скачать книгу бесплатно
Luke was looking shell-shocked. Emily was just beginning to wonder whether he’d heard her when he said, ‘I’ll pick you up at three.’
She looked up at him in surprise. ‘Is it that far?’
‘A couple of hours.’
Emily frowned. That changed things. She couldn’t expect him to give up such a large chunk of his weekend. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’ she asked.
He lifted an eyebrow. ‘I may even be able to dig out a morning suit.’
Emily smiled, feeling happier and more settled than she had in hours. ‘Thank you, Luke.’
And then, because she really was grateful, and because it seemed the natural thing to do, she reached up and planted a light kiss at the corner of his mouth.
But there was nothing natural about her reaction. The moment her mouth grazed his skin the world wobbled. Her lips tingled and his smell—clean, masculine and untainted by after-shave—swirled into her head. Sensation washed over her. Emily swayed and then jerked back, unable to stifle a tiny gasp of shock.
She saw her own surprise and confusion and something else reflected in his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. She was too close. The heat radiating off his body was scorching her. She stumbled back, but his hands shot out, and before she’d realised what was happening he was pulling her back against him, wrapping his arms around her and crashing his mouth down on hers.
He took advantage of her parted lips instantly, his tongue darting into her mouth and exploring her with a thoroughness that turned her bones to water. His fingers tangled in her hair, angling her head, and he deepened the kiss. Emily’s heart banged around her chest and her blood raced around her body like a stream of fire.
Her own hands found their way to his back and her fingers bunched the fabric of his jacket, itching to delve underneath and touch his skin everywhere. The hard length of his erection pressed against her stomach. His hand curved round to brush the side of her breast and she moaned into his mouth.
She froze. The sound of her own desperate longing brought her thundering back to reality. What on earth were they doing? Locked together, kissing frantically, about to rip each other’s clothes off. In the lobby of a five-star hotel.
An identical thought had obviously occurred to Luke at exactly the same time. His hands stilled and he pulled back, staring down at her, his eyes so dark they were almost black, his breathing ragged as he struggled to get his body back under control.
‘Oh, dear,’ he said huskily, letting her go, turning on his heel and striding out of the hotel.
‘That’s all he said? “Oh, dear”?’
‘Yes, for the tenth time, that’s all he said.’ Emily closed her eyes and flopped back on the bed, seriously doubting the wisdom of calling her sister in the hope that she’d be able to shed some light on the situation.
‘How did he say it?’
An image of Luke’s face just before he marched off floated into her head. ‘Kind of neutral. Expressionless. Blank. What do you think he meant?’
‘Who knows? It could be anything from That was fantastic and I’m in danger of falling head over heels in love with this woman—’
Emily’s heart lurched for a second. ‘Rather unlikely, don’t you think?’
‘—to God, I pity you. Your kissing technique is diabolical.’
Emily groaned and clapped a hand over her eyes. As far as she could remember—and she’d relived the experience a hundred times in the past hour or so—his technique had been perfect. Whether hers had been any good was anyone’s guess. She’d lost her mind and any finesse the moment their mouths had met. ‘I’m rather hoping it was What the hell are we thinking of, two grown adults kissing like frenzied teenagers in a hotel lobby in full view of a dozen people?’
‘Perhaps we’ll never know. How is the hotel, by the way?’
Emily sat up and surveyed her room. ‘Amazing. Forget a cat, you could swing a pride of lions in here. Thank you for booking it.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘Guess what’s on the balcony.’
‘Hmm, let me think. A table? Chairs? A couple of wilting pot plants?’
‘A hot tub.’
‘Big enough for two?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Her imagination had come up with some pretty racy scenarios involving her and Luke, with little clothing and lots of bubbles. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the memory of Luke’s mouth moving over hers, warm and firm, his taste, his smell, the feel of his body crushing hers...
‘Remember that at the wedding. You’re clearly on a roll. You might get lucky.’
‘What wedding?’ asked Emily dreamily.
‘Er, tomorrow?’ Anna’s tone sharpened. ‘Don’t even think about not going. If you do, I’ll cancel my credit card and you’ll be landed with the hotel bill.’
Emily sat up. ‘Oh, I’m going. I’m definitely going. Luke’s coming with me.’
She had to hold her mobile away from her ear as her sister let out a very unlike-Anna squeal.
She frowned. ‘At least that was the plan. After the “Oh, dear” episode I’m not sure whether he’ll turn up.’
‘Of course he will. He’s a man of his word.’
‘How on earth do you figure that?’
‘He turned up to take you to France, didn’t he? He’ll be there tomorrow. And when he is, you can ask him what he meant.’
