his stamina, and the sheer animal beauty of him, right before begging him to return.
Lex was a charming rake—just ask any woman he’d ever taken to his bed. Sienna knew that. Accepted it. Despised it. And for the most part ignored it—secure in the knowledge that her relationship with him was different. It always had been different.
Until now.
What was he doing messing with a perfectly good friendship that was manageable, mildly acerbic, and, above all, safe? Who in their right mind would throw away twenty years of friendship on a brief bedroom romp?
Not her.
So what if she’d found the full force of Lex’s sexuality exhilarating? So what if she’d come closer than ever before to understanding why women were willing to accept Lex on his terms—on any terms—and to hell with the heartbreak? That still didn’t mean she wanted to become one of them. No, no, and no!
Oh, look. He’d found a flight attendant. Now he was smiling crookedly at the woman; murmuring to her. Now she was smiling back. Surprise surprise.
Now Lex turned to look down the aisle towards her, a vision of careless elegance in a miraculously rumple-free business suit minus the tie. What was it about lean, dark-haired, grey-eyed men in charcoal-coloured business suits and snowy white shirts that made a woman look twice, and then—if it was Lex—again? Did his obvious wealth lend him an air of sophistication, success, and sex appeal or was it all just Lex? Would her sudden acute awareness of him disappear if she pictured him standing there in, say, grandfather pyjamas? The ones where the waistband of the trousers resided just below the armpits and the buttons went all the way to the neck. Not the sexy low-slung grey-striped cotton trousers she’d shoved in his carry on luggage yesterday. Now was definitely not the time to imagine him in those.
Oh, dear.
Sienna grabbed for the arm of a passing attendant. ‘Water,’ she croaked. ‘Please.’
‘Of course.’ The attendant took one look at her and decided to hustle. Did she look pale? She felt ashen. Did she look ill? She felt as if the world had suddenly tilted off its axis and no matter what she did she couldn’t set it right again. She didn’t want Lex to look at her like that. She didn’t want to be one of his conquests.
Did she?
Lex started down the aisle and Sienna quickly looked away and braced herself for his return to a seat that was suddenly far too close to hers for comfort. She tucked her legs against her seat as Lex swept past her. Keep going, Lex, well done, breathe out.
‘Good news,’ he said as he settled into his seat, his voice casual, as if he’d decided to forget all about their earlier altercation. ‘We’re landing in Singapore in twenty minutes. We can go into the terminal. Stretch our legs, stock up on airport novels and newspapers. There’s an executive lounge area that has internet access. Showers too.’
‘So much to do, so little time,’ she said, but she was grateful for both the impending stopover and Lex’s efforts to put their relationship back on its normal footing. Forgetting all about the upheavals of the last ten minutes was a mighty fine plan to her way of thinking. Being able to get away from Lex for a spell was an even better idea. ‘You shop, I’ll shower.’
‘A good PA would stay by my side and see to my needs,’ he said.
She knew the basic philosophy but even so… ‘Even in transit?’
‘Especially in transit.’ Lex smiled grimly. He’d been doing that a lot lately. ‘Maybe it’s a good thing I was prepared to take you on and train you up. Imagine if you’d taken that job with the oil sheik in Dubai? OPEC would never have been the same again.’
‘The sheik didn’t think I’d make a mess,’ she said tartly. ‘He thought I could do it.’
‘The sheik was besotted with you, Sienna,’ said Lex darkly.
Unfortunately, Lex was correct. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t taken the job. The other reason, and it galled her to admit it, had been her lack of experience in all matters pertaining to the business of being a good personal assistant. She’d needed experience. Lex had needed an assistant for a month while he was in Australia. Sienna had no aversion whatsoever to visiting the colonies. Sienna had long overdue personal business she could attend to while in Australia. The entire plan had seemed like such a good idea.
At the time.
‘Thank you for agreeing to this, Lex,’ she said awkwardly. ‘I do appreciate it. Really. And I didn’t mean to question your business ethics, earlier. I just…wanted to understand.’
‘And now that you do?’ He looked wary. Defensive. ‘Do you still want to be my PA for the month, Sienna?’
‘Yes.’ She shoved her newfound awareness of him aside, took another deep breath and collected her scattered wits. ‘If you’re skilful enough to take bits and pieces of broken companies and put them together in ways that work, then I’m all for it. I was in fix-it mode before. Now I’m thinking salvage. Corporate recycling. I’m all for recycling.’
‘Recycling,’ he said disbelievingly.
‘Absolutely.’ She offered up a smile for good measure.
‘You’ve missed your calling,’ he told her. ‘Corporate public relations needs you.’
Sienna felt her smile widen. This was the Lex she knew and understood. This Lex she could handle. ‘So what exactly is it that you want me to do while we’re in transit?’
He stared at her through narrowed assessing eyes and Sienna stared back with as much calm as she could muster. After what seemed like an eternity Lex bestowed on her a smile an angel would’ve been proud of. He was up to something. Nothing surer.
‘Tell you what…’ he said graciously. ‘I’ll shower, you hold the towel.’
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