Moonflower by Leigh Archer

her
lower lip as she plunged down onto him.
    Reuben
asked no more questions.
     
    The smile
faded from Sophie’s lips as she heard a burst of conversation from
nearby. She was suddenly resentful of these visitors to Labour's
End, and this was a new experience for her. She had always loved
sharing her world with others. Watching silence settle over a group
as they came upon animals most had only ever seen in books or on
television, now in front of them, magnificent in their natural
habitat.
    But Sophie knew it wasn’t the thought of sharing her world
with these people that was causing these feelings of resentment and
dissatisfaction. It was having to share Reuben with people who had known him
for many years. Knew him far better than she’d probably ever know
him. People who could draw him back into his own world, away from
her and the wide open spaces of Labour’s End.
    Reuben
had warned her, as she’d left his room that morning, that they
would probably not be able to spend any time alone together while
his friends and guests were at the farm.
    Of
course, the comment had hurt her. But she could not be angry with
him. He had not promised her anything more than a distraction. That
was the understanding between them, and she had accepted it. In
fact, she too had no desire to be part of his world; London, its
traffic, press of people, and tall buildings everywhere so you
forgot there was a sky and that you shared the planet with
creatures far more powerful than you were.
    But she’d
hoped for a bit longer with him, to explore what she’d only just
found. Labour’s End had, in recent weeks, become their playground,
and for the briefest time Sophie had felt utter contentment that
came only from a life fulfilled at every level. She had the
wildness of the African bush and its exquisite animals, an
important job to do that would affect her world for generations to
come, and a man who set that world on fire, who had only just begun
to show her that she had places within herself she had never known
existed.
    There was
still so much to do, so much to explore and discover, but not with
all these people around. People who spoke to Reuben about other
people and things she couldn’t follow. They’d brought with them a
reality and a sophistication that made Sophie’s relationship with
Reuben seem like an adolescent crush. And that made her feel
suddenly silly. This was Reuben’s real life. These people, the
things and places they were talking about. Not the few weeks a year
he’d spend on his African farm.
    Another
thought struck Sophie then. One that made her sick to her stomach.
Would she fall deeply in love with Reuben, only to see him go back
to his reality? Would she pine for him, wait patiently for his
return to Labour’s End now and then; a few snatched hours or weeks
here and there as the years wore on? While she believed that what
they had was too special to pass up, to Reuben it was most likely
nothing more than an exotic distraction.
    Would the
prospect of such a depressing future stop Sophie from going to
Reuben’s bed? She thought about that. But, to her surprise, the
answer was no. She knew it was already too late. She was fast
falling in love with him and the thought both thrilled and
terrified her. The tycoon would not alter his world for her. He’d
said as much, never been anything less than brutally honest with
her. He had always kept conversation between them light, or about
the farm. She had no idea who his parents were, where he’d grown
up, how he’d got that scar on his knee. He had been careful to keep
these two parts of his life separate from each other.
    Sophie
was in no doubt that whatever had awoken between them was doomed.
She wanted to run then, but whether away from the farm or into
Reuben’s arms, she couldn’t tell.
    'And who
is this vision in khaki?'
    Sophie
jumped. A man who looked vaguely familiar stood in front of her,
and she’d been so lost in thought she hadn’t heard