all too deeply on her senses.
And somehow she knew it was important not to give in to her desire to turn straight away. Somehow she knew she had to continue to focus on something, anything, if she was going to maintain a hold on reality—her reality.
‘What’s it to you?’ she responded, keeping her voice surprisingly light even as her back stiffened against his prickling proximity. She didn’t know who he was, but she was in no hurry to be pinned under that potent stare again.
Instead she kept her gaze locked on Rachael as if she was holding onto a lifeline. Rachael was her link to reality, her excuse not to turn, and her instinctive defence against this strange out-of-her-depth feeling that seemed to go hand in hand with this stranger’s presence.
But suddenly something blocked her view.
Not something.
Someone.
Him!
She sucked in a breath as broad shoulders filled her vision. And once again the man who’d been looking down from the mezzanine stared at her—except this time his piercing eyes were barely inches away. And, just as before, she felt the heat blasting from their penetrating brown depths in a confusing mixture of danger combined with a heart-stopping magnetism.
‘Have we met?’ she asked, kicking up her chin and knowing full well that she’d never seen the man before—in or out of the clinic. Having put the invitation list together, she knew he wasn’t on it. Which meant he had to be someone’s partner…
Lucky them.
The thought was so unwelcome she tried to quash it outright, but there was no chance of that—not when it was so true. Every part of this man seemed a perfect part of the whole—his slick dark hair, his chiselled bone structure, lips that were not too thin, not too full, and a body that promised to be every bit as well put together.
His lips turned into the barest smile. ‘Maybe it’s time we did.’
She waited for him to introduce himself, but he offered not a scrap of information more, failing to reveal who he was or why he was there, and impatience clicked logic back into gear, snapping her out of her frozen stance.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Whoever-you-are, but I have invited guests to look after. I really don’t have time to play games.’
She made to move away, but his velvet words stopped her in her tracks.
‘And if you had the time?’
She stopped and blinked, forcing her back ramrod-straight in defence. She looked over her shoulder at him. ‘Excuse me?’
‘If you had the time, would you be more inclined to play?’
Warm shivers assaulted her flesh. Was it the effect of his rich deep voice, or was it because she almost hoped he just might mean it? Something about the man was compelling. Damn, everything about the man was compelling. And something about her own body’s reaction impelled her to believe him.
‘I don’t play games.’ She arched an eyebrow in his direction for effect.
‘Pity,’ he said. ‘Such a waste.’
‘Not really,’ she replied, raising her chin with the certainty that she was about to have the final word. ‘Because when I play, I play for keeps.’
She turned away, allowing herself a smile, feeling she’d won some kind of moral victory at least. Besides, the encounter had left her tingling with excitement. He might have thrown her completely at the start, but she’d enjoyed the attention from someone who appeared way more three-dimensional than the usual Beverly Hills society, with their egocentric conversation and their rapid-fire evaluation of who you were and how you might be of any use to them.
But she hadn’t taken more than two steps before his rich laughter snagged into her consciousness, drawing her around as easily as a gentle finger press.
Except the way he looked at her and the set of his large, strong body, like the king of the jungle about to pounce and devour its prey, wiped out her feeling of superiority in an instant.
‘In that case,’ he said, his dark eyes crinkling at the sides, yet still filled with intensity that took her breath away, ‘let the games begin.’
CHAPTER TWO
HE’D eliminated the distance between them, had reached out and taken hold of her hand before she could react. She gasped at his warmth, at the sculpted perfection of his hand and at his gentle touch, while fully aware of the latent strength lurking beneath.
Without taking his eyes from hers he carried her hand to his mouth. She’d expected just a brief kiss, and was vaguely aware of how old-fashioned this gesture was, but already she was imagining the graze of his lips on her skin, was anticipating the brush of his warm breath. But at the last moment he flipped her hand over so that his mouth pressed open and hot against her wrist.
Her pulse thundered into life under his molten kiss, her blood super-heated, melting her bones and stirring her dark, tender places into life. And as his liquid lips worked their magic on her skin and his tongue joined into the fray, ratcheting up the sensations another notch, she was certain that if he hadn’t been holding on to her hand she might well have dissolved into a puddle on the floor.
She tasted as good as she looked. Better. This was going to be far more enjoyable than he would ever have anticipated.
And he had her. There was no question. The passion flaring into life in her eyes told him that she would be more than responsive, more than accommodating. The way her lips were softly parted told him she was eager for more of what his mouth could do for her, and the way her nipples pressed all too obviously against the tight fabric of her gown told him that even tonight would not be too soon.
She would soon be his. And then she would tell him everything she knew to save his sister.
And he would destroy Dr Della-Bosca and pull apart the clinic, even if he had to do it brick by brick!
He clamped down on the aching response of his own body as slowly, reluctantly, he drew his lips away.
‘Who are you?’ she asked, her words less a demand this time, more a breathy supplication.
He smiled and dipped his head fractionally, still with a hold on her hand. ‘Loukas Demakis,’ he said. ‘A pleasure to meet you, Dr Ferraro.’
Her eyes narrowed and sparked, and he could see she was building connections as if suddenly understanding. Had the pieces fallen into place already? Had she realised the recently married Olympia was his sister? Did she have any idea at all why he was here?
‘Demakis?’ she repeated. ‘As in the Senator currently making a run for the White House?’
‘My father,’ he replied, rapidly reassessing his quarry’s intelligence. ‘You’ve heard of him?’
Her eyes regarded him frostily as she tugged her hand out of his, using it to support her glass. ‘Would that be such a surprise? I do try to keep informed of what’s going on in the world around us. Did you assume that just because I spend my days working with beautiful people that I must be
