Up until the point she’d panicked and fled. That had been cowardly.
‘I’m so envious.’ Kate sighed. ‘Remind me why you aren’t going to see him again.’
Laura shrugged. ‘It wasn’t like that. The temporariness of it was what was so appealing.’ Well, one of the things. ‘We didn’t exchange numbers.’
‘I’m sure he’d be in the phone book. Have you Googled him?’
‘Of course not.’ She hadn’t given in to the temptation yet and she didn’t intend to.
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t want to see him again.’
‘That’s nuts. Great sex isn’t something to be dismissed lightly.’
‘It hasn’t changed anything,’ said Laura firmly, before she started agreeing with Kate and waving goodbye to all her good intentions. ‘I’m still off men. And I need another relationship like I need a hole in the head.’
‘But you’re always in a relationship.’ Kate frowned.
‘Exactly. And look what happens. I get smothered. I lose sense of my own identity and allow myself to get walked all over. And ultimately get hurt.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve had enough.’
‘Well, I think you’re mad.’ Kate sniffed.
Laura smiled. ‘Actually I’ve never felt saner in my life. Which is just as well if I’m going to get this job. Now, let’s have pudding.’
HE’D been right about those damn hot pants, thought Matt grimly, glancing at his watch and noting he had five minutes before his meeting with the finance minister to discuss exactly how deep the corruption that had burrowed into pretty much every governmental department went.
They did haunt his dreams. As, to his intense irritation, did Laura.
It was bad enough that the minute he crashed into bed there she was, her hair fanning out over his cushions, her eyes shimmering and glazed with desire as she stared up at him and saying ‘more’ and ‘please’ in that breathy desperate way she had.
It was bad enough that he woke up pretty much every morning, aching and throbbing and twitching with desire.
But what was really driving him nuts was the lack of control he seemed to have over his thoughts while he was awake.
She kept popping up, shooting smouldering smiles at him, and the memory of the way she’d exploded and shuddered in his arms would slam into his head and his train of thought would derail and his body would react with annoying inevitability.
Like now.
Feeling uncomfortably hot and growing painfully hard, Matt scowled, got up and stalked over to the window.
Quite why Laura should be taking up so much of his head space when she’d been just a one-night stand and when he had plenty of other things to occupy his mind was baffling.
OK, so the way she’d run off like that had hardly been flattering but it wasn’t as if he’d intended on seeing her again, was it? She clearly had issues and that wasn’t his problem. And yes, the sex had been incredible, but it had been three weeks ago. He really ought to have got over it by now.
Matt threw open the window and inhaled deeply. He’d have liked a nice icy blast of around minus five to relieve the hot achiness of his body. But unfortunately Sassania was in the Mediterranean not the Baltic, and this being early summer all that drifted in through the window was a soft balmy breeze.
Stifling a groan of frustration, he yanked open the top buttons of his shirt and made a mental note to get someone to investigate the air-conditioning options. Then at least he’d be able to control the temperature, if nothing else.
He was just about to turn back to grab his laptop and head off to his meeting when he heard the rap of heels on stone and caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.
Something, he had no idea what, made him pause. Made him train his focus on the woman walking across the patio.
For some reason his breathing faltered. The floor beneath his feet lurched. His pulse jumped. She was walking away from him, and he couldn’t be sure, but that looked just like Laura.
Matt blinked and gave his head a quick shake. No. That was nuts. It couldn’t be Laura. Because what would she be doing in his palace on his island? It was his feverish imagination working overtime, that was all. Lack of sleep, too, probably. And this damn stifling heat.
Nevertheless something about the way she moved had his eyes narrowing and awareness prickling his skin. Maybe it was the graceful sway of her hips. Or maybe it was the way she suddenly reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She might be wearing a nifty little suit instead of a T-shirt and hot pants, but those curves looked very familiar.
As she stopped and turned to say something to the security guard accompanying her Matt caught a glimpse of her face and any lingering doubt fled.
His head swam for a second. His heart pounded. Hell. It was Laura.
He ran a hand over his face. Rubbed his eye and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then frowned.
What on earth was she doing here?
Had she come to apologise?
Had she decided she wanted more than just a one-night stand?
Or had she come to see what she could get out of their brief liaison?
She wouldn’t be the first, Matt thought, his mouth twisting into a cynical smile as he shoved his hands in his pockets and watched her gazing at the pillars and arches of the colonnades that surrounded the patio.
Several of the women he’d known in the past had got in touch to suggest that if he was ever on the lookout for a queen they’d be more than happy to occupy the position. And more than willing to provide heirs.
If Matt could have been bothered to reply he’d have told them they were wasting their time. Marriage and children did not feature on his agenda. He’d been engaged once and look what a disaster that had been. No. His jaw tightened. He wasn’t even cut out for a relationship, let alone anything more, so anyone who hoped otherwise could think again.
But if any of his suspicions were correct about Laura’s presence on Sassania, why hadn’t she asked to be led straight to him? Why was she now shaking the hand of his culture minister?
Matt frowned as his mind raced. Then the brief conversation he’d had with Giuseppe Ragazzi about the state of the country’s public buildings and the urgent need to restore them flashed into his head and realisation dawned.
Oh, damn. His heart sank. Laura was here for the job.
With the arrest of the former president on his mind at the time, he’d agreed to the request to hire an architect without really thinking about it. Now,
