A Devious Desire

Earlier, Saffron had picked Anna up from her bridge party and Alex had been waiting when they returned. Saffron had tactfully withdrawn to her room and left mother and son alone. It had been a mistake! On returning to the living-room an hour later Alex was still in evidence, and in a few moments had hustled Saffron into having dinner with him. Anna had been no support at all as Saffron had tried to turn down the invitation. She was forced to the conclusion that Alex was probably right about his mother's Machiavellian tendencies.

'An apology—from you?'

'Surprising, I know, but I had a word with Mama this evening. She told me all about her accident; it was silly of her to keep it from me in the first place. I have no intention of having her live with me; it would be much too confining. I have set her mind at rest on that score and she assures me you are innocent of any plan to trap me.'

Bully for him, the condescending swine; was she supposed to

be flattered that he was absolving her from any conspiracy? she thought, eyeing him almost clinically He was wearing a conventional black dinner-suit, white silk shirt and dark bow-tie. He wore his clothes with an elegance that few men possessed, and she knew that beneath the outer garments his body was a perfect example of the masculine form; he could put Michelangelo's David to shame. A few weeks ago she would have been intimidated by such raw masculine perfection, but not now. The inside was rotten to the core.

She glanced at his face. He was smiling complacently.

'So how about we start again from scratch—' his hand reached out and covered hers where it fey on the table '—and develop this chemistry, or whatever it te between us, to its logical conclusion?*

'Why not?' she murmured, the germ of an idea so preposterous that she wondered at her own daring taking root in her head, and, deliberately squeezing his hand, she added a husky, 'Yes.'

His brown eyes flashed with pure masculine triumph. 'Good; let's skip dessert and go to my apartment.' Alex spoke throatily, virtually dragging her to her feet. He flung a bundle of notes on the table and without letting go of her hand steered her out of the restaurant and into his waiting black Jaguar.

Saffron was seething at his arrogant, high-handed treatment, but she forced herself not to let it show. Alex started the car with a crash of gears. He was inpatient, and desire or lust—it did not matter which—made his usual steady hand shake, she noted cynically. Battling down her hatred for the man, she gritted her teeth and deliberately moved closer to rest her head on his broad shoulder, allowing her hand to fall teasingly on to his hard thigh.

Alex hardly spoke as he urged her out of the car in the underground car park, and into the lift. As the doors slid dosed he hauled her into his arms. She closed her eyes and fought down her disgust at being held fast against the hard muscles of his body. Her lips parted at the thrusting force of his tongue invading her mouth, and she forced herself not to shove him away as she longed to do, her stomach curling in revulsion. But was it? she wondered, her legs weakening as his hands travelled the length of her body with a hard sureness that made her tremble.

Luckily the lift stopped and the doors slid open. 'Alex,' she said softly, pushing against the hard wall of his chest. 'We've arrived.'

"Thank God!' he groaned, lifting his head and looking down at her with black, passion-filled eyes.

There was only one door in the wide corridor, and Alex slipped the key into the lock with a hand that shook slightly. Then, turning, with a hand in the small of her back, he ushered her inside the apartment.

Saffron looked around with interest, and was surprised to note that the place had a homely air, not at all what she had expected. Pictures of his relatives and friends vied with what were obviously paintings by the masters. What looked like a Monet had pride of place over a large pine-framed fireplace. Big deep buttoned, hide chairs and a couple of sofas were strategically placed to get the benefit of the fire and view. The curtains were open and the whole of London seemed to be reflected in fee plate-glass windows,

'I can't believe you're here, Saffron.' Alex's deep voice interrupted her musing, and once more she was caught in his arms. 'You have no idea how much I want you, From the moment you felled me in Rhodes, I've ached to get you in my bed.' His lips showered tiny kisses on her eyes her cheek, the tip of her nose, ail over her faœs and Saffron was. shocked by the gentleness Is his gaze.

'I told myself it was because I wasted to punish you." His lips moved caressingly down the slender arch of her throat as she tipped her head back, trying to escape his marauding mouth. But it didn't work; her pulse-ratesoared and she was is danger of forgetting why she was here.

'Punish me?' she murmured. It was Alex who needed punishing and she had to remember that.

'I know; stupid macho pride. But after Mykonos I realised I wanted you any way I could have you. I didn't even care if you were part of Mama's scheme. Seeing you in this dress again tonight reminded me.' She was wearing her Ralph Lauren, the only formal dress she possessed, and he put his hand on her covered shoulder. 'That night on the Lion Lore I nearly lost it when you walked into the dining-room, you looked so beautiful, but I couldn't do anything about it with all the guests around.'

He was good—very good! Saffron recognised. The sensual spell he was weaving with tender words and caresses was almost believable. But then he'd, had plenty of practice, she thought grimly, the mood broken by his glib lie. Guests had not stopped Mm sharing his bed with

Sylvia. She least sharply back from him, but he did not release her.

'I tried to stay away but the last two weeks without seeing you were hell. I found myself missing your red hair and flashing eyes. I thought of you at the most inopportune times, until today I realised I had to do something about it.'

His mouth nuzzled her neck and his hands found the zip at side of her dress. She was perilously close to forgetting why she was here, and, gathering every ounce of self-control she possessed, she pushed him harder.

'Wait, Alex.' She deliberately lowered her voice, a slight tremor to her tone that wasn't all play-acting, unfortunately. 'You said to follow this chemistry to its logical conclusion. But marriage is a big step--are you sure you're ready for it? You have been a bachelor an awfully long time.'

'Marriage? Who the bloody hell mentioned marriage?' He let go of her and stepped back as if he had been stung, and she had to bite her lip to force back the laughter that bubbled up inside her at the expression of shock and horror on his rugged face.

'I'm sorry if I misunderstood,' she said softly, acting for all she was worth. 'But I'm afraid that's the only way you'll ever get me.'

Alex's dark eyes narrowed dangerously. 'If I thought you really meant that I could prove you wrong in five minutes,' he declared hardly. He reached out and ran one long finger delicately from her jaw to her throat over her one naked shoulder and on to the tip of her breast, lightly covered by the soft fabric of her dress. She forced herself to show no response, but her breast hardened to a taut peak beneath his cool manipulation, His dark look turned to one of indolent satisfaction at her body's reaction. 'Make that two minutes,' he amended mockingly.

'God, what an ego!' she jeered, and, deliberately turning her back on him, she headed for the door.

Alex moved swiftly; hard hands caught hold of her arms and spun her around to face him. 'Nobody turns their back on me, lady.'

'Let me go.*