She wrenched her arm free from his hold, her whole body rigid with anger. Just who the hell did he think he was? So now she was a gold-digger, as well as a sex maniac in his eyes… With the greatest effort of will, Amber managed to control her fury and say calmly, ‘What exactly do you want, Lucas, barging into my office unannounced? I have neither the time nor the inclination for playing games. You obviously know something about Spiro’s will, which concerns me. So just spit it out and then go.’
His eyes darkened, and for a moment Amber saw a flash of violent anger in their glittering depths, and she knew she had been right to feel threatened. Then he was smiling mockingly down at her. ‘You used to like playing games,’ he reminded her, his eyes cruel. ‘Sexual games.’ His finger lifted and stroked down the curve of her cheek.
‘Cut that out,’ she snapped, taking a deep, shuddering breath. ‘You’re a married man, remember.’ Her golden eyes clashed with his, and as she watched it was like a shutter falling down over his face.
Lucas’s hand fell from her face, his black eyes cold and blank. ‘No, I am not. I told you before, I have no family.’
Confusion flickered in Amber’s eyes. Had he? Then she remembered, but she had thought he’d meant Spiro. ‘But what about Christina and your child?’
‘The child was stillborn. My father died three years ago, and Christina was gone the next,’ he informed her in clipped tones.
Her soft heart flooded with compassion, and unthinkingly she laid a hand on his arm in a tender gesture… Such tragedy must be heartbreaking even for a man as hard as Lucas. ‘I am so sorry, Lucas, I had no idea.’
‘These things happen…’ he brushed her hand away ‘…and, as you never cared much for any of them, I can do without your hypocritical sympathy. I would ask you not to mention the subject again. Except for Spiro, of course,’ he demanded with chilling emphasis.
Why was she wasting her sympathy on this man? Lucas meant nothing to her. He was simply another irritant in an already bad day, she told herself. So why did her cheek still burn where he had touched her, her pulse still race? It wasn’t fair that one man could have such a terrible effect on her senses. She glanced up at him, and briefly his towering presence was a threat to her hard-won sophistication, then she casually took a step back.
‘You want to talk about Spiro, fire away,’ she said flatly, retreating behind her usual hard shell of astute businesswoman, and deliberately she lifted her wrist and scanned the elegant gold watch she wore. ‘But make it quick, I have a lunch appointment.’
‘You have changed, Amber.’ His lips quirked in the semblance of a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. ‘I can remember a time when you begged for my company, you couldn’t get enough of me and pleaded with me to stay with you,’ he said silkily.
The unexpected personal attack made her go white, a terrible coldness invading her very being that he could be so utterly callous as to mention the last time they had been alone together. ‘I can’t,’ she denied flatly. He might even now make her heart race, but no way was she foolish enough to get personal with Lucas Karadines ever again.
‘Liar.’ He smiled sardonically. ‘But I’ll let it go for now, as you say you are busy, and we have a much more pressing item to discuss, partner.’
‘Partner.’ She bristled. What on earth was the man talking about? She’d rather partner a rattlesnake.
‘All right, pretend you’re innocent, I don’t really care. But, put simply, the will Spiro made when you invested in his art gallery made you his heir if anything happened to him.’
‘Oh, no!’ Amber exclaimed, a horrible suspicion making her face pale. It couldn’t be. But one look at Lucas’s dark countenance confirmed her worst fear. When she had given Spiro the money he had insisted on making a will naming her his heir as collateral for the loan, until he could pay her back.
‘Oh, ye-es,’ Lucas drawled derisively. ‘Spiro never changed his will. You are now, or very soon will be, the proud owner of a substantial part of Karadines.’
He was watching her with eyes that glittered with undisguised contempt and something else she could not put a name to.
Amber simply stared at him like a paralysed porpoise, her mouth hanging open in shocked horror. How typical of Spiro. He would get a bee in his bonnet about something, do it and then forget all about it. His business sense had always been negligible, but Amber hadn’t seen it until it was too late.
