OK, will give you a bit of Guy...
Early the following morning, Guy lay in his hotel bed, watching the sun rise over the city. In spite of his adventures the day before he had struggled to sleep and now his mind raced with the reality of what he had done. For the truth was that as wonderful as the ladies of the previous day had been, he would have swapped them all for just one woman.
Lucasta ?Cassie? West was a writer whom Guy had met several months previously, but, it had turned out, not soon enough, as within weeks of their first meeting, Cassie was scheduled to leave for the USA where her first book was being turned into a Hollywood movie.
He recalled the last time he had seen her, in the first class departure lounge at Heathrow, awaiting her flight. They drank coffee and talked. He couldn?t get the image of her small hand covering his own out of his mind.
?Guy,? she?d smiled, softly, ?I?m sorry, it?s just not possible. We?ve known each other a matter of weeks and I?m about to leave the country for four months. It would just be ridiculous.?
Guy let out a sigh, heavy with frustration. Cassie continued, ?I?ve never met anyone like you Guy, but the timing is completely wrong. Besides which, I know all about your reputation?? she grinned.
?I?ve changed,? Guy pleaded, hoarsely, ?I changed the day I met you.?
?And if you have, and if it?s what fate has intended, then that?ll still be the case when I get back from the States.?
The last call for departures to LAX sounded over the tannoy system.
?I?ll be back by the end of year in time to spend Christmas with my family,? Cassie told him, as she picked up her hand luggage. ?Go and do your own thing, get whatever you need to out of your system, and if you still feel the same way, I?ll be at Claridges for breakfast on New Year?s Eve.?
With that she stood up and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, ?Take care, Guy,? she smiled, and headed off towards the ramp to the waiting plane.
Guy watched her retreating form, his stomach churning, willing her to look back at him, but instead he had to watch as the woman he loved disappeared out of sight without so much as a backward glance.
Cassie did not, in fact, have a heart of stone. It had taken everything in her heart and soul to give Guy her little speech and get on the plane, never mind the not looking back, which she?d been aching to do. However, she?d sacrificed her career dreams for love once before and it had not been her wisest move. Now she had a second chance, she wasn?t prepared to make the same mistake again. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be, and that was that, she told herself. She then ordered a large gin and tonic from the hovering trolley dolly and prayed that it would have the anaesthetic effect she was hoping for.
6 weeks later?
The thirty-first of December dawned bright, cold and clear. The modern glass high rises and the centuries old architecture of London looked as though they had been sprinkled with diamond dust as the early morning sun highlighted the frosty streets and rooftops.
Guy dragged himself, naked, from a fitful nights sleep and hauled his weary body into the shower. As the hot, soapy water cascaded down his body the adrenaline began pumping through his veins. Today was the day he?d been waiting for ? but would Cassie feel the same way?
Guy shaved and dressed carefully, choosing a black suit and deep blue shirt, left open at the neck. He threw on his winter coat and black, leather gloves and headed out into the already bustling streets.
By the time he arrived at Claridges, Guy had managed to pull himself together, but as he entered the Reading Room, his composure almost fell apart completely.
Sitting in the farthest corner of the room, engrossed in the day?s broadsheets, was Cassie. Guy stopped in his tracks and took in her caramel coloured curls, and the leather kilt she was wearing; complete with knee high stiletto boots and a fitted cashmere jumper. He wanted to assume that as she had turned up, it was a good sign, but he knew better than to take her for granted. Just then she looked up, saw him across the room, smiled and waved.
In a couple of strides he arrived at the table. They looked at one another, neither of them quite sure how to break the ice, until they both spoke simultaneously.
?You?re here??
?You came??
They laughed, then Guy reached out and tenderly stroked an errant curl off of Cassie?s cheek and tucked it behind her ear, ?You didn?t really think I wouldn?t turn up, did you,? he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion as his leather-clad thumb trailed across her soft, flushed cheek.
Cassie shrugged, ?I didn?t exactly make it easy for you, did I?? she replied, ?You might not have been the kind of man who liked a challenge.?
?You?re worth it,? he grinned. Then his expression clouded over, ?Although?? he paused. Cassie would either be impressed with his honesty, or horrified that he?d taken her at her word. He took a deep breath, knowing their relationship could no more move forward now if he didn?t tell her, than it could have done while she was away.
?Remember, before you left, you told me you?d heard I had a ?reputation? and to get anything I needed to out of my system before we saw each other again??
Cassie nodded silently.
?I?there were a few occasions when I?did,? Guy couldn?t meet her eye as he spoke.
