window and looked out, and sure enough his limousine was sitting next to the kerb. Just the sight of it made her heartbeat start to accelerate. She had a choice—she could either forget this job and tell him to go to hell, or she could put work first and get on with it. When she thought about it like that she didn’t really have a choice, she told herself wryly. Her job and her independence were the most important things to her, and she’d always acted in a professional manner. She snapped up her jacket and her bag and headed for the door. She wasn’t going to allow herself to be preoccupied by something that had happened in the past. She had to put work first.
Alexi had just taken his phone out to ring her when she appeared on the street. He smiled to himself and put the mobile away again. Things were going extremely well. Businesswise, he had Katie exactly where he wanted her, and before they returned to London he would have her back in his bed as well. He watched as his driver got out to help her with her bag and to open the door for her.
‘Hi.’ She acknowledged him with a nod as she slid into the seat opposite. He could smell the familiar scent of her perfume, flowery and light, and yet somehow incredibly sexy. She was wearing black jeans with a white shirt, and she had tied her hair back from her face. She looked good. Possibly too good, considering the fact that he had to get some work done during this journey.
‘You’re late,’ he told her sardonically.
‘I was five minutes!’ Her beautiful blue eyes seemed to simmer. ‘And you’re lucky I’m here at all. This is very short notice, I could have had other plans.’
‘But you don’t,’ he concluded.
‘That’s not the point. I really need at least a few days’ notice for business trips away like this.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind for the next time.’
‘The next time?’ She sounded suddenly flustered. ‘Do you think we will have to make many more trips like this?’
He inclined his head. ‘Definitely. We’ll need to iron out as many teething problems up front as possible, and there is no better way than the personal touch.’
‘I see.’ She looked away from him, out of the windows.
What was causing that flutter of panic? he wondered. It couldn’t be work—she was well used to travelling between different offices; she’d done it at Demetri Shipping. Was it the thought of being alone with him?
What had made her finish things with him? he wondered angrily. She had always been passionately compliant and eager for his kisses…what had changed that?
The briefcase she had placed next to her on the seat fell over as the car made a U-turn at a junction. Alexi reached to catch it at the same time as Katie, and for just a second their hands touched on the leather strap.
She pulled away as if she had been burnt, allowing him to place it safely back beside her.
‘Thanks.’ She could barely look at him now.
‘Everything OK, Katie?’ he enquired casually.
‘Of course.’ She glanced at him, but there was a blush over the high cheekbones that said differently and her eyes were over-bright.
If he could make her skin heat up with just the brush of his fingertips, make her eyes sparkle with fire, what would happen if he really touched her? In the past it had always been spontaneous combustion.
He itched to find out now if the old magic was still there. He wanted to lean forward and take hold of her hand, find her lips and devour her.
His eyes moved to the buttons on her blouse. He imagined himself unbuttoning them; he remembered how firm and willing her body had been.
With difficulty he forced himself to sit back against the comfortable leather seat and bide his time. The chase was on, but he couldn’t rush it. When he took Katie again he wanted her to be wild for him…desperate for him. He was going to make her want him so badly she wouldn’t know what day it was.
‘Did you get the paperwork we need to sort out?’ he asked casually.
‘Yes, I brought it with me—it isn’t finished, obviously, but…’ She started to unzip her bag.
‘We’ll go through it on the plane.’
‘Oh! OK.’ She fastened the bag back up.
Silence stretched between them. Her eyes darted over to him. He looked powerfully dynamic in the dark business-suit, every inch the successful business-tycoon. For a moment it was hard to believe that he had once been her lover, that he had once held her so tenderly, made love to her so passionately. He looked over at her and her eyes veered hurriedly away again. Thoughts like that were not helping her!
‘So how have things been with you, Katie?’
The sudden personal question made her look back at him warily. ‘Absolutely fine—why do you ask?’
There was a glimmer of amusement in the darkness of his eyes now. ‘Because I’m interested to know how you are; what other reason would there be?’
‘I don’t know.’ She shrugged and forced herself to try and relax. But the confined space and the memories he conjured up were sending her blood pressure soaring. Even the touch of his fingertips against her hand a few moments ago had sent her senses into a spin. ‘Let’s face it. You’ve never been one for making small talk, Alexi.’
‘Haven’t I?’ He shrugged. ‘I’m sure we had our moments.’
She kept her composure with difficulty. She really didn’t want to think about what moments he might be referring to—not now.
‘It wasn’t all work between us—there was quite a bit of play time,’ he continued nonchalantly.
Her eyes snapped with sudden fire. ‘I really don’t think we should be discussing that!’
‘Don’t you?’
She allowed her eyes to hold firmly with his. ‘We’ve moved on, remember?’
‘Ah, yes.’
His gaze flicked down towards her lips and she found herself remembering the way he could kiss her and caress her and make her feel truly alive.
The intensity of the memory stirred up a painful need inside her, and she wrenched her eyes away from him and looked out of the window again. She needed to forget the past. He wasn’t the type of man to get serious about; they’d had their fun. It was over.
‘But it’s good that we can move on and work together, without any discord, don’t you think?’ he said smoothly.
‘Yes, of course.’
He noticed that her hands had curled into tight fists at her side, and he smiled.
‘So, tell me, what have you been doing with yourself since you moved on?’ he invited conversationally.
She shrugged and tried desperately to just treat him like any other work colleague. ‘I went to visit my sister in France for a week.’
