'It's been so nice here,' he choked against her chest. 'Being with Sarah, and grandmother, and— and you,' he admitted reluctantly.
'And Daddy has been living here again, just like he used to.' And—and—I'm not looking forward to going back to school!'
Sophia took a deep breath. 'Hugh
'Don't tell me it's good for me,' she says. He yanked away from her arms, his face tear-stained and pale.
'I wasn't going to,' she said softly, not believing it was possible to reduce him to this state.
'I despise it there. 'I'd like to stay here!'
'Have you discussed it with your father?'
'He's uninterested!' Hugh became enraged. 'He can go back to London and forget about us as soon as I'm back at school and Nanny is back to look after Sarah!'
'He doesn't forget about you, Hugh,' he says.
'Oh no?' he cried Brittly. 'This year, he was in America for my birthday and in Greece for Sarah's!'
'That doesn't mean he's forgotten about you,' she reasoned. 'He's a very busy man. 'However, he took the time to take you to see your other grandparents in Australia over the summer,' she recalled.
'Nanny took us,' Hugh stated flatly. 'Daddy just drove us home from one of his hotels in Sydney.'
Oh my goodness, Raphael! Her heart was breaking for what he was doing to his children—and himself. Didn't he realize how blessed he was, how fortunate he was to have two such lovely children? —'
'I think he does,' the youngster exclaimed. 'I believe he wishes he hadn't had me!'
'Hugh, no!' she exclaimed flatly. Blue eyes with a rebellious streak challenged her. 'Can you come up with any other reasons why he ignores us?'
'Hugh—'
'Or why does he send me to that school knowing how much I despise it?' He was pale from the pain.
'Hugh, he despised school as well, but it's a necessary evil.'
'He didn't go to a boarding school,' the youngster objected. 'A really good dayschool is only three miles away.' I could still live here with Sarah and my grandmother if I went there. But he won't listen to me,' Hugh grumbled.
'Perhaps he believes it will be too much for your grandmother to bear—'
'He doesn't,' the boy stated emphatically. 'He sends me there because he dislikes me,' she says.
Sophia bit her bottom lip, the pain she was causing distracting her from taking Hugh in her arms and cuddling him until his pain subsided. They'd become tentative friends in the last few days, but she knew if she gave in to her instincts and took him in her arms again, he'd flinch.
'You know that isn't true, Hugh,' she corrected as he blushed uncomfortably. 'It's simply not easy for your father to raise two children on his own.'
'He could marry again,' the boy speculated eagerly. 'I'm sure you wouldn't put me in boarding school.'
She swallowed forcefully. 'Because there's no way I'll ever marry your father, that rumor—or the truth of it—is irrelevant.'
He sighed, defeated. 'I suppose I should go pack my belongings.' 'I'm sure Daddy will want to take me to school again this weekend.'
'And Laura?' she inquired.
His face was a bright red color. 'I'll go down and apologize to her,' she says. He sighed as he looked at the strewn-upon-the-wall-and-carpet remnants of his lunch. 'I'll also bring something up to clean up the mess,'
He paused at the door. 'Would you have really hit me?'
Her auburn brows quirked. 'Do you believe you deserved to be struck?'
'Yes,' he muttered.
'Then you've got your answer,' she said, nodding. 'Rudeness to a young 'girl who can't retaliate because she works for your grandmother is unforgivable.'
'Yes,' he admitted with a sigh. 'I won't be here for long.'
Sophia made the decision right then and there to try again to reach Raphael. If he didn't want to listen to her, he wouldn't, but she would have tried. Raphael, for the most part, ignored her presence in his mother's house, knowing that the opportunity would be difficult to come by.
He arrived home later than usual that evening, looking tired and weary as he went upstairs to kiss Sarah good night, Hugh old enough and well enough to join them for dinner. She questioned whether tonight was the right time to talk to Raphael, even if the opportunity presented itself, because he added nothing to the conversation, eating in brooding silence, seemingly lost in thought. She took Hugh up to bed shortly after nine o'clock, turning back his bedclothes and laying out his pyjamas while he took a bath, as had become a nightly ritual the previous week. It had become a special time for her, one she would miss when she left. And now that Hugh was going back to school and Sarah was back in the care of her recuperating nanny, she saw no reason to stay. Tears blurred her vision as she contemplated leaving the two children she had grown to adore, knowing she would also miss the company of Bella Mcklerin, the two of them becoming firm friends.
