To her surprise he smiled, the smile turning to a throaty chuckle, and then finally to full laughter.
‘Alex?’ She was mesmerised by how attractive he looked when he laughed in this way, without a trace of mockery.
He sobered, but the smile still remained. ‘Mm?’
‘You—You don’t mind about your keys?’
‘Well, of course I mind,’ he chuckled. ‘But it’s what I should have known. You never do what’s expected of you.’
‘Expected of me?’ she flashed angrily. ‘If you mean going to bed with you, then no, I don’t!’
‘I didn’t mean that, as it happens. I meant that I didn’t expect you to run off like that, and especially with my car keys.’
‘Is that why you threatened me with the police?’ she challenged.
‘That was done through sheer fright. I was terrified you were going to actually attempt to drive the Ferrari. I might let you do just that one day,’ he mused. ‘But only with me, never alone.’
Lauri gave him a searching look. ‘I thought you never let anyone else drive you?’
He shrugged. ‘Perhaps I’ll make you the exception.’
She was aware that this was in the nature of an olive branch, but she wasn’t going to be charmed so easily. She resented being treated like a little girl offered a treat to soothe her ruffled dignity. ‘I don’t want to drive your car,’ she said primly. ‘And how dare you just walk into my home like this?’
‘If I’d asked to come in you wouldn’t have let me.’
‘No.’
‘Now you have your answer as to why I just walked in. I needed to see you, Lauren,’ he added huskily.
She gave him a suspicious look. After all, she was no more protected from him here than she had been at his apartment. Less so really, dressed as she was. She clutched her robe to her. ‘It could have waited until tomorrow.’
‘No,’ he shook his head. ‘I needed to see you tonight, to apologise for my behaviour earlier.’ He put a rueful hand on his chest. ‘But you did anger me,’ he grimaced.
‘You hurt me first,’ she defended.
A teasing light entered the blueness of his eyes. ‘I would readily kiss every bruise I inflicted,’ he offered.
‘I bet you would!’ The beginning of a smile began to tug at the corners of her mouth. ‘But you aren’t going to, not unless you would like a scratch down the other side too.’
‘No, thanks. I may have deserved these, but you had challenged my prowess as your lover.’
Lauri flushed fiery red. ‘You aren’t my lover!’
‘Yet.’
‘Never,’ she denied heatedly. ‘I’m not interested in having a lover. I just want to get on with enjoying my life.’
‘Oh, I’d make sure you did that,’ his voice was husky.
‘I didn’t mean in that way,’ she snapped. ‘Look, you’ve apologised for your behaviour, I’ve apologised for mine, so why don’t we just call that the end of it?’
‘The end of it?’ His eyes were narrowed.
‘We don’t get on, Alex. We may be attracted to each other, but other than that we just argue. I don’t want to see you any more.’ By the look on his face, half anger, half disbelief, it would appear that not too many women had been the one to end a relationship with him. ‘I’m sorry,’ she shrugged.
‘You’re also a liar,’ he murmured, his eyes never leaving her face. ‘Come here.’
She knew that look in his eyes of old. ‘N-no.’