'What plans?'

'For later tonight.' Like rubbing it all over her skin and breathing in the scent as he kissed her wherever he wanted. 'I've booked us a room at the Park Hyatt at Campbell Cove...?.'

'Another hotel,' she broke in with a frown.

'My place is still a mess,' he explained with an apologetic grimace. 'Can't take you there, Laura.'

He never would. He had to keep her separate from his real life.

'But I know that hotel is terribly expensive, Jake. And on top of this dinner tonight, which will undoubtedly cost the earth...'

'The cost is not a problem to me,' he a.s.sured her.

Still she frowned. 'Does my father pay you so well?'

He shrugged. 'Well enough, but I don't count on him for my income.' Because that was always going to end and quite soon now. He would probably become unemployable in the bankruptcy business after he'd blown the whistle on how corrupt some of it was and he'd prepared for that outcome. 'I have a side interest that has proved very profitable.'

It piqued her curiosity. 'What is it?'

There was no harm in telling her. He doubted she would tell her father and it didn't really matter if Costarella knew, not this close to his resignation from the company. 'I buy run-down houses, renovate them in my spare time, then sell them on.'

'Ah!' She looked pleased. 'The property ladder. That's another show I sometimes watch on TV. It's always fascinating to see how each property is improved before reselling. How many houses have you done?'

'I'm currently on my fifth.'

'I'd love to see it sometime. See what you're doing to it,' she said with eager interest.

He had to clamp down hard on the strong impulse to share it with her, to hear her views on the renovations he was doing, enjoy her interest. She was so attractive in so many ways. But anything beyond s.e.xual intimacy had to be discouraged or he risked becoming far too hooked on Laura Costarella. Bad enough that he couldn't go to bed without wanting her in it.

'Maybe when it's further along,' he said ruefully. 'It's virtually a sh.e.l.l right now. Nothing to see but mess.'

She grimaced in disappointment. 'Okay. I guess you'd prefer to feel some pride in showing off your work. I take it you've made a good profit from each house you've done.'

'Good enough not to worry about paying for a great night out with you, Laura, so don't you worry about it, either. I can well afford special treats like this and having you share them doubles the pleasure.'

She visibly relaxed, smiling her heart-kicking smile at him again as she picked up her menu. 'In that case, I'm very happy to share your pleasure. I shall have no inhibitions about ordering whatever I want to try.'

No inhibitions in bed, either, Jake thought happily, relieved that she wasn't pressing the house issue. Their time together had to be time out from his real life. He couldn't consider anything else with her however much he would like to.

Laura let herself wallow in the pleasure of being with Jake. He was so attractive in every respect-looks, wit, charm. There was nothing about him she didn't like. However, he was big on control, and she shouldn't forget that. Although there was a plus side to that, too. It had obviously taken a great deal of inner strength to set the trauma of losing his parents aside and drive himself towards establishing a professional career, and his enterprise in climbing the property ladder, as well, was truly admirable.

Something Eddie had said popped into her mind-sooner or later he'll turn you off-but she honestly couldn't see that happening, definitely not tonight. In fact, she was so turned on, it was impossible to find any wrongness in him.

He was the best company over dinner, relishing and enjoying the amazingly wonderful food as much as she did. The conversation between them was fun. The s.e.xy twinkle in his eyes kept her excitement bubbling. She loved every bit of him, which should have set warning signals off in her head, but it was so giddy with delight, no sense of caution was even registered.

Again it was an easy walk to the hotel. Her body was humming with delicious antic.i.p.ation. Her feet wanted to dance all the way. Jake had brought the rose she'd given him at the restaurant, twiddling it in his fingers as they walked, smiling down at it, and she smiled at it, too, imagining he intended taking it home with him as a romantic reminder of her.

She knew this wasn't supposed to be a romantic relationship. It was probably crazy wanting it to turn into one, yet all her female instincts were insisting this man was the right man for her. He wasn't demanding anything of her. It was simply great being together.

The hotel was brilliantly sited right below the harbour bridge. A set of gla.s.s doors on the far side of their room showcased a fabulous view of the opera house. Laura couldn't help loving the luxury of it, couldn't help loving the man who was giving it to her. As soon as the door was closed behind them, she turned to hug him tightly and kiss him with every fibre of her being, unable to wait another second to feel all he could make her feel.