But did she want to know? That was the question that had been swirling around Emily’s head for the past twenty-four hours. Their kiss had replayed in her mind all night. Her response to Luke was overwhelming. How could she react like this to a man she’d only just met and barely knew? For the first time in her life she was at the mercy of an extraordinary attraction that was as unsettling as it was exciting. This, plus the steamy thoughts generated by the discovery of a complimentary box of condoms in a bathroom cupboard, had made her toss and turn until she’d finally given up and gone to pound her restlessness out in the pool.
At least the hotel beautician had managed to cover up the worst of the grey circles under her eyes, and the hairdresser had sorted her hair out so that her feather fascinator looked as though it did actually belong where it was.
Her sister had packed well, thought Emily, slipping into the dress she’d worn to Anna and David’s wedding. A dress which had earned compliments from everyone except Tom. She should have realised something wasn’t quite right between the two of them way back then.
She thrust her feet into gold strappy sandals and glanced at her watch. Quarter to three. Her hands were trembling as they fumbled with the straps. The butterflies in her stomach were clamouring to escape. She wasn’t sure quite what her nerves were for. The wedding, or coming face to face with Luke? Both probably.
After the way he’d walked out yesterday evening she wouldn’t be at all surprised if he didn’t show up this afternoon, despite Anna’s assurances. Anna hadn’t seen the stunned expression on his face when he’d agreed to go with her, as if he’d been as startled by his answer as she was. Nor had she seen his face darken in a way that suggested he’d regretted his decision the moment he’d made it. So if he was waiting for her downstairs, what mood would he be in?
Oh, well, thought Emily, there was only one way to find out. She picked up her clutch bag, pulled her shoulders back and glanced at herself in the mirror. If there was one thing she was certain of, she told herself, taking a series of deep, steadying breaths and checking her teeth for lipstick, the next few hours were going to be anything but boring.
CHAPTER THREE
FUN. Was that what this was supposed to be? Luke asked himself grimly, pushing through the hotel’s revolving door and stalking across the gleaming marble floor. Fun was supposed to be light, nothing more than a passing diversion. It was not supposed to knock him for six, and it was not supposed to derail his focus to such an extent that his clients had asked him if he was all right in the middle of the meeting.
Luke scowled as he scanned the lobby in case Emily was early, and then flung himself onto the sofa, picked up the first magazine his fingers found and flicked to an article on interest rate forecasts in south-east Asia.
He didn’t need to look up to know that Emily had walked into the lobby. He hadn’t heard the lift ping, he hadn’t heard the swish of a door drawing back, yet he knew. By the way the tiny hairs at the back of his neck leapt up. The words blurred on the page. The tapping of her heels on the marble echoed louder and louder as they came towards him. Deliberately taking his time, Luke closed the magazine, looked up, and his mouth went dry.
She was standing on the very spot where they’d kissed yesterday, wearing some kind of green wraparound dress the exact colour of her eyes. It fell to her knees and clung just about everywhere. His gaze roamed up, taking in the elegant sweep of hair that was caught up with an arrangement of feathers and tumbled in glossy waves over her shoulders, and then he continued his appraisal down over her curves to the very high sandals that made her long legs even longer.
Running a finger around the inside of the collar of a shirt that was suddenly choking him, Luke got to his feet. Her scent threaded towards him, and he was gripped by a lust so strong that he had to jam his hands in his pockets to stop himself from throwing her over his shoulder, bundling her back into that lift and locking them both in her room for the rest of the weekend.
‘You look beautiful,’ he managed hoarsely, giving her a tense smile and then clearing his throat.
Emily returned his smile with a sunnier one of her own and he was struck by a deep sense of foreboding. Telling him to get out of here now. Head straight back to Monte Carlo as fast as Pierre could get him there.
‘Thank you,’ said Emily, giddy with relief that he’d turned up to meet her and buzzing at his compliment. ‘So do you.’
Luke Harrison dressed for a wedding was devastating. The fact that he looked tired and drawn did nothing to detract from his dark good looks, and did nothing to diminish the effect he was having on her pulse.
But, although he was staring at her as if he wanted to devour her, he didn’t offer her a kiss on the cheek and she suddenly felt uncharacteristically awkward. He had an edge about him today that made her feel as if she could be walking on eggshells, and she couldn’t bring herself to ask him what the ‘Oh dear’ had meant. If she did, it would stir up memories of that kiss, and Luke didn’t look as if he was in the mood to discuss it. Much better to pretend it had never happened.
‘Would you like a drink before we go?’
God, no, thought Emily. Who knew how long it would be before she stepped too heavily on those eggshells? Two hours in a confined space with him would be bad enough as it was. Why prolong the agony? ‘Would you mind if we just went straight there?’
‘Not at all.’ Luke put a hand on her elbow to lead her out to his car. His chauffeur-driven car, if the well-built man dressed in a dark uniform and cap and standing by the rear door was anything to go by. ‘Give the address to Pierre and he’ll put it into the navigation system.’