Lucas laughed, but there was no humour in it. ‘Struck dumb; how very typical of you. The silent treatment might have worked for you in the past with Spiro,’ Lucas drawled, a smile creasing his firm mouth, ‘but not this time. I am a totally different male animal to my late nephew.’
He’d got that right! Amber had a hysterical desire to laugh—a more ruggedly aggressive macho male than Lucas would be impossible to find. Her lips quirked, while she damned Spiro for landing her in this mess.
‘You find something amusing in this situation?’ he challenged icily.
The ring of the telephone saved her from answering. ‘Yes, Sandy, what is it?’ she asked briskly. ‘Clive.’ She glanced sideways at Lucas and caught a thunderous frown on his dark face.
‘Tell him two minutes, my client is just leaving,’ she informed Sandy before turning towards Lucas. ‘My lunch date has arrived, I’m afraid I must ask you to leave.’
‘Clive Thompson, I might have guessed—he was lusting after you the first time he met you,’ Lucas opined bluntly. His dark eyes swept over her cynically. Her wide, oddly coloured gold eyes, and the full sensual lips that begged to be kissed. Her startling beauty combined with a slender yet curvaceous body was enough to make a grown man ache. Lucas was aching and he bitterly resented it. ‘Obviously he has succeeded, but by your ringless fingers I see you have had no success getting him to the altar yet,’ he taunted.
The arrogant bastard, Amber thought angrily. He was still of the opinion she was good enough to bed, but not to wed. Well, he was in for a big surprise.
‘Ah, Lucas, that is where you are wrong.’ Amber smiled a deliberately slow, sexy curve of her full lips. ‘Clive appreciates my talents.’ Let the swine make of that whatever his lecherous mind concluded. ‘He has asked me to marry him, but I have yet to give him my answer—perhaps over lunch,’ she said. ‘So, if you will excuse me.’
He moved so fast Amber didn’t have time to avoid him. One minute there were six feet of space between them, and the next she was hauled against the hard-muscled wall of his chest. Before she could struggle, one large hand slipped down over her buttocks, pressing hard against his thighs, and she felt the heat of him searing into her even through her clothes. ‘No, I won’t excuse you,’ he rasped.
Amber’s throat closed in panic. The years since they had last met might never have been. It was as if Lucas had rolled back time, his sexuality so potent that it fired her blood, making her once again the young girl who had been a slave to her senses. Then his dark head descended and he kissed her.
‘Lucas, no,’ she managed to croak as his mouth plundered hers, as he ground the tender flesh of her lips back against her teeth in a brutal travesty of a loving kiss. But even as she hated him, her body flooded with a feverish excitement and she fought the compulsion to surrender with every ounce of will-power she possessed, but it was not enough. The sexual chemistry between them had always been explosive. The years had not dulled the effect, and with a hoarse moan she responded. Lucas’s hold relaxed as he sensed her surrender, and, realising how completely she had betrayed herself, she swiftly twisted out of his arms.
‘Get out,’ she ordered in a voice that shook, her arms folded protectively across her breasts as she put as much space between them as her office allowed.
‘Christo! It was only a kiss—since when have you ever objected to a kiss?’ he derided savagely. ‘I was wrong, you haven’t changed. You can’t help responding. It is to be hoped Clive knows what he is taking on.’
The cruelty of his attack drove every last vestige of colour
from her face.
His narrowed eyes studied her pale face for a long moment before a self-satisfied smile tilted the corners of his mouth. ‘Well, well, you haven’t told Clive about you and I.’ He was far too astute; he had seen the answer in her lowered gaze.
Lifting her head, she looked straight at him. ‘There is no you and I,’ she declared angrily. ‘There never was, as you were at great pains to point out when you married Christina.’ Her eyes sparkled with cold defiance.
His temper rose as swiftly as her own. ‘Leave Christina out of this,’ he commanded. ‘And if you want Clive to stay in ignorance…’ he paused, his narrowed gaze cold on her lovely face ‘…you will have dinner with me tonight. I will pick you up here at six and we will continue our talk. We have a lot to discuss.’
