she assured him firmly.
‘I think you have that the wrong way round,’ he derided.
She met his scornful gaze unflinchingly. ‘We’ll see,’ she said softly.
‘We will see.’ He nodded abruptly, suddenly seeming to tire of the game, and straightened. ‘But be warned, Silke,’ he paused at the door to add. ‘I rarely, if ever, lose.’
She already knew that, didn’t need to be told, but this time there was no doubt he was going to lose. For her mother’s sake. Her mother deserved the happiness Silke had seen in her face this morning as she sat with the man she loved. And nothing this man said or did was going to spoil that. Even if Silke had to take this man on personally to achieve that.
She shrugged. ‘As I said, we’ll see, Lyon.’
He scowled. ‘Why are you being so damned stubborn over this, Silke?’ he rasped.
‘Why are you?’ she returned challengingly.
‘Because I can’t believe you want to marry Henry. You don’t even know him!’ Lyon frowned darkly.
She shook her head. ‘And you don’t know me, Lyon. Not in any way that counts,’ she added as he ran his gaze pointedly over the length of her body. God, even that sent a shiver of desire running down her spine. This had to stop! She didn’t even like this man. And she had always believed that that was necessary in order to feel attracted towards a person. But this man had disproved that in a matter of seconds! ‘I’m not getting out of Henry’s life, Lyon,’ she told him with certainty, sure that her mother and Henry would marry each other, and when that happened Henry would be her stepfather, and so very much in her life.
Lyon’s mouth thinned ominously. ‘In that case, “let battle commence”,’ he ground out harshly.
She gave an inclination of her head. ‘By all means. Are you going to see Henry now?’
He stiffened. ‘And if I am?’
‘I thought I might come with you.’ She picked up her handbag, ready to leave with him.
‘Prepared to defend yourself?’ he derided mockingly.
She shook her head confidently. ‘I don’t need to do that.’ As he was quickly going to find out once he saw her mother at the clinic with Henry! ‘Believe me, Lyon, your actions just now are more despicable than anything I’m guilty of. You’re the one who attempted to make love to the woman you believe is about to marry your uncle. How do you think Henry will feel about that?’ she taunted.
‘He’ll get over it,’ he bit out confidently.
‘Will he?’ She raised mocking brows, preceding him from the office as he held the door open for her with a confident flourish.
This man was going to get exactly what he deserved when they got to the clinic. Arrogant, arrogant—man!
She refused to even allow herself to think of the fact that part of the reason she was so determined to see Lyon get his come-uppance was because she was still shaken by her own response to him...
* * *
‘Frightened I might get my version in first of what happened this morning?’ Lyon taunted as Silke sat beside him in the silver Mercedes on the drive to the clinic.
‘Not at all,’ she returned smoothly, relishing in the luxurious upholstery of the seat. ‘I never drive in town, so this saves me the taxi fare!’ She looked across at him with suppressed laughter in her eyes.
Lyon glanced at her briefly, frowning as he saw that laughter. ‘You know,’ he said slowly, ‘I can’t work you out.’
That must be a first for him! ‘No?’ She raised mocking brows. ‘Maybe if you stopped looking for things that aren’t there...’
‘Oh, they’re there, Silke.’ His eyes narrowed on the road ahead. ‘Your behaviour with Henry proves that.’
Her ‘behaviour’ with Henry was all in his imagination. Admittedly, going on what he had so far witnessed between herself and his uncle, and his uncle’s subsequent claim that he was going to marry Satin, a name so similar to Silke’s, even that mistake was understandable, so perhaps he felt he had reason to believe the things he did about her. But if Lyon had been a different sort of man, not so quick to judge, to arrogantly presume, then maybe someone would have corrected his wrong assumptions by now.
Although that moment wasn’t far off now. Silke could hardly wait!
‘You have the look of a contented cat about to partake of a bowl of cream,’ Lyon suddenly barked harshly.
She hadn’t realised she had given her feelings away so openly. Although that was exactly how she felt! There couldn’t have been many occasions in this man’s life when he had been bested, but this was definitely going to be one of them. And it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person!
Lyon watched her with narrowed eyes as she climbed out of the car to accompany him into the clinic, but Silke just met that searching scrutiny with bland indifference. She could wait for her moment of triumph.
The receptionist’s comment of, ‘Nice to see you again, Miss Jordan,’ was received by a scowl from Lyon. Obviously he thought the receptionist was referring to Silke’s having spent the previous night in Henry’s room.
God, she hoped her mother hadn’t left to go home and freshen up since Silke was here earlier; that would ruin everything!
She hadn’t! Her mother was still sitting in the chair beside Henry’s bed when Silke entered with Lyon, the older couple deep in conversation, unaware of their presence for several moments, so deeply engrossed were they with each other. It gave Silke the time to appraise her mother, to look at her as Lyon must now be doing. The similarity between the two women was unmistakable, her mother’s hair as long and blonde as Silke’s own, although her mother’s was neatly secured at her nape. The bone-structure of their faces was the same, her mother’s face animated as she talked to the man she had found again after years of being apart, her green eyes alight with happiness, both women small and slender; their relationship had to be obvious!
‘My God...!’ Lyon breathed slowly at her side. ‘There are two of you!’
Silke looked at him with challengingly raised brows. ‘Let me introduce my mother to you, Lyon,’ she said smoothly. ‘Tina Jordan. But I believe you may know of her as Satin,’ she added tauntingly.
Lyon’s stunned expression, as he looked from one woman to the other in open disbelief, was everything Silke had hoped it would be!
‘I STILL think we should have stayed and helped Henry explain things to his nephew.’ Her mother frowned across the kitchen table at Silke, where the two women sat drinking coffee, Silke’s mother having returned to her flat to shower and change before finally making an appearance at the agency.
Henry had been the one to take control of the situation at the clinic, suggesting Silke accompany her mother home while he talked
