‘Do you know what I think?’ He looked over at her with a bold light in his dark eyes. ‘I think you’re so attracted to me that you have to keep telling yourself these things so that you can fight the feelings.’
The fact that he wasn’t far wide of the mark was very disconcerting. ‘And do you know what I think?’ she retorted quickly. ‘I think that you are one of the most arrogant men I have ever met.’
‘There you go again … another excuse.’ His eyes glinted mockingly. ‘You’ve got a better defence system than London has with the Thames Barrier.’
‘And you’ve got an even bigger ego.’
He laughed and relaxed back in his chair. ‘You know, I enjoy our little sparring sessions; they are like an exhilarating form of foreplay … don’t you think?’
‘No, I don’t.’ She glared at him.
‘If the real thing is anything as fiery, I think we would need flame-proof bedding,’ he continued.
‘Why don’t you just drink your whisky and we’ll get down to business?’ she said. He really was going too far with this.
‘Actually, I’m drinking iced tea.’ He smiled at her. ‘And I’ve never been propositioned quite so bluntly before.’
‘You know exactly what I mean.’
He laughed. It was strange, but he did enjoy sparring with her. Most people deferred to him. Women especially tended to submit eagerly and immediately to his ideas and needs. But Cat’s eyes glinted and blazed with feeling. She was like a wild kitten that needed taming—he just needed to keep in mind that she may look beautiful but she was a kitten hiding extremely treacherous claws.
‘Shall we forget this nonsensical conversation and look at the plans I have drawn up for the campaign?’ she continued crisply. Her green eyes held with his but beneath the cool, competent veneer there was a flame that excited him beyond reason.
Oh, yes, he was very much looking forward to breaking her will until she was purring and submissive to his every desire.
He smiled and pretended to relent. ‘Go ahead, take your papers out.’ But in truth he had no intention of looking at her business plans just yet. They could wait until later.
Nicholas watched as she unfastened her seat belt and stood up. He was treated to a pleasurable view of her figure as she stretched to open the overhead compartment.
Desire escalated inside him and he allowed her to struggle with the catch for a few moments more before offering assistance. He knew full well that she couldn’t get into the compartment because he’d locked it with a flick of a button just before take off.
‘Need some help?’ he asked laconically.
‘Yes—it seems to be stuck.’ As she stepped back from it, he surreptitiously pressed the button on the arm of his chair releasing the lock and then stood up to help.
She watched with a sense of frustration as Nicholas opened the compartment with ease and took out her briefcase. He put it down on the desk beside them but didn’t immediately return to his seat.
‘Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome.’ He returned some files that had been sitting in a rack by the door into the locker. ‘I’ll just tidy these away.’
The confines of the aisle meant she couldn’t get back to her seat without moving nearer to him and, as she was too close for comfort as it was, she stood an
d waited.
‘You’ve got a great office in here,’ she remarked, trying to take her mind off the way his muscles flexed under the fine silk material of his shirt.
‘Yes it comes in useful when I’m on business trips. Means I can utilise my time efficiently—’
Cat’s gaze moved towards the sliding door through to the bedroom. He caught the glance and smiled. ‘And I like my creature comforts.’
‘So I noticed—’ Her words were abruptly halted as the plane hit some turbulence and gave an unexpectedly violent judder.
‘Are you all right?’ He reached and caught hold of her arm and then the plane lurched again and she lost her balance completely and found herself slammed against his chest. His arm went around her, steadying her, holding her close.
The shock of the contact was immense; it flooded through her system, disorientating her like a shot of some mind-altering drug. And in that second wrapped in his arms she was achingly aware that this was a place she wanted to be. Here loneliness was relegated to the furthest corners of her heart, chased away by the hard, powerful body crushed against hers.
‘Cat?’