her up at ten the next morning, in the pretence that she would act as his guide around Stratford for the day.
When he called for her the next morning, casually dressed in blue denim jeans and a black cashmere sweater, she had simply stared.
‘You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.’ His brown eyes darkened with an unmistakable message in their depths, leaving her more flustered than she had ever been in her life. He helped her into the passenger seat of a lethal-looking red sports car and then slid into the driver’s seat. But before starting the car, he turned to her with dark, serious eyes.
‘There is something I have to tell you, Lisa.’ For one heart-chilling moment she thought he was going to tell her he was married. ‘I am the boss of Solomos International. Is that going to be a problem for you?’
The relief was so great, Lisa beamed. She was a confident, intelligent young woman, she dressed in designer clothes or snappy casuals, and she could mix in any strata of society. She never gave it much thought, but actually, on paper, she was also wealthy. He had no need to worry; she wouldn’t be intimidated by his money. It was in the sexual stakes she was a novice, nowhere else. ‘No, of course not. I am the boss of Lawson’s, but I never mix business with pleasure,’ she said, daringly for her. And she was rewarded by a reciprocal brilliant smile.
‘Good. Beautiful and sensible. A winning combination.’
It was the best day of Lisa’s life. They walked hand in hand by the river and around the streets of Stratford-upon-Avon and talked about everything and nothing. He insisted on driving out of town for lunch. They shared a ploughman’s lunch in the garden of a small country pub, Alex teasingly feeding her a small cherry tomato with his fingers. As Lisa opened her mouth his glance fixed on her face, his eyes dark and hot, and when his fingers touched her lips, she felt a surge of desire so strong she trembled and could not hide it from him.
‘It is the same for me, Lisa,’ he had told her in a deep, husky voice, and when she blushed, he added with a tender smile, ‘The sexual chemistry between us is electric, but have no fear, Lisa, I will not take advantage of you; it’s not my style.’
For the rest of the day they enjoyed themselves like a couple of children. By Sunday evening, she was so captivated by him that when he took her into his arms and kissed her, and told her he was going to marry her, her answer was a joyous yes. The following weekend he stayed at her home in Stratford, and formally asked Harold for her hand in marriage. Three weeks later they were married.
Thinking about it now, Lisa cringed in shame at her own naivety. She should have guessed Nigel had had a hidden agenda when he’d introduced her to Alex. But she’d had little experience of men. As a teenager she’d been taller than most of the girls at her school, and had been tormented about being gawky. So when other girls had been dating, Lisa had concentrated on her studies. Later, she had never seemed to have the time for socialising. In fact her best friend, if she was honest, was Jed, whom she’d never met in person.
‘Lisa, Lisa, darling.’ Lost in her own troubled thoughts, she hadn’t been conscious of Alex entering the room. She heard his deep voice and closed her eyes. How she was going to get through the night, she had no idea, and for a fleeting instant she wished she could turn the clock back to this morning. If she had stayed in Stratford, she would have been perfectly happy, but by coming to London she had discovered more than she’d ever wanted to know.
‘Lisa.’ Alex’s deep, husky drawl feathered across her cheek. She felt the mattress depress and knew she had no chance of pretending to sleep.
‘Alex,’ she murmured, turning over on to her back and blinking her bright blue eyes, as though she had just woken up.
‘This is a surprise.’ He gave her a narrow-eyed look. ‘Unexpected, but very flattering. When did you arrive?’
Was it her imagination or was there more to the seemingly innocuous question? Did he suspect she might have overheard his conversation with Nigel?
‘What time is it?’ She answered his question with one of her own. Her stomach was churning with a mixture of distress and desire.
‘Ten-thirty.’
‘Oh, I got here at eight, bathed and changed, and I must have fallen asleep an hour or so ago.’ She tried to smile, badly shaken by his close proximity and the proprietorial hand he curved around her naked shoulder.
Slowly his lips parted over brilliant white teeth, in a broad smile with just a tinge of smugness. ‘Couldn’t stay away from me, hmm?’ His gaze lingered on her mouth.
‘Something like that,’ Lisa whispered, when in reality she felt like lifting her hand and decking him! She felt furious, and sickened at having been taken in by him so easily. His head lowered and his mouth moved closer and it took all her will-power not to take a bite out of the sensuous lips that closed over hers.
‘I need a shower. Come and join me,’ Alex husked some moments later.
‘What, and waste all the obscenely expensive body oil I have applied for your benefit?’ she tried to tease.
‘There is something very satisfying about a woman who will go to so much trouble for her man,’ Alex drawled, his dark eyes gleaming with an equally teasing light. ‘Give me five minutes to shower, and then I am at your mercy. I expect to be thoroughly seduced.’
‘Of course. Why else would I be here?’ Watching the arrogant set of his broad shoulders as he walked across to the bathroom, she wished she had the courage to tell him to go to hell. Far from seducing him, she felt like strangling him. She was wild with anger, but deep down she knew his lightest touch could send her senses reeling, and his kiss made her ache for more.
As soon as she heard the shower running, Lisa leapt off the bed. No way was she going to be lying there waiting for him like some harem slave! Restlessly she crossed to the patio window and gazed blindly out. How had she got herself in such a mess? She had been fooled by Alex’s sophistication, his stunning good looks and the kind of blatant sexuality that had set up an answering need in her own untried body. It hurt so much to discover Alex had not been honest with her. She had given him her trust, completely and unconditionally, and all the time he’d been in league with Nigel.
In one way she thought it might have hurt less if there had been another woman. At least Alex could have claimed to be overtaken by passion. But to have married her in cold blood to pursue a business deal showed a degree of ruthlessness, a contempt for her as a person that she could not come to terms with.
‘I’m all yours, darling.’ Alex’s deep voice broke into her musings and turning around, she gave a strangled gasp. He was totally naked and completely unconcerned as he strode across the room and lay down on the bed, and patted the space beside him. ‘Don’t keep me waiting, or I might just fall asleep. I’ve had a hell of a day. But the night is certainly looking better.’ He grinned. ‘Be gentle with me, won’t you?’
It was the grin that did it… Her blue eyes flashed to his, and she saw the gleam of amusement in the deep, dark depths of his brown eyes, along with a glitter of sexual anticipation. The bastard! she thought. I’ll show him. Crossing to the bed, she stripped her nightgown over her head and standing proud and naked, she asked, ‘Where would you like me to start first darling, top or bottom?’
Without waiting for his answer she draped herself over him, catching his head between her hands. Her mouth fastened on his and she kissed him with all the rage and passion of a woman cheated by love. Heav’n has no rage, like love to hate turn’d,
