Husband on Trust

by Jacqueline Baird

  Thankfully, the next day, her lunch with Mr George went well. He had looked into moving but had decided against it. He took the new lease she offered.

  Lisa returned to the office in a much happier mood than the day before, and it improved even further when Mary said Miss Clement had agreed to start on Monday.

  By Thursday, Lisa came back from a visit to her bank manager, with a loan agreed and a genuine smile on her face, to find Mary standing by her desk. ‘Good, you’re back. Wilkinson and Morgan just called. Mr Wilkinson said, would you call him back?’

  Lisa grinned. Her problems would soon be over. Five minutes later, she carefully placed the telephone receiver on its rest, her face pale beneath her tan. She didn’t see Mary’s concerned look. Her whole vision was centred internally. Mr Wilkinson had called to tell her the Lee estate had sold their thirty-five per cent holding in Lawson’s to Xela Properties. Apparently Mr Wilkinson had tried to get in touch with her to ask if she wanted to make an offer for the Lee shares, but she had been on her honeymoon and he hadn’t been able to contact her. So had Alex been honeymooning, she thought bitterly but that hadn’t stopped him buying them, the sneaky, conniving, lying bastard!

  ‘Are you okay?’ Mary’s voice cut through her rage.

  ‘Yes, yes, I’m fine.’ But she wasn’t. She wanted to scream her fury out loud. Instead, when the telephone rang on her desk, she picked it up and yelled, ‘Yes, who is it?’ It was Alex. His timing could not have been worse. ‘What do you want?’ Apart from my company, she felt like adding.

  ‘Not a very lover-like greeting. I simply wondered if there had been any developments at your end. Have you managed to find a replacement for your PA yet?’

  Developments! What a nerve. He knew damn well what had happened. She wanted to confront him with his duplicity, but instead she simply replied, ‘Yes everything is fine.’ Her mind was made up—she would fight him every inch of the way. She might have fallen into his arms like a ripe plum, but no way was she going to allow Lawson Designer Glass to do the same…

  ‘Good,’ Alex said. ‘I will be back in London tomorrow afternoon. Bert is meeting me at the airport, and I will see you at the apartment.’

  ‘Right, goodbye.’ She didn’t trust herself to say more, and she replaced the phone with rather more force than was necessary. She glanced at Mary. ‘I’m leaving now and I won’t be in tomorrow.’ She said, and walked out of the office, out of the building, and slid behind the wheel of her red BMW—her one indulgence—drove out of the car park and straight home.

  On Friday afternoon, Lisa sat on the train to London, outwardly a beautiful, elegant young woman, but inside a mass of conflicting emotions. To say she felt mad was an understatement; she was blindingly furious! She had E-mailed Jed before she left home. But even his words of wisdom had not calmed the rage in her heart. He had advised to simply confront Alex and demand the truth. To explain to Alex that absolute honesty was a prerequisite for a good marriage. She had laughed out loud at Jed’s message. How come a young man almost the same age as herself had more insight into relationships than the older, arrogant swine she had married?

  By the time the train was pulling into the station Lisa had calmed down somewhat. She had done a lot of soul-searching last night, and had analysed her behaviour, and reached a conclusion. She had allowed herself to be completely overwhelmed and overawed by her husband. Probably because it had all happened so quickly, and because Alex was her first and only lover. Or maybe because he was older and she had not considered herself an equal partner in the marriage. Obviously neither had he. He had bought shares in her company without even telling her. But he wasn’t getting away with it…

  The train stopped and Lisa stood up. She had dressed carefully in a smart, double-breasted, button-through navy blue linen dress, its wide belt accentuating her narrow waist. She smoothed the skirt of her dress down over her hips and picked up her brief case and laptop before leaving the train. In minutes she was in the back of a black cab and heading for the penthouse. Alex Solomos had a lot of explaining to do. She was going to confront him, something she should have done a week ago.

  Lisa fitted the key into the lock and pushed open the door, and walked into the apartment. She didn’t know what time Alex was due back, but it was now four p.m., so he couldn’t be much longer. She walked straight through to the inner hall and disposed of her briefcase and laptop in her so-called study and, turning, walked back out.

