Everlasting Love

By tacit agreement they didn’t make their friendship obvious at the hospital, being completely cool to each other whenever they happened to meet there. And although several of Olivia’s friends teased her about her mysterious new boy-friend, none of them guessed she was secretly seeing Marcus Hamilton. She wasn’t sure any of them would have believed her if she had told them—she wasn’t sure she believed it herself half the time!

Sally Hamilton had point-blankly refused to meet her, and in the circumstances Olivia couldn’t exactly blame her. She wasn’t even sure herself what part she played in Marcus’s life; she only knew that for the moment he seemed to need her, her quiet presence, her gentle teasing if he should happen to become too grim. And not once did he mention his wife to her, whether through marital bitterness or just uninterest, she didn’t know.

Then one night their relationship changed drastically, Marcus telephoning her urgently to put off their meeting for that evening. ‘My mother-in-law has turned up to see Sally,’ he explained tersely. ‘I can hardly deny her, she is Sally’s grandmother.’

‘Of course,’ Olivia agreed quietly, for the first time realising the consequences of going out with a man who was still married to another woman. ‘I understand,’ she said, not understanding at all. Was Marcus ashamed of his relationship with her, was that why he was so determined no one should know about it?

There was silence at the other end of the telephone for several long minutes as Marcus sensed her confusion. ‘Come and meet Sybil,’ he invited suddenly. ‘Then you’ll see why I was so anxious for you not to do so.’

She did indeed. Sybil Carr was still a beautiful woman despite being in her mid-fifties, her figure slender, her black hair fashionable grey at the peak. She was also bitchy and condescending, treating Olivia as being no older than her granddaughter, the latter having graciously consented to sit down to dinner with Olivia, obviously enjoying her grandmother’s treatment of the woman she didn’t like and had no intention of attempting to like.

It was a strained and uncomfortable evening for Olivia, and Sybil Carr’s friendly word of warning about ‘middle-aged men trying to recapture their youth with a younger woman’ was the worst of it. The two women unexpectedly found themselves alone in the lounge when Marcus went upstairs to say goodnight to Sally, and Sybil Carr took full advantage of the opportunity this gave her to warn Olivia off him.

‘Well?’ Marcus arched dark brows questioningly as he drove her back to the nurses’ home.

‘I shouldn’t have come,’ she confirmed woodenly, still shaken by what Sybil Carr had said to her. ‘Your mother-in-law believes you will eventually go back to your wife.’ The words came out in a rush as she couldn’t hold them in any longer.

He stiffened, his expression remote. ‘I wasn’t the one to leave, she was.’

‘And if she wanted to come back?’

‘She’s never asked to.’

‘But—–’

‘I do not wish to discuss my wife, Olivia,’ he told her harshly. ‘She has no relevance to our relationship. Sybil may believe what she likes, but I don’t expect you to listen to her.’

If only she had more confidence in his feelings for her! And yet Sybil Carr had been so patronising about Marcus’s interest in her, had called it a fantasy for him, every man’s dream of having a young girl infatuated with him. She had also pointed out that Marcus needed someone with more sophistication, that he would soon tire of a child like her. Her last warning had had the most effect on Olivia, telling her that Ruth Hamilton had realised the mistake she made in leaving her husband and daughter, that she was now prepared to come home.

Marcus hadn’t denied wanting his wife back, now, he had merely said she hadn’t asked to come back. There was a vast difference between the two answers.

‘Olivia?’

‘Sorry.’ She came out of her reverie to look at him, finding his gaze levelled on her. ‘Your mother-in-law doesn’t like me.’

His expression lightened as he turned back to the road. ‘She isn’t supposed to, I am.’

‘And do you?’ she asked huskily.

His hand left the steering-wheel to grasp hers. ‘You know I do.’

‘I—You never show me that you do,’ she said hesitantly, needing his reassurance tonight. ‘You’re always so—distant with me.’

He didn’t answer her, taking his hand from hers to stare rigidly ahead. Heavens, what had she done now!

Marcus stopped the car a short distance from the hosptial as he usually did, turning to look at her.

‘Olivia—–’ he seemed to be searching for the right words. ‘If I—I’m afraid that if I once start kissing you I won’t be able to stop! Can you understand that?’ He looked at her appealingly.

Her eyes were wide. ‘No.’

He sighed. ‘I didn’t think you would. Come here.’ He opened his arms to her.

She went into them unquestioningly, gasping at the fierceness with which he claimed her lips, moulding her torso to his, making her aware of the rapid beat of his heart. One hand moved to curve possessively over her breast, locating the taut nipple through the thin material of her blouse, his touch sure and demanding.

‘I want you,’ he groaned into her throat. ‘I want you so, Olivia.’

She was lost in the wonder of his caresses after weeks of starvation, loving the feel of his lips against her skin, her head thrown back as he smoothed the material away from her breasts, capturing one red-tipped nipple between his pleasure-giving lips, his tongue erotic against the hardened nub, and spasms of pleasure coursed through her body. She held his head against her, her fingers fevered in the thickness of his hair, kissing his temple with trembling lips, gasping as his teeth bit gently into her sensitive nipple, causing no pain, only pleasure.

‘Come home with me. Olivia,’ he murmured against her mouth, nibbling gently on the lower lip, drawing it into his own in a message of eroticism. ‘Come home and share my bed,’ he encouraged raggedly.

‘I—–’

‘Olivia? Olivia, telephone!’

Her memories of Marcus were interrupted with a suddenness that left her stunned for several seconds. It had all seemed so vivid, so real, just as if it had happened yesterday and not six years ago.

‘Olivia?’ A brief knock was followed by Natalie actually coming into the bedroom. ‘There’s a telephone call for you.’

Olivia dragged herself back from the past with effort, standing up. ‘Do you know who it is?’ She pushed her hair back from her face.

‘Sally Hamilton,’ Natalie supplied in a puzzled voice. ‘And she sounded very urgent.’

Olivia froze as soon as she heard the name of her caller. What on earth could Sally Hamilton want to talk to her about? The girl had seemed pleased to see her this afternoon, and it had been nice to see what a pleasant young woman she had grown up into. But Olivia didn’t want the meeting to go any further than that, and she intended making that clear to Sally.

She picked up the receiver as it lay beside the telephone in the hallway, conscious of Natalie’s curious looks before she went back to join the family in the lounge. ‘Sally, I—–’

‘Oh, thank God you’re there!’ the girl choked before Olivia could say any more. ‘It’s Daddy, he—he’s been in a serious car accident. He—he has head injuries. Olivia, they aren’t sure if—if he’s going to live!’

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