or snowboarding in the Alps. He was an exponent of extreme sports, and she had thought his adventures so brave and romantic as a child. But raking over the past was churning up memories she preferred to forget, and, pinning a smile on her face she forced herself to look up into his eyes.
For a second she thought she saw a flash of anger in their depths, but she was quickly reassured when his firmly chiselled lips parted over gleaming white teeth in a reciprocal smile that was meant to dazzle…and did…
‘Right at this moment I am talking to a beautiful woman,’ he said smoothly, ‘when I should be checking a property development on the other side of the island.’
‘So you’re a property developer. That must be interesting,’ she prompted, jumping at the chance to change the subject. Niculoso complimenting her, flirting with her, made her uncomfortable. ‘I seem to remember you studied art, wasn’t it? But your father was in finance, I believe,’ she opined with the lift of one delicately shaped eyebrow. And Nick had stood to inherit the lot, and marry the family-approved distant relative, Sophia, Liza recalled cynically.
‘You’re right and he was, but with my father’s backing we diversified into other areas, though property development is one of my own pet projects.’
Surprisingly Liza believed him. There was no mistaking the passion in his tone, the gleam of determination in his incredible eyes as he expanded on the subject.
‘For instance, here on Lanzarote the landscape fascinates me. It is quite challenging to build something that is pleasing to the eye, and yet does not harm the unique environment. Don’t get me wrong. I am not one of those dyed-in-the-wool environmentalists. I do enjoy the better things of life.’
Liza just bet he did! Her blue eyes lingered on his harshly handsome face, the deliciously mobile mouth, a wry smile tugging her lips. He wasn’t called the Spanish Stud for nothing…
‘But here no building must be more than four storeys, mainly from the lobbying of the late, great Cesar Manrique, a famous local sculptor. You have probably seen some of his work around the island.’
‘I’ve read about him, but I only arrived yesterday afternoon and I haven’t had a chance to look around yet,’ Liza said, her smile broadening as for a moment she caught a glimpse of the eighteen-year-old he had once been. A young man full of high ideals and not above expounding them to a young child, before maturity and money had made him the man he was today.
‘In that case, Liza, you must allow me to be your guide for the day,’ Nick declared, flashing her another dazzling smile. Her heart lurched and for a moment she simply stared at him. ‘That is, if you are alone, of course,’ he prompted softly.
His deep, velvet voice trickled over her nerve-endings like dark gold honey, soothing and seducing. ‘Yes. Yes, I am,’ she stammered.
He really was a hunk of a man and the years since they had last met had been kind to him. If anything he was more attractive than she remembered, age giving character to his stunningly handsome face, with perfectly carved features, high cheekbones and a sensually curved mouth. As for his eyes, deep brown and as dark as sin with thick black curling lashes. The kind of eyes that would melt any female’s heart and the slightly long, silky black hair would tempt any female’s fingers. Liza was no exception; she wasn’t even aware she was staring and she never saw the brief glitter of triumph in his gorgeous eyes.
Nick Menendez’s physical presence was almost hypnotic; he exuded a lethal charm, an aura of potent masculine sexuality that called out to every atom of femininity in a woman. On a scale of one to ten, he had to be a twenty. Liza almost groaned out loud as all her deeply buried teenage fantasies rose up to haunt her.
‘I’m amazed.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘A lovely girl like you, alone! But grateful.’ Her blue eyes widened to their fullest extent on his darkly attractive face at his teasing compliment. ‘So, unless you would like another coffee, how about joining me in the Jeep?’ A strong hand gestured to where the vehicle was illegally parked on the pavement. ‘Before some official tows it away. I have to inspect the building site but after that I am at your disposal.’
If only! A vivid image of a naked Nick at her disposal filled her head and, ashamed of her sexy thoughts, she answered hastily. ‘I was going to return to my hotel and laze around the pool.’ She was still slightly wary of this new, charming Nick. Over the years she’d worked hard to block out any sign of emotion where this man was concerned, and she wasn’t sure she liked the way he cut through her defences like a knife through butter with just a smile.
He had been scathing in his contempt of her, brutally so, in the past. So why the turn-around, the flattering comments now? she wondered. Nick was a powerful, dynamic man; add wealth and looks, and it wasn’t surprising he was so arrogantly sure of himself. But surely he must be married by now with a handful of children, yet her mother had never mentioned it. ‘And maybe your wife, Sophia, would object.’ Fool, fool, she castigated herself as soon as the words had left her mouth.
Hooded eyes narrowed intently on her slightly pink face. Nick was a man of considerable expertise where the female sex was concerned, and despite her cautious reserve he sensed an underlying attraction. She wanted him, and the question on his marital state confirmed it. ‘Sophia and I parted years ago. I have no wife, no ties, and I like it that way. Now, no more argument.’ Nick rose to his feet and held out his hand. ‘Come on, you know you want to,’ he opined with sheer masculine arrogance and a wicked grin. ‘I have been reliably informed I am a charming companion. Surely you would not want to disappoint me and dent my fragile ego.’
Liza grinned back; she couldn’t help it. ‘That would be an impossibility,’ she mocked. ‘But surely a man in your position must have better things to do than spend a day sightseeing with me,’ and she nearly added of all people. Memories of the past made her super-cautious; Nick had made his dislike of her very plain, and she was still not convinced of his sincerity now.
‘Are you still angry with me?’ Shrewd dark eyes bored down into hers, guessing the reason for her hesitation. ‘For lecturing you as a child?’
Lecturing her! So that was how little he thought of crushing her burgeoning sexuality under a diatribe of insults and a savage kiss and grope. But with the benefit of maturity Liza wondered if maybe he was right, and she had made too much of what had happened. ‘No, of course not,’ she denied. If he could be so casual about their fight, then so could she, and, putting her hand in his, she allowed him to pull her to her feet. Liza was tall at five feet nine, but Nick towered over her, and she had to tilt her head back to look at him. ‘Why should I be?’ she asked, and suddenly she was conscious of the nearness of his great, virile physique, but was incapable of moving away.
‘No reason at all,’ Nick drawled throatily, pinning her with a smouldering glance, and after a provocative pause added, ‘not now.’ He lifted her hand to rest on his broad chest, and she felt the heat of his flesh through his shirt, and involuntarily she shivered. ‘What is not acceptable in a girl of sixteen does not apply to the beautiful woman you have become,’ he declared huskily and gazed at her, his eyes smouldering with an explicit sensual promise.
Liza stiffened slightly. Nick was as arrogant as ever; he would not come on to a teenager, but an older woman was fair game. Why was she surprised? In a way he was quite moral, she thought wryly. Then his long fingers tightened on her hand, the pad of his thumb caressing her palm, and she stopped thinking altogether.
‘So unless there is somewhere else you need to go,’ he urged her along the pavement, ‘any shopping or more errands to run for your boss…?’ He stopped and trailed off.
‘No,