Emily fished the invitation out of her bag and presented it to Pierre with a flourish. ‘Voilà,’ she said, smiling up at the driver, who took it with an inclination of his head and then held the door open for her. Emily swung into the car as if she never travelled any other way, while Luke stalked round to the other side and folded himself onto the back seat beside her.
The Provence countryside had been whizzing by for about an hour before Emily had finally had enough of the crackling silence. Wasn’t she the one who was supposed to be on edge and tense? Her ex-fiancé was, after all, within a hair’s breadth of marrying another woman. To add insult to injury, she was bound to bump into people who’d taken his side after the split and whom she hadn’t seen or spoken to since. Yes, she was the one who should be trembling in trepidation. But, bizarrely, she felt fine. Amazingly calm and collected and ready to face whatever the afternoon held in store for her.
Luke, however, who should be relaxed and looking forward to spending the afternoon drinking champagne at someone else’s expense, was radiating unease and sitting unnaturally still. He was staring into the distance, probably totally unaware of the quaint towns and swathes of fields zipping past.
What on earth was the matter with him? Yesterday, for the most part, he’d been charming. Today he was decidedly unsociable and it was unsettling her. To hell with the eggshells. This silence was driving her nuts and the thought of another minute of it was unbearable.
Emily swivelled round and studied his profile. ‘How were your meetings?’
Luke barely blinked before replying. ‘Productive.’
Hmm, not a promising start. She tried a different topic. ‘Where do you stay when you’re here?’
‘I have offices in Monaco.’
‘Handy. But that’s not what I asked.’
‘One of the rooms has been converted into a bedroom. It has an en-suite bathroom and a dressing room.’
‘You sleep in your office?’ Emily couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice.
‘It makes for an easy commute,’ said Luke, twisting round and shooting her a humourless smile.
‘You have a chauffeur. Commuting should be a cinch.’
‘He’s on loan for this evening. I have a feeling I’m going to need a drink.’ His face hardened and his jaw set as if in preparation for something unpleasant.
She could sympathise. ‘I know what you mean.’
‘I doubt it,’ he said harshly.
Emily frowned. ‘Don’t you like weddings?’
‘Not particularly.’
‘Not even the church part?’
‘Especially not the church part,’ he said, with a vehemence that made Emily flinch.
‘Why not?’
‘I just don’t.’
Which was one way of saying mind your own business, she supposed. ‘When was the last time you were in a church?’
‘Three years ago.’
‘That’s a long time.’
‘Too long.’ His voice was bleak, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know any more. Invisible barriers were springing up all around him, warning her to back off, not to pry any further.
So she sat back and contemplated what might cause such a strong dislike of churches and weddings. According to one of her girlfriends, the mere mention of either had a tendency to cause most men to break into a sweat. It certainly had with Tom, even after he’d proposed. Although he’d managed to get over that particular fear with unflattering speed.
Perhaps Luke Harrison was a commitment phobe. That might explain why he was still single when he was handsome, wealthy and intelligent.
‘How on earth did you slip through the net?’ she murmured, and then gasped in horror when she realised she’d said the words aloud.
‘What net?’
There was no way she could pretend she didn’t understand what he was talking about. Not when his eyes had narrowed and were trained on her face.
Emily gulped nervously. ‘The marriage net. I’d have thought someone would have snapped you up years ago.’ Why, oh, why hadn’t she kept quiet? Eggshells were beginning to shatter all over the place.
A muscle started ticking in his jaw. ‘Marriage isn’t for me,’ he bit out.
Something about his stillness, the flash of desolation in his eyes, made Emily yearn to find out why he was so against marriage. But she’d already gone way too far.
Desperately seeking to lighten the atmosphere, she gave him what she hoped was a conspiratorial smile. ‘I agree. Commitment, responsibility, a relationship...’ She shuddered. ‘I can’t think of anything worse.’
After several minutes of more thundering silence Luke rubbed a hand over his face, and when he looked at her again something seemed to have shifted inside him. The tension ebbed from his frame and his eyes cleared. ‘Talking of commitment, you’d better fill me in on this wedding we’re going to.’
Emily swallowed and looked out of the window. ‘I know the groom. Tom’s a—er...a friend of mine.’ Quite why she was reluctant to reveal the nature of their relationship to Luke was a mystery. He’d find out soon enough. With any luck after she’d had a glass or two of champagne.
‘Why didn’t you want to go?’
‘Oh, well, I—er—haven’t seen him for a while. There didn’t seem much point.’
‘Why was Anna so keen for you to come?’
Emily stifled a sigh of exasperation. Couldn’t he just let it go? ‘She thinks I need to get out more,’ she said firmly. And that was as much as she was willing to say on the matter.
