Lynne Graham's Brides of L'Amour Bundle

‘I came here to have a serious discussion,’ Hilary snapped and, stooping to pick up her coat, she stalked back into his office. ‘And I intend to have that discussion. Sorry if you can’t keep your mind on business just because a woman’s wearing an attractive dress.’

Dark colour girding his proud high cheekbones, Roel sent her a slashing glance. ‘Try me…’

‘Almost four years ago, I signed a contract to become your wife. In return I accepted a certain sum of money. I returned two thirds of that sum when I discovered I didn’t need it and—’

Roel had raised a silencing hand. ‘Stop there. You returned part of

that cash settlement? How?’

‘I paid it back into the account you had set up and sent you a letter through your lawyer, that suspicious Paul guy—’

‘Who had great foresight,’ Roel sliced in with satiric bite. ‘Thanks to your antics, I broke his nose last week—’

Eyes rounded, Hilary stared at him in consternation. ‘You did what…you broke his nose? But why?’

‘He had the misfortune to suggest that my wife might not be all that I believed her to be…before I recovered my memory.’

Hilary turned bright pink with mortification. ‘Oh…I was talking about that money.’

Roel looked unimpressed. ‘I’m not aware that you returned any part of that settlement.’

Hilary folded her arms with a jerk. ‘Well, the point is that I did. I realised that I didn’t need to buy a property when renting one would do just as well. I only kept what I needed to rent the flat and set up the salon in the empty shop beneath it. Fitting out the salon was expensive enough. You didn’t think my business was much of a paying proposition but it pays my rent and covers the bills, so I’ve never had any complaints—’

‘Would you tell me where this dialogue is heading?’

‘Once Emma finishes school, I can sell the business as a going concern and repay everything you gave me. So if I put that promise on the table, we’ll be quits and you can let me go home again.’

‘Did you really put on your sexiest outfit to come and make that offer to me?’

Infuriated by a putdown of a response that made it clear that he did not even deem her offer worthy of consideration, Hilary breathed in very deep. Meanwhile, Roel lounged back against his desk, watching the rise and fall of her full breasts below the lace and then whipping up again to rest on her luscious pink mouth.

‘As far as I’m concerned, this isn’t about money. It never has been. Surely you’ve grasped that by now?’ Roel murmured softly.

‘I understand that you believe I owe you a debt. I understand that you have rather unforgiving principles—’

‘You’re doing really well on the understanding front,’ Roel dropped in with deflating amusement.

‘But I can’t think of one good reason why you’d want to force me to be here—’

Roel sent her a sardonic smile. ‘But I’ve got more than one good reason. The power kick. I am receiving very real satisfaction from making you do what I want you to do.’

‘That’s disgusting…you should be ashamed of yourself!’ Hilary was outraged that he could admit that without hesitation.

His stunning eyes narrowed intently. ‘But didn’t you receive a similar satisfaction when you took advantage of my amnesia to lull me into a false sense of security?’

‘I’m not like you…I didn’t take advantage either!’ Hilary flung at him, hurt by that unpleasant suggestion. ‘I was only trying to keep you calm and happy.’

His handsome mouth quirked with amusement. ‘Per meraviglia…you certainly put a smile on my face in the bedroom. As for forcing you to be here, isn’t it time you faced facts?’

‘What facts?’

‘That you didn’t exactly have to be dragged kicking and screaming back to my lair? You want me too.’

‘Not enough to allow you to think you can use me,’ Hilary stated hotly.

Roel let his forefinger slowly glance down between her breasts to pause at her navel. ‘What would be enough?’

Where he stroked, her body became stingingly alive and tender. It was as if her every skin cell lit up.