back coldly. She couldn’t share his light-hearted approach; this fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants thing just wasn’t her. Unlike him she wasn’t the type of person who got a buzz from living close to the edge. The constant fear of being caught out didn’t give her an adrenaline rush, just a sick feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.
‘There is one thing I wouldn’t mind knowing…’ he admitted with a frown.
The corners of his sensually sculpted lips twitched as his glance dropped. ‘You’re not a bad-looking woman…’ came the verdict after several uncomfortable moments.
Megan batted her eyelashes. ‘Wow, thanks!’
Underneath the gushing insincerity she was badly spooked by the way her body instantly reacted to his slow, insolent perusal. Could you class the strength leaving your shaking lower limbs and the ignition of a hot burning flame deep in your belly as spooked? Or was it something more serious? She was thinking terminal blind lust here…
The acid interjection brought an answering flicker of humour to his deep-set eyes but didn’t deflect him from his purpose.
‘So I’m assuming that there are men in your life.’
Megan was continually amazed and increasingly aggravated by his apparent belief that being a co-conspirator gave him the right to delve into all personal aspects of her life. She watched his expression grow reflective as he focused his thoughts on the subject of her love life.
‘Men compose half the population; it would be hard to avoid them even if I wanted to.’
Luc acted as though she hadn’t spoken—something she had noticed he had a habit of doing—as he continued. ‘But you don’t bring them home to meet Mummy. Now I wonder why…?’ One dark brow elevated he turned his speculative gaze upon her face. ‘Married…?’
Megan stiffened in outrage. ‘You th…th…think that I would go out with a m…m…married man?’ she demanded.
Luc silently studied her rigid chalk white features for a moment before shrugging. ‘Apparently not,’ he observed drily. ‘I’ve got a mate…your classic commitment phobic who only dates married women. I thought that might be your problem.’
‘That you have that sort of mate does not surprise me.’
‘He’s a reformed character since he met the love of his life. So if they’re not married…what’s the problem? Not the right social class? Don’t they know which fork to use?’
The amazing thing was he didn’t even seem to be aware he’d insulted her!
Megan fixed him with a look of seething dislike. If she still had some of the power that the ancestors he despised had enjoyed and, she was the first to admit, abused, she would have wielded them in this instance.
Contemplating having him shipped off to some distant colony, preferably one infested by insects that would bite his smooth, sleek hide, brought a grim smile to her lips. As she contemplated the vee of smooth olive-toned skin visible at the base of his throat her smile wobbled.
For some reason she found herself thinking about an infamous female ancestor of hers. The scandalous Lady Edith who was reputed to have enjoyed the services of several lusty local lads, one of whom was said to have fathered her son who had inherited the estate. Edith, with her shameless appetites, would have had different methods of taming a stroppy male. She would have undoubtedly considered the banishment of Luc, with his sleek, dark and incredibly sexy looks, a waste.
Edith would have found a place for him in her bed.
‘Does a bit of rough do it for you?’
The disturbing mental image of Luc tumbling amongst silk sheets with the sloe-eyed lady who looked down haughtily from a painting in the library vanished in a flash. Megan released a long sibilant hiss of fury.
‘Go jump in the lake,’ she urged pleasantly.
Luc grinned at her venom. ‘It’s a reasonable question,’ he protested.
‘My personal life is none of your business,’ she told him frigidly.
‘It is if you have a secret boyfriend hovering in the background somewhere,’ Luc retorted. ‘If someone is likely to try and knock my lights out I’d like to know about it.’
She gave a disdainful laugh. ‘So this is about you being scared, is it? I should have known,’ she sneered scornfully.
He sighed. ‘My secret is out.’
‘Well, you can relax. Your pretty profile is not in any danger.’ Actually he looked, in stark contrast to herself, totally relaxed, especially considering the barrage of abuse she was aiming at his dark head.
‘No jealous boyfriend lurking…?’
She half turned then with a hard laugh flung over her shoulder.
‘No boyfriend full stop. And before you progress to the painfully predictable male, you-must-be-a-lesbian line…I’m not.’ She stopped dead and frowned. ‘I’ve not the faintest idea why I’m explaining myself to you,’ she admitted angrily.
His shoulders lifted. ‘Don’t look at me, but go on—I’m finding it educational.’
Megan fixed him with a narrowed resentful glare. It was actually good advice—looking at him,…even hearing his deep drawl, was a recipe for stress and mental disintegration.
‘I have no time for a boyfriend. As I have already told you, at this point in my life I want to concentrate all my energies on my career.’ It made Megan so furious, if she had been a man her decision would not have caused any raised eyebrows.
‘And…’ he prompted when she stayed silent.
‘There is no and,’ she told him crossly.
‘A love life or a career is not generally considered an either-or decision.’
‘For me they are.’
‘Aren’t women meant to be big on multitasking?’
‘That rumour was undoubtedly started by a man who was more than happy for his partner to run herself ragged trying to do all the things he didn’t have time for.’
Luc looked amused. ‘You could be right, but you were engaged so you couldn’t always have felt that way.’
Unconsciously Megan’s hand went to her cheek.
‘How did you know about Brian?’
‘Your mother told me; she was pretty gutted that you chucked him.’
‘She got over it.’ Frankly she didn’t care if he thought she was a cold, heartless bitch.
‘No job is a substitute for sex.’
The way Brian did it, it was. ‘Did I say I was celibate?’
His brows lifted sardonically. ‘Your mother thinks you are.’
Megan
