A Lesson in Desire: Season of Desire Part 3 (Seasons Quartet) by Sadie Matthews Read Free Book Online Page A

and smiles.
    ‘Oh no, Winter. No more. Not here. This is not the right place for us.’ He turns, goes to the desk by the wall, picks up a scrap of paper and a pen. ‘Do you have a new phone yet? Give me the number.’
    I pant out my phone number, dazed by the sensations coursing through my body and still coming to terms with the fact that he’s just told me that there won’t be any more.
    But he called me Winter… Excitement stabs me in the core. I know what that means.
    ‘Can you get away from here?’ he asks as he scribbles down the number.
    ‘Yes…yes.’
    ‘Good. Because I don’t intend to stay much longer myself. I’m sorting out a new phone. When I have it, I’ll be in touch. Okay?’
    I nod, torn between desperate disappointment that we won’t be taking advantage of the bed and a delicious anticipation of what will happen next.
    He comes over and takes my hands. ‘I’m happy to continue your education,’ he says, ‘on my terms. Do you understand?’
    ‘Yes,’ I whisper.
    ‘This place drains me. We’ll continue somewhere else.’
    ‘I understand.’
    ‘Good. Now let’s get you back to where you belong.’
     
    My private helicopter flight lands in the early afternoon and a car waits for me on the edge of the landing site. It’s a sunny day, with the jagged, snowy peaks of the mountains clearly defined against the clear blue sky. The pretty village of Klosters nestles among the pine-covered slopes, a collection of traditional chalet-style and more modern hotels and houses, all covered in a thick layer of pure white snow. We drive through the village. Through the tinted windows of the car, I see the winter tourists milling about, heading for the ski slopes or wandering out to the shops and restaurants. This place attracts a wealthy crowd and I wonder if I’ll see anyone I recognise. A group of girls in chic ski clothes, fur hats and sunglasses make me tense but as we pass them, I realise I don’t know any of their faces.
    I don’t want anyone to know I’m here.
    I told my father and sisters that I was going to stay with my friend Lola for a few nights at her place in St Moritz but my flight actually brought me here. No one, not even Jane-Elizabeth, knows where I really am. It was hard to persuade my father to let me go without a bodyguard but I needed to travel alone so I lied and told him that Lola was supplying both the helicopter flight and the security. He knows that she comes from a family almost as paranoid about security as ours, so that allayed his fears a little. I can only hope now that he doesn’t decide to check up on me. The truth is that I booked a company that I use all the time in the skiing season, when I flit from one resort to another for parties. The owners know me and no one seemed to think it odd that I didn't have anyone with me.
    ‘I know I suggested a change of scene,’ Dad said when I told him I was leaving. ‘But I was thinking of somewhere hot and very private, where we know you’ll be completely secure. An island. A private resort.’
    ‘Just a few days,’ I wheedled. ‘Lola and I are going to have a very quiet time, with massages and spa treatments. I need to relax after what happened.’
    He considered it, and seemed happy with the idea that we’d be lying on massage tables being treated with face masks and oxygen therapies. ‘Okay, honey. You’re right, you need a good rest and Lola will look after you. But stay in touch, all right? And just a few days.’
    ‘Okay,’ I said, too happy to have won my freedom to show my irritation at the way my father was being more controlling than ever.
    Of course he had no idea that I wasn’t going to be with Lola at all.
    The driver has the address that I’m going to. I hope he knows the way because I have no idea where it is. He takes us on the road out of the main part of the village. The chalets we pass are picture perfect, like something from a story book with their carved shutters and balconies. Thick pine