Almost instantly they were on fire for each other, quick hungry kisses turning into fierce, needful pa.s.sion. The barrier of clothes was unbearable. She broke away to get rid of hers and laughed as she saw Jake clamping the stem of the rose between his teeth to free his hands for the same purpose.

'Just as well I picked off the thorns,' she tossed at him.

'Mmmh...' was all he could answer.

Naked and still laughing with wild exhilaration, she raced him to the bed, landing and rolling until her caught her, trapping her into stillness with one strong leg flung over hers. She looked up into wickedly glittering eyes, her chest heaving for breath, her heart hammering with excitement.

'You can't kiss me with that rose between your teeth,' she teased, her lower body wriggling provocatively against his.

He plucked the rose free and started caressing her face with it. 'I've been fantasising about doing this all evening. Lie still, Laura. Close your eyes. Feel the petals gliding over your skin. Breathe in the scent of them.'

It took enormous control to follow his instructions but it was worth the effort, focussing on the amazing sensuality of what he was doing, the soft graze of the rose, tantalisingly gentle, followed by a trail of kisses that had all her nerve ends buzzing. It made her feel like a pagan G.o.ddess being worshipped, anointed with perfume and brought to tingling life by a ceremony of slowly escalating physical ministrations.

She had never been so acutely aware of her body, hadn't realised she had erotic zones below her hip-bones, behind her knees, on the soles of her feet. To be touched like this everywhere, to be kissed as though every inch of her was adored...it was an incredible experience, mesmerising, heavenly.

Finally he came to her most intimate parts, caressing her to an exquisite tension, making it impossible for her to lie still any longer. Her body arched in need for release and she cried out his name, desperately wanting him to take her to the end now.

He moved swiftly to oblige and it was wondrous all over again, the ebb and flow of extreme sensations gathering momentum to a fantastic climax, then the delicious aftermath of sweet contentment, the scent of the yellow rose still lingering on her skin, adding its heady pleasure to their intimate togetherness.

Laura had never felt so blissfully happy. To have a lover like Jake...she was incredibly lucky to have met him. She could even find it in her heart to be grateful to her father for bringing him into her life. This journey was definitely worth taking and she hoped it would go on for a long, long time.

As they were leaving the hotel the next morning Jake asked, 'Will you be free to join me next Sat.u.r.day night? I've booked a table at Universal, Christine Manfield's restaurant.'

Free for you anytime, she thought, her heart skipping with pleasure at not having to wait more than a week to be with him again. Glorious food was no longer the seductive temptation it had been, though she would absolutely enjoy it, having Jake as her dining partner.

'That would be lovely,' she said, trying not to sound too eager for his company, which was now the main drawcard. This relationship did have to be controlled. Jake was not falling all over himself to be with her every free moment he had and it was better for her if she could hold him at a distance, too, in between their meeting points, 'Same time?' he asked.

'Suits me.'

'Good!'

He gave her his brilliant, s.e.xy smile and Laura managed a smile back though her insides clenched, wanting, needing much more of him. She had to bite down on her tongue to stop herself pleading, Why can't we be together today? I won't get in the way of your working on the house renovations. I'll help. We can chat, laugh, enjoy being with each other.

The words kept pounding through her mind as they settled in the taxi that would take her to Eddie's apartment before driving on to Jake's place, but she couldn't let herself voice them. It would put Jake in a position of power over her, knowing she wanted him more than he wanted her.

Had her mother fallen into that trap with her father, showing how needy she was? If so, he'd certainly taken advantage of her vulnerability. She wasn't sure if Jake would be like that or not, but her gut feeling told her not to show any weakness that could be exploited.

It was best to keep to what they had agreed upon. If anything changed further along the line, the change had to come from him, not from her and certainly not today.

CHAPTER NINE.

TETSUYA'S, a j.a.panese-French fusion eatery many times listed amongst the top fifty restaurants in the world, was Jake's choice for his last night with Laura. It had the longest waiting time to secure a table-two months-and he'd actually held back his own agenda, just to have this very special dinner together before he took her father down.

He checked his watch as he waited for her to arrive, conscious of not wanting her to be late, not wanting to have a minute of this final encounter wasted. It wasn't quite seven o'clock. The h.e.l.l of it was he would miss the pleasure of her company, miss the fantastic s.e.x they had shared even more, but knew it was stupid to try spinning out their time with each other any further.

