Mistletoe Mistress

'Mr Mallen, I've no idea what was so important that it couldn't wait until normal office hours, but I really don't think this is a good idea,' she said stiffly. 'I tried to contact you this afternoon-'

'You've already said that.' The dark eyebrows rose mockingly.

'But you clearly didn't receive my messages,' she finished a trifle desperately. This was awful; he was awful.

'Oh, I did, both of them, but I chose to ignore them,' he said easily, his voice as pleasant as if he were discussing the weather.

'You what?' She couldn't match his calm, her voice high.

'Ignored them.' He smiled maliciously, clearly thoroughly enjoying her open-mouthed discomfiture. 'You suspected that, didn't you?' he added silkily. 'But you expected me to lie to you. I never lie, Joanne. When you know me better you will appreciate that is the truth. However painful, however costly, I never lie.'

Know him better? Over her dead body!

'Now, there is a table booked at the Maltese Inn for nine, so if you're ready?'

The dark face was expressionless, the blue eyes unwavering, and as she gazed into the hard, implacable features she conceded defeat Okay, she'd go on this wretched evening out, she could hardly do anything else now, but there was no way she was going to be bullied or threatened by this man, whatever his wealth or connections.

'Yes, I'm quite ready.' She looked at him steadily, trying to hide the fact that she felt like a petrified little rabbit in the hypnotising power of a fox, and even managed a tight smile as she said, 'I'm just worried that this evening will be a lamentable waste of your valuable time, Mr Mallen.'

'Why don't you let me worry about that?' he said quietly. 'And I told you, the name's Hawk.'

Hawk. Yes, the name suited him, she thought with a faint touch of hysteria as he took her arm and ushered her out of the flat She had been mistaken in her analogy of a fox; he was far more like the ruthless, keen-sighted bird of prey he had been named after, and at the moment she had the awful conviction that the quarry in his sights was her!

CHAPTER TWO

The Maltese Inn was an exclusive little nightclub she had heard about but never had the necessary connections to enter, it being the haunt of the very rich and the very famous. It was chic, select, and its clientele ranged from wealthy film stars and top models to the very elite of England's aristocracy.

Once in Hawk's car, which just had to be a magnificent sporty monster she had never heard of before but which was undoubtedly in the super league-nothing as well known as a Ferrari or Lamborghini for him, she thought nastily-she found herself dumb with nerves.

She glanced at him several times from under her eyelashes, her eyes and senses registering the big lean body clothed in evening dress with a jolt that didn't lessen with the third or fourth glance, before forcing herself to make some sort of conversation. 'This is a beautiful car.' Never had words been so inadequate; never had she felt so inadequate. 'What is it?'

'A Cizeta-Moroder V16T.' The piercing eyes flashed over her face for a moment before returning to the windscreen.

'Oh.' She was no nearer and it showed.

'It's an Italian car, designed by Marcello Gandini,' Hawk said easily. 'I like the power, the body style, and it's beautiful and fast. When I drive I like to enjoy the experience, besides which I wanted a car which would take me from A to B in as short a time as possible.'

'And this certainly would.' She glanced round the interior of the two-seater coupe which was as dynamic inside as out.

'I also like unusual things, not necessarily unique but things that haven't been…cheapened by overuse,' he continued softly.

There had been a thread of something in his voice she couldn't quite place, but as she glanced at the dark profile again it gave nothing away, his features relaxed and quite expressionless.

She couldn't believe she was sitting in the sort of car one only saw in the movies, being driven to the most fashionable nightclub in London by a dark, handsome- No, not handsome. She caught her thoughts abruptly, sneaking another glance at him. Handsome was too weak a word somehow for Hawk Mallen; it suggested pretty-boy good looks, traditional appeal, and the lean, hard face, penetrating blue eyes and cruel, sensual mouth were anything but that. She shivered suddenly, in spite of the perfectly regulated temperature within the car.

What on earth was she doing here? She must be mad. Her thoughts did nothing to calm her racing heartbeat. And the Maltese Inn, of all places. It was all Diors and diamonds there, and here was she in her little black dress and off-the-peg jacket… She felt a moment of nausea as her stomach turned right over. She was going to stand out like a sore thumb-

'Look, could you just try and think of me as friend and not foe for an hour or two, at least until the meal is over?' The deep, gravelly voice had amusement at its core; she could hear it curling the edges. 'Good food is life's second greatest pleasure…' The piercing gaze swept over her flushed face for one brief moment but it left her in no doubt as to what he considered the first, and she felt herself blush even more fiercely. 'And I'd prefer to enjoy the meal tonight without indigestion at the end of it.'

'I don't know you, Mr Mallen-Hawk,' she corrected hastily as he made a growl of annoyance in his throat, 'so how could I possibly regard you as foe?'

'I've been involved with a good few women in my time, Joanne, on a business level and otherwise,' he said quietly, 'and one thing I've learnt along the way is that your sex doesn't need a reason for anything it feels like doing.'

'Well, that's a sexist remark if ever I heard one,' she retorted scathingly, forgetting her nervousness and apprehension as he pressed the fire button. 'You're one of those men who think women are empty-headed little dolls, good for one thing only?'

'Did I say that?' he drawled softly.

'You didn't have to.' She was trying to give the impression of being as controlled and calm as he was, but it was difficult-more than difficult. She might have known he'd be a male chauvinist pig on top of everything else; this was getting worse by the minute.