‘Mr Van Straten’s residence,’ announced a cultured male voice at the other end of the line.
‘I’d like to speak to Mr Van Straten,’ Sophie announced as a flood of adrenaline shot through her system and almost made her sway. He was probably conveniently out.. or if he was at home no doubt he would instruct his butler, or whoever it was that had answered the phone, to tell her he wasn’t available as soon as he knew it was Sophie.
‘Whom shall I say is calling?’ the voice at the other end came back.
Licking her suddenly dry lips, Sophie stared blankly at the picture on the wall, a well-known Degas print of ballerinas at the barre, going through their exercises. Shocked that he was actually at home, she told herself to keep her head and not give way to shrillness of any kind when she told him what he could do with his expensive gift. He’d already accused her of being a ‘shrew’ and a ‘fishwife,’ and if he insulted her with any such labels one more time, he’d rue the day!
‘Sophie Dalton.’
She’d been about to explain that she was a friend of his assistant, Diana, then had thought, How ridiculous! If Dominic didn’t condescend to remember her after what had occurred between them on Friday night then he was even more arrogant and despicable than she’d thought, and therefore even less deserving of any respect.
‘Sophie. What a pleasant surprise!’
His voice shocked her into silence. It was disconcertingly familiar, and much too compelling to ever be taken lightly. On the telephone, his tone was sexier and much more troubling to her peace of mind than it had a right to be. It made her remember him asking seductively, ‘Are you ready for me Sophie?’ Hot embarrassed colour surged into her face at the recollection.
‘I wish I could say I felt the same, Dominic, but I can’t. About the coat you sent me, I—’
‘I trust it’s the right size? I confess I had to guess your measurements, but then I do pride myself on being uncannily accurate when it comes to such things.’
He meant women…and their bodies. Was she just one of many female bodies he had undressed? Furious and hurt at the same time, she had to take a moment to compose herself. ‘Whether it’s the right size or not doesn’t concern me! You had no right to send it to me in the first place. Especially when I know you are only trying to insult me!’
‘Insult you?’ Dominic said something beneath his breath that she didn’t quite catch, and Sophie smoothed her hand down over her hip and reminded herself to keep her temper.
‘Yes, insult me! Why else would you send it? You were making some sleazy point, no doubt, to thank me for services rendered. Well, you know what you can do with your expensive cashmere, don’t you? I’ll be mailing the coat straight back to you tomorrow! Just as soon as I can get to the Post Office.’
‘My chauffeur accidentally splashed your coat with cold muddy water, Sophie…remember? I was merely trying to make amends by sending you a new one. Anything else is completely a figment of your oversensitive imagination.’
‘Why make amends now, when you seemed not to care one jot about my situation on Friday, at Diana’s wedding? Just because I was foolish enough to sleep with you, Dominic, it doesn’t mean I’m a complete fool! I don’t want your expensive gifts, do you hear? Whatever your reasons for sending me the coat, I have no intention of accepting it, or being beholden to you in any way.’
Dominic didn’t know many women who would be insulted by the gift of a very expensive coat from one of the country’s top exclusive stores. No—he had to rephrase that. He knew for a fact that there were no women of his acquaintance that would have reacted in such an unexpected way. The women in his life had always adored the fact that he had the wealth and taste to purchase such expensive gifts for them—even the ones who came from money themselves.
Again, in spite of his irritation with Sophie for thinking he was trying to insult her, Dominic sensed the blood heat in his veins as though it were being pursued by a fire. The memory of flashing blue eyes the colour of cornflowers started an ache inside him that suddenly made moving too quickly a hazard. He knew she was passionate and principled…if misguided…and she had been a totally responsive and highly provocative lover. He had not arranged for the coat to be sent as an insult in any way. He had certainly not sent it as payment for sexual services. He had most definitely sent it as a reason to speak to Sophie again.
When he’d woken up on Saturday morning and found her gone he’d barely been able to believe it. No woman had left him that way before…ever! Initially irked, he’d told himself she must have had some appointment to rush off to. Why else would she not have waited at least to say good morning? When he’d calmed down, and reflected on the sensational sex they’d enjoyed the night before, Dominic had also known that Sophie hadn’t left because they hadn’t hit it off together. Whatever her reasons for leaving, one thing he hadn’t doubted was that she would naturally want to see him again. Why wouldn’t she? When she rang him to thank him for the coat, as he’d fully expected her to do, Dominic had been planning on inviting her out for dinner. The sooner the better, as far as he was concerned, because he hadn’t been able to get the woman out of his mind. Which was why he had included a card with his home address and telephone number on.
‘How does accepting my gift make you beholden to me?’ If only it did, Dominic thought, in frustration. It had been a long while since a woman had commanded his attention in such an emphatic way. He probably just needed to go to bed with her a few more times, to get her out of his system, he acknowledged with typical male frankness. If she gave him the chance…
‘It just does.’
Suddenly tired of verbal sparring, and with her growling stomach letting her know that she hadn’t eaten a thing since lunchtime, Sophie had it in her mind to end their fruitless conversation there and then. Tomorrow she would send Dominic the coat back, and that would be that. Her time and her thoughts would surely be better served this evening in working out how she was going to afford another car to get to school in. She couldn’t rely on the vagaries of public transport. The head of the primary school in which she worked was a real stickler for punctuality, and Sophie knew it. It wouldn’t do to get on the wrong side of him and blot her so far unblemished record.
‘Anyway,’ she added, once more examining the print of the pretty ballerinas on the wall, ‘I’ll have to say goodnight. I’ve just got in from work, I’m tired and hungry, and I’ve got schoolwork to arrange for tomorrow.’
‘Schoolwork?’
‘I’m a teacher.’
‘Diana didn’t mention it.’
Not believing even for a second that a man so high up in the echelons of wealth and personal achievement would deign to discuss something as mundane as his assistant’s friends, with her, Sophie sighed. ‘Why should she? Goodbye, Dominic.’
‘Why did you rush off like that on Saturday morning?’
Sophie wished he would leave the subject of Saturday morning and specifically Friday night alone. She felt bad enough about succumbing to her baser instincts so recklessly, and with the most unsuitable man she could imagine!
‘You may find this hard to believe, Dominic, but I’m not the kind of woman who usually goes in for one-night stands. In fact, this was the first…and I hope the last one ever. It was an emotional day for me, and I—my judgement wasn’t at its best. You can rest assured I won’t be bothering you again in any way.’
Dominic doubted that. Just thinking about the way she had curled her slender legs around his back and driven her nails into his flesh, in the throes of passion made him almost