A Reluctant Mistress by Robyn Donald

Author:Robyn Donald [Donald, Robyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: C429, Extratorrents, Kat
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1999-01-16T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

A SHRILL, insistent burr cut through her sleep like a buzz-saw. Drugged, bewildered, Natalia groped for the alarm; it took her a moment or two to realise that the noise was the telephone. Muttering, she staggered out of her bed and into the kitchen, her eyes rapidly accustoming themselves to the dark as she picked up the receiver.

‘Are you all right?’ Clay demanded harshly.

‘Yes.’ The word was thick and clumsy in her mouth. ‘What time is it?’

‘Just after eleven. Have you got any lights on?’

‘No.’ Her brain refused to function. ‘Why?’

‘Don’t turn any on. What’s that noise?’

Another sound was clamouring through the chilly air. ‘It’s the alarm in the bedroom,’ she told him. ‘I have to check the hydroponics now.’

‘Don’t go outside,’ Clay commanded urgently. ‘Have you heard anything—any sounds outside?’

Shivering, she stared at the curtains. ‘No.’

‘I’ll be down as soon as I can. Don’t set foot outside the house and don’t respond to anything until you hear me. I’ll knock, then call you “Natalia, darling”. Meantime, if anyone tries to get in—or if you hear anything unusual—ring me immediately.’ He gave her the number, made her repeat it, then hung up.

By then adrenaline had pumped through her body, fully alerting it to some sort of emergency. Natalia pressed a hand to her hammering heart before racing back into her bedroom. Whatever was going on, she needed to be fully dressed. She did it by feel, dragging on jeans and a shirt and jersey, stuffing her feet into socks, her ears straining as she tucked her clothes in. Wide-eyed in the oppressive darkness, large torch in hand, she tiptoed to the laundry and got into her work boots.

A car swung into the gateway, its headlights sending out two cones of brilliance as it eased along the drive. Her breath locking in her chest, Natalia listened.

‘Natalia, darling!’ Clay’s voice just reached her ears, but his knock was firm and unhurried.

Weak with relief, she opened the door. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, holding out a hand to pull him inside.

‘I’ve been burgled,’ he told her, coming in with a smooth, silent speed and closing the door behind him. ‘I woke and heard a truck go down the hill. I wondered if they’d called in here before they came up to Pukekahu. Or on the way back.’ Enough light came through the uncurtained window to reveal his face, hard-edged and purposeful.

‘I haven’t heard anything, and anyway, I’ve got nothing anyone would want.’ She touched his arm in silent concern. It was like touching iron. ‘What did they take?’

‘Most of the pile of fencing materials by the road,’ he said briefly. ‘Some stuff’s gone from the workshop too.’

Natalia repressed a craven shiver at the thought of thieves close by. ‘I’ll check the shed,’ she said immediately.

‘You’ll do no such thing. I’ll do it—’

‘This is my place. I’ll come with you.’

He crowded her back against the wall, his eyes gleaming with a feral heat, the scar suddenly livid down his face. ‘Damn you,’ he said in a low growl, ‘you push and push and push—Natalia, you’re asking for trouble.

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