Mills & Boon is proud to present a wonderful selection of novels featuring her trademark Mediterranean males from international bestselling author

JACQUELINE BAIRD

Each volume has three terrific, powerful and passionate stories written by a queen of the genre. We know you’ll love them…

JACQUELINE BAIRD was born and brought up in Northumbria. She met her husband when she was eighteen. Eight years later, after many adventures around the world, she came home and married him. They still live in Northumbria and now have two grown sons.

Jacqueline’s number one passion is writing. She has always been an avid reader and she had her first success as a writer at the age of eleven, when she won first prize in the Nature Diary of the Year competition at school. But she felt a little guilty because her diary was more fiction than fact.

She always loved romance novels and, when her sons went to school all day, she thought she would try writing one. She’s been writing for Mills & Boon ever since and she still gets a thrill every time a new book is published.

When Jacqueline is not busy writing, she likes to spend her time travelling, reading and playing cards. She was a keen sailor until a knee injury ended her sailing days, but she still enjoys swimming in the sea when the weather allows.

With a more sedentary lifestyle, she does visit a gym three times a week and has made the surprising discovery that she gets some good ideas while doing the mind-numbingly boring exercises on the cycling and weight machines.

Mediterranean Tycoons Dark & Demanding

At the Spaniard’s Pleasure
A Most Passionate Revenge
The Italian Billionaire’s Ruthless Revenge

Jacqueline Baird

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

At the Spaniard’s Pleasure

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

A Most Passionate Revenge

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Italian Billionaire’s Ruthless Revenge

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

EPILOGUE

Copyright

At the Spaniard’s Pleasure

CHAPTER ONE

NICK MENENDEZ irritably drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of the Jeep he had picked up at the airport. He had expected to be in Lanzarote by nine at the latest. He’d arrived in his own plane and he was still late because there’d been no landing slot. Heads would roll… He was a man who got what he wanted when he wanted it, and he did not appreciate being frustrated by anything or anyone! But he should have guessed, he thought, his mouth tightening angrily. Any damn thing connected to Liza Summers, a blonde, blue-eyed siren, had always caused him frustration of one kind or another…

A wry smile twisted his firm lips. No, if he was being honest, his frustration was not really Liza’s fault. They had been good friends years ago until he had caught her kissing a young man, and overreacted. With hindsight he could admit it; he had been jealous as hell, he had wanted to be Liza’s first lover, but, as he was engaged to someone else at the time, he had been in no position to do anything about it.

Then, last night at his home in Malaga, he had been reading the latest report from one of his companies, a security firm that was doing some work for a pal of his, when her name had leapt off the page.

Last month Carl Dalk, a friend from his university days whose family owned a diamond mine in South Africa, had contacted him and asked for his help and he had immediately agreed. As students they had been white-water rafting together when Nick was thrown from the raft and knocked unconscious. It was Carl who had dragged him from the raging torrent; he owed the man his life. And though they saw each other infrequently, they’d remained good friends.

Nick had joined his father in the family firm straight after university, a small but one of the most prestigious merchant banks in Spain. Over the years Nick had expanded and diversified the business into the vast international corporation it was today. Carl was one of the few people who knew that one of Nick’s holdings was a very discreet security agency. It was an agency that had assisted in many sensitive investigations, both corporate and criminal, worldwide, and liaised on a regular basis with the Spanish government on matters of security.

Carl had called on Nick’s security firm because twice in the past year diamonds had been stolen from the mine. The clever part was after the thieves had ascertained the value of the diamonds they had been offered back to Carl’s insurers at roughly half their worth.

With the consent of the police, and in the hope of catching the thieves red-handed, the insurance company had arranged to pay up. Not surprisingly, as it meant the insurers saved money by not having to repay the full cost of the diamonds. But it had not stopped the insurance company putting up the cost of Carl’s premiums, but, worse than that, the plan had not worked…

Both times the thieves after exchanging the diamonds had managed to give the authorities the slip.

Carl’s business was in real trouble; what with the influx of cheaper diamonds from Russia over the last few years, and the invention of man-made diamonds, he had seen his firm’s profits slump to an all-time low. The drastic fall in the stock market over the same period had seriously depleted the firm and family funding. Carl had a serious cash-flow problem and now there had been another theft… Nick had offered to help him out financially, and had put the expertise of the security agency at Carl’s disposal.

Reading the last report, Nick had been confident that this time Carl with the help of the agency and the Spanish police were well on the way to catching the thieves, and then he spotted the name Liza Summers. He had called the manager of the security firm, and discovered that it was none other than THE Liza Summers, the daughter of his mother’s best friend.

Nick had promised to spend the whole weekend in Spain with his mother to attend a series of parties arranged to celebrate the golden-wedding anniversary of her brother, Uncle Thomas. That plan was seriously curtailed when he’d decided to take the place of his top investigator, and make a flying visit to Lanzarote. If anyone was going to question Liza it was going to be him. It was six years since he had seen her, but whatever else she had become he found it hard to believe she could be involved in these thefts as the report suggested.

Which was why it was now almost eleven and he was stuck at the crossing to the drawbridge in Arrecife as a group of tourists, obviously from the cruise ship in the harbour, made their way over the road. Usually he loved visiting Lanzarote, also known as Isla de las Volcanoes. The landscape was surreal, completely covered by over a hundred and thirty volcanoes, with craters and fields of petrified lava. He had owned a villa here for years on the edge of the Timanfaya National Park, as did the king of Spain and the crowned heads of a few Arab countries. It was a place that allowed him to relax out of the public eye and do his own thing. But not today, he thought grimly, his irritation increasing by the minute at the thought of what lay ahead.

The information that had brought Nick dashing to the island caused deep frown lines in his austere but strikingly handsome face as his gaze swept over the scene before him. His hard glance flickered over the kiosk café on the promenade to the taxi rank, where another hold-up was causing chaos. Then abruptly returned to the café, his dark eyes flaring then narrowing on the single female seated at one of the tables.

Long blonde hair tied back with a scarf revealed an exquisite profile, a slender throat and the soft curves of high, firm breasts exposed by a body-hugging blue cotton top. A glimpse of bare midriff, then white cotton trousers moulded long legs that were stretched out before her and crossed at the ankles in casual ease.

His great body tensed. Well! Well! His information was correct, he thought with grim satisfaction.

Carl and the South African police had managed to trail the diamond thieves up through Africa to the Sahara Desert and discovered they then made the short sea-crossing to the island of Lanzarote, where they had disappeared either at sea or on the island. Dalk could have picked up the African thieves, but that was not what he wanted. He wanted the top man in Europe to stop it completely.

The report Nick had read last night from his agency had stated, after they had done some digging on the continent, the trail led to one Henry Brown, a director of Stubbs and Company of London, a well-respected investment house. The top investigator had trailed Henry Brown and discovered he had flown into Lanzarote that day with his PA.

Grinding his teeth in exasperation at the hold-up, Nick still couldn’t get over the fact the man’s PA was none other than Liza Summers. The girl he had known since the age of eight had become the woman now reclining in the chair at the promenade café looking as if she did not have a care in the world… That was about to alter if she did but know it.

Carl Dalk had received a copy of the same report and had been on the telephone to Nick late last night, jubilant as they had almost all the information to spring the trap. The middleman in Lanzarote was the only missing link. Still reeling from shock at the sight of Liza’s name, Nick had had to do some very fast talking to persuade Carl to let him get personally involved and quiz her himself. Laying it on thick about his connection with the island’s police and telling Carl that he had to go anyway to check out a business venture, Nick had made arrangements to travel here at once on his private jet.

It was a conflict of interest Nick could do without. He supported Carl a hundred per cent. It was stealing, blackmail, call it what one liked. But he did not want to believe Liza Summers was involved, and if the worst happened and she was, though he could never condone dishonesty, he had to try and keep her part in the theft low-key and out of the Press. He owed it to the family friendship and the delightful child she had once been.

Eyes black as night raked over her once again, his firm lips curling in a wolfish grin, there was nothing childish about her now. Nick was something of a connoisseur of beautiful women and this one certainly fitted the bill. Things were certainly looking up, he decided; the idea of quizzing the lovely Liza was suddenly very tempting.

Nick watched as the woman removed her sunglasses and looked towards him. No, not him but the drawbridge, he realised, and his hands tightened on the steering wheel at the same time as he felt a sudden tightening in his groin. There was no doubt about it. It was Liza Summers…

His body’s instant reaction surprised him. He had not responded so spontaneously to a female in a long time. He was famed for his cool control and he rather resented his body’s betrayal, but finding Liza so quickly was the first bit of luck he had had all morning. An accidental meeting was much more convenient than calling at her hotel. He had not seen the woman in six years, and if anything she was even more beautiful then he remembered, on the outside at least, he qualified cynically, remembering the task at hand.

Damn the law! He parked the Jeep at the side of the road and leapt out.

‘Liza… Liza Summers…’

Liza clashed her coffee-cup down on the saucer, the deep, drawling voice making her hand shake. Oh, no! Silently she groaned. This could not be happening. She hadn’t heard that voice since she was a teenager. Now, on a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic it echoed in her head like a ghost from the past.

‘I thought it was you.’

A tall, dark shadow loomed over her, blocking out the sun. Her eyes were on a level with strong masculine thighs clad in denim. She swallowed hard and slowly lifted her head; a tapered waist flared out to a broad chest, every muscle and sinew clearly delineated by a simple black T-shirt, and up to bulging biceps, and even broader shoulders.

She tilted her head back, and her heart skipped a beat; his face was in shadow but she would have recognised him anywhere. ‘You!’ she exclaimed as her blue eyes clashed with deep dark brown. Niculoso Menendez… The years rolled back and she was eight again and meeting him for the first time.

Her father had just died and her mum’s good friend Anna Menendez had invited Liza and her mother, Pamela, for a holiday at her home in Spain. The two women had attended the same boarding-school in England. Anna was the daughter of a Spanish diplomat and Pamela was the daughter of a serving army officer. Anna had married a wealthy Spaniard and Pam had married an army man. The two women had kept in touch over the years, mostly as pen pals.

Memories of the past flooded Liz’s mind. Niculoso had fascinated her the first time she saw him, at eighteen he was the most beautiful young man she had ever seen. She had been so busy staring at him that she had stumbled and fallen on the stone-flagged courtyard, skinning her knee. She had cried, but Niculoso had picked her up, smiled at her and carried her on his shoulders into the imposing house.

He had been her hero from that moment on. He was the big brother she had never had and she had looked forward to the three weeks at the Menendez country house every summer.

‘Do you mind if I join you? I haven’t seen you in years.’ Nick’s deep, husky voice cut across her reverie.

‘What?’ she mumbled, still reeling from the shock of his sudden appearance. It was Nick who had taught her to ride, and saved her from many a fall from trees, cliffs, and on one memorable occasion when she had fallen from her horse. But at fourteen her feelings for him had changed when she had developed an enormous crush on him, and done everything in her power to try and attract his attention to her blossoming femininity.

‘You don’t sound too pleased to see me.’ Nick lifted a hand and signalled to the waiter and ordered a coffee. ‘Would you like a refill?’

‘No… Yes…’ she stammered like an idiot, but she was stunned. He had appeared from nowhere like a genie out of a bottle, filling her mind with kaleidoscopic memories.

Their past relationship had ended in disaster when she was sixteen. Overflowing with unrequited love, she had been devastated when she was introduced to Nick’s fiancée, a stunningly attractive woman called Sophia, a distant relative of the family.

Suddenly Liza had seen her mother and herself for what they were. The poor friends who were given a holiday out of charity. That summer she had rebelled and gone out with one of the stable boys. It was just her bad luck the one time they were fooling around in an empty stall and she had let him kiss her, Nick had seen them. Nick with a face like thunder…

An involuntary shiver feathered down her spine, and her heartbeat quickened perceptibly. She did not want to think about what had happened next. But the scales had certainly fallen from her eyes where Nick was concerned. Nick Menendez was an arrogant, overbearing, stuck-up, chauvinist pig. Liza had kept out of his way for the rest of her stay, and if he had happened to see her he frowned at her with contempt obvious in his hard eyes. Liza had been relieved when they finally left and she’d never gone back.

Shaking her head in an attempt to dispel the memories of the past, she glanced up at him. He had moved slightly and the sun glinted off his striking features, and her heart stopped in her throat.

One dark brow arched enquiringly. ‘So may I sit down?’ His voice was a deep, slightly accented drawl that held a hint of mockery.