It had been good. Great. But she was her father's daughter and once the axe fell on Costarella he would come out fighting for blood in return and the first casualty would be any personal a.s.sociation with his accuser. Laura would be turned out of the Mosman mansion if she didn't toe that line. Even if she chose not to and fled to her brother's apartment... No, she wouldn't do that. She would stay by her mother to deflect as much of her father's venom as she could.

Tonight was it-the end.

No point in looking for any way around it.

Besides, once he'd achieved the objective he'd set for himself he wanted to move on, find the kind of relationship he'd seen between his mother and step-father, have a family of his own, hopefully sharing good times with his wife and children. Regardless of how powerfully drawn he was to Laura Costarella, he couldn't fit her into that picture.

As hot she was in bed, she kept a cool head out of it, content to go about her own life without trying to get him involved in it. This was confirmation to Jake that marriage had no appeal to her-understandable given her family background. Part-time lovers was as far as any man would get with Laura. It made the end of their affair easier in so far as he knew it carried no deep importance to her. He'd given her pleasure. He hoped the memory of it would not get too tainted by the angst his actions would inevitably cause in the Costarella household.

All this past week he'd been tossing up whether to tell her, warn her what was about to happen, explain why. Somehow that smacked too much of justifying himself and he didn't need to do that, not when he was meting out justice, which would eventually be evident to everyone. Besides, he'd told Laura right from the beginning he didn't want to want to her. Understanding would come soon enough. Better for them both to enjoy this one last night.

Laura was smiling, aglow with excited antic.i.p.ation as she entered Tetsuya's. She was ten minutes late, due to the public transport connections needed to get to Kent Street in the inner city-where the restaurant was located-but she was finally here for another night with Jake. And there he was, rising from the table where he'd been seated.

Her heart skipped a beat. Every time he had this impact. And his smile of pleasure on seeing her...it was like a fountain of joy bursting through her. She loved this man, loved being with him, fiercely wished they could be sharing much more than one night a week.

Though she told herself it was sensible not to get too involved, not when she still had to earn her university degree. It was halfway through the year now. In a few more months... Was Jake waiting for her to be fully qualified before inviting her into more of his life? There was quite an age gap between them. Maybe he was conscious of that, too. Whatever his reasons for keeping their relationship so strictly limited, Laura felt sure they would wear out eventually. They were too good together-great together-for this journey to ever end.

She couldn't resist planting a greeting kiss on his cheek before sitting down. 'Sorry I'm a bit late. The bus trip was slow. Lots of people getting on and off.'

'No problem,' he a.s.sured her, his deep rich voice curling around her heart, warming it with pleasure. 'You're here. And I've been perusing the menu. This promises to be a fantastic dining experience.'

'Oh, wow! I've been so looking forward to it.'

He laughed at her excitement as they both took their seats. Laura loved his laugh, the s.e.xy male rumble of it, the way it lit up his handsome face, the dancing twinkles in his eyes.

'I want us to do the gustatory menu-all eight courses of it. Are you up for it?' he asked.

Laura goggled at him. 'Eight courses!'

'They won't be big. Just a marvelous range of tastes.'

'Let me see.' She held out her hand for the menu and he pa.s.sed it over. The list of dishes Jake wanted proved irresistible. 'I'm up for it,' she said decisively.

It would obviously cost Jake another small fortune, but also obviously he didn't care so Laura refused to feel guilty about the expense. It was his choice. He grinned at her, knowing she was happy to succ.u.mb to temptation.

She sighed. 'You're spoiling me rotten with all this, Jake.'

An oddly rueful expression twisted his grin. 'You've given me more than money can buy, Laura. I should probably thank you for being you.'

Why did that sound...almost as if he was saying goodbye to her? Laura frowned over the uncomfortable niggle. Surely he was just trying to balance out what they had together, make it feel okay to her. 'It's no big deal being me,' she said critically.

He shook his head, his eyes gently mocking her. 'I can't imagine enjoying our dinners so much with anyone else.'

She relaxed into a relieved smile. 'Then I should thank you for being you because I can't imagine it, either.'

'Good to be in accord on that point.'

She laughed. 'I think we're in accord on many points.'

'True. Shall we order now?'

He signalled their readiness to a waiter while Laura happily a.s.sured herself that everything was fine between them.

Again it was another brilliant evening with Jake. The dinner was sensational. It was great fun enjoying and discussing the various tastes, comparing it to what they'd eaten in other restaurants. Laura visited the ladies' room just before they were about to leave and on her way back to their table, she was struck by another little stab of uncertainty.