  ‘A bit late, Lisa.’ Alex’s deep voice held a mocking edge, and she spun around as he strolled out of the master bedroom.

  ‘You’re back.’ Her startled gaze focused on his tall, hard-muscled frame. He had obviously not long stepped out of the shower. Incongruously, on such a masculine man, a pink towel hung low on his hips; another was slung around his neck, and his black hair was ruffled and wet, as if he had just been rubbing it. Her mouth went dry. It had only been a week, but the familiar rush of awareness curled her stomach.

  ‘Not quite the response I hoped for,’ Alex revealed as he walked towards her.

  ‘You surprised me,’ Lisa got out. Her blue eyes clashed with his, and what she saw in their darkening depths sent a jolt of sexual excitement quivering along every nerve in her body. She couldn’t move, and she watched mesmerised as he closed the distance between them.

  ‘I surprise myself,’ he murmured enigmatically, and, raising his hands, he closed them over either side of her head, his long fingers raking through her hair, sending pins flying in every direction.

  ‘Don’t.’ She tried to shake her head but his dark head dipped and his mouth crushed down on hers, stopping the words in her throat as he ravished her mouth with deep, hungry passion that she was helpless to deny.

  A tiny voice of reason told her she must stop him. Lisa reached out to push him away, but it had been so long. When her hands came into contact with his bare chest she felt him shudder, and that was her undoing…

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  FLAT on her back on the bed, the skirt of her dress bunched up around her hips, Lisa drew a shuddering breath and gazed up at Alex, looming over her. She glanced frantically round the room and wondered how on earth she had got there. A few minutes ago she had been in the hall. Her stunned gaze returned to Alex. His night-black eyes traced the long length of her bare legs to settle at the juncture of her thighs. ‘Alex,’ she gasped breathlessly, taken aback by the fierce sexual hunger in his burning gaze.

  ‘Yes, Lisa,’ he rasped harshly, casting aside the towel, magnificently uninhibited by his aroused state. Her heart began to pound, and, to her shame, her traitorous body responded instantly to his aggressive male virility. He leant over, his fingers fumbling with the buttons down the front of her dress. The belt frustrated him and he simply tore the front of her lace bra, freeing her breasts to his avid gaze, then he reached down, kneading the creamy softness of them with his hands. She could not disguise her need, and when one hand reached for her briefs, she instinctively raised her pelvis to help him whisk the scrap of lace from her body.

  ‘I want you,’ Alex admitted fiercely, coming down on the bed and curving strong hands around her hips. Nudging her legs apart, he eased his strong thighs into the feminine cradle of her hips, his awesome body trembling against her.

  Lisa, reeling from the speed of his seduction, still might have made some effort to protest. But his firm lips fell upon her mouth and he kissed her with such ferocious need all thought of denying him was wiped from her mind.

  ‘I have to have you; I can’t wait,’ Alex declared in a deep growl, his dark head dropping to press his mouth to the slender curve of her throat, mouthing dark husky words in Greek against her tender skin with an eroticism that made her heart shake. He trailed one hand up over her thigh, expert fingers seeking the fold of tender flesh that masked her femininity. Lisa trembled, a fierce primeval heat racing like wild fire through her veins, consuming her mind and body.

  ‘You want me. You are so ready,’ Alex grated with satisfaction. His
long fingers discovered the hot moist core of her, teasing and tormenting her ultra-sensitive flesh until she became a slave to the agonising pleasure his touch evoked.

  ‘So sweet, so hot…You’ve been aching for this all week,’ Alex murmured huskily, lowering his mouth to tease and lick her nipples with delicacy until they were hot, hard peaks. ‘I know I have,’ he mouthed against her silky skin.

  Lisa twisted and squirmed against him, consumed by a desire so fierce it was almost painful. She clutched at his broad shoulder, her misty blue gaze clashing with his as he raised his head. She stared up into his handsome face and his dark eyes burned black with the effort he was making to control his passion, a question in their glittering depths.