‘Please do,’ she finally managed to respond civilly. Though she was still shocked at the amazing coincidence of bumping into Niculoso in Lanzarote. Since the death of his father she guessed he had inherited the family company. She had seen his name in the gossip columns occasionally, when he’d attended a charity do, a première or the races, and grimaced at the reference to the Spanish Stud, supposedly a reference to the famous Menendez stud farm, but the double entendre was obvious. Still, Liza tried to avoid reading such rubbish.

‘The last time we met must have been my father’s funeral,’ Nick prompted, pulling out a chair.

‘Oh, yes,’ Liza murmured politely. That was another day she would rather forget. She had just turned nineteen and was at university in London, and living in the halls of residence. Her mum had insisted Liza travel to Spain with her for the funeral. Nick had still been engaged to the glorious Sophia and Liza had found him just as disturbing then, and when he had deigned to notice her his expression was still one of scowling contempt.

Liza hadn’t seen him since. She wished he would sit down instead of holding the chair and towering over her like some great, dark bird of prey. He was smiling down at her like a long-lost friend, and somehow it didn’t ring true. A vulture about to pick her bones was more likely, she thought drily.

‘Well, Niculoso, fancy meeting you here,’ she said coolly, her mind spinning. ‘I thought you lived in Antequera.’

‘My mother still does. But I am a big boy now, Liza. I left home years ago,’ he drawled mockingly, and finally sat down beside her. He was big and he was more striking than ever, she realised, her skin breaking out in goose-pimples as his arm accidentally brushed hers.

‘As, I believe, did you after university,’ Nick continued, apparently casually. A large hand reached out and covered her much smaller one resting on the table, and to her amazement something akin to an electric shock sizzled up her arm. ‘My mother speaks about you often and it is really good to see you again,’ he said and squeezed her hand.

Good to see her! He had to be kidding… He could not stand the sight of her… Liza felt the colour rise in her cheeks. She had told herself she hated him for years and yet incredibly his touch sent a frisson of excitement flooding through her. Her stunned blue gaze clashed with deep dark brown—was it sincerity she saw in their depths? Never in a million years… She wasn’t falling for his Latin charm ever again. ‘Yes. Well…’ she murmured inconsequentially.

‘Forgive me for surprising you. I caught a glimpse of you and could not believe my eyes. You have developed into a stunning woman, Liza.’

Niculoso Menendez giving her a compliment! He had to be joking after the scathing things he had said about her in the past. ‘Thank you, I think,’ she said with a trace of sarcasm. She pulled her hand free from beneath his and lowered her eyes from his too astute gaze.

Liza remembered all too well every second of their encounter in the stable years ago.

After dispensing with the stable boy, Nick had hauled her hard against him and kissed her savagely, and to her undying shame she had responded in a way she had never imagined in her wildest dreams, clinging to him like a limpet. Then he had shoved her back into the stall, and insolently touched her tight breasts, and completely humiliated her. His words were engraved on her brain.

‘My God! A stable boy! How wrong I was about you. For two years I have watched you flirt and flaunt yourself around me. I thought it was innocent, a young girl learning the power of her emerging sexuality. But you obviously know it all, have done it all. You’re nothing but a cheap slut.’

The memory still had the power to hurt, but Liza drew some consolation from the fact that, young as she was, at least she’d had the sense to slap his arrogant face.

Nick leant back in his seat and eyed the woman before him. She had been a delightful, impulsive child, a thorn in his flesh as a very independent, precocious teenager, and a bitter disappointment to him when he’d found her cavorting with the stable boy. But she had developed into an exquisitely beautiful woman, and he didn’t like the way she still affected him after years of blanking her from his mind. His gut reaction last night when he’d realised she was involved had been to protect her any way he could, and the strength of his own feeling had surprised him.

But he was no fool; she had inherited her mother’s features and pale, almost translucent skin, and at the moment the red tinge to her cheeks and the evasive look in her brilliant blue eyes told him she was as guilty as hell about something. Whether it was because she was involved in the theft of the diamonds or not he did not know, but he was determined to find out for Carl’s sake.

‘I can see life has been good to you, Liza,’ Nick opined, his dark eyes sweeping over her face and lower to the soft curve of her breasts with blatant male appreciation. ‘It is great to see you happy and on holiday.’

‘Yes, well, the sunshine is a treat in the winter,’ Liza offered lightly. She was older and wiser now, and not prepared to accept his friendly overtures so easily.

Nick’s gaze narrowed intently on her lovely face, and he saw the swift tightening of her luscious lips; she was being evasive—hardly the reaction of an innocent, he was forced to conclude. ‘You are on holiday?’ he queried, pressing on in an attempt to discover exactly what Liza knew. ‘Or is it business? It has been so long since we last saw each other, I have no idea what you are up to now.’ For a fleeting moment he was tempted to ask, A bit of diamond-smuggling, perhaps, as my agency’s report implies? His lips twitched in the briefest smile at the thought.

The shock of meeting Niculoso Menendez was wearing off a little and, seeing his smile, Liza thought there was no harm in discussing her work. ‘I’m a PA for a director of a finance firm in London.’ It was a safe topic, and she told him the name of the firm. ‘As for this,’ she gestured with one hand around the bay, ‘it started out as a business trip to attend an environmental conference at Costa Teguise in the hope of investing in something green, I suppose, but surprisingly it has ended up as a holiday for me. My boss has a habit of changing his mind,’ Liza ended drily, something she was quickly discovering in the few weeks she had worked for Mr Brown.

She had arrived on the island yesterday with her boss. They were staying at a five-star hotel on the Costa Teguise to attend the two-week conference. But, after vanishing last night before dinner, Henry Brown had appeared this morning and informed her that, after reading the literature, the conference was of no importance to the firm.

Instead he had asked her to do him a favour and deliver a package to an opticians in Arrecife, the island’s capital, then take the rest of the time off. He told her she could stay in the hotel, as it was paid for, or go wherever she liked. Just to make sure she was around for the gala dinner on the final evening, and to take the flight back with him the day after.

He was going sailing, but would be back the morning of the gala. Plus, if his wife happened to call and catch Liza, Liza was to tell her he had been called away suddenly.

Liza had argued she was not prepared to lie to his wife, until he pointed out she was his PA now after four years of being the secretary to Mr Stubbs, who had recently retired. It was the first time she had travelled with him, and if she valued her job she had better get used to obeying his orders. Liza had a sneaky suspicion he had arranged the whole trip so he could slope off with his latest mistress.

Something green! Nick almost snorted. The only thing green Henry Brown was interested in was a green-back dollar… Liza could not be that naive…

‘Lucky for you,’ he prompted, his attitude towards her hardening. So she was not a complete liar, but she was extremely clever—enough of the truth mixed with fiction, Nick thought cynically, his dark eyes roaming once more over her face and body. He wondered if Liza was sleeping with her boss. She had been heading that way at sixteen, and he could not see any red-blooded male turning her down. Immediately he pushed the vaguely distasteful thought aside.

‘Yes,’ Liza agreed coolly. Henry Brown was supposedly a happily married man, but he had hit on her the first week she started work for the company, but, firmly rebuffed, he had accepted with good grace and over the years they had developed a formal working relationship.

Henry Brown was a charming rogue who was probably an asset in the world of venture capitalism, but not really husband material. Still, his private life was not her problem…she was not her boss’s moral guardian, she told herself firmly.

The waiter arrived with the coffee and Liza picked up the cup and took a sip of the aromatic brew. She could feel Nick’s dark gaze on her as the silence lengthened between them. But she saw no reason why she should carry the conversation. She had not instigated this meeting with him.

Twenty minutes ago, after delivering the package, she had sat down at this table, drunk a cup of coffee, and told herself she was going to enjoy the unexpected break. It was magic to be able to sit outside in the middle of January with the temperature a balmy seventy-eight degrees after the winter gloom she had left in England. Now she was not so sure… Suddenly it felt a whole lot warmer, and she set the coffee-cup down with a less than steady hand. She could not believe Nick was actually sitting beside her, and, worse, affecting her usual icy composure like no other man before.

‘I have heard of Stubbs; a very profitable firm, I believe,’ Nick finally remarked.

Startled, Liza took a moment to remember what they had been talking about.

‘Your mother must be very proud of your success; though I hate to admit it, I have only seen her a couple of times in the last few years, usually when she is visiting my mother. It is a shame you never come with her any more,’ Nick offered lightly. He had caught the flash of panic in her eyes, and wondered why. His comment had been harmless enough. Liza was an elegant, sophisticated woman now, but that flash of fear simply confirmed his mounting suspicion she was hiding something.

‘Some time, maybe,’ Liza replied shortly. She needed no reminding of her holidays at his home, and asked, ‘And what are you doing here? I thought you still lived in Spain.’

‘I just flew in this morning. I have a villa here, though I have a house in Malaga, and of course the family home, but my business takes me all over the world.’

‘How nice,’ Liza murmured. ‘What is it you actually do?’ she queried sarcastically. Apart from flitting around the world in a private jet, usually with a glamorous woman on your arm, she almost added, but resisted the temptation.

If ever a child was born with a silver spoon in his mouth it was Niculoso Menendez. The only son of one of the wealthiest families on the continent, he lived a charmed life, indulging his every whim, whether it was skydiving, bunjee jumping or snowboarding in the Alps. He was an exponent of extreme sports, and she had thought his adventures so brave and romantic as a child. But raking over the past was churning up memories she preferred to forget, and, pinning a smile on her face she forced herself to look up into his eyes.

For a second she thought she saw a flash of anger in their depths, but she was quickly reassured when his firmly chiselled lips parted over gleaming white teeth in a reciprocal smile that was meant to dazzle…and did…

‘Right at this moment I am talking to a beautiful woman,’ he said smoothly, ‘when I should be checking a property development on the other side of the island.’

‘So you’re a property developer. That must be interesting,’ she prompted, jumping at the chance to change the subject. Niculoso complimenting her, flirting with her, made her uncomfortable. ‘I seem to remember you studied art, wasn’t it? But your father was in finance, I believe,’ she opined with the lift of one delicately shaped eyebrow. And Nick had stood to inherit the lot, and marry the family-approved distant relative, Sophia, Liza recalled cynically.

‘You’re right and he was, but with my father’s backing we diversified into other areas, though property development is one of my own pet projects.’

Surprisingly Liza believed him. There was no mistaking the passion in his tone, the gleam of determination in his incredible eyes as he expanded on the subject.

‘For instance, here on Lanzarote the landscape fascinates me. It is quite challenging to build something that is pleasing to the eye, and yet does not harm the unique environment. Don’t get me wrong. I am not one of those dyed-in-the-wool environmentalists. I do enjoy the better things of life.’

Liza just bet he did! Her blue eyes lingered on his harshly handsome face, the deliciously mobile mouth, a wry smile tugging her lips. He wasn’t called the Spanish Stud for nothing…

‘But here no building must be more than four storeys, mainly from the lobbying of the late, great Cesar Manrique, a famous local sculptor. You have probably seen some of his work around the island.’

‘I’ve read about him, but I only arrived yesterday afternoon and I haven’t had a chance to look around yet,’ Liza said, her smile broadening as for a moment she caught a glimpse of the eighteen-year-old he had once been. A young man full of high ideals and not above expounding them to a young child, before maturity and money had made him the man he was today.

‘In that case, Liza, you must allow me to be your guide for the day,’ Nick declared, flashing her another dazzling smile. Her heart lurched and for a moment she simply stared at him. ‘That is, if you are alone, of course,’ he prompted softly.

His deep, velvet voice trickled over her nerve-endings like dark gold honey, soothing and seducing. ‘Yes. Yes, I am,’ she stammered.

He really was a hunk of a man and the years since they had last met had been kind to him. If anything he was more attractive than she remembered, age giving character to his stunningly handsome face, with perfectly carved features, high cheekbones and a sensually curved mouth. As for his eyes, deep brown and as dark as sin with thick black curling lashes. The kind of eyes that would melt any female’s heart and the slightly long, silky black hair would tempt any female’s fingers. Liza was no exception; she wasn’t even aware she was staring and she never saw the brief glitter of triumph in his gorgeous eyes.

Nick Menendez’s physical presence was almost hypnotic; he exuded a lethal charm, an aura of potent masculine sexuality that called out to every atom of femininity in a woman. On a scale of one to ten, he had to be a twenty. Liza almost groaned out loud as all her deeply buried teenage fantasies rose up to haunt her.

