doors slid shut, enclosing them alone together. “It would be easier if I stayed in a hotel,” she insisted stubbornly, knowing she was fighting a losing battle but determined to fight all the same.
He glanced at his Rolex as if he didn’t care one way or the other. “My apartment has a spare bedroom. You may as well use it.” Yet when he looked up, his eyes had darkened to a jungle green, and just as untamed.
A quiver surged through her veins. “You didn’t have a spare bedroom before,” she said stupidly, saying the first thing that came to mind, trying not to let him see her reaction.
“That’s because I didn’t have this apartment before,” he drawled.
She flushed. “Fine,” she said, giving in to stop from blathering like an idiot again. “But it’s only for a few days and that’s all.”
A satisfied looked crossed his face, making her even more tense. “That’s settled then,” he said, just as the elevator stopped and the doors opened so other people could get in with them.
She and Damien moved to the back of the compartment, but she was still very aware of him. She tried to resist the compulsion to look sideways but decided one quick look wouldn’t hurt.
And that was her mistake.
His gaze lingered on her figure, making her nipples tighten beneath the light material of her pantsuit. She’d chosen the outfit because it flattered her moderate bustline and slight swell of her hips, and because she always felt good in it. The last thing she’d expected when she’d dressed this morning was an X-ray treatment from a man who’d been her lover and knew every inch of her body.
Oh God. Her staying at his apartment may have been settled, but she had the uneasy feeling nothing else had been settled at all.
Having Gabrielle in his apartment was more than Damien expected on her first day back in town, but he would take it one step at a time. He wanted her in his bed but he also wanted a willing partner and was prepared to wait until she was ready.
It won’t be a long wait.
She could fight herself all she wanted, but it was obvious she was fighting a losing battle. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He could smell that want in her…that need of desire. He felt the same. Her scent filled his nostrils…filled his apartment even now.
And all she had done was walk through to the spare bedroom, he thought with a wry smile as he remembered her cool comment that she’d see him at dinner. But she hadn’t been cool inside. He knew the two of them struck sparks off each other and that it was only a matter of time before they burst into flames.
In the meantime he didn’t mind playing with matches, he mused as he showered and changed for dinner, then arranged for dinner to be delivered.
Then he sat on the sofa to do some paperwork, though his mind kept flicking to Gabrielle and her parents. He had to admit that Russell hadn’t been the best father in the world after Caroline had left a few years earlier. And what had gone on before that, he didn’t know. He hadn’t known them then, having moved to Melbourne for a few years, building his fortune, only flying back to Darwin every so often to play poker with his best friends, Brant and Flynn.
Then one day he’d decided he missed the tropics and he’d come home for good. Fortuitously, Russell had been looking for a business partner at the time, and he’d been looking to make more money. He’d gone on to forge his own company and make his millions. It had worked out well.
Until now.
Until Gabrielle Kane had walked back into his life.
Just like she was doing this very minute as she made an appearance at the living room doorway. She was worth the wait, dressed in a sleeveless, teal-colored crocheted top and long white pants that clung to her gorgeous figure, making her look casual yet stylish.
“Hungry?” he said, putting the papers aside on the sofa and getting to his feet.
“A little.”
He started across the open-plan apartment toward the dining table nestled over in the corner. “Everything’s ready.”
She slowly followed him, then frowned when she saw the table laden with food. “Are others coming?”
“No. Just us. I ordered from the restaurant across the street.” The chef had gone a little overboard with the array of tropical salads, dishes teeming with prawns and lobster, Tasmanian salmon and barramundi fish. “I told them plenty of seafood,” he said, deliberately reminding her that he remembered how partial she’d been to this type of food.
Her eyes brightened, then she flushed. “Thank you, but I doubt I’ll do it all justice.”
“No problem. My housekeeper will be delighted to take the leftovers off my hands.” He held out the chair for her. “Sit here.”
She moved forward and did as he suggested. Once she was comfortable, he took his own seat and poured wine into their glasses.
Her gaze darted around the room. “This is a really nice apartment.”
“I know. Lucky for me one of my friends married a very talented lady who loves to decorate.”
The place hadn’t been half-bad before, but Danielle had suggested some ideas and he hadn’t had the heart to dissuade her. He and Flynn had smiled at each other as she’d enthusiastically promised a stylishly furnished apartment with class and sophistication that was ideal for executive living. And she’d lived up to that promise. The open plan of the living and dining area, abundant with natural light, soaked up the magnificent panoramic views of the harbor…her words, not his. She’d done a great job of it.
“It’s lovely,” Gabrielle agreed.
“Just like you are, Gabrielle,” he said, holding her eyes with his. One day soon he would hold her in his arms. And he would show her how lovely he thought she was.
A pulse beat at the base of her throat. “You know, I’m suddenly really hungry,” she said huskily, and began piling the food on her plate.
He was too, but it wasn’t for food. Dammit, waiting was already harder than he’d expected.
It would be easier once he said what he needed to say. She wasn’t going to be so placid then, he decided, as they ate in silence for a while, listening to the soft background music, but eventually he knew he couldn’t put this off. She wasn’t going to like it.
He raised his glass in a toast. “To you, Gabrielle.”
Her eyes widened. “Me?”
“For having the courage to come home again.”
She looked pleasantly surprised as she picked up her glass and clinked it against his. “Thank you,” she said, a slight catch to her voice that unfurled something soft inside his chest.
He took a sip of wine, then said, “Your mother was pleased to see you today.”
“Yes.”
“I imagine Russell will be, too.”
“Yes.”