  ‘Yes, yes!’ She pleaded for his possession, and relief from the primeval passion that consumed her. His mouth descended on hers, parting her lips with a hungry sensuality she more than matched. She cried out when he moved, his strong hands lifting her hips, and she felt him glide, hard and urgent, into the velvet heat of her body. Her whole being centred on Alex. She clung to his broad shoulders, her long legs wrapping around his waist as he forced himself deeper and deeper with each stroke. Her body met each thrust, the raw power of his possession filling her with spiralling desire, until the familiar fierce wild pleasure swamped her, and her whole body convulsed in frantic release. Alex reared back, the tanned skin pulled taut across his high cheekbones, his black eyes unfocused, as Lisa’s inner muscles contracted around him, and with one final thrust his great body followed hers into a shattering climax.

  She felt his full weight relax on her, but she did not care, languorous in the aftermath of total physical satiation. She stroked her hands softly up his broad back with feline delight. He was hers. The thought registered, and with it reality. He was not hers, never had been. His reasons for marrying her were varied, but love was not part of the equation. She dropped her hands to the bed, suddenly chilled.

  Alex rolled off her, breathing hard, then as his breathing steadied he turned towards her, his head propped on one elbow, and contemplated her rosy face with a lazy smile playing around his sensuous mouth.

  ‘Now that is what I call a homecoming,’ he drawled. ‘In every sense of the word.’

  Immediately on the defensive, Lisa avoided his amused gaze and tugged at the bodice of her hopelessly crushed dress. ‘You could have waited until I was undressed,’ she said, smarting at the inelegant picture she must present and heaving a sigh of relief when she finally got the offending garment down over her hips.

  ‘Such modesty.’ He chuckled. ‘But totally unnecessary.’ And, skimming one hand down over her stomach, he followed the line of her hip and thigh, smoothing the fabric until he reached the hem. ‘Here, let me help you.’ On the pretext of straightening the top of her dress, his teasing fingers sneaked across her breast.

  Lisa swallowed hard and hastily sat up. Flinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood up. ‘I need a shower,’ she muttered, and dashed for the bathroom, Alex’s husky laughter ringing in her ears.

  Lisa dragged the remains of her clothes off and stepped into the shower stall. ‘Damn you, Alex,’ she mouthed as she turned on the shower tap and lifted her head to the powerful spray. Alex was back, and she could not believe how easily she had fallen into his arms. Where was the cool, sophisticated image she had decided to adopt? The cutting questions she had for him regarding her company? Gone the same way as her dress, she thought bitterly, crushed to bits by her inability to resist the potent sexuality of her husband. Sighing, Lisa closed her eyes and, shaking her head, allowed the water to soothe her turbulent emotions.

  ‘Need any help?’

  Lisa’s eyes flew open and she spun round on the wet tiles. Only Alex’s long tanned arm curling around her waist stopped her from slipping to the floor. ‘No, I can manage,’ she spluttered.

  ‘But it is much more fun my way,’ Alex pronounced. With the water cascading down over both of them, his eyes were dark, slumberous as they slowly traced over her slim curves. ‘You are so perfect,’ he whispered throatily, his hand lifting to cup the underside of one breast, his thumb delicately scraping over the pert tip. ‘So responsive.’

  The slow ache deep within her began to spread, rekindling a flame of desire so potent she had to bite her lip to stifle the groan that threatened to sound her surrender once again. It wasn’t fair. No man should have this much power over her. Throwing back her head, her blue eyes clashed with brown. ‘I want…’ to talk, she had been going to say, but at that instant his other hand curved around her waist and, lifting her up, he swung her out of the shower.

  She clasped his wide shoulders, his tanned skin wet and smooth as satin beneath her fingers. She trembled when her naked body brushed in intimate contact against his as he gently set her on her feet. She swallowed hard, shamed by her body’s swift response. She lifted angry eyes to his impossibly handsome face, humiliated by the strength of her passion for the man.

  ‘I know exactly what you want.’ Alex slanted a brilliant smile of masculine satisfaction over her warm cheeks. ‘The same thing I do,’ he declared throatily, flicking a glance over the proud thrust of her breasts and back to her face.