‘I’m amazed.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘A lovely girl like you, alone! But grateful.’ Her blue eyes widened to their fullest extent on his darkly attractive face at his teasing compliment. ‘So, unless you would like another coffee, how about joining me in the Jeep?’ A strong hand gestured to where the vehicle was illegally parked on the pavement. ‘Before some official tows it away. I have to inspect the building site but after that I am at your disposal.’

If only! A vivid image of a naked Nick at her disposal filled her head and, ashamed of her sexy thoughts, she answered hastily. ‘I was going to return to my hotel and laze around the pool.’ She was still slightly wary of this new, charming Nick. Over the years she’d worked hard to block out any sign of emotion where this man was concerned, and she wasn’t sure she liked the way he cut through her defences like a knife through butter with just a smile.

He had been scathing in his contempt of her, brutally so, in the past. So why the turn-around, the flattering comments now? she wondered. Nick was a powerful, dynamic man; add wealth and looks, and it wasn’t surprising he was so arrogantly sure of himself. But surely he must be married by now with a handful of children, yet her mother had never mentioned it. ‘And maybe your wife, Sophia, would object.’ Fool, fool, she castigated herself as soon as the words had left her mouth.

Hooded eyes narrowed intently on her slightly pink face. Nick was a man of considerable expertise where the female sex was concerned, and despite her cautious reserve he sensed an underlying attraction. She wanted him, and the question on his marital state confirmed it. ‘Sophia and I parted years ago. I have no wife, no ties, and I like it that way. Now, no more argument.’ Nick rose to his feet and held out his hand. ‘Come on, you know you want to,’ he opined with sheer masculine arrogance and a wicked grin. ‘I have been reliably informed I am a charming companion. Surely you would not want to disappoint me and dent my fragile ego.’

Liza grinned back; she couldn’t help it. ‘That would be an impossibility,’ she mocked. ‘But surely a man in your position must have better things to do than spend a day sightseeing with me,’ and she nearly added of all people. Memories of the past made her super-cautious; Nick had made his dislike of her very plain, and she was still not convinced of his sincerity now.

‘Are you still angry with me?’ Shrewd dark eyes bored down into hers, guessing the reason for her hesitation. ‘For lecturing you as a child?’

Lecturing her! So that was how little he thought of crushing her burgeoning sexuality under a diatribe of insults and a savage kiss and grope. But with the benefit of maturity Liza wondered if maybe he was right, and she had made too much of what had happened. ‘No, of course not,’ she denied. If he could be so casual about their fight, then so could she, and, putting her hand in his, she allowed him to pull her to her feet. Liza was tall at five feet nine, but Nick towered over her, and she had to tilt her head back to look at him. ‘Why should I be?’ she asked, and suddenly she was conscious of the nearness of his great, virile physique, but was incapable of moving away.

‘No reason at all,’ Nick drawled throatily, pinning her with a smouldering glance, and after a provocative pause added, ‘not now.’ He lifted her hand to rest on his broad chest, and she felt the heat of his flesh through his shirt, and involuntarily she shivered. ‘What is not acceptable in a girl of sixteen does not apply to the beautiful woman you have become,’ he declared huskily and gazed at her, his eyes smouldering with an explicit sensual promise.

Liza stiffened slightly. Nick was as arrogant as ever; he would not come on to a teenager, but an older woman was fair game. Why was she surprised? In a way he was quite moral, she thought wryly. Then his long fingers tightened on her hand, the pad of his thumb caressing her palm, and she stopped thinking altogether.

‘So unless there is somewhere else you need to go,’ he urged her along the pavement, ‘any shopping or more errands to run for your boss…?’ He stopped and trailed off.

‘No, no,’ Liza denied, not quite sure what she was denying—his question or her helpless response to him. ‘Work finished when I dropped a package off for my boss at Daidolas in the town this morning, just before I met you actually.’

‘Daidolas the opticians?’ Nick asked swiftly.

‘Yes, that’s right, I think it was probably some glasses,’ she babbled on, intensely aware of him with every beat of her heart. ‘My time is my own from now on.’ She saw his dark eyes flicker with some emotion she did not recognise, and felt the sudden tension in his tall frame, and her hand trembled in his. ‘So thank you for your kind invitation, Niculoso,’ she heard herself say with ridiculous formality in an attempt to hide the chaotic feelings his nearness aroused in her, and snatched her hand free from his, dying with embarrassment.

Then she gasped as two large hands closed around her waist, and she was lifted off her feet and spun around, a hard, warm mouth briefly brushed her lips, and then she was in the Jeep.

‘So polite, Liza,’ he drawled mockingly. ‘Please, we are old friends and my friends call me Nick.’ And, chuckling at her flushed, bemused expression, he added, ‘Fasten your seat belt,’ before strolling around the front of the car and stepping into the driving seat.

‘My friends call me Liza,’ she muttered distractedly, still reeling from the touch of his mouth on her own, as he started the engine.

Nick cast her a glance, a broad grin lighting his tanned face. ‘I did know that, Liza,’ he mocked her. The speed with which she had offered the information he required meant his mission would not be as difficult as he had thought. ‘I just have to make a call.’ He gestured with his mobile. ‘The reception is better away from the traffic.’ And he jumped back out of the Jeep and strolled a few yards to the beach. He was taking no chances on Liza overhearing. Damn! But she was good. By revealing her actions so readily, either she really was simply an innocent messenger, or a consummate actress.

It may have been glass in the package! But not of the optical variety…he would bet his last cent.

Quickly he called Carl and gave him the information about the drop-off point and then talked Carl out of having Liza picked up immediately by persuading him it made more sense for Nick to keep her with him on the off-chance she had more information of use to them.

What troubled him slightly as he leapt back into the Jeep was why he was so keen to believe in her innocence. A man of his wealth, and bachelor status, he was used to the adulation of women and was wise to all their tricks to entrap him; consequently he had a very cynical attitude to the female sex in general, but Liza confused him… Not an emotion he was comfortable with.

Liza wriggled deeper into the seat as Nick flashed her a brief smile before driving away. She glanced down at his elegant, bronzed hand wrapped around the gear stick, saw the sinews in his strong arms flex as he changed gear, and thought of the same hand on her breast.

Oh, hell! She silently groaned. What a time to start having erotic thoughts about the man. She must remember Nick thought he was miles above her in every way; he had made that very plain years ago. She had to try and relax and enjoy the day for what it was. Two old friends sharing a tour of the island. It was sheer coincidence they had even met again. But in that she was wrong…

CHAPTER TWO

‘FIRE MOUNTAIN; I can see why,’ Liza said softly, staring around in awe. After a brief visit to a building site, Nick had driven Liza into the national park, passing a trail of about fifty camels, provided to give rides to the tourists. But Nick had taken them up into what looked like a lunar landscape. At first she had thought it was the sun shining off the lava that made it appear red, but the further they went she realised it was the rock itself that was red.

Nick stopped the Jeep and lifted her down, keeping one hand around her waist, and she stood in the crook of his arm, not sure which affected her the most—the man or the mountains. She had never seen or felt anything like it in her life. Craters, some huge, some small, the rock red and black and even a trace of green, but not a blade of grass grew there, and the silence was almost spiritual.

‘Impressive, hmm?’ Nick prompted. ‘Some people thought the gods were laughing when the eruptions started on April the first in 1730. It is known as the greatest volcanic holocaust ever witnessed. Thirty-two volcanoes rose up and erupted, spewing forth great quantities of molten rock.’ His hand tightened around her waist, his fingers against the bare skin of her midriff guiding her towards a view of five mountains in a line. ‘Those five erupted one after the other like Chinese firecrackers apparently. What finally wiped out most of the vegetation was the last eruption in the 1850s.’

Liza felt a bit like erupting herself; she had never been so conscious of a man in her life. She had had boyfriends and one she actually thought she loved, until they’d got engaged and made love for the first time and it was a disaster as far as Liza was concerned, and the end of the relationship. No man had ever affected her the way Nick’s simplest touch seemed to do. She had to make a deliberate effort to fight down the stirrings of desire just the sound of his voice aroused in her. Ruthlessly she clamped down on her wayward thoughts, and turned in his hold to look up at him. ‘I have never seen anything like it; it is absolutely fascinating.’ She smiled.

His heavy-lidded eyes darkened softly on her upturned face. ‘So are you, Liza.’

Suddenly the atmosphere was thick with tension. Liza was aware of his hand on her bare midriff, his fingers flexing on her skin, and she knew he was going to kiss her, and then to her surprise he stepped back, setting her free.

‘But you ain’t seen nothing yet,’ Nick joked in a mock-American accent.

Hell! He had almost kissed her. How could he even think of making love with Liza Summers until he knew exactly what she was? The answer came with a tightening in his groin, and, shoving a hand in his trouser pocket, he spun around. ‘Come on back to the Jeep.’

She did not know whether she was disappointed or relieved, but from then on the atmosphere between them slipped back into the easygoing camaraderie of years ago.

Nick was an excellent guide and drove them to another tourist vantage point set high in the weird hills. First he dropped some gravel in her hands that was red hot, and she squealed in surprise, and then they watched as an attendant dropped a bush down a ten-foot hole and it immediately caught fire. Then they walked up to the Vulcano restaurant, the only building for miles around.

‘I don’t believe it.’ She shook her head, her blue eyes laughing up at Nick. They were standing by a large circular well in the restaurant, the heat from the earth below rising to barbecue the chicken pieces spread on the iron grill on top.

‘Believe it.’ Nick took her arm and led her into the dining room. ‘You can’t visit Lanzarote and not eat volcano-grilled chicken.’

He was right and lunch was a jovial affair shared with dozens of tourists. Liza was amazed how well Nick mixed in; she would not have thought it his scene at all. The jet set were his usual companions according to gossip. But she did not have time to dwell on the point as Nick drove her all around the island. They stopped at a small lagoon, and then it was on again to a great volcanic tunnel and deep caves with pools where tiny blind white crabs lived, the only place on earth other than miles deep in the sea.

Back in the Jeep, the daylight quickly failing, Liza turned laughing eyes up to Nick. ‘I can see why you have a villa here; you really love this place.’ The hours had flown— Liza had had a great day, and the company had been superb, and all the better for being so unexpected.

‘Yes, I come here a lot; it is ideal, as one of my hobbies is seismology,’ Nick admitted honestly; he wanted her to feel secure with him and by giving a little more of himself he might get her to trust him, and reveal the depths of her own involvement with the thieves, if any… She was the daughter of his mother’s best friend, for heaven’s sake, and the longer he spent with Liza the more difficult he found it to believe she was guilty of anything underhand. It was up to him to discover the truth of her involvement, but he was beginning to think she was the unwitting messenger for her sleazy boss.

‘That figures, I suppose.’ Liza grinned; his effect on her was certainly seismic, she thought privately. And in a way it made sense; at thirty-five perhaps he had swapped extreme sports to study the extremes of nature. ‘But do we have to see everything in one day?’ she asked, hoping Nick would take the hint and ask her out again.

Nick glanced at her smiling face, his hooded eyes masking his expression. Her lips were begging to be kissed and it took every bit of will-power he possessed to resist the temptation; it was too soon… He needed to make sure her information had been correct. But whether it was or not, his mind was made up—he was going to give Liza the benefit of the doubt. He did not think for a moment she was aware of it, but by coming to Lanzarote she had inadvertently got mixed up with some very nasty criminals, and he was going to do everything in his power to protect her, whether she wanted him to or not. He owed it to their years of friendship, and their mothers’.

‘No, of course not. I’ll take you back to your hotel now as I have some business to attend to.’ He read the flicker of disappointment in her brilliant blue eyes, and almost gave in. His gaze dipped to her mouth, the full, sensuous lips, and he ached to taste them with his own, had done all day… Dios! He needed to get a grip—business before pleasure… Later, he promised himself…

Everything was going according to plan. He had kept Liza out of the way all day, and the information she had given him, which he had passed on to Carl over the phone this morning, should have been acted on by now. He needed to contact Carl Dalk again to discover what had happened. ‘I’ll call back for you at eight and take you to dinner.’ And his lips curled in amused satisfaction at the open relief in her smile.

‘Nick. Hi. Your information was correct.’ Nick Menendez lounged back in the chair at his desk in the study, and listened as Carl’s slightly harassed-sounding tones filled the room.

