responding to his touch. The arousal of her breasts was instant, the nipples hard and sensitive, as she reached out instinctively to cling tightly to the broad width of his shoulders, her legs seeming in danger of melting beneath her.
But as suddenly as he had touched her she found herself thrust away from him, and Nick was stepping back, that devilishly handsome face now set in scathing dismissal.
‘You really are a sexy little thing, aren’t you?’ he mused as he leant back against his desk, his blue gaze considering now, as he looked at the firm thrust of her breasts against her cream blouse.
‘Mr Cavendish—’
‘Oh, come on, Hebe,’ he drawled tauntingly, shaking his head slightly, those blue eyes alight with mocking laughter. ‘You can hardly go back to calling me that after sharing your body with me,’ he reminded her, with a challenging rise of that square, uncompromising chin.
Hebe felt the colour warm her cheeks at his deliberate taunting. Why was he doing this to her? What perverse pleasure did he get out of humiliating her in this way?
She straightened defensively, glaring at him. ‘At the same time as you shared your body with me!’ she came back, with all the fury of her humiliation, uncaring now if this was just his way of trying to get her to resign from her job at the gallery.
Fine. Let him sack her. She was quickly reaching the point where she didn’t care.
His smile was derisive. ‘I’m flattered that amongst all your other lovers you’ve even remembered me.’
All her other—! What was he talking about? She had had one relationship before him, and that had been five years ago; ancient history rather than recent.
‘Let’s stop playing this game, shall we?’ Nick said impatiently as he stood up.
‘Gladly!’ she agreed tautly. ‘Can I go back to work now?’ If she didn’t get out of here soon she was very much afraid the humiliating tears that blurred her vision would escape and begin to fall hotly down her cheeks!
‘No, you damn well—’ Nick broke off abruptly, drawing in controlling breaths as he realised she had to be deliberately baiting him.
Because he knew of her relationship with Andrew Southern?
Probably, he accepted scathingly. Okay, so as an artist the man was a legend in his own lifetime, but he was still a man aged in his fifties, and Hebe was only in her mid-twenties. And Nick had wondered if he was too old for her!
‘Okay, Hebe,’ he began reasoningly. ‘I accept that your affair with Andrew Southern is none of my business—’
‘My what?’ she gasped incredulously, gold eyes wide with disbelief.
‘It’s past history, I realise that—’
‘Past—!’ Hebe gave a dazed shake of her head. ‘But I told you. I don’t even know Andrew Southern!’ she protested indignantly.
‘Evidence proves the contrary—’
‘Evidence?’ she repeated disgustedly. ‘Look, Nick, I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ She shook her head, that amazing silver-blonde hair moving silkily against her creamy cheeks. ‘Maybe you have jet-lag, and it’s affecting your judgement. I don’t know, but—’
‘I came back from New York last week, Hebe,’ he told her softly, his gaze narrowing as she looked at him sharply. ‘I’d received information that there was a possibility of a hitherto unseen Andrew Southern coming up for sale in the north of England.’ His mouth twisted. ‘As you can imagine, I had no intention of letting anyone but Cavendish Galleries own that painting.’
‘For Cavendish Galleries read Nick Cavendish!’ she came back scathingly.
‘Exactly.’He smiled in acknowledgement of her derision. ‘Imagine my surprise when I saw the subject of the painting!’
Hebe gave a dazed shake of her head. She had no idea what this conversation was about, or where it could possibly be going. But Nick, it seemed, had been back in England a week already. A week during which he had neither telephoned her nor tried to see her again.
Until today. When he had done nothing but humiliate and embarrass her.
But he had taken her in his arms too…
To prove a point. Nothing else. And he had proved it too, hadn’t he? She responded to him even when she didn’t want to.
Sometimes she wasn’t sure if she didn’t hate him rather than love him!
‘The subject of the painting…?’she prompted frowningly.
‘Yes.’ Nick was looking at her with narrowed eyes now. ‘A portrait. A woman. A very beautiful woman, in fact.’ He shrugged his broad shoulders as if that point was indisputable.
‘It’s one of his earlier paintings then—?’
‘No,’ Nick cut in with certainty. ‘I can categorically say this work is recent. The last five years or so, I would say,’ he added consideringly.
‘But I thought he didn’t paint portraits any more—’
‘Obviously this woman inspired him to do so,’ Nick cut in dryly.
Hebe didn’t like the way he was looking at her now, as if critically dissecting every part of her body.
A body he had come to know intimately six weeks ago…
Except he hadn’t seemed to find anything to critisise about it then, had he?
She shrugged. ‘As far as I’m aware, Andrew Southern hasn’t painted a portrait for over twenty years.’
‘Are you doubting my expertise, Hebe?’ Nick snapped tautly.
No, she wasn’t doing that. Not in any way! She knew only too well what an masterful lover he was. And he hadn’t built up the prestigious worldwide reputation of the Cavendish Galleries by not being extremely knowledgable about art. He knew his subject equally as well as he knew how to be a lover!
Nick was growing tired of Hebe’s prevarication. He strode forcefully across his office to flick the covering from the painting displayed there, his piercing gaze never leaving Hebe’s face as he did so. He wanted to see her reaction to the portrait.
Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at the portrait, her body tensing rigidly.
Not surprising, really, Nick thought with hard amusement.
The painting was of her. Sitting sideways on a chair, wearing a clinging dress of midnight-blue, her hair a glorious curtain of silver down the long length of her spine.
And that was where the formality of the portrait began and ended!
Because her expression could only be called sultry, with a knowing smile curving those pouting, kissable lips, and her eyes, those wonderful golden eyes, half closed as if in arousal. Her breasts were thrust slightly forward beneath the blue dress, the material
