie, knowing that Cassius didn’t attend either.
“Thanks for asking,” Natalie replies rather sharply. “You should have joined us.” Ruth waves the accusation away.
“I guess Livia enjoyed the party better without me anyway.” Cassius spears an olive with his fork.