he tried to find her, proving that he hadn’t been particularly disappointed or even worried. In essence it had given him a clear field to work even longer hours. To amass his fortune. She found it difficult to understand why anyone would let money be their god. There was surely more to life.
This apartment, for instance, was nothing more than a status symbol. Why would one man live by himself in a place like this? Unless he used it as a love nest. Did he invite lady friends here? Actually, she had not once seen him in the press with a female on his arm. He was either very careful or working his socks off was still his way of life.
‘Wine would be perfect, thank you.’
Left alone for a few minutes, Sienna closed her eyes, wishing she hadn’t felt the need to seek Adam out after remaining silent for so long. If she had any sense, she would blurt out her reason for coming here and then run.
Except that good sense seemed to have deserted her. All she could think about was the way she had looked into his eyes and felt an emergence of the hunger and longing she had always experienced when they were together. He had been an amazing lover, setting her whole body alight with a fire she had thought would never die.
But after their marriage Adam had quickly gone from being her knight in shining armour to working so hard, coming home so late, that he’d barely had time to speak to her before falling asleep each night.
‘Here we are.’
Grateful for Adam’s interruption, Sienna shot her eyes wide. As they cannoned into his she felt a further body blow. He was still devastatingly sexy, causing wave after wave of hot desire to flood her veins. Damn! All these years she had told herself that she hated him, so why was this happening now?
It had to be pure sexual hunger that she felt, it couldn’t be anything else. She certainly didn’t love him any more. How could she possibly love a man who thought more about his job than he did his wife?
The wine looked deliciously cool and inviting. Sienna watched as Adam poured the pale golden liquid, watching it swirl and then settle. Almost instantly a fine film of condensation formed around the outside of her glass and as she picked it up she stroked her finger down its side.
Adam watched her through narrowed eyes, making her wish that she hadn’t done it because he was looking at her as though she had made some kind of erotic gesture. As though she was stroking him!
Heat fizzed through her and she took a long swallow, amazed to discover when she set her glass down that she had drunk almost half its contents.
‘Is it such an ordeal coming to see me?’
The gruff tone in his voice sent her head jerking in his direction. She saw lips that were grim and eyes that were as cold as ice.
‘Why don’t you just spit out what’s wrong and get it over with?’
How could she? They needed to be at ease with each other first. And getting drunk wasn’t the answer!
‘It’s a very fine place you have here,’she said instead. ‘Do you have someone to share it with?’
‘If you’re asking whether I have a girlfriend, the answer’s no. You should know me better than that, Sienna. I have only one lover, and that is my work.’
‘So you haven’t changed.’ Sienna let her eyebrows rise. ‘You still work all the hours God made! Why, when you have this?’ She spread her hands, taking in their impressive surroundings.
‘It’s precisely why I work, for security, and to have nice things around me.’ His dark blue eyes watched her closely. ‘I also have a pied-à-terre in France and an apartment in New York. It gives me a feeling of great satisfaction.’
‘Or is that you have so much money now you have nothing else to spend it on?’ Sienna queried, unable to keep the distaste out of her voice. It was as though he was deliberately throwing his wealth in her face, showing her what she had missed out on.
‘If you’ve come here to question my lifestyle, I suggest—’
‘It’s not that,’ cut in Sienna quickly. But she wasn’t ready yet to disclose her real reason for being here. It was such a delicate subject that she had to get Adam into the right mood. ‘It simply seems odd that you have these other places to live and no one to share them with.’
‘Are you putting yourself forward?’ He smiled grimly and his eyes locked with hers, sending a fresh scurry of feelings through her veins.
She had thought that over the years everything she had ever felt for Adam Bannerman had died. She didn’t want to feel anything for him, she despised him and she wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t entirely necessary.
There was ice in both her voice and her eyes when she spoke. ‘I’ve had a taste of what it’s like living with a workaholic. It’s no fun, I assure you, and I’m not entirely surprised that you haven’t found another woman to share your life.’
‘Are you suggesting that I should? Is it a divorce you’re after? I occasionally wonder why you’ve never filed for one.’
The deep sarcasm in his voice scoured over her already tense nerves like sandpaper.
‘I could say the same about you.’ She held her head high and met his eyes. For several long seconds they challenged each other, Sienna not wanting to be the first to turn away.
‘I’ve never had the time or the inclination,’ he drawled, his eyes still not leaving hers. ‘I knew that one day, when you were ready, you would start proceedings. What I didn’t expect was that you would visit me in person. It’s quite a surprise.’
‘And a mistake,’ she snapped before she could stop herself. ‘I really think I should be going.’ There was no way on this earth now that she could broach the subject that had made her come here. Adam was doing a very good job of letting her know that he liked his life the way it was. He wanted nothing to spoil it. She pitied him. He would become a lonely old man one day if he kept putting work first.
‘You’re not leaving until you tell me what brought you here,’ he said, his tone sharp and authoritative. ‘Why don’t you finish your wine?’
Sienna glared at him, but she picked up her glass and downed the rest of its contents in one swallow. ‘There, finished.’ And she stood up.
Adam followed suit and Sienna was glad that she had worn high heels because they made her almost as tall as he was. She lifted her chin and looked into his eyes—and felt a wave of something she dared not think about pass over her. The word began with S and ended in X.
Why was this happening now, when she needed to be strong and in control? Was it the fact that he was the first and only man she had ever fallen in love with? Had her body retained those feelings even though she had been convinced that they had not?
Hell, what a situation to find herself in. Especially as Adam showed no sign of returning them. She couldn’t believe how cold he was. It was as though she had never meant anything to him.
‘So why are you here?’
Sienna closed her eyes. It looked as if there was no escape. And if the truth be known, she had to do it. She owed it to Adam, to herself, to—She stopped her thoughts there, drew in a deep breath, and bluntly
