nodded.
For a second their eyes connected, and immediately she wished that they hadn’t. He had the sexiest eyes on the planet: dark, bold come-to-bed eyes that seemed to sear her to the very bone.
The lift jolted to a stop and the doors slid open. Alexi led the way towards a doorway opposite.
A turn of a key, and Katie stepped into a luxurious apartment with wide windows facing out towards Central Park.
‘Make a coffee, will you, whilst I check my emails?’ Alexi ordered casually as he tossed his keys down on a table and turned on some lights.
So much for his caring, ‘you look a little pale’ moment, she thought sardonically. This was more like it. She put her overnight bag down on a chair and walked over towards the open-plan kitchen to fill the kettle.
The place was very stylish, solid-oak floors and minimalist furniture. ‘Did you get the same person to design this as your London apartment?’ she asked casually as she found some cups.
Alexi didn’t answer her, and she glanced over to find that she was on her own; he’d disappeared through the doorway at the end of the corridor.
She followed him a few moments later with a steaming cup of freshly ground coffee, and found him in a small office adjoining one of the bedrooms.
‘One black coffee, no sugar.’ She put it down next to him, and then stood watching whilst he sorted through some papers he’d taken from his briefcase.
‘Thanks, Katie, did we get the codes for the files we need today?’ he asked without looking up.
‘Yes, I put them with the forms I filled out earlier.’
‘Great. You can turn in now if you want.’
‘Thanks,’ she murmured dryly. ‘Which room can I have?’
‘Which room do you want?’ He looked up at her suddenly, a flare of teasing light in the darkness of his eyes. ‘Mine is the one at the end of the corridor. You can take your pick.’
The memory of his earlier, arrogant comment trickled through her.
‘Well, any room but that, then.’ She tried to sound flippant.
He smiled as if he found her the most amusing woman he’d ever met. ‘If that’s what you want.’
‘Of course it’s what I want.’ Her heart missed a beat as he started to get up from behind the desk. Suddenly she could feel alarm bells ringing with piercing intensity.
‘Katie, I think we’ve known each other long enough for you to be able to drop this pretence … don’t you?’
‘I don’t know what you are talking about! I’m not pretending about anything!’ She swallowed hard.
‘No?’ He looked relaxed as he leaned back against the desk and fixed her with a probing look. ‘I think you are. I think the fact that there is still a chemistry buzzing between us is driving you out of your mind.’
He was so damn sure of himself that it was galling! ‘I honestly don’t know what you are talking about!’ She did the only thing she could; she lied vehemently. It was either that or she would lose her self-respect along with her defences.
‘Don’t you?’ His lips curved in a sardonic smile. ‘So, why the panicky look?’
‘I’m not panicky …’ The lie was so great it was almost laughable, and he obviously wasn’t in the slightest bit fooled because he smiled.
‘Honey, we are going to have to address this.’
‘I’m not your honey, and there is nothing to address!’ She was suddenly furious, but more with herself than with him, because he was so right. How was she going to work with him when she felt like this? She made to move past him, but he reached out and caught hold of her arm, stopping her.
‘Katie, let’s not lie to each other, hmm?’ He said the words softly. ‘We’ve never lied to each other, have we?’
‘You’re right, the one thing we had was honesty.’ She looked up at him, her eyes flashing fire. ‘We both knew from day one that what we had together wasn’t going to last beyond the end of my contract with Demetri Shipping.’ Her voice trembled slightly as she strove to pull herself together.
‘But it has lasted.’ He said the words huskily and turned her towards him forcefully. ‘Against the odds, I’ll grant you. The chemistry is alive and well …’
She shook her head, but he reached out and tipped her chin upwards, forcing her to look up at him.
The touch of his fingers against her skin was intensely disturbing, and for all the wrong reasons. She wanted him to deepen the touch … wanted him to stroke his hand through her hair, lower his head, claim her mouth and take possession of her. The need was like a palpable ache inside her. And she hated herself for it.
‘In fact, the chemistry is even stronger than it once was,’ he told her softly. ‘And the memory of how good sex was between us is there every time our eyes meet. It was there in the office yesterday, on the journey last night, even in the lift just now …’
‘That’s an outrageous thing to say!’ To her distress, her voice shook.
‘Probably, but it’s still the truth.’ He smiled. ‘It’s the elephant in the room. It’s with us now. And trying to pretend otherwise isn’t working.’
She wanted to contest that, but the touch of his hand against her skin was throwing her senses into chaos. How could she deny it when the need for him was eating away at her, when she longed to feel his body closer, his lips on hers?
‘So, the question is, what should we do about it?’ he continued huskily.
The question punched through her. ‘We’re not going to do anything about it, Alexi.’ Her voice trembled alarmingly now. ‘We both know that the kind of relationship we had is transitory—you move on and you don’t go back.’
His eyes were on her lips. ‘But you don’t move on until the music has stopped. It’s a dance, Katie …’ He paused. ‘Unless you have met someone else. Is that what this is about?’ He forced himself to ask the question, his eyes watchful, his manner still.
‘No!’ Her eyes locked with his. She couldn’t lie to him. ‘That’s not what this is about.’
He smiled.
‘I just don’t want you to call the tune any more!’ she murmured huskily.
‘But you still want me, Katie. I can see it now in the way you look at me.’
She felt a shudder of ecstasy race straight through her body as his hand softly stroked along the column of her neck.
‘In fact you want me to just take you right now.’ He leaned forward and whispered the words against her ear.
His close proximity was so sweet it was tormenting. He was right. She did want that. No one could make her feel the way he could.
