For a moment she wondered if he truly believed that. There was such an odd tilt to his expression. And then it was gone.
Still, she felt compelled to answer.
‘If Jean-Baptiste can convince the press and public alike that he’s some kind of benevolent force, then I’m sure you, too, can learn to play the part.’
‘Don’t tell me that was a compliment.’
Before she realised it, he leaned forward, his fingers sweeping over her forearm. The fleeting contact was electrifying.
‘Take it,’ she suggested, wishing her voice didn’t sound quite so husky. ‘It’s the best you’re getting.’
‘Oh, no, trust me. You’ll be doing way better than that before the ink is dry on this so-called marriage. Many of them comparing me to a deity, just as you’re reaching orgasm.’
Why was it that every time she thought she’d struck a nerve with Louis, he came back more scurrilous than ever? Was it his way of concealing some vulnerability, or was she just imagining something that wasn’t there?
Either way, she had to stop reacting to him, stop taking the bait.
‘I haven’t even agreed to it yet.’
‘But you want to.’ Hard, male triumph. ‘Finally we’re getting there. Tell me, what exactly do you have to lose?’
She stared at him for a moment, wishing she could read his thoughts and then wondering why she cared so much.
It didn’t make sense.
‘My soul, perhaps?’ she offered.
And maybe something else she didn’t care to admit.
He laughed, and then suddenly he leaned in. And she found herself wondering what she would do if he closed the gap and kissed her. He was so close, so big, so... Louis. Even his teasing had made her body hum with desire.
If he kissed her then she had a feeling she would kiss him back.
And then she would hate herself for it.
For that reason alone, she pulled away and forced herself to stand up.
‘You will come to me, Alex,’ he murmured, so quietly that at first she wasn’t sure if it was just the thoughts in her head, taunting her. Knowing what she was trying to tell her body it didn’t want.
‘I won’t.’
‘Oh, you will. And when you do, you’ll come willingly. Eagerly. And I’ll be waiting.’
‘This has to be a business arrangement, Louis. Not for pleasure. We have to set out the ground rules now.’
‘Why not for both?’ he asked, low and sensual. ‘We’ll discuss it tonight. Over dinner. Where the press can see us and we can start the clock ticking. The car will collect you at eight. Be ready, Alex. Don’t keep me waiting.’
CHAPTER FOUR
THE NIGHT WAS not going as planned.
True, the press were outside, tipped off by an anonymous source, as arranged. And he had pre-ordered the soufflé to
suggest that he had given this date care and forethought. But the so-called date itself hadn’t gone as intended.
He was too distracted, too fascinated by the woman who was sitting opposite him.
He should have spent the last hour discussing with her the next steps in their plan. Instead, he’d spent it watching her, studying her, trying to learn about her. She was a breed apart from any other women he’d previously...entertained. Not just because she was a doctor, and the kind of skilled anaesthetist he should have known Gordon would want to mentor, but because of her. Because there was something about the woman that he found utterly compelling.