Cassie sat down silently and poured a cup of coffee from the cafetiere on the table. Guy knew she normally took her coffee white and without sugar, and as he watched her spooning sugar into the cup and beginning to drink it?s contents black, he had a horrible feeling he?d just made the biggest mistake of his life.
Cassie drained her cup of coffee and poured a second, wordlessly. She wasn?t that concerned about what Guy had told her, after all he?d done exactly as she suggested. She was taken aback more than anything by the fact she felt so insanely jealous that anyone else had had the opportunity while she?d been working her arse off in America.
?Cassie, say something,? pleaded Guy. ?I know I shouldn?t have, that I could have not done what you suggested and proved how I feel but I couldn?t contact you. I didn?t have a clue how you were feeling, what you were thinking??
Cassie wanted to speak but was still struggling to swallow the lump in her throat.
?Please, Cassie ? you?re all I?ve ever wanted,? he continued, ?Tell me you want me too.?
?Guy, do you really think I?d be here if I didn?t want you??
Cassie finally raised her eyes to meet his, and in seconds she was in his arms, his hands in her hair, his face buried in her neck as he whispered, ?Thank God ? I thought I?d lost you??
Finally they pulled away, and Cassie spoke, ?Shall we order breakfast? I couldn?t eat anything earlier.?
?Okay,? replied Guy, but not here. Go and get your suitcase and I?ll meet you back here in ten minutes.?
A little over an hour later Cassie and Guy were sipping champagne and eating strawberries and pain au chocolat on the Orient Express to Paris. On disembarking a twenty minute taxi drive took then to L?Hotel, the last home of Oscar Wilde on the Left Bank of the River Seine. It was, Cassie had to admit, a hell of a way to spend New Years Eve.
By the time they finally returned to their room in the early hours of the New Year, their veins were fizzing with champagne cocktails and unleashed passion. Although they?d been on several dates prior to Cassie leaving the country, she wasn?t given to ?putting it about,? hence her idea that Guy should get any other ?interests? out of his system whilst she was away, and then see how they both felt.
A combination of dancing and alcohol had left Cassie flushed and she immediately headed for the small balcony of the room, where it was possible to look over Paris and watch the last of the New Year fireworks lighting up the city. Guy watched her for several moments before crossing the room to join her. She leant back into his warm, firm body as he wrapped his arms around her and gently kissed the top of head.
?This is amazing,? Cassie sighed, happily, ?I can?t imagine a more perfect evening.?
?I can?t imagine anyone else I?d want to spend it with,? replied Guy, pulling her even closer.
Cassie turned in his arms and smiled up at him. His gaze was so intense she could barely meet his eye, but was so compelled by the sheer force of the chemistry between him that she was unable to look away.
The only sounds were the distant crackle of gunpowder and Cassie and Guy?s breathing, faster and shallower as he lowered his mouth to hers. What in reality took about five seconds seem to take an eternity to both of them, and then all the anticipation of the last few months was gone.
His first kiss was so gentle and tender that Cassie could almost believe she?d imagined it if it wasn?t for the rapid increase in her pulse rate. A split second later his lips were on hers again, this time warmer and firmer than before and she thanked God that he was holding her as his tongue tentatively parted her lips and met with hers. They stayed that way for several minutes, until they had no choice but to break apart in order to breathe. Silently, he led her back inside, closing the doors and drawing the heavy brocade drapes shut behind him?.
Back in the warmth of the room, Guy took Cassie into his arms again. ?Close your eyes,? he whispered. She felt his breath warm on her face as he kissed her forehead, eyelids, the tip of her nose and finally made his way back to her mouth once more. He eased the fur shrug she was wearing from her shoulders as his mouth traced a line of hot, soft kisses along her jaw, down her neck and across her collar bone.
Cassie?s hands were on Guy?s chest, she could feel his heart thudding beneath her fingertips as she slowly slid them under his jacket and slipped it off and onto the floor. She felt his hand, warm on her back, hovering at the zip on her long, purple silk evening dress. He pulled his head away and looked at her questioningly. She answered by pulling his mouth back to hers. As she heard the teeth on the zipper slowly parting, she pulled the undone bow tie from Guy?s neck and one by one began sliding the buttons through the crisp, white cotton. As she slid the fabric from his shoulders, the purple silk fell from her body into a pool on the floor at her feet.
Guy took a step backward, his breath shorter and shorter as he took in the sight of Cassie, almost naked in front of him. His blue eyes were almost black with wanting as he took both her hands in his, ?I love you, Cassie,? he breathed, roughly, ?I want you to be mine?always,?
?Always,? replied Cassie, pulling him towards her and the waiting bed.