Twinkle of Love - Completed

Chapter 4

Lucy stumbled after Richard. Her limbs weak and trembling from the onslaught of passion. It was all she could do to remain standing at all. That kiss had been completely unexpected and the barrage of emotions that went with it was even more so. He tugged her along into the dimly lit corridor before working his card into a slot that unlocked his door, and then he transferred the card into yet another slot that would power up the suite.

The lights came on, providing a stark relief against the dark, as well as jolting some sense back into Lucy. She yanked her hand free of Richard as he tugged her into the room, spinning her about so that she faced him. Lucy stood there gasping for breath as she stared on accusingly at him. He had orchestrated this. The kiss. Her capitulation. He'd planned it. Planned to take advantage of her when she was at her weakest. When she had no fire left to resist, all of it having been swept up in an inferno of lust. Lucy breathed hard in her agitation, staring up accusingly at Richard, even as he panted down at her, clearly unrepentant over his actions.

"Don't you dare kiss me again," said Lucy, finally, more out of a need to prevent her own inevitable capitulation again than to stop him from advancing. She eyed him, both with a hunger she didn't fully understand and a fear of the power he held over her.

"I'll kiss you, when I want, Lucy," said Richard, the corner of his lips quirking up in a familiar mockery, before he added tauntingly, "because you'll always want me to."

She gritted her teeth in frustration, half-annoyed that he might be right. But she backed up a few steps, regardless. They stood there in the old western stare-down, only neither of them was armed beyond their smouldering libido. But Lucy was not about to give in to her attraction to Richard, and something of that determination must have shone through her amber gaze because Richard finally sighed, giving in to her unwillingness to play. But not before his gaze raked over her insolently, and a smile twitched up the corner of his lips. "You're looking beautiful... in gold."

Lucy's mouth fell open, as she stared at him confounded before recalling she was wearing his favourite colour on her. Her jacket gaped open to reveal the gold tube top she had on. Lucy tugged her jacket closed.

"Well, we might as well get some sleep then, since you appear to be unwilling to play," his tone implied he knew that unwillingness only ran skin deep. "I'll show you to your room."

Her room was adjacent to his, sharing a very plush bathroom with a tub that not only drew her interest but begged her to sink into its depths immersed in warm water. But there was no way Lucy was going to have a dip in a bath with Ricard in the vicinity. She'd already had one too many brushes with Richard and her nakedness in bathtubs and even showers. She knew firsthand that the man had no respect for her privacy. She tore her gaze away and avoided the knowing glint in his eyes altogether. Her glance fell on the clock; it was 3 a.m. Only a few hours more before he took her off to her father's.

"Enjoy your sleep."

Richard left her pacing in her room, too worked up to sleep, as he went about arranging their flight to San Francisco the next day. How she'd landed up in Los Angeles, no one knew. But it made the most sense to consider she was driven there by her abductors. The eight-hour drive was nothing by road. Either that or they had the means to fly her there on a private aircraft. Richard, himself, had a private plane on standby. He moved off to his own room feeling exhausted and overwhelmingly relieved to have his spitfire, Lucy, back safe and sound. He was unwilling even to part with her to her father, but he knew that must be done. Not only would she put up a fight if he insisted on taking her back to Melbourne with him, but he might get landed with the charges of kidnapping her instead. Richard almost chuckled out loud at that. He went about his own room stripping out of his clothes feeling more than a little bone-weary for all the worrying he'd done since discovering she was missing.