But the period of helping while the children were sick was over, and she knew that if she wanted to talk to Raphael, she'd have to do so soon, because he'd surely demand that she leave his mother's house now that the children were well.
When she returned downstairs, a stony-faced Raphael informed her that his mother had retired to her room due to a headache.
'I hope it's nothing serious.' Sophia inquired, concerned.
'Just overtired,' he said, shrugging his broad shoulders and moving to the assortment of drinks on the side-table. 'Would you like something?' he asked, a little stiffly.
'No, thank you.' She lowered her gaze to her hands, knowing that it was now or never. 'I'd like to speak with you, Raphael—'
'I'd like to speak with you, Sophia—'
They both cut each other off as they started talking at the same time, awkwardly looking at each other.
'You first,' Raphael said as he took his seat next to her on the sofa, turning his arm to rest on the brocade fabric behind her back.
'No, please,' she said, hoping to postpone the inevitable outburst he'd have at her for interfering for as long as she could.
'I just wanted to thank you for the help you've been while the children were ill,' he shrugged, swallowing some of his whisky. His tone was stern. 'I don't believe we could have done it without you.' His mouth twisted ruefully as he saw her surprise reflected in her eyes. 'I know this contradicts what I said before, but my mother couldn't have done it alone, and the children accepted you much more readily than they would have a nurse.'
'Thank you very much.' She had been thrown completely off-balance by what amounted to an apology.
'Now you,' he said abruptly, his gaze fixed on his glass. 'God, do you have any idea how difficult it has been to sleep just down the hall from you?' He launched into another rant before she could gather her thoughts. 'Do you realize how badly I've wanted you?'
Her cheeks were flushed. 'I've been expecting you to follow through on your threat all week.'
'That is exactly why I haven't.' He pushed himself up, turning to look down at her with darkened eyes. 'Can I sleep in your bed tonight?'
'Raphael—'
'Please!' He closed his eyes, tensely waiting for her response. 'I won't even touch you if you don't want me to; all I want is for you to be next to me tonight!'
She raised an eyebrow. 'I'm not sure what you mean...'
He drew her to her feet, his gaze fixed on hers. 'I'd like to sleep next to you tonight.' 'I've found our business arrangement to be just as unsatisfactory as you have,' he snarled. 'Revenge is sweet, but there's no pleasure in sharing a bed with a woman you know is there because of circumstances.' I'm asking if I could just sleep with you one night knowing your reasons for being there aren't mercenary or that you're not being paid to do so. If you refuse—'
'I'm not going to say no, Raphael,' she said quietly, taken aback by his vulnerability, his hands tightening on her shoulders as she looked up at him steadily. 'As long as you understand that my acceptance is based on no ulterior motives, tonight is just—tonight.'
'Agreed,' he nodded, his gaze tense on her. She gave a trembling smile. 'Then I would consider it an honor to share my bed with you.'
His questioning eyes remained wary, but she reached up and began to kiss him, feeling the shudder of his body as he returned the caress with a groan. Desire quickly spiraled out of control, their mouths possessing, their hands searching, and their heated emotions making them both tremble.
Raphael pressed his brow against hers. 'At this rate, we're not going to make it to the bedroom,' he sighed ruefully.
She looked up at him, her eyes gleaming. 'In that case, we should go upstairs right away; I don't want to startle anyone.'
They moved slowly up the stairs, stopping frequently to kiss each other with a longing that only made them want to kiss each other more, clothes falling to the floor once they reached her room, gazes locked in the moonlight, flesh searing flesh as they moved into each other's arms.
It was a magical night, a night of gentle caresses and whispered appreciation for the beauty of each other's bodies, for the pleasure those bodies provided for each of them.
For Sophia, it was like going back in time five years to when they were in love, when their needs were freely expressed and met.
She lay awake in the dark long after Raphael had fallen asleep, his head resting against her breasts, just reveling in the closeness he had allowed them tonight, not wanting to miss a moment of this time they had together, knowing it would be the last.
Raphael hadn't moved when she awoke the next morning, though he raised his head to look down at her, as if becoming aware of her wakefulness. 'Thank you,' he said solemnly.
'Thank you,' she said tentatively.
His hand encircled her cheek. 'I've been laying here thinking, among other things, that you never finished what you wanted to say last night,' he added leeringly.
She frowned, her brow furrowed, recalling their stilted conversation. 'I was about to tell you about Hugh—'
'Hugh?' Raphael stiffened instantly, his face guarded. 'What could you possibly want to discuss with me about my son?'