  It was the smile that did it. Shame was submerged by sheer, ungovernable rage and she told him the truth as she saw it. ‘You have taken me for a fool long enough, Alex,’ she breathed.

  ‘I’ve taken you many times, but never as a fool.’ Alex surveyed her with the disturbing light of amusement in his eyes.

  Without even thinking about it, Lisa swung her hand and tried to hit him. Instead, shocked by the speed of his reaction, she found her wrist caught and her naked body pressed hard against him. ‘No.’ Alex controlled her easily with his superior strength. ‘This has gone far enough. I explained about Margot, she is no longer an issue, but something else has been eating you since last Friday. I made allowances because of your condition, but you no longer have that excuse.’ His black brows drew together in a frown. ‘I want the truth. What supposed sin have I committed in your mixed-up female mind?’

  His tall, muscular frame towered over her. She stared up into his black questioning eyes, her own wild with fury. ‘I know you own Xela Properties.’ Lisa planted her free hand on his chest to put space between them. This time she was not going to be seduced by his body, she vowed, adding scathingly, ‘Need I say more?’

  ‘So?’ One dark brow arched sardonically. ‘What’s new about that?’ He demanded, releasing her in a cool, almost careless manner. Catching a towelling robe from the back of the door, he slipped it on before handing her a matching one. ‘What is your point?’ he queried, his firm mouth quirking in amusement. ‘Presuming you have one, that is.’

  Lisa almost choked on his patronising words. She felt like screaming in frustration. Instead, she pulled on the plain white robe and fastened the belt firmly around her waist. He thought it was a joke. She probably was a joke to him—the naive innocent, to be used when and how he wished. Lisa curled her fingers tightly into her palms, fighting to control the rage boiling inside her. But she needed all her wits about her to confront Alex, because he had the uncanny ability to turn off his emotions with the flick of a switch.

  ‘Well, I’m waiting. I suppose waiting in bed would be out of the question?’ he said, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

  She swept her wet hair back from her face. ‘You’ve got that right,’ she snarled, and with a defiant toss of her head she glared at him. What the hell? she thought. He might as well have the whole truth; he couldn’t hurt her more than he already had. ‘I know you were behind the offer to buy Lawson’s long before we ever met.’

  ‘An oversight on my part. If I had known, the first and only time I visited the site, that the owner’s daughter was such a beauty, I would have insisted on meeting you,’ he informed her with a sexy grin.

  She couldn’t believe the audacity of the man; he still thought it was funny. He really was a heartless beast and the anger drained out of her. ‘Don’t pr
etend, Alex. You know exactly what I mean. I do not appreciate being married for the property I own,’ she said bitterly.

  The amusement vanished from his eyes; his mouth hardened in a thin, ominous line. ‘If that is what you really think, then perhaps it is time we talked.’ Turning, he walked back into the bedroom.

  Lisa had no choice but to follow him. He had stopped in the middle of the floor and now moved around to face her. She glanced at him, a tall, dark giant of a man with cool, remote eyes, and then quickly looked away. She saw the rumpled bed, her mouth twisting in disgust at the evidence of her own weakness where Alex was concerned. What was the point of talking? Alex hadn’t denied marrying her in an attempt to gain control of the company. There was nothing more to say…

  She half turned, but long tanned fingers closed over her shoulders and wheeled her back to face him.

  ‘You can’t throw out an accusation like that and walk away, Lisa.’ His dark eyes raked over her hostile face. ‘When I married you, the company you owned was the last thing on my mind.’ His deep husky drawl feathered along her taut nerves as smooth as silk. ‘And, if you remember, the first day I took you out I told you I was the owner of Solomos International and asked you if it would be a problem. You said no.’

  ‘But you never told me you were Xela Properties.’ Lisa snorted. ‘A very sneaky omission on your part.’

  ‘I naturally supposed you knew. It is all there on our web site, and with your love of computers I find it amazing you’re now telling me you never bothered to check it out. Any businessman worth his salt, when presented with a buy-out, would naturally investigate the company making the offer,’ he said with cool reasoning.