‘Shut up,’ Nick roared, dropping her onto the bed, and before she could move a muscle he was over her, his mouth covering hers in a savage, possessive kiss. ‘This is our best line of communication,’ he rasped against her swollen lips a long, savagely passionate moment later. ‘The only one that need concern you. As for the rest, believe me, it is for your own good.’
CHAPTER NINE
‘FOR your own good.’ As a child Liza had hated that comment; it had invariably meant the opposite of what she wanted to do, and it sounded no better coming from Nick Menendez.
‘No,’ Liza yelped breathlessly, and was shocked by the darkening desire in his glittering eyes, felt it in the hard length of his body pressing her down into the mattress. ‘You are no good for me or any woman,’ she cried. ‘And I wouldn’t believe you if you were the last man on the planet.’ She could not dismiss the notion that he had an ulterior motive for getting her on her own. If not Sophia, then maybe her original suspicion of industrial espionage was not such a wild idea.
Nick raised his head; he rolled off her, and flung an arm over his face. What the hell was he doing? She looked terrified.
Scrambling off the bed, Liza turned and glanced down at Nick, her face hot, another second and she would have been putty in his hands and the thought appalled her. She watched as his arm fell down to his side.
‘It’s all right, Liza, you have nothing to be afraid of. I have never forced a woman into bed, and I am not going to start with you.’ His voice was flat and devoid of any emotion. ‘I told you the truth about my relationship with Sophia, and as for wanting you,’ a wry smile curved his mouth, ‘that is certainly true. I knew that night on the plane that sexually we are extremely compatible. I don’t think even you would a
rgue with that.’
‘No,’ she said thickly. Liza felt confused, unable to move or think, and far too intensely aware of his long body reclining on the bed. She lowered her head and stared at her tightly linked hands, clasped together to stop them trembling.
‘Good.’ Nick rose in one fluid motion to stand towering over her. ‘Then how about we start afresh?’ He captured both her hands in his. ‘Look at me, Liza,’ he said quietly, and warily Liza lifted her head and met his dark eyes. ‘We are two good friends on a skiing holiday.’ He let go of her hands and tipped her chin with one long finger. ‘That is all I ask. It can be a great holiday,’ his eyes darkened perceptibly, ‘or a fantastic holiday—the choice is yours; all you have to do is ask.’
She wouldn’t have been human if she wasn’t tempted but the wounds were still raw from the first time he had suggested a holiday. Amazingly Liza reminded herself it was only two days ago, and her emotions had been on a roller-coaster ride from ecstasy to agony ever since.
About to tell him no way, she changed her mind and took rapid mental stock. Nick was her first real lover, so it was hardly surprising doubt and suspicion plagued her. As for Sophia, she was inclined to believe Nick. He would hardly be here with her if he was madly in love with the other woman. Maybe his idea of being friends wasn’t such a bad one; as for the rest, she was in charge… ‘But why skiing?’ She didn’t realise she had spoken out loud.
‘Because it is the national championships this week; some of my friends are taking part, and I love skiing.’
Liza’s blue eyes widened to their fullest extent on his handsome face, her mouth falling open in shock at the sheepish expression in his incredible eyes. ‘I don’t believe it.’
‘True, I swear, and you might even like watching.’ And he grinned.
Liza had to fight down the insane desire to laugh. ‘You are incorrigible.’ She shook her head, her pigtails swinging. While she was thinking up wild scenarios as to why he had brought her here, it was nothing more than Nick being his usual arrogant self, doing what he wanted when he wanted. It was a classic Nick moment. ‘But why drag me into it?’
‘Do you really need to ask?’ he queried with a sardonic smile.
She knew exactly what he meant and felt the tell-tale blush sweep up her face. Her throat tightened and her heart began to race.
Humorous dark eyes roamed blatantly over her shapely body. ‘You know, for a beautiful, self-confident woman, you’re incredibly unaware of your feminine power.’
‘If I had any power,’ she managed to snap back, ‘I would not be stuck in a ski-cabin, but sunning myself on a beach.’
‘I never thought.’ Nick’s dark brows drew together in a frown. ‘You can’t ski.’
‘Yes, I can. I was a member of the ski club at university,’ Liza swiftly contradicted him. But whether she could ski was not the point; then he smiled at her with that dazzling brilliance that took her breath away.
‘Great.’ He flicked his finger up under her chin. ‘I’ll go and make that hot drink.’
‘Wait, I never said…’ By the time she remembered what her point was he was gone and she was talking to herself.
Ten minutes later she was sitting at the kitchen table and Nick placed a cup of hot coffee in front of her. ‘Get that down you, and then we will go to the lodge for lunch and get in an afternoon’s skiing,’ he declared as if her acceptance was a fait accompli, taking the seat opposite.
‘But I can’t—I have nothing to wear.’ Liza cast him a fulminating glance, but was struck again by his sheer male magnificence. He looked gorgeous with his black hair ruffled, and his handsome face lit with enthusiasm for the sport ahead.
‘How like a woman,’ he drawled, a lazy smile curling his lips. ‘But don’t worry, there’s a good shop at the lodge that will provide all you need.’ Grasping her hand across the table, he stood up. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
Nick drove them the mile or so to the ski complex and as they approached Liza’s attention was caught by the swaying ski lift, and a bubble of excitement ignited inside her, for once not sexual…
‘I haven’t skied since I was at university,’ she confided, her eyes roaming over the snow-covered slope dotted with people, eager to join them. ‘I only hope I can remember how.’ She smiled, glancing at Nick.
Nick slanted a look at her from beneath thick black lashes; her eyes were sparkling with anticipation, and her wide, excited smile illuminated her whole face. His breath snagged in his throat, and he brought the Land-Rover to a less than perfect halt outside the ski lodge.