Fear Of Love

She hurriedly wiped the tears away from her cheeks as someone knocked on the door. ‘Come in,’ she said huskily.

Dominic entered the room. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked softly.

Perhaps if he hadn’t been so gentle with her she would have been all right, but the sympathetic look in his eyes was her undoing. ‘Oh, Dominic,’ she cried, ‘I feel—I feel so degraded!’

He sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms to cradle her head on his shoulder. ‘Hey, come on. What’s happened to the little firebrand I’m used to?’

Alexandra gulped down the tears. ‘She seems to have disappeared.’

‘For the moment,’ he teased.

She shook in his arms. ‘It was all so horrible! If you hadn’t come along he would—he would have—–’

‘He just got carried away with the moment, Alex,’ he said gently. ‘I spoke to him after you left, I drove him home, actually. He couldn’t help himself—you have to expect that when you put temptation in his way.’

‘But I—I didn’t,’ she denied indignantly. ‘At least, not intentionally.’

Dominic chuckled. ‘I’ve got news for you. You don’t need to do it intentionally.’

She pushed away from him, a new panic entering her eyes. ‘Please, I—–’

‘Calm down, Alexandra,’ he ordered sternly. ‘I’m the last person you should fear those sort of attentions from. We can’t stand each other, remember?’

She gave a shaky smile. ‘I’m sorry, my nerves are all shot to pieces. I just didn’t expect that sort of behaviour from Roger. I thought he loved me.’

Dominic stood up. ‘You really are an innocent, Alex. It’s because he believes himself to be in love with you that things got out of hand. At his age you don’t have a lot of control, when you get old and ancient like me it takes a little more than a beautiful face and a youthful body to turn you on. And he’s very sorry it happened, he did nothing but apologise all the way back to his home. He’s suffering, Alex, if that makes you feel any better.’

‘It doesn’t.’

‘I realise he’s frightened you,’ Dominic said gravely. ‘And I realise that what I witnessed tonight had never happened before. You were really upset about it.’

‘It was awful!’ She couldn’t meet his eyes.

‘Oh, surely not awful, Alex? After all, if the two of you were married, as you’d wanted to be, you would be on a much more intimate footing.’

‘Yes, I know, but it—it wouldn’t be the same!’

‘Of course it would,’ he contradicted. ‘Exactly the same. Do you love Roger?’

‘You know I do,’ she said resentfully.

‘And you’ve never been tempted to go to bed with him?’

She blushed scarlet. ‘Never.’

‘Then you don’t love him,’ he stated calmly, reaching for the doorhandle.

‘How can you say that?’ She stood up. ‘How can you possibly know how I feel about him? You couldn’t tell that on such short acquaintance.’

Dominic opened the door. ‘I wouldn’t even need to see him to tell you how you feel about him, the fact that you don’t want to sleep with him is enough.’

‘I didn’t say—–’

‘You said you’ve never been tempted to, which amounts to the same thing. It’s almost time for dinner, I’ll see you later.’ He stopped his exit, reaching in his trousers pocket. ‘You might as well have your key to the house—after what you’ve just told me I don’t think I have any reason to suspect you of meeting Young there.’

‘You—–’ she began.

‘I’ll see you at dinner, Alex.’

‘I don’t think I want any.’

Dominic shrugged. ‘Please yourself.’

Her breakfast was doubly welcome the next morning after she had stubbornly refused to go down for dinner the evening before. But at least Dominic wasn’t there to witness the enormous meal she ate—that would have been too humiliating.

Gail already looked rested when she visited her that afternoon, a healthy blush to her cheeks. Alexandra put the flowers she had bought her sister on the locker beside the bed, and bent to kiss her cheek. ‘You look wonderful.’

Gail blushed. ‘Possibly because Trevor has just left.’

Alexandra laughed. ‘I see. Say no more. Well, I want you to know that everything is all right back at the house. I went over there yesterday.’

Gail sighed her relief. ‘I suddenly thought of the mess I’d left everything in just as I was falling asleep last night. Of course when I told Trevor he said not to worry about it. Typical male! He doesn’t seem to realise that you can’t just suddenly up and leave a house.’

‘Well, now you don’t have to worry about it, it’s all been taken care of.’

‘How are you settling down, living with Dominic?’ Gail looked at her interestedly.

Alexandra flushed with feeling. ‘Don’t put it like that, Gail,’ she said abruptly. ‘I’m only a guest in his house, a guest he would rather not see too much of.’

‘That wasn’t what he said this morning.’

‘This morning?’ she looked sharply at her sister. ‘He’s already been to see you?’

‘Mm, he came in about eleven. He brought the roses. Didn’t he tell you he’d been here?’

Alexandra avoided her eyes. ‘I—I haven’t seen him today.’

Gail raised her eyebrows. ‘You didn’t have lunch together?’

‘Nor breakfast either. Dominic’s very busy,’ she added hastily. ‘He has his work to do. He has to go up to London Wednesday and Thursday.’

‘Oh yes. He stays overnight, doesn’t he?’

So he could be with his mistress for the night! ‘Yes. They’re lovely flowers that he brought you.’ Alexandra changed the subject.

‘They come from the garden at his house. It’s a lovely house, isn’t it?’

‘Very nice. I could quite get used to being waited on,’ she teased.