‘We visited the opticians and questioned the receptionist, and picked up Daidolas at his home and found the diamonds on him. He sang like a bird. He was a jeweller before he was an optician; he does the valuation and passes the information on to an intermediary in Morocco who makes the arrangements to contact the insurance company, and do the deal.’

‘So we have them,’ Nick prompted.

‘Not quite. As you know, Henry Brown is the top man. He arranges everything, his company charters a yacht in Marbella on the Spanish mainland, a different one each time, ostensibly for corporate entertainment. But in reality he has the captain pick up the diamonds at appointed places on the African coast and then transport them to Lanzarote.’

Nick grimaced; he had been hoping like hell Liza was not involved, but it wasn’t looking good for her. Knowingly or not she had delivered the diamonds. ‘So we pick up Henry Brown,’ he said quickly.

‘Eventually, yes; apparently Brown’s one weakness is he cannot resist checking the diamonds himself before they are passed to the optician for valuation. Plus he obviously does not trust the middleman he uses to do the exchange, because on every previous occasion he has been in the same vicinity ready to receive the cash when the deal is done.’

‘So what’s the problem, Carl?’ Nick asked. ‘You have him under surveillance; when the time is right, take him.’

‘If only it was that easy,’ Carl said drily. ‘Unfortunately we have lost track of him.’

‘You’ve what?’ Nick jerked upright in the chair. ‘How the hell did you manage that? I thought you had the police trailing him.’

‘Don’t yell at me, partner, and we did. They watched him collect the package last night from a yacht in the marina at Teguise, and they knew he had handed it on to the woman this morning.’ Nick’s frown deepened; he did not like hearing Liza referred to as the woman, but he listened as Carl continued. ‘They watched as Brown left in the same yacht this morning, but somehow he outsmarted them, vanished off the radar screen. But I doubt very much the thieving bastard sank.’

‘We’ve lost him,’ Nick groaned.

‘Not to worry, the local police and I have a plan. In the past two incidences, about a week or ten days after the initial contact with the insurance company the cash and diamonds were exchanged once in Morocco and once at sea, as you know. But this time, by some not so friendly questioning of Daidolas we know the exchange is going to be made in Lanzarote. He also gave us the names of a couple of local sailors who have crewed for Brown in the past. The police are tracking them down as we speak. It is only a matter of time and with Daidolas’s help, and the promise of leniency, we have set a trap. We are going to keep him locked up over the weekend to give him a taste of what to expect if he does not do as we say, and set him free on Monday under very close supervision. When the deal is done Brown will turn up to cash in, and hopefully we will get the whole gang.’

‘It still does not alter the fact you lost him,’ Nick almost groaned.

‘Hey, it’s not that bad, Nick; as long as you still have the girl, the police can question her—she is bound to know something.’

Nick’s whole body tensed. His immediate reaction was one of outrage at the thought of Liza being taken to a police station and body-searched before being questioned and probably ending up in a cell. The outrage was followed by a completely alien emotion for him—fear, and then a surge of cold, hard anger. Not if he could help it, he vowed. He closed his eyes briefly and counted to ten, fighting to stay calm before responding casually, ‘You can safely leave the girl to me, Carl. If she knows anything at all I will tell you—I am meeting her for dinner later.’

‘You’re what?’ Carl’s voice rose a notch. ‘Are you crazy? You’ve left her on her own; she could be miles away by now…she could warn Brown, and the whole deal will go pear-shaped.’

‘Come on, Carl, I can assure you Liza will be ready and waiting when I go to pick her up. Have you ever known my Menendez charm to fail?’ Nick drawled mockingly. ‘A woman has never run away from me in my life, and I can assure you that, after spending the day with Liza, she is no exception.’ And he prayed his friend would buy it. He did not question why. He just knew he did not want Liza falling into the police’s or Carl’s clutches, friend or not.

A husky chuckle greeted Nick’s comment. ‘You’re right, but this is vital, Nick. Make damn sure you get the woman. We need to know where Brown has gone and when he will be back.’

‘Don’t worry.’ Nick ran his free hand distractedly through his dark hair, and was glad they were not on video-phone. ‘I’ll do what it takes to get the information and call you back later with the information you want.’

‘You’re being very noble. “Do what it takes”,’ he mocked. ‘Good-looking, is she?’

‘Certainly no hardship,’ Nick joked back. ‘Speak to you later.’ And he cut the connection, his face as black as thunder.

Striding into the living room, he poured a large measure of whisky into a crystal glass, raised it to his mouth and took a long, fiery drink.

But still a cold knot formed in Nick’s belly. Liza Summers; he was not sure if she was guilty or not. The child he had known had been embarrassingly honest. But the beautiful, sophisticated woman of twenty-five she had become… That was a different question. It was perfectly possible she lived by her wits and stunning looks, and her job was just a cover for stealing. On the other hand she could be completely innocent, and, as she had implied, simply following her boss’s orders…

He knew he had to question her tonight about Henry Brown, and he also knew he should instruct his people to look into the state of her finances, but somehow he could not bring himself to do it. Maybe because he still held cherished memories of the child she had been.

Nick snorted in disgust and spun round. Who the hell was he kidding? He had taken one look at Liza today, and his body had reacted like a teenager. He had kept her out of the way all day for her own sake, and his if he was honest. Carl would have quite happily had her arrested this morning. Liza was beautiful, granted, but then all Nick’s women were beautiful, and he had never felt the slightest need to protect them. So why Liza Summers?

He could tell himself it was for her mother’s sake, to avoid the embarrassment a court case would cause, but that was only part of his reasoning. There was no point in pretending; along with surely every man on the planet, he wanted Liza for himself. He had walked around all day in a semi-permanent state of arousal, and he ached with frustration. Right at this moment he would not care if Liza was the biggest thief in Christendom, if he could get her in his bed.

There, he had admitted it. Nick scowled as he lifted the glass in his hand to his mouth again and drained the whisky from it then slammed it down on a convenient table.

Now, get over it…he told himself and walked out of the house, his aristocratic features as hard as granite and his heavy-lidded eyes equally as stony as he slid into the waiting car.

Three hours later, rested and showered, Liza walked back into her bedroom and surveyed the clothes she had brought with her. Excitement and anticipation bubbled in her veins like the finest champagne. She tried to keep a lid on her emotions, but it was difficult, for the first time in years, she was really looking forward to going out with a man. She fantasised in her mind how the night would progress—a candlelit meal somewhere romantic, with a deep conversation verging on the intimate, a few gentle caresses and at evening’s end perhaps a kiss, or even more…

She shivered delectably, and took a fourth outfit from the wardrobe. Nick was attracted to her, she knew it, and for once she allowed herself to think of a relationship with a man—not just any man, but Nick Menendez.

He had explained why he had yelled at her at sixteen, it was simply because of her age, and she could understand that even though she did not agree with his chauvinistic attitude. But now he saw her as a mature, sophisticated woman, and he was interested. She had seen it in his eyes, in his touch, and this time she was going to take the chance, and to pot with the consequences. Who knew, she thought optimistically, this could be the start of something big…?

Liza finally settled on a sleeveless, figure-hugging black jersey-silk dress. She slipped it over her shoulders; the bodice crossed over between her breasts and tied around her narrow waist, the wrap-around skirt ending a couple of inches above her knees. But, mindful the nights could be chilly, she added a pashmina shawl in silver-grey.

She left her long hair loose and straight, and with the addition of one more coat of lip-gloss she was ready. She stood back from the mirror. Not bad, she thought, and slipped her feet into high-heeled sandals. She was reaching for her clutch bag when the telephone rang.

It was Reception to say a Niculoso Menendez had arrived. Her heart did a funny little jig in her chest, and, taking a deep breath, she closed the door behind her and crossed to the elevator, her blue eyes sparkling with excited anticipation at the evening ahead.

Liza walked out of the elevator, and saw him immediately. He was leaning against the reception desk, laughing at something the attractive receptionist had said to him. To her surprise she felt a swift stab of something very like jealousy, and just as quickly a stomach-curling pleasure as he turned and saw her.

His firm lips parted over gleaming white teeth in a slow, sensual smile. Liza had thought he looked great in jeans, but, dressed with unexpected severity in a superbly tailored dark suit with a white shirt and plain dark tie, the man possessed a lethal, predatory aura, a supreme confidence in his masculinity that made every fine hair on her skin stand erect.

She couldn’t help it; she watched with total fascination as his big, powerfully muscled body moved towards her with a lithe arrogance that made her pulse race with excitement.

He stopped an arm’s length away, and Liza swallowed hard. So the man was incredibly handsome, sinfully sexy, and her insides felt as if they were dissolving but it was only a chemical reaction, just lust, she told herself, plain and simple. She was no longer the adoring child who hung on to his every word, but a successful career woman. Involuntarily Liza straightened her shoulders, and stood a little taller. She could handle a date with Nick, and without having a fit of the vapours, she scolded herself, and tilted her chin assertively.

‘Nick, so sorry to keep you waiting.’

‘You are worth any wait, Liza,’ Nick opined throatily. His dark eyes travelled over her from her hair, her face, lower to linger on her cleavage, revealed by the neckline of her dress, and down over her body and her long, shapely legs to her feet, then back to her face. ‘You look stunning.’ His eyes, gleaming with all-male appreciation, caught and held hers.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured, her breath lodged in her throat as she dragged her gaze away from his, and asked in a desperate attempt to free herself from the electrifying sensations he aroused in her and be her usual assertive self, ‘I don’t know where you planned on eating, but I thought, seeing as you showed me around today, perhaps you would like to be my guest for dinner, in the hotel.’

His firm lips quirked in a crooked smile. ‘Call me old-fashioned,’ he reached out and cupped her elbow with his hand, ‘but when I ask a lady out to dine I make the arrangements, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed,’ he said, amusement colouring his tone, and, dropping his hand from her elbow to circle her waist, he held her to his side and turned towards the exit, taking control.

He felt her slender body tremble and stiffen and glanced knowingly down at her. ‘I thought we could eat at my villa if you have no objection. Plus you will be doing me a big favour, as my housekeeper loves to cook but I very rarely have any guests to dine when I am here.’

Liza flicked him a bright if strained smile; being held close to his hard body was playing havoc with the cool sophistication she wanted to display. ‘Your place is fine,’ she agreed. ‘So long as the food is not cooked over a volcano like lunch,’ she tried to joke. ‘It could be dangerous.’

‘Good.’ Nick dropped his hand and stood back to let her through the foyer door. Nowhere near as dangerous as sharing a suite with your boss, he thought sardonically as he immediately followed her out. The very obliging receptionist had quite happily given him the information. He reached an arm around her shoulders and led her to where the car waited at the kerb, and if his grip was a little hard he had good reason.

Liza felt the touch of his fingers, and repressed a sensual shiver. Nick was a very tactile man, and it was playing hell with her hormones, she thought as a wave of heat scorched her face, but that was all it was—sexual attraction—on her part. That was all it could be, a simple feminine reaction to his raw masculine sexuality. ‘No Jeep tonight,’ she commented, striving for lightness as they crossed the pavement.

‘No,’ Nick said shortly.

Then she noticed a man get out of the car and grin at them both as he opened the rear door of the car. Liza shot Nick a startled glance. ‘A chauffeur.’

‘Yes. Tonight I want to relax and enjoy my dinner with a beautiful woman and share a few glasses of champagne in comfort.’ No need to mention he had already downed two very large whiskies because of the dilemma she had created in his usually very well-ordered life. ‘And don’t worry, I think you will love the meal. Greta is the best cook on the island.’ He smiled and lifted a hand casually to flick a strand of her hair over her shoulder and his darkening gaze trapped hers.

She swallowed hard and had trouble speaking. ‘I’m sure you are right,’ she managed, tearing her gaze away from his and stepping towards the car.

Liza slid quickly into the car with more haste than elegance, sinking into a seat that was a lot more comfortable than Nick’s Jeep. But when Nick moved in beside her she realised it was also a lot more intimate as a hard masculine thigh pressed against her own, and a long arm was casually flung around her shoulders yet again.

‘Nice car,’ she mumbled, intensely aware of his leashed strength, the subtle male scent of the man, and wondered for the umpteenth time what she was doing, playing with fire. But she had been doing that all day both physically and metaphorically, she realised with a wry smile.

The villa turned out to be a magnificent building that oozed wealth and elegance. Nick introduced her to a middle-aged couple waiting in the entrance foyer, Greta and Paul. And beyond them she could see a glass wall that opened on to a floodlit swimming pool, she glimpsed tables and chairs and wondered if they were to eat outside. It wasn’t that warm.

