Secrets After Dark by Sadie Matthews Read Free Book Online Page A

apprentice.’ He seems to be seeing me properly almost for the first time, his gaze raking my face, taking me in. Then his eyes travel down my body to my feet and back up again. I can almost feel their laser beam against my skin. He nods. ‘Good. Now. Come with me.’ He turns and walks briskly on, leaving me to follow in his wake.
    Honestly, I’ve never met anyone so rude. Is it asking so much to be a little bit polite? All these orders! Where are we going? I have to walk very fast to keep up with his strides. He seems to know exactly where he is going, which is odd. As he powers ahead of me, I hear the chirrup of his phone and then he is pressing it to his ear again. ‘Yes?’ he says. ‘It’s looking promising. Very promising. Where are you? Excellent. Give me thirty seconds.’
    Now what’s going on?
    We reach a staircase and Dubrovski descends it quickly. The heels of my shoes clatter on the stones as I hurry down after him. I wouldn’t have worn heels if I’d known how much walking I was going to do, and on stone flags at that. I’m breathless as we race along another corridor, then he stops outside a large, iron-studded wooden door. As I catch up, he flings it open and goes in, and I follow.
    Inside are two people, a man and a woman. They are sitting close to one another, their heads nearly touching as they both gaze down at a laptop screen. As we come in, they look up. The woman is extremely beautiful with glossy dark hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, emphasising the fine contours of her face. As she sees Dubrovski, her expression melts into a smile and she says, ‘Hello, darling,’ in a rich, accented voice.
    I’m utterly unaware of anything Dubrovski says in return: the world disappears. All sight and sound vanishes except for one thing. The man next to her, staring back me with a stunned expression, is Dominic.

Chapter Five
     
    Oh my God.
    I’m staring at him, open-mouthed, my heart racing.
    He’s here! I feast my eyes on his handsome face, his olive skin a little lighter than it was when I last saw him – his summer tan has faded. His hair is the same, dark and cut short, and of course his beautiful brown eyes, almost black, are as wonderful as I remembered. He’s wearing a suit that shows off his perfect physique. I have an instant vision of his chest, broad and sprinkled with dark hair, that sends a charge of excitement coursing through me. Pleasure erupts within me and I’m seized by a violent desire to rush to him, press myself to him and kiss him, to taste his mouth, breathe his scent and feel his skin. But despite the wild urges possessing me, I can’t move.
    Dominic is staring back bewildered as he tries to take in that I am really there, then I see a dawning of realisation and happiness. A smile curves his lips and he looks as though he’s going to speak. Abruptly his expression changes, he stifles the smile and darts a quick look at his boss. As he looks back at me meaningfully, I understand. He doesn’t want his boss to know about us. I drag my gaze away from him and over to the woman next to him, who is still talking.
    ‘And so, as you see, things are progressing well,’ she is saying to Dubrovski, with a smile. I take in how very beautiful she is: tall and slender with perfect skin, slanting green eyes and bee-stung lips. As I look at her, her gaze moves to me. ‘And who is this?’ she asks in her unusually rich-sounding voice, made more mellifluous by her Russian accent.
    ‘This is Beth,’ Dubrovski says. His voice sounds particularly harsh after her mellow tones. ‘She is assistant to Mark Palliser, helping him assess the painting. Beth, these are two of my employees – Anna Poliakov and Dominic Stone.’
    My gaze is fixed on Dominic again; I can’t help it. Where else can I look, but at the man who’s meant so much to me? The man I was in love with... and, despite my attempts to break free and turn my love into anger, I still am.
    ‘It’s nice to meet you,