Panicked by his kiss, her lips tingling with the taste of him, Amber had forgotten Lucas’s real reason for seeking her out. There was still the will to discuss…
‘All right,’ she said curtly. ‘I’ll check with New York this afternoon. The sooner this matter is settled, the better.’ The thought of Lucas back in her life filled her with horror and fear.
‘Amber, darling.’ Clive strolled into the office, saw Lucas and stopped. ‘Lucas Karadines.’ And he held out his hand for Lucas to shake. ‘Thinking of changing bankers yet again?’ Clive asked conversationally.
‘No, nothing like that. A private matter concerning my late nephew Spiro. Now, if you will excuse me…’ Lucas glanced at Amber, his dark eyes holding a definite threat ‘…until later.’ And he left.
Clive quickly crossed to Amber’s side, and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. ‘I forgot to tell you when I spoke to you yesterday. I heard about Spiro a week ago. I know he used to be a good friend of yours; it must have been a shock.’
A tragedy. A calamity that Amber had a sinking feeling was only going to get worse.
Lunch was a disaster. Amber toyed with the food on her plate, her mind in turmoil. One kiss from Lucas Karadines, and her carefully considered decision taken after two weeks in Italy to accept Clive’s proposal of marriage was shot to hell…
Clive was very understanding when she told him she needed more time. But she saw the hurt in his blue eyes when they said goodbye outside her office building, and she hated herself for it. He was a true friend.
CHAPTER SIX
RETURNING from lunch, Amber stopped at her secretary’s desk. ‘Sandy…’ she looked hard at the pretty brunette ‘…what possessed you to let Mr Karadines walk straight into my office? You know the rules. No one gets in unless they have an appointment, especially not Mr Karadines, you must inform me first. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Sorry.’ Sandy apologised and then grinned. ‘But he said he was an old friend and he wanted to surprise you, and I couldn’t resist. I thought you would be pleased. I know I would. Smart, charming and sexy as hell; what more could a girl want?’
‘He is also a domineering, chauvinistic pig, with the mind-set of a medieval monarch,’ Amber declared with a wry grin. Sandy was an excellent secretary but a hopeless romantic. ‘Now get back to work,’ Amber commanded and walked into her office, closing the door behind her. She couldn’t blame Sandy. Lucas had a lethal charm that few women, if any, could resist…
A fax to New York was her first priority and then Amber spent all afternoon trying to work, but without accomplishing much. It was five in the afternoon when she finally received a reply to her fax. She read it, and groaned; her worst fear was confirmed. Lucas, damn him, was right! She was Spiro’s sole heir, and clarification of what that entailed would follow by mail.
Amber did not need to know. She’d made up her mind that whatever Spiro had left her she would give to Lucas. She wanted nothing to do with Karadines ever again…
She’d been badly burnt once and only a fool put their hand in the flame a second time. Ruthlessly she squashed the wayward thought that Lucas was a single man once more. He probably wasn’t, she thought dryly. Lucas had a powerful sex drive, he was not the sort to do without a woman for very long, and there were millions of women out there only too ready to fall into bed with the man.
She was walking out of her personal washroom when the telephone rang. Crossing to her desk, she pressed the button on the intercom to hear Sandy at her most formal announcing the arrival of Mr Karadines.
‘Send him in,’ Amber responded briskly.
A moment later with an exaggerated flourish Sandy flung the door wide open. ‘Lucas Karadines.’ Strolling past Sandy, Lucas gave the girl a smile and a thank-you.
Even though Amber was ready for him, her heart still missed a beat, and anger with herself made her tone sharp. ‘Thanks, Sandy, you can leave now. I will see Mr Karadines out myself.’
‘As I have no intention of leaving without you, your last statement was rather superfluous, wouldn’t you say?’ Lucas queried sardonically.
