The kiss grew hot and urgent. She felt the hard muscles in his back tighten as he leant further into her, trailing kisses down her neck to her exposed shoulders. Adira struggled for breath as his lips hovered over the swell of her breasts.
‘Jasper,’ she whispered, running her hands through his dark hair, soft and glossy. His touch was gentle, caressing and tantalising, sending waves of pleasure through her. Then a loud thud from above made her jump.
Abruptly stopping, Jasper raised his head.
‘What was that?’ hissed Adira, alarmed.
He got up quickly. ‘Stay there,’ he told her and went outside the camper van to investigate.
Adira sat still, waiting silently for him to return.
Moments later, he stuck his head round the door. ‘There’s an owl on your roof.’
‘An owl?’ She went to join him. Sure enough, there it was, sat proudly on the top of Sheila, hooting into the clear, starry night sky. They both laughed. ‘Well, that’s never happened before,’ Adira said, staring at the beauty of the magnificent bird. Suddenly it took off, wings flapping elegantly as it soared into the trees.
Jasper put his arm around her. ‘I better get going.’
Though she knew he would have to leave eventually, she couldn’t prevent the brief burst of disappointment at his announcement. ‘Thanks for a lovely evening, Jasper.’ She turned into his arm, looking up at his face with the glow of the light from Sheila’s windows.
‘My pleasure.’ He gave a knowing look, making her insides melt.
Chapter 21
Zara was not happy. Still there had been no word from Jasper, not directly anyway. She knew he had contacted the other directors from overhearing conversations – well, eavesdropping telephone conferences actually, which she should have vacated after connecting everyone. Once or twice, she had been copied into emails, which told her Jasper would be back soon, butwhenexactly? She was at fever pitch to see him, feeling despondent and unaccustomed to being kept in the dark. It was pointless being sat at her desk with hardly anything to do. Normally Jasper would keep her busy, but without him there and having fully caught up with all his projects, there was a temporary lull in the office. The sensible action to take would be to offer her services elsewhere in the building, but the fear of another director becoming familiarised with her efficiency and snaffling her as their PA in Jasper’s absence gripped her. What if it was decided to move her permanently, leaving another to fill her place? No way. So, Zara kept up the pretence that she had been given enough work to keep her busy, when in fact she was bored and restless.
Sighing, she got up from her desk and walked into the corridor to the water machine. On doing so, she passed Abbas, a senior company director.
‘Zara, I need a copy of Jasper’s report, for the Global Petroleum Group.’
‘Certainly, I’ll email it you immediately.’ She gave her sweetest smile.
Back in the office, she forwarded on the report to Abbas, then sat back with another sigh. That restless itch started to niggle her once more. Where exactly was Jasper anyway? She knew he’d gone to visit family in Lancashire, but that was about all. Having sent various parcels on his behalf over the years to his parents in Cumbria, she could deduce that he wasn’t staying there with them. Then she remembered a photograph of another elderly man in his apartment. Could Jasper be with him? He had referred to an uncle he was close to once and mentioned the village where he’d often stayed as a child. It had a quaint, quintessentially English ring to it, she’d thought at the time. What was it? She was sure it had some sort of colour in it… something Belle. Whitebelle? No, Lilac; was it Lilacbelle?
Frowning, she typed the name into her computer and searched – ‘Lilacbelle, Lancashire, England’. Several results flashed up before her, but no Lilacbelle. Then her eyes caught the name Lilacwell. Yes! That was it, Lilacwell. Zara clapped her hands in glee, then clicked onto the website.
Lilacwell is a hamlet within the civil parish of Bowland Forest Low and Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. It is in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The River Hodder winds its way along the wooded valley. A church, an inn and a few cottages grace this very pretty spot. The manor, now known as The Inn at Lilacwell, used to be the location for a thriving market, which was held on the forecourt. Aged old village customs are still an integral way of life for the local community.
How utterly charming it looked, she thought, with its cute stone cottages covered with ivy and climbing roses. Pictures of humpbacked bridges, babbling brooks, lush green forests and cobbled streets filled the screen. It seemed a friendly, homely place, with photographs of families picnicking along the riverside, enjoying local traditions such as May Day, with children skipping round a maypole holding reams of ribbon. Zara chuckled to herself at the ‘Morris Men’ dancing in funny-looking wooden shoes and peculiar outfits, carrying sticks with bells on; how eccentric the English could be.
She then clicked on a link to the local pub, The Inn at Lilacwell. What an impressive place this was, characteristically British with its country decor and long, wooden bar with handpumps. Even the large blackboard displaying the specials made her smile. All so timeless, not a TV screen in sight. Would Jasper visit this place? she wondered, scrolling down the webpage. Then she saw further pictures of the villagers enjoying the ‘Hog Roast Day’. She read on, trying to get a feel for the place. The event was to celebrate the opening of a new spa room apparently.
She stopped short. There, staring out at her, was Jasper himself, smiling nonchalantly on… She sat forward with slit eyes – amassage bed! Next to him was a woman. A slow, hot fury began to burn inside Zara.
Reading on, she learnt that: ‘Jasper Hendricks was the very first customer of The Bath House and was about to enjoy a full Swedish body massage, from the Inn’s therapist, Adira Summers.’
Oh,washe? That fury boiled over, sending Zara into an outright rage. She glared at Adira, nostrils flaring, shaking with anger. How dare she touch him? Not that he looked at all perturbed at the prospect of being groped by her.
There was another picture – they were sitting much closer now, smiling openly to the camera. That empty packet of condoms suddenly shot into Zara’s mind, sending her into orbit. Here was she, a loyal PA serving his every need… and there he was with some… common English prostitute.
Enough was enough, it was time to bring Jasper back.
Chapter 22
Adira had just finished preparing the treatment room for the next appointment. Lilly’s sister, Ruby, was due to arrive for her Indian head massage. There was a slight knock at the door.
‘Come in!’ called Adira.
A grey, curly head popped round the door.
