Passionate Protection

Jessica had just stepped into the shower when she heard someone knocking on her door. Thinking it must be the maid with the light meal she had ordered, she shrugged on her towelling robe and quickly opened the door.

To her consternation it was not a maid who stood there, but Sebastian de Calvadores, looking cynically urbane as he lounged carelessly against the open door, his eyes slowly appraising her.

'I thought you were room service,' she stammered, feeling as gauche as a raw teenager. 'I… what did you want?'

'To speak to you. Surely Colin has already apprised you of my suggestion?'

'You want to speak about that? But Colin said you were going to telephone… at least…' She couldn't remember now exactly what Colin had said; Sebastian's unexpected appearance had thrown her completely, her thoughts were a chaotic muddle.

'Are you going to invite me in, or shall we hold our discussion here in full view of the other guests? On balance I think we would be better inside,' he drawled, walking past her and calmly closing the door.

'But I'm not dressed…' Jessica protested, hot colour storming her face as he looked her over thoughtfully.

'An age-old ploy, but one that unfortunately does not work on me. I'm immune to women who use their bodies as you use yours.'

'And yet you still want me to work for you? I should have thought I would be the last person you would want in your employ.'

'Sometimes it is necessary to give way to expediency,' he told her crisply. 'Now, could I trouble you for your decision?'

He really was the most unbearably arrogant man she had ever met in her life! Jessica thought wrathfully. Anyone with the slightest pretensions to consideration would have suggested that they meet downstairs, or at least have given her an opportunity to dress, but not Sebastian de Calvadores. No doubt he enjoyed having her at a disadvantage!

'I can't believe you want me to work for you,' she protested, wishing he would not watch her so closely. She felt like a particularly obnoxious life form being viewed beneath a microscope.

'Come, I'm sure I do not need to boost your ego by paying you flattering compliments. I am assured by your employer that you are a first-class designer. He is a man whose judgment I trust—I need a designer badly enough to be prepared to overlook certain aspects of your personality. It is as simple as that.'

'You must want me very badly if you were prepared to threaten Colin that you would withdraw the contract!'

'As I said before, it is a matter of expediency. I am already behind with work on next season's fabrics. There have been problems with some of the dyes. Primarily I am a chemist, not a designer, and the work I have had to do on this side of things has meant that there have been delays in the design end of things. Like any other manufacturer, I have deadlines to meet. My suggestion to Colin was based purely on commercial necessity. He understands this even if you don't. I am prepared to help him if he will help me, there is nothing out of the ordinary in that.'

Nothing at all, and yet still Jessica felt uneasy, as though there was something she wasn't being told; something hidden from her.

'And you will merely

want me to work for you for a matter of a few weeks?' she pressed.

'Two months at the most. Senor Weaver has said he can spare you for this length of time—the rest is up to you.' He gave a comprehensive shrug. 'I doubt that I would ever be your choice of employer—Senor Weaver obviously has no idea of your true personality—but if you wish to save his business I am sure you will see the wisdom of agreeing.'

He must want a designer very badly, was Jessica's first thought, but then he had already admitted that he did. So why did she have this nagging feeling that there was something else?

'You…' she began.

'I have no time to waste in answering further arguments,' he interrupted her with an arrogance that had her spine prickling as defensively as a ruffled kitten's. 'Either you agree or you refuse, but if you refuse, be very sure at what cost.'

It really wasn't fair, Jessica thought, shivering a little, as she hugged her robe even more firmly around her slender body. What choice did she have?

'I… I agree,' she said huskily at last, the tiny thread of disquiet she had felt earlier exploding into full-blown fear as she saw the triumph glittering briefly in his eyes.

'Most wise. So… if you will be ready to leave in the morning, I shall collect you at nine, that will leave us enough time to…'

'Leave?'

'Ah yes, didn't I tell you?' he drawled mockingly. 'I intend to spend the next two months working from my hacienda. I have… responsibilities there, and the peace and quiet of the hacienda is more conducive to design work than the factory. Besides, it is there that I have my laboratories where we experiment with the dyes.'

'I'm not going with you.'

'Oh, but I think you are,' came the silky response. 'Only five minutes ago you told me that you were prepared to work for me. Surely the mere fact that you have learned that you are to be a guest in my family home instead of living alone in a hotel cannot be the reason for this sudden turn-around. Think of Colin,' he told her hardily, 'think of your own future, just as I am thinking of my brother's.'

'Jorge?' Jessica looked bewildered. 'What does he have to do with this?'