Jake was not looking for her return. He sat in pensive mode, a dark, bleak expression wiping out all the sparkles he'd shot her way during dinner. It didn't take much intuition to realise something was wrong-something in the private life he didn't share with her. Wasn't it time that he did? They'd been seeing each other on a very intimate basis for almost three months now. Surely he knew her well enough to trust her with what was in his mind.

He brightened as she reached the table, pulling himself back from the place he'd travelled to without her, but Laura's fighting spirit had been p.r.i.c.ked into taking a stand. 'What were you thinking of just now, Jake?'

He shook his head, a wry little smile curling his mouth as he rose from his chair. 'A piece of the past. Nothing to do with you, Laura. I've called a taxi for us. It's waiting outside.'

He tucked her arm around his as she frowned over his evasive reply. 'I want to know,' she said, shooting him a searching look.

He grimaced at her obstinacy, but did answer her. 'I was thinking of my parents. How much they enjoyed sharing meals together.'

'Oh!' Laura's heart instantly lifted. The memory had obviously saddened Jake but she felt it did have something to do with her-a connection to what they were doing, which he enjoyed with her! It made her feel their relationship was more meaningful to him than he was willing to admit at this point.

'I've booked us into the Park Hotel tonight,' he told her as they made their exit from the restaurant.

Another hotel. She knew it overlooked Hyde Park in the city centre, which gave them only a short trip to Paddington and Woollahra in the morning. It always disappointed her that he didn't ask her home with him but she'd decided never to push it. Besides, she was still cherishing that link to his parents, whom he'd loved very much.

They didn't chat in the taxi. Laura was keenly antic.i.p.ating the s.e.xual connection with Jake and she imagined his mind was occupied with it, too. It seemed to her he held her hand more tightly than usual, his long fingers strongly interlaced with hers, their pads rubbing her palm. She silently craved more skin-to-skin contact, barely controlling her impatience to dive into bed with him.

Certainly their desire for each other hadn't waned at all. As soon as the door of the hotel room was closed behind them they were locked in a fierce embrace, kissing like there was no tomorrow, shedding clothes as fast as they could on their way to the bed, totally consumed with a wild pa.s.sion that demanded to be slaked before easing into a more sensual love-making.

Even that seemed to carry more intensity than usual, more need for continually intimate contact, and Laura revelled in it, believing it meant Jake felt more for her now, on a personal rather than just a s.e.xual level. It was a long time before they fell asleep and in the morning she woke to the sense of having her body being softly caressed by a loving hand. She rolled over to fling her arm around Jake, who proceeded to arouse her more acutely. They'd never had s.e.x the morning after but they did this time, and Laura took it as another heart-hugging sign that their relationship was beginning to change to a closer one.

They ate a very hearty breakfast.

Showered, dressed and ready to leave, they were at the door of their hotel room when Jake turned and kissed her again, a long, pa.s.sionate kiss that left Laura tingling with excitement on their elevator ride down to the foyer. Her mind swam with the hope he was going to ask her home with him instead of their going separate ways today.

A taxi was waiting outside the hotel entrance. Jake opened the pa.s.senger door for her and she got in, sliding along the back seat to make room for him. Instead of following her he leaned in to tell the driver Eddie's address and hand him a twenty dollar note.

Startled, Laura blurted, 'Aren't you coming with me?'

His dark eyes met hers, flat dark, almost black, devoid of any brilliance. 'No. I have somewhere else to go, Laura,' he stated decisively. He reached out and touched her cheek. 'It's been good. Thank you.'

Then the brief caress was withdrawn, as swiftly as Jake withdrew himself, shutting the pa.s.senger door and signalling the driver to take her away. Which he did, given no reason not to.

Laura was too stunned to protest the move. She sat in total shock, her hopes, her dreams, her expectations crashing around her. That was a goodbye! Not a see you next time. Jake hadn't mentioned a next time. Her hand lifted and clapped her cheek, holding on to what a creeping tide of panic was telling her had been his farewell touch.

Her mind railed over why it should be so. Surely there was no reason to give up what had been good. He would call her during the week. This couldn't be the end. Yet the more she thought about it, the more she felt he had been saying goodbye to her all last night. And this morning. Last dinner, last s.e.x, last kiss, last touch!

But maybe she had it wrong. Maybe, maybe...