She lifted her puzzled gaze to Nick. ‘Are we eating outside?’

‘Dios! No.’ His ebony brows arched in surprise. ‘What you English think is warm we consider winter.’ And, taking her arm, he led her through into a massive room. ‘This is the main living area, but the dining room is more cosy,’ he said softly.

Liza gazed around the vast room as he urged her across it. Soft deep sofas, exquisite antique furniture, glorious paintings on the walls, and vibrant flowers and plants—the place screamed money, and she was rapidly beginning to feel out of her depth.

Nick pushed open another door, and Liza stopped dead one foot inside the room.

A magnificent table about twenty feet long was set for two, and Greta and Paul were now standing by the table, smiling.

‘I’d hardly call this cosy!’ she exclaimed with a chuckle. ‘You could serve the Last Supper at that table and then some.’

Nick’s mouth quirked at the corners in a grin at Liza’s stunned expression, and, slipping his arm around her waist, he led her forward. ‘I suppose it is a bit imposing; I hadn’t really noticed as I usually eat in the kitchen.’ He gave her waist a brief squeeze before setting her free, but stayed close to her side. He heard her breath catch and saw the deepening colour in her brilliant eyes, and allowed a small, satisfied smile to curve his lips before adding, ‘But I so rarely have anyone to dine here that Greta wanted to push the boat out, as you say.’

Nick leant over slightly to say something to the other couple that Liza, although she spoke Spanish, didn’t catch. She watched as they left the room then Nick straightened up to his full, impressive height, and turned to face her again, pulling out a chair.

‘Please, Liza, sit down, and don’t look so wary; I can assure you, Paul and Greta won’t poison you.’

It wasn’t the food Liza was worried about; it was much too hot in here, she told herself, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Nick. She reached for the edge of her shawl, and immediately Nick’s hand caught it and slipped it off her shoulders.

‘A little warm for you, Liza?’ he queried with the arch of a black brow.

‘Yes,’ she got out, having difficulty breathing as the backs of his knuckles brushed down over her breasts as he removed her shawl, but not by the blink of an eye did she let it show. Instead she sat down on the chair he offered and folded her hands primly in her lap, her fingernails digging into her palms.

Liza wasn’t afraid to be alone with Nick—in fact, if she was honest she liked the idea. She had enjoyed his company all day, more so than that of any other man she had ever met, and she was secretly flattered that he wanted to be alone with her.

‘Now, isn’t this nice?’ Nick remarked, pulling out a chair and sitting down. ‘So much more intimate than a restaurant, don’t you think?’ Shovelling on the charm by the bucket-load, he picked up the linen napkin in front of her and flicked it open.

‘I can do that.’ She reached for the linen.

‘But I want to,’ Nick said softly and, leaning forward, his dark eyes holding her startled blue, he spread the linen napkin over her lap, his hands deliberately smoothing the fabric over her stomach and thighs. ‘Greta is going to serve the meal in a minute.’ His glance roamed over her face and figure with obvious male approval that, had it been any other man, would have made her angry, but instead the lingering touch of his fingers on her thighs made her whole body tingle with excitement.

‘I am hungry, and I’m sure you are too,’ Nick drawled with silken emphasis.

She tensed at the impact of his compelling dark gaze. Was it just food he was hungry for? Dear heaven, her own appetite had been seriously depleted by the erotic thoughts Nick aroused in her. She felt as if a thousand butterflies were partying in her stomach, and she tore her eyes away from his and cast a slightly panicked look around the room.

What were her options? Get up and walk out? But that would be childish. Or stay and eat like a civilised woman? Suddenly she was no longer feeling quite so confident. But her mind was made up for her as Greta reappeared carrying a large silver tureen, followed by Paul carrying a bottle of champagne in a silver wine bucket. They both smiled at her.

CHAPTER THREE

THE champagne cork popped and Liza jumped, and then grinned. She was overreacting—everything was perfect. Nick was seated at the head of the table and Paul was filling crystal flutes with very expensive champagne, and Greta was serving a delicious fish soup into the finest porcelain bowls.

When they had both left Nick picked up his glass, and said, ‘Here’s to you, Liza, and a pleasant evening, for both of us.’

She managed to control the slight nervousness that assailed her when they were alone, and she lifted her glass. ‘I’ll drink to that.’ Her steady voice and hand gratified her no end as they touched glasses.

Nick grinned and swirled the liquid around in his glass, then lifted it to his lips and swallowed before returning the glass to the table.

Liza followed the movement, her gaze stopping at his perfectly sculptured mouth, and she was helpless against the flush of heat that flooded her body as he took a deep drink of the champagne. Realising she was staring, she took a hasty drink from her glass. ‘Lovely champagne,’ she enthused. And saw him nod, his dark eyes lifting to hers.

‘Lovely companion.’ He touched his glass to hers again and then added, ‘And I am glad you agreed to dining here, Liza. Restaurants can be so impersonal sometimes, and I really want to talk to you, reminisce, and perhaps discover what has shaped you into the very lovely lady you are today.’ His glance dropped from her face to the firm curves of her breasts, and she felt them tighten alarmingly against the silk fabric of her dress. ‘Get to know the real you again.’

‘That sounds ominous,’ she offered and, dropping her head, praying he would not notice her body’s instant reaction, she added, ‘You might not like the real me,’ and carefully placed her glass on the table. Quickly she picked up a spoon and began shovelling the soup into her mouth. When she dared look up again, she needed not have worried.

‘Impossible. I already adore you, as you know; I have since you were a child,’ he said smoothly, his expression wryly amused. ‘Now, let us enjoy our meal, and you can tell me what you have been doing with your life over the past few years.’ His smile was irresistible.

‘Not a lot.’ Flattered, Liza grinned back. ‘And certainly nothing exciting enough to need privacy before disclosure.’ And she proceeded to give him a potted history of her adult life. ‘Three years in university reading history, and a job I enjoy, as I told you before. I have a studio apartment in London and I visit my mother every few weeks. She got married again three years ago and lives in Brighton, running an antique shop with Jeff, my stepfather. These are hardly state secrets.’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Nick responded with a devilish gleam in his dark eyes. ‘You might have become a porn star or a lap dancer; you certainly have the figure for it. And then there are your lovers. You have a high-powered job so maybe a lover or two in high places as well?’

His sexy teasing brought an embarrassing tinge of pink to her cheeks. Was he insinuating that was all she was good for, as he had years ago? Liza wondered, but refused to rise to the bait. ‘You know what I do for a living.’ She held his gaze. ‘But as for the rest, that is classified information,’ she managed to respond archly, much to her satisfaction.

Nick just bet it was. She was either very clever or very naive, and Liza looked far too sophisticated to be naive. He could not decide if she was completely in the know about her boss’s alternative career as a diamond smuggler or not, but for Carl’s sake he was taking no chances.

One eyebrow rose eloquently. ‘Of course, I expected no less, Liza.’ And the sardonic glance he cast her was oddly intent. ‘Though I have heard Henry Brown is not quite so reticent in his love life, although he is married, I believe.’

For a moment something unsettling about his comment teased at the back of her mind. But, dismissing the errant thought, she responded drily, ‘Henry is a law unto himself where women are concerned. And, though personally I deplore unfaithfulness in a marriage, I must admit, having met his wife, I’m not surprised.’ She tried for a sophisticated answer. Plus Margot Brown was a pretentious snob; the few times she visited the office or spoke to Liza or any of the staff she treated them as if they were a sub-species.

‘I believe you; after all, it must be great to have a boss who books a suite at a five-star hotel to attend a conference then quite happily takes off and gives you a holiday with all expenses paid at the drop of a hat. I must confess I am nowhere near as generous with my employees,’ Nick drawled sardonically.

Liza looked up sharply. What was he implying? And she answered her own question. She wasn’t a fool, she could tell when she was being insulted, and the old hurt resurfaced, causing a brief stabbing pain in her heart. Obviously he still thought of her as a promiscuous teenager and her blue eyes glinted with anger at the injustice of it all. ‘It is a two-bedroom suite.’ She held on to her temper with difficulty, determined not to show any emotion over the past in front of him. ‘And my boss was called away unexpectedly.’ Straightening in her seat, she added with contrived flippancy, ‘So who am I to argue? You know the saying, never look a gift-horse in the mouth.’

‘Yes.’ He did, but at the mention of ‘mouth’ Nick found his eyes fixed on the very generous curve of Liza’s, and imagined nibbling that full bottom lip… Dios! He had to stop these thoughts. He never mixed business with pleasure. But then he had never been confronted by the adult Liza before.

Dropping his gaze to the less tempting table, he continued in a softer tone, ‘I suppose you are right, Liza. But isn’t it rather odd that he does not want you to attend the meetings?’

‘I…well…’ Liza hesitated; his quite reasonable question made her think and defused her anger. She supposed it was a bit unusual.

‘I really don’t know.’ She told the truth. ‘I have only been his PA for a couple of months; his last one left to get married, and, as my boss retired about the same time, Henry sort of inherited me,’ she explained, not sure why she was bothering. ‘This is the first time I have travelled with him. And he is returning a week next Friday for the last day and the gala dinner in the evening, so maybe it will not be a complete waste.’

‘I hope not.’ Nick had the information he required and a flash of triumph glinted in his dark eyes; the man was coming back to the island in thirteen days’ time. The time span was about right for the negotiations; obviously Brown was returning to collect the money and he was as good as caught. A call to Carl, and, with the other culprits tracked down hopefully by the Spanish police and Interpol, the arrests were a foregone conclusion.

‘Yes, and we are returning to London together the next day, as scheduled,’ Liza added.

Not if he could help it, was Nick’s immediate thought. Liza had said she had only been Brown’s PA for a short time; that was easily checked and if true was in Liza’s favour. She could be innocent. His dark eyes narrowed assessingly on her apparently guileless face. A woman could look beautiful and innocent and still be a criminal. He was not foolish enough to think otherwise, and yet he knew he didn’t want Liza anywhere near Henry Brown when they picked him up.

At the very least she would end up being taken in for questioning, and that he could not allow. Surprisingly for him, he discovered he was not ready to part with Liza now he had met up with her again. At his age and with his experience of women, he knew the feeling for what it was—lust, stark and basic…

Liza had been an itch he could not scratch for years when she was younger, but not any more. He wanted to sate himself in that gorgeous body until she was out from under his skin for good.

Nick lifted the champagne flute and took a sip of the wine, then twirled the stemmed glass in his long fingers, studying the colour for several seconds, thinking quickly. Finally he shifted his dark gaze to linger appreciatively on her.

‘Your boss is a very lucky man,’ he declared huskily, his firm lips curving in a soft, sensual smile, ‘to have you as his PA.’ Little did Brown know, his luck had just about run out, Nick thought with savage satisfaction even as he mouthed the slick compliment.

‘Thanks,’ she said drily. But felt the colour rise in her cheeks as her eyes met his, too conscious of his virile charm and something in his expression that made her heartbeat increase dramatically. She finished her soup to hide her confusion, and was grateful when Greta reappeared with the next course.

As Nick had promised, the food was beautiful, and as they ate Nick took charge of the conversation and Liza was happy to follow. They talked in an easy manner, discussing films, books, music, and Nick’s experiences on various projects. Liza was fascinated and asked dozens of questions. He told her how he had expanded the company worldwide. He spoke with dry humour of the different business practices in the different countries, and the amusing situations that arose from the differences.

Nick was not the wealthy, idle lotus-eater she had thought; he obviously worked hard. But his skill, his charm, was such that he made everything appear easy. He told a good story, sometimes against himself, but she formed the impression that whatever the circumstances Nick always came out the winner. He had a brilliant mind, and she doubted anyone crossed him and got away with it.

Scraping the last mouthful of the mouth-watering soufflé into her mouth, she glanced up at him through the thick fringe of her lashes. ‘In a way you and I are a bit alike—you studied art and don’t use it. I read history at university and thought I would visit all the great historical places in the world, but instead I have ended up in finance, a bit of a waste.’

‘The experience of university life is an end in itself,’ Nick argued. ‘And I do use my knowledge; I appreciate anything of beauty, be it a woman or a landscape, I know where to site a building so it is aesthetically pleasing, though, with the upsurge in tourism around here in the last few years, some are anything but.’

Liza chuckled. ‘I never thought of that.’