Amber forced herself to meet the mockery she knew would be in his eyes. ‘Not at all. I think when you hear what I have to say, this meeting will be over in a few minutes.’ She was slightly reassured when she realised he was still wearing the same charcoal suit as before. Like her, he had not bothered to change; with a bit of luck, she could avoid having dinner with him.
‘Really?’ he drawled silkily. ‘You intrigue me.’
‘Yes, well. I have checked with New York, you were right about Spiro’s will. I don’t have the details yet, but it does not matter, because I have decided to sign everything over to you.’
‘Such generosity, Amber.’ He was laughing at her, she could see it in the sparkle in his black eyes. ‘But then you were always very generous, at least in one department,’ Lucas drawled softly, a flick of his lashes sending his gaze skimming over her with deliberate sensual provocation.
She shivered, with what must be cold, she told herself as she stared at him in silence for a second, then lowered her gaze to the desk and picked up her briefcase. She was over Lucas. She had been for years. He had humiliated her, and caused her more pain than any woman should have to bear. So why? Why did the sight of him, the sound of him, still have the power to disturb her? With no answer, she continued as though he had never spoken.
‘That being the case, I don’t think there is anything for us to discuss at this time. When I am in possession of the full facts of Spiro’s legacy, I’ll have my lawyer contact yours as soon as possible.’ Clutching her briefcase, she stepped forward, about to stalk past him, but his hand reached out and his fingers bit into her shoulder. Instinctively she froze.
‘It is not that simple, Amber, and you promised to join me for dinner,’ he reminded her pointedly. ‘I’m holding you to that.’
She wanted to deny him, but his closeness, his hand on her shoulder were a brittle reminder of her own susceptibility to the man. She was not indifferent to Lucas, no matter how much she tried to deny it. Whenever he came near her she was rigid with tension. Her heart pounded and her mouth went dry, a throwback to the time they’d spent together, and something she’d thought she’d got over long ago.
‘If you insist,’ Amber managed to say coolly, and, shrugging her shoulder, she slipped from under his restraining hand. ‘But it is totally unnecessary. I’ve told you, you can have the lot.’
‘If only it were that easy. You’re a businesswoman, Amber, you should know better,’ Lucas opined sarcastically. ‘But now is not the time to discuss it. Unlike you, I missed lunch and I’m starving. Let’s go.’
She didn’t really want to go anywhere with Lucas, but one glance at his granite-like profile and she knew it would be futile to argue. Much better to go along with him now, than put off the discussion to another day. ‘Okay,’ she agreed, and preceded him out of the office. Entering the lift, she tried to ignore Lucas’s brooding presence lounging against one wall, apparently content to remain silent now he had got his own way.
Her mother had always told her it was better to take bad medicine in one go, and Lucas was certainly that where she was concerned. How
bad could it be? A couple of hours in his company and then she never need see him again. Amber consoled herself with the thought as the lift hummed silently to the ground floor, and she stepped out into the foyer, her chin up, her expression one of cool control.
‘There is quite a nice little Italian restaurant just around the corner from here,’ she offered with a brief glance at Lucas, tall and indomitable at her side.
‘No, I have already made arrangements.’
Amber shot him a sharp glance. She didn’t like the sound of that, but as they were exiting the building the early rain had given way to brilliant sun and dazzled her eyes for a moment. When she did focus, Lucas was opening the door of a black BMW parked illegally at the kerb.
She stopped. ‘I have my own car, tell me where we are going and I’ll follow you.’
‘Not necessary. Get in, I can see a traffic warden coming.’ His large hand grasped hers, urging her forward. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll bring you back.’
Amber didn’t want to get in his car, but a brief glance along the road told her he was telling the truth, at least about the traffic warden, so she did as she was told. It was only as he deftly manoeuvred the car through the rush-hour traffic that she realised to a man of his wealth a traffic ticket was nothing. When he stopped the car outside the impressive entrance to the Karadines Hotel, Amber’s face paled. Lucas had to be the most insensitive man alive, or else he had brought her here deliberately and was just plain cruel.
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