‘Have you ever thought of changing, Liza?’ Nick demanded seriously. ‘You’re young—you have plenty of time to start another career.’ He was satisfied he had discovered all he needed to know. Henry Brown was returning to Lanzarote. As for Liza, he was almost sure she was innocent of any crime, and, even if she was guilty, once away from financial temptation and into something more academic it was possible she could change, and he never questioned his reasoning, simply pursued the thought.

‘You could get out of finance and back into what you really want to do,’ he suggested. ‘It is never too late, Liza, believe me. I might even be able to help you.’

‘I suppose you’re right.’ Liza smiled. ‘But don’t take it so seriously, Nick; I’ll survive whatever.’ And she sat back with a sigh of contentment. ‘That meal was magnificent, Greta is a great cook.’

‘You can tell her that in a minute,’ Nick said curtly. He didn’t know why but her casual attitude infuriated him, had she no idea of the danger she was in? Did she even care? Pushing back his chair, he stood up. ‘Greta will serve coffee in the sitting room.’

But what was really bugging him was his superior intellect had apparently deserted him. He had already missed half of the family celebration in Spain and if he didn’t get back to his mother’s for the final party he and his mother were hosting tomorrow evening, his mother would never forgive him. But what to do with Liza? He dared not leave her alone on the island without telling Carl or he would never forgive him either.

He had been racking his brains to think of some way of persuading Liza to come to Spain with him, and incidentally keep her out of harm’s way, but was damned if he knew how to do it. Short of asking her ‘Will you come to Spain with me for the rest of the weekend?’ But he knew that would go down like a lead balloon, given that she had made a point of avoiding visiting the Menendez home for years.

No, he had to think of something else, and, confident as he was in his masculine powers of seduction, he doubted all the seductive technique in the world would convince Liza to fly off to Spain with him only a day after their meeting up again.

Rising to her feet, Liza followed him through into the elegant living room, wondering what had caused the sudden coolness in the atmosphere. She sat down on one of the soft hide sofas, the occasional table already held the accompaniments for coffee, and a moment later Greta appeared with a pot to add to the already prepared tray.

Liza smiled at the other woman and thanked her for a lovely meal, and then stiffened when Nick chose to sit down beside her on the sofa instead of taking the one opposite. During the meal there had been space between them and the atmosphere had been good most of the time, but now she sensed a tension in the air, and she felt distinctly crowded.

‘Will you be mother?’ Nick asked smoothly.

The words hung in the air as Liza had a vivid mental image of being mother to Nick’s child, a small dark-haired angel. Her face turned scarlet at the provocative thought and hastily she bent forward and filled two small cups with the aromatic coffee. ‘Sugar, milk?’ she asked, without looking at him.

‘As it comes.’

Lifting one cup, she turned slightly, her hand stilling. Nick was lounging back against the cushions, one long arm flung along the back, his jacket hanging open and his shirt pulled tight across his muscular chest, she could see the slight shading of body hair and swallowed hard.

He gave her a long, sardonic look. ‘Are you going to give me the coffee, or simply hold it?’

Blushing at her stupidity—she was eyeing the man like the dumb teenager she had once been—she thrust the cup at him, a little of the liquid spilling, and his long fingers curved around hers.

‘Steady, Liza. I want to drink it, not drown in it,’ he drawled mockingly.

The touch of his hand sent a warmth shimmering through her, and quickly she snatched her hand back, and, grasping her own cup of coffee, forced herself to sit back against the sofa, and lift the cup to her mouth. She took one sip and almost burnt her tongue. Her lips tightened and she just prevented a yelp escaping.

She had to get over her panic; hadn’t she decided in the hotel earlier to take a chance? Nick was just a man like any other. But that was the trouble, he was not like any other man she had ever known, she thought ruefully, casting him a sidelong glance from beneath the thick screen of her lashes. How was it, she mused, that as a young girl she had had a crush on him and was brutally cured of the illusion by the man himself? For years she thought she hated him and yet now one day in his company and all she saw was a dominant, attractive male who turned her bones to jelly.

Feeling vulnerable in a man’s presence for the first time in years, she was not sure she trusted the feeling, and common sense told her to thank Nick for the meal and leave. With that in mind she drained her coffee-cup and replaced it on the table, and, turning slightly, she glanced at his face. He was looking down at her, his mouth a hard, taut line, and for a moment Liza felt a slight shiver of fear, or was it a shiver of sensual anticipation? She was not sure which, and quickly fixed her gaze somewhere over his left shoulder and before she could weaken.

‘Thank you for a lovely evening, Nick. But I think it is time I got back to my hotel.’ She made to rise, only to find a large restraining hand on her forearm.

‘Please join me in a brandy at least,’ Nick said softly, and placed his cup on the table, his dark gaze holding her own, and his thumb caressing the underside of her arm to devastating effect.

Liza was in two minds when the arrival of Paul solved the problem for her.

‘Your mother is on the line.’ He addressed Nick, a cordless telephone in his hand.

Saved by the bell! Nick thought, a huge smile lighting his handsome features, and took the telephone. ‘Hi, Mamma.’ He listened with delight as she harangued him about leaving her a note, and flying off to Lanzarote when she had been expecting him at home.

‘You were supposed to join your uncle and family tonight for dinner, and you’d better get yourself back here quick for the celebratory lunch and the party tomorrow night.’

‘Yes, I will be there, I promise. In fact I will leave tonight, to make absolutely sure, don’t worry.’

Listening to the one-sided conversation, Liza berated herself for her stupid fear five minutes ago, and her clumsy attempt to leave. Nick had plans for the rest of the weekend and the dinner was just as he had said. Two old friends catching up with each other. Then she heard the rest…

‘But you will never guess who I bumped into today.’ Nick shot Liza a brief grin and added, ‘Liza, Liza Summers; she is on holiday here, and we’ve just had dinner together.’

As Nick knew she would, his mother responded, ‘Oh, I haven’t seen Liza in years. Perhaps you can bring Liza back with you for the party. I would love to meet her again.’

‘Well, why don’t you ask her yourself, Mamma?’ Nick relaxed back against the cushions, ignoring Liza’s frantic shaking of her head, and held out the telephone to her while tightening his grip on her arm. ‘Mother would like to speak to you, Liza.’

Reluctantly Liza accepted the telephone. Anna Menendez was a very persuasive woman, as her son knew fine well, Liza thought balefully.

‘Well, of course I would love to see you again, and it is very kind to invite me, but I really couldn’t put Nick to the trouble of flying me to Spain and then back to Lanzarote again.’ Five minutes later when she handed the telephone back to Nick she was committed to going to Spain with him.

‘I don’t believe it.’ Liza jumped to her feet. ‘Why on earth did you tell your mother I was here?’ She glanced down at Nick as he placed the telephone on the table. Call over.

‘Because you were,’ he said with a shrug of his wide shoulders, and a devilish grin in her direction. Thanks to his mother his problem was solved. Nick had set out this morning with the intention of seducing Liza into giving him the information he wanted, but as the day progressed it was he who had been seduced by Liza’s beauty, her warmth, her genuine enthusiasm for life. He would ask her outright about the diamonds in case she had any more information. But he didn’t give a damn if she was guilty or not, he was keeping her with him for a few more days and that was all he cared about.

‘But you must have known that she’d feel obliged to ask me to her party?’

Rising to his feet, he studied her from beneath lowered lids, the soft, silky skin and the generous curve of her mouth, but at the moment she was bristling with indignation. She knew she had been manipulated—she wasn’t stupid. Nick hesitated, a hint of wariness flickering through his eyes.

The mood she was in, if he asked her about the theft of the diamonds, and she was innocent, he could kiss goodbye any chance of getting her into his bed. She would probably never speak to him again, and not surprisingly he found he did not like that idea one bit. He dismissed the thought of challenging her about the diamonds—that could wait. He could sense she was moments away from changing her mind, and he had to do something fast.

‘I never thought, but it seems like a good idea.’ He reached for her shoulders, and held her gently. ‘My mother is not getting any younger and she has been quite down lately; seeing you again is just the tonic she needs to cheer her up—she always had a soft spot for you.’ It wasn’t a lie; his mother had been down, but a course of antibiotics for a mild chest infection had put her right again, and he saw no need to tell Liza that. Emotional blackmail, sensual persuasion…he utilised all his skills. ‘And I am very reluctant to part with you so soon after meeting you again, Liza.’ A gentle pressure with his fingers, and a shiver arced down her spine. ‘Will it be such a hardship to spend a few days’ holiday in Spain and make an old woman happy?’

Hardship, no, but it was likely to cause her enormous pain, resurrecting old memories. Captivated by the sincerity in Nick’s dark eyes, she could feel her resentment at his high-handiness weakening. He loved his mother, of that she had no doubt.

‘I suppose not.’ He sounded perfectly reasonable, and put like that he was right. But she stiffened in his hold, mortified by her helpless response to his touch. She hated to admit it, but she had read such a lot into her meeting with Nick, the day out and everything, and it was humiliating to realise he hadn’t been bowled over by her looks or her personality; in fact, he probably still thought of her as the no-good little tramp of years ago. Nothing had changed…

Nick watched myriad expressions flutter over her exquisite features, and knew she was still not totally convinced, so bending his dark head, he brushed her lips with his own. ‘You think too much, Liza.’

‘Better than not thinking at all,’ Liza shot back sarcastically, but her heart was not in it. She told herself she had fallen for Nick’s soft soap like a stupid kid all over again. She should have remembered what an arrogant, conceited swine he was, intent on getting his own way whatever the cost. But somehow, with her lips tingling from the taste of him, however hard she tried she could not sustain her anger with him.

‘Relax, Liza, you will enjoy yourself. Come and sit down, have a brandy.’

‘I think I need one,’ Liza murmured and let him lead her back to the sofa, and made no objection when, seated beside her, he kept one arm around her waist, holding her close to his side.

‘You know my mother,’ he prompted with a wry smile. ‘She gets an idea in her head and won’t budge. She still thinks she offended you and that is why you have never visited in years. My jet is standing by at the airport, Liza, you’re unexpectedly free for a week or so…there will never be a better time.’

With a flash of insight Liza knew she would let this man take her anywhere; after years of frustration she had finally met again the man whose slightest touch thrilled her to the core. ‘I don’t have a choice,’ she said drily. ‘I have already told your mother I would go.’ And she had already told herself earlier she wanted to see where the relationship with Nick would lead, and she would never have a better chance.

‘Never mind Mamma, I want you to come for me,’ Nick husked and looked long and deep into her eyes.

Liza felt as if he was looking into her soul, and what she had thought was a simple case of sexual chemistry between them suddenly took on a frightening dimension. She noted tiny flecks of gold in the darkening depths of his eyes, and all her muscles tensed as she forgot his mother, forgot everything except the heady awareness of this man that filled her mind to the exclusion of everything else.

‘Nick,’ she thought, not realising she had said his name out loud. He tugged at her heart-strings like no other man before, or ever would again, she realised with blinding clarity. She wanted him, and instinctively she moved closer to his side.

‘Yes, Liza.’ His voice roughened as he held her firmly then quickly slipped his other arm around her to draw her even closer. She felt the hardness of his body and the heat of him searing her, even through the fabric of her dress. His dark head bent and his lips hovered over hers. ‘I knew you would be sensible,’ he murmured and then he kissed her, his tongue slipping between her parted lips in a deeply sensual kiss.

This wasn’t sensible, Liza knew. He was implying a brief affair, but his mouth was tender and moist, filling her with sensation until she couldn’t think. His hand caressed slowly up her side and over the soft mound of one breast, and a tiny moan escaped her. His powerful sexuality overwhelmed her, making the blood run hot through her veins, and she was lost in the wonder of his embrace when he lifted his head and eased back slightly and murmured, ‘Think of us, Liza.’

‘Us?’ She was totally confused.

‘Yes,’ Nick promised, one hand gently cupping her chin. ‘I have to leave tonight.’ He kissed her again. ‘And I want you with me quite desperately.’ He mouthed the words against her lips as his other hand caught hers and pressed it to his hard manhood. ‘Feel what you do to me,’ he rasped sexily.

Her breath snagged in her throat and she saw his pupils dilating so his eyes were sinful black pools of hunger. She flexed her fingers and heard him groan. She pulled her hand away, afraid she had hurt him. Equally as ravenous for him.

He kissed her again with a deep, possessive passion, and when his mouth lifted from hers Liza’s arms were around his neck, and the breath was drawn from her body. She pulled back and briefly closed her eyes, fighting to recover her breath, the longing to know Nick in every way an almost physical pain, and thought, why not?

She might never get another chance to feel the miracle of his lovemaking and she wanted to more than anything else in her life, he had haunted her dreams for years. She was on holiday, and plenty of girls had a holiday romance they remembered with affection after it was over, without ruining their lives…she rationalised. So why not her?

Boldly she curled her arms around his neck again and urged his head down, and kissed him back with a passion, a need she had never imagined she was capable of.

‘You are exquisite,’ Nick opined huskily and, lifting his dark head, a dull flush along his high cheekbones, he added, ‘We will have a wonderful time, trust me,’ and immediately felt a twinge of guilt, an alien emotion for him. He had used her obvious attraction to him to get the result that he required, but he had never expected to want Liza quite so badly. ‘Hoist by his own petard’ sprang to mind…

‘I’ll keep you to that,’ Liza murmured huskily, and, raising brilliant blue eyes, she gulped at the unguarded smouldering desire in the black depths of his, and for a moment her throat closed in panic. Nick was so sure of himself, his sexuality so potent—was she really ready for this? Her one attempt at sex had left her thinking it was vastly overrated or she was frigid.

Nick saw the flash of uncertainty in her glorious eyes, and, not giving her time to dwell on it, he rose to his feet, taking Liza with him. ‘A call to your hotel for your luggage,’ he informed her and drew her hard against him, allowing her to feel the extent of his need, and he kissed her once again hard and fast. ‘And we can leave within the hour.’

Leave! Hell, he wanted to tumble her down on the sofa and take her now. It was what they had both been fighting all day, or maybe longer…he wasn’t sure about anything any more, except the need to get her away from Lanzarote, he reminded himself, and stepped back, setting her free.

Liza blinked and for one wild moment wondered what she had committed to. As he stood before her, dark and slightly dangerous with certain possessiveness in his eyes, she suddenly felt threatened, and she did not understand why.

His request was straightforward enough, and after a few tense seconds she smoothed damp palms down over her hips and said lightly, ‘You and your mother seem to have it all arranged, and it will be nice to see Anna again, so far be it from me to disappoint you all.’ She could play the sophisticate as good as any woman.

‘You could never disappoint me, Liza,’ Nick said in a throaty voice, and with a faint smile he slid one long finger down her burning cheek in a tender gesture. ‘But if we don’t stop this now, I cannot be responsible for my actions,’ he said thickly, his finger tracing the outline of her slightly swollen lips.

Helplessly Liza’s lips parted and just as abruptly Nick stepped back. ‘No.’ His great chest heaved. ‘Later, or we will never get out of here. I think we need that brandy now.’

CHAPTER FOUR

‘NOW that wasn’t too painful, was it, Liza?’ Nick asked, releasing his safety belt, and, turning, he deftly unfastened the belt restraining her in the flight seat next to him, but not before dropping a swift kiss on her full lips. He saw her eyes darken, and it crossed his mind that it was after ten in the evening and there was a bedroom on the plane. It was a two-hour flight, and he doubted if a girl with Liza’s obvious sexual appetite would object.

‘Painful, no. A mad rush, yes,’ Liza quipped, striving for some sense of normality even as her head spun from his brief kiss. ‘You do realise we will arrive in Spain in the middle of the night? That is hardly going to go down well with your mother.’

She was still not sure she was doing the right thing. But Nick was very persuasive. As he had said when she was dithering while waiting for the car to take them to the airport, it was only for a few days, and it would mean the world to his mother. Liza recognised it was emotional blackmail but powerful nevertheless.

Nick’s comment that they could have fun as well and the sensual gleam in his dark eyes had told her exactly what he meant. When she had queried how she would get back to Lanzarote, he had told her not to worry, he would take care of everything and her boss needed never know she had been away. Which, she thought drily, put it in perspective; a brief affair was all he had in mind, and it was up to her just how much fun it would be.

Nick considered her thoughtfully; she was nervous and striving to cover it. He had been keeping up a subtle sensual pressure in case she changed her mind, and would like to think it was his obvious attraction that was making her nervous but he could not suppress the suspicion it was more likely the change in her plans that he had contrived. The cynical side of his nature reminded him that in his experience a really good criminal rarely liked their schedule altered by an outside influence. ‘Let me worry about Mamma,’ he reassured her with a lazy smile. ‘Relax.’

Easy for him to say, but Liza was on her way back to the house where she’d suffered her biggest humiliation, and she was scared. ‘Will there be a lot of people at this party?’ she asked, lifting guarded blue eyes to his, and there was something about the way he looked at her with a kind of amused sensuality that was incredibly arousing and she could not tear her gaze away.

‘Quite a few. You know Mamma; it is her brother and his wife’s golden-wedding anniversary.’ He was aware that she was staring at him as intently as he was studying her and the amusement vanished from his face as her gaze involuntarily darkened, the tension between them renewing itself with a cosmic force.

How did she do that? Confuse him… One look from her baby blues, and she made him feel guilty for being economical with the truth, and at the same time turned him on so hard his loins ached.

‘You worry too much,’ he insisted, strain making his tone curt. He leaned back in his seat and circled his shoulders to ease the tension. It had been a horrendously long day; the anger that had sustained him this morning had calmed somewhat after meeting Liza again, and getting the information he required. But he felt as if he had been walking on eggshells for the past few hours. Never forgetting his primary concern was to help Carl catch the criminals, but at the same time endeavouring to protect Liza from the result of her own actions; whether with criminal intent or not, she was involved up to her swan-like neck. But what to do about Liza he still was not sure…

He knew what he wanted to do… She made him feel like a randy teenager again.

He cast a sidelong glance at Liza and he saw the uneven rise and fall of her breasts, the subtle scent of her perfume—or was it simply her—fogged his brain and his body tightened another notch.

Nick dragged an unsteady hand through his hair. They were airborne now; she could not change her mind and getting her out of Lanzarote was for her own good, he told himself. He owed it to the delightful child she had been to protect her. He could not let her go to jail. It should have made him feel better, but it didn’t. Instead beneath his cool exterior he was struggling to contain emotions that were as unwelcome as they were unfamiliar.

Had he taken leave of his senses? How the hell was he going to explain to Carl that he had taken off with one of the prime suspects? His friend would think he was crazy. Maybe he was. But he knew he would do anything, pay anything to keep Liza out of trouble with the law, and if that made him a fool, so be it.

Leaping to his feet, he crossed to a cream leather sofa. Slipping off his jacket and tugging his tie loose in the process, he dropped them and his long length down on it, his angry eyes raking over her. Frustration wasn’t the word!

Liza was a walking, talking sex goddess. Either in trousers and a cheap top with her glorious hair scraped back in a childish pony-tail, as he had seen her this morning, or with her hair a tumbled mass around her shoulders and elegant in black wrap-around dress that was just begging to be unwrapped. Crook or not, she turned him on without even trying.

‘To hell with it!’ he swore under his breath. Keeping her out of jail did not mean he had to keep her out of his bed. She had matured into an incredibly sexy, sophisticated lady, and he was acting like an idiot. He was a man who prided himself on his control and anger bubbled beneath the surface of his smooth smile as he gestured with one hand to the adjoining sofa.

‘Take a softer seat. You’ll be more comfortable,’ he offered, and watched as she rose from the aircraft seat, her hands nervously sweeping the smooth fabric of her dress over her hips, and he almost groaned out loud.

She looked so shy, almost innocent, and that was part of her charm, or her act, he reminded himself cynically, and, unfolding his long length from the sofa, he stepped towards her. ‘But perhaps a guided tour first,’ he suggested, curving his hand over her shoulder. ‘The plane is divided into three compartments—this seating area, a bedroom and restroom.’

Liza had never seen anything like it. How the other half lives, she thought drily, but it was luxury with a capital L. Soft leather sofas and chairs, an occasional table and thick cream carpet, a bar in one corner, near a door that led to the galley and to the flight deck. Nick had introduced her to the captain and crew when they boarded. At the opposite end towards the rear of the aircraft was a corridor with a couple more doors leading off. She knew people who lived in smaller apartments than this plane; the thought made her smile.

‘It all looks very luxurious and very expensive.’ She lifted sparkling blue eyes to his. ‘It must be great to be so rich you can have your own aircraft.’

The smile in her eyes took his breath away. But her comment also made him wonder if she was greedy for money. Thief, gold-digger, he didn’t give a damn.

‘It has its compensations.’ Nick’s voice roughened as he turned her into his arms, and did what he had been aching to do since they left the villa. He ran his hands down the shapely length of her supple body, felt her tremble and then crushed her ruthlessly against the hard heat of his own. Using his innate masculine ability to arouse her, he quite deliberately lowered his head and brushed her pouting lips with his.

She was sweet, so sweet… He tasted her with lips and tongue, savouring her like a connoisseur of fine wine, and then he deepened the kiss until he felt her slender arms wrap around his neck. He lifted his head, the briefest of triumphant smiles curling his hard mouth, and, drawing a deep, rasping breath, he took a chance. ‘Let me show you.’ He didn’t add ‘the bedroom’ he didn’t need to.

Liza didn’t know what hit her—one minute she was talking to him, and the next she was enfolded in Nick’s arms. The mere touch of him had turned her legs to water, and when he kissed her a surge of heat enveloped her whole body. She clung to him, and when he smiled at her she began to tremble as she gazed at him in mesmerised fascination.

He was incredibly handsome with the most gorgeous, slumberous, come-to-bed eyes, dark as night and yet with a sensual gleam as gold as the rising sun. He had to be over six feet four, he was the only man she had ever met she really had to look up to. Her mouth ran dry and she felt a sudden heaviness in her breasts as her nipples tightened in helpless response.

Show her what? The thought crossed her mind but was lost as one long finger traced the outline of her full lips, then moved along her jawline to curve around her ear. She involuntarily swayed into him as his large hand moved swiftly on to the nape of her neck, his long fingers burrowing under the heavy fall of her hair. His hand was smooth but she was intensely aware of the strength in his grip, and for a second she stiffened in apprehension.

But then he lowered his head once more, and his mouth traced the curve of her cheek, tantalisingly close to her. Heat kindled in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn’t think straight, didn’t try… This was what she wanted, what she yearned for, and she turned her head slightly to find his teasing lips with her own.

A wild recklessness swept through her as his mouth took hers with a ruthless, demanding passion that in seconds had her on fire. Her slender fingers tangled through his silky black hair as his tongue delved deep, and she welcomed the hard, savage mouth, gloried in the meeting. They kissed with a ferocious hunger that emptied her head of everything but a growing deep physical ache that curled and tightened in the centre of her body.

Suddenly she was swept up in his arms, and her head fell back as his tongue licked down every inch of her throat to the shadow between her breasts. Liza closed her eyes and felt her whole body melting bonelessly in his arms, and then slowly he raised his head.

‘Look at me,’ Nick demanded. ‘Is this what you want, Liza?’ he asked in a deep slightly accented drawl.

Her dazed blue eyes clashed with jet black, and for a second she saw a look of such predatory hunger in his expression some tiny corner of her mind tried to warn her to be wary. She dragged in a ragged breath, trying to fight the pull of his attraction. ‘The steward,’ she murmured inanely. He had asked earlier if they wanted a drink and Nick had dismissed him, but…

‘It is more than his job’s worth.’ Nick declared with arrogant certainty, but the slight colour tracing his high cheekbones and the clenching of his fingers in her hair told her he was no less affected by the desire flooding through them than she was. Her pupils dilated to almost obscure the blue, she opened her mouth to reply, but, reading the answer in her eyes, he did not wait.

He shouldered the door open and in two strides he lowered her down onto the large bed. Discarding his shirt, his great body looming over her, he reached down and untied the knot at her waist and peeled her dress open.

Liza should have been shy, exposed in only black lace briefs, but her eyes widened on his lean, strong face, her pulse racing as she checked down to the broad shoulders. All her attention was captured by the perfection of his tanned, muscular chest, the intriguing pattern of black curling body hair that arrowed down to where his trousers hung low on his hips. He was her dream come true, she had waited what felt like a lifetime for this man, and at last she was trembling on the brink of knowing the full wonder of Nick, her heart’s secret desire.

‘You are exquisite,’ Nick growled, his gaze roaming over her near-naked length, before he sank down beside her, and ran his long fingers through the silken mass of her hair. He then trailed one long strand with teasing expertise over a firm breast, a rosy tip, and watched her nipple tighten, saw her body arch in an involuntary motion she could not hide. He surveyed her hungrily. ‘Ravishing…’ and that was exactly what he intended doing to her…

Hypnotised by his slow, sensual exploration, Liza caught her breath as he reached for her. Stripping her dress from her shoulders, his hands were everywhere. One skimming over her breasts, the other tracing the length of her leg from knee to thigh, while with lips and tongue he tormented her with kisses and tantalising caresses over her face and throat.

‘So are you,’ she breathed, so caught up in the excitement, the pleasure he aroused, she was scarcely aware of what she was saying. Long fingers traced her inner thigh, and brushed against the scrap of black lace. Liza groaned out loud, as at the same time his teeth found a dusky nipple and teased with tiny bites.

Unbelievable sensations arrowed through her body as he began to suckle before he turned his attentions to the other rigid peak. He didn’t hurry, he suckled and licked, and at the same time his seeking fingers slipped beneath the black lace and stroked the hot wet centre of her femininity. Her eyes widened in shocked pleasure before he took her lips in a brief, hard kiss, and continued his tantalising exploration of every inch of her until she was writhing on the bed like a woman possessed.

Liza grasped his broad shoulders with both hands, shaped them, loving the feel of sleek, satin skin. Then, with an innate sensuality she did not know she possessed, ran her hands down over his chest, discovering the massive breadth, the hard male nipples in the silken whorls of chest hair, her fingers tracing the ridges of perfectly defined muscles. Daringly she dipped lower until she fumbled with the button of his trousers. Nick helped her and obligingly slid off his trousers and boxers.

Incredibly for a girl who had thought she did not like sex, thought she was frigid, Liza couldn’t stop her fingers from trailing the long, hard length of his erection, curving her slender fingers around him. She had never realised how much she had been missing; his body was beautiful, a tactile feast of epic proportions.

‘No.’ His hoarsely groaned command and his hand capturing hers stopped her frenzied exploration. ‘Slowly, Liza, slowly.’ She heard the sharp intake of his breath as their mouths met.

She wasn’t really conscious of him removing her briefs as desire mounted frantically inside her, driving everything else from her mind, except for the burning need to have Nick there…where the heat was most intense…

He moved over her and she felt the roughness of his chest against her sensitised nipples. Then his mouth invaded hers yet again, the kiss replicating what she ached for him to do with his body. She wrapped her arms around his broad back and traced the length of his spine, her small hand curving around his hard buttock, her fingers digging into his flesh.

Liza felt his heart pounding into her almost painfully but she exalted in the feeling, his passion consuming her, and she abandoned herself to the driving hunger that had her in its grip. Her tongue duelled with his, her teeth were creating their own havoc on his lips. But suddenly he reared back, and her arms fell to her sides. ‘Nick,’ she moaned his name, ‘I want you.’

Nick felt the tremble in her body, the hot, wet heat of her, and heard the husky words emerging from her mouth. Unbearably aroused, he feasted his eyes on her, her hair spread out like a pale cloud across the cover, her dazzling blue eyes dazed with desire, the full, firm, rigid-tipped breasts, her skin as smooth as silk, the exquisite body spread beneath him. He had never seen anything so beautiful, and she wanted him.

Nick swallowed a pained groan… Now she told him, when he needed no encouragement! Quite the reverse. He reached over to a drawer by the bed and withdrew a condom. Swiftly in one fluid movement he knelt between her legs, not trying to hide his fierce arousal, and nudged her thighs apart, his thumbs rubbing over the velvet lips, and Liza stretched out her arms to him. He gloried in watching her mindless, breathless and needy, oh, so needy, exactly how he wanted her, but his moment of triumph was short-lived.

Nick could feel his control slipping away as her slender fingers raked down his chest; she was wild and wanton and he was closer to losing it than he had ever been in his life. ‘This time I’d better do the honours, or I won’t make it,’ he rasped.

‘Please,’ Liza groaned.

Please her he would, Nick vowed, and dipped his dark head and brushed his lips against the soft velvet flesh of her inner thigh, even as his hands touched her, stroked her, squeezed her breasts, driving her ever higher. He was wet with sweat, his muscles trembling, and the scent of her, the feel of her was driving him wild, but still he held back. He had the skill to drive a woman mindless and he utilised every atom he possessed to do just that.

She tensed as his mouth found her, and then she instinctively arched against him, her whole body pulsating with need, every nerve taut, craving for release, spiralling out of control. ‘Nick…Nick. Now,’ she cried out.

Nick reared up and looked at her with hot black eyes, then slid his hands around her bottom and joined them savagely together with one mighty thrust. Liza gasped, a slight cry escaping her. Nick hesitated, but with barely a pause she wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him on. Her slender body responded to the thrusting hardness of his possession as he moved again and again, deeper and deeper. She was so tight and as the pulsating start of her climax gripped him with a fierce, almost excruciating pleasure he lost it, he had to let go. Together they climaxed in a cataclysmic explosion of raw, primeval passion.

Liza lay still, her slender body hot, damp and totally replete, her arms around Nick, holding him close. His great body pinned her to the bed, but she didn’t feel his weight, only an incredible possessive thrill that he was hers at last.

Nothing had prepared her for the wild, primitive passion he aroused in her. She had never realised, never even guessed at the depths of emotion possible between two people. Moisture hazed her eyes, but they were tears of happiness. At last she knew what it was like to be totally possessed by the man who had filled her every erotic thought from puberty, and the beauty, the magic of it was beyond words. How had she ever imagined she hated him?

She took a deep, contented breath and ran slender fingers gently through the damp strands of his curling black hair. He was hers now, and she listened to the ragged sound of his breathing with a fierce joy. She, Liza Summers, the frigid one, had done this to him and her swollen lips curved in a smile so feline she almost purred…

Nick turned his head, saw her smile and pressed a swift kiss to her cheek. ‘I’m too heavy for you.’ Leaning up on one elbow, he looked down at her.

‘No, you’re perfect for me,’ she murmured. She could see the gleam of masculine satisfaction in his eyes and the hint of a smug grin. ‘Perfect,’ she reiterated, brimming over with happiness. Her teenage dreams had not begun to touch on the awesome reality of Nick as a lover.

‘Glad you approved.’ Nick chuckled. ‘But I don’t want to crush you.’ And one elegant hand reached across her slender body to cup her breast, his thumb lazily stroking the tip. ‘There are much more interesting things to do with this exquisite body.’ He trailed his hand down over her stomach. ‘And I intend to explore them all.’

To her amazement her body stirred in response, her breast swelling. She opened her mouth to remark on the astonishing fact and stopped. Nick looked gorgeous, his black hair tousled and his incredible eyes…

‘I think I always knew the skinny, coltish teenager would eventually develop the body to tempt a saint.’

Liza blinked and looked again…reality clicking in.

His words had been addressed to her body, not her face, and her brief moment of euphoria was deflated like a burst balloon. He was studying her naked figure like an artist might study a statue. But then why wouldn’t he? she reminded herself. He was an expert and his women were legendary, and he was certainly no saint…

She felt the colour surge in her cheeks, and her lashes fluttered down to conceal the pain in her eyes.

‘Liza.’ She opened her eyes; his face was close and shadowed with stubble, and she had an overwhelming urge to reach up and touch him. ‘You OK?’ His hand moved from her stomach to twine his fingers in a few long strands of hair. ‘You’re sure?’ He tugged on the lock of hair, his dark eyes narrowing intently on her face.

Amazingly Nick saw she was blushing. Yet she had been everything he imagined and more, wild and willing, he’d never known a woman so responsive. Thinking back, he recalled her shock when he first touched her intimately, her brief flinch, and her slight tensing at times. Perhaps she was not such a promiscuous lady as he had thought. Unless he was very much mistaken it was some time since she’d had a lover and even then not a very expert one if her surprise was anything to go by.

Embarrassed by his analytical scrutiny Liza sat up. ‘Never better,’ she said brightly, and she gave in to the temptation and lifted her hand and stroked the roughened skin of his jaw. Realising what she was doing, she jerked her hand away and, pulling on the mantle of a sophisticated lady, she added, ‘But isn’t it time we got dressed?’

She was suddenly very conscious of her nudity, and his, and she was terribly afraid if she didn’t put some space between them quickly she might reveal that what for Nick was simply sex between two consenting adults had meant a whole lot more to her. She had never dreamt that she could feel such an intensity of emotion, such passion. In fact after her only other sexual encounter with a man, her ex-fiancé, she had convinced herself great passion was a myth for a woman. Liza felt the prick of tears at the backs of her eyes. How wrong could one get? she thought sadly.

Nick glanced at his wrist-watch, the only thing he was wearing, and groaned. ‘You’re right, Liza,’ he agreed, slanting her a grin. The flush had gone from her face, and her eyes were a little too bright, her smile a little too brittle—not the usual response he got from his women in the afterglow of sex. But he was sure she had enjoyed it as much as he had.

But it was the middle of the night, he rationalised, and, swiftly bending his head, he captured her mouth in a brief, gentle kiss. ‘You look tired. I’ll take the shower first. I would suggest you join me, but that delight we will have to save for later, or we will never get off the damn plane, and by my reckoning we’ll land in twenty minutes.’

Liza watched wide-eyed, she couldn’t help herself, as he flung his long legs over the side of the bed and, gloriously unconscious of his nudity, in a few lithe strides he crossed to the far side of the room and disappeared through another door. Moments later she heard the sound of running water, and in her mind’s eye she saw his magnificent tanned body, the washboard belly, the hard, lean buttocks, and with a shake of her head she jumped off the bed, and began gathering up her clothes.

So she had had sex with Nick; she must remember sex was all it was…she muttered over and over in her head. A short holiday to attend the party of her mother’s friend. Any involvement with Nick had to be light-hearted fun… She could handle it…

CHAPTER FIVE

THE headlights of the car swept over the stable block, and Liza suppressed a tiny shiver of revulsion. Old memories she could do without… Instead she recalled the wonder of feeling the length of Nick’s naked body against the heated eagerness of her own, and longed to repeat the experience with a hunger that made her stomach clench. If she closed her eyes she could see the image of their bodies entwined, see the burning desire in his eyes as he captured her mouth in a deeply passionate kiss.

Stifling a groan, she shook her head to chase away the erotic thoughts. The car was moving through a large stone arch and into the rear courtyard of the Menendez Hacienda and Nick brought it to a silent stop outside a large oak door.

Liza scrambled out of the car and, standing up straight, she stretched her shoulders back; she was stiff, tired and suddenly incredibly nervous. Her last visit to this house had been a disaster. What on earth had possessed her to come back? A glance at Nick walking around the front of the car towards her, and she had her answer…

‘Are you sure we are expected so late?’ she asked with her gaze raking along the long building before them. There appeared to be only a chink of light from beneath what she knew was the rear lobby leading into the large kitchen in the west wing of the hacienda.

‘And why the kitchen entrance? Trying to smuggle me in like a thief in the night?’ she teased, turning to look at Nick as with one long, easy stride he stood in front of her. She paused, feeling the tension coming from him in a slight hardening of his jawline, a flicker of something she didn’t recognise in the depths of his enigmatic eyes. As she saw him outlined in the moon’s silver light, the power of his superbly masculine frame and the inescapable pressure of the fingertip he lifted to her chin made her shiver in instinctive response.

Damn her! She wasn’t far wrong, Nick thought grimly. He did have an ulterior motive, and even with the unexpected help of his mother he knew it would not take much to arouse Liza’s suspicions. But it also reminded him he had been so caught up in the witch’s spell he had forgotten to pass on the information to Carl about Brown’s return, and, appalled at his own lapse in concentration on the crime he was investigating, he lashed out at her.

‘And are you a thief?’ he demanded curtly, and immediately wished the words unsaid as he saw the humour flicker and fade from her expressive eyes to be replaced with a wary puzzlement. ‘No, of course not.’ He answered his own question, his mouth curved, as if her comment had amused him. He did not want her getting suspicious of his motive, not now… ‘Except perhaps of hearts,’ he quipped in a damage-limitation exercise, and, tipping her chin a little higher, he pressed a swift kiss to her softly parted lips, before reaching for her hand and leading her towards the door.

‘Mamma arranged for Manuel to wait up for us, hence the back door; you remember him and how he loves to sit and watch the television in the kitchen.’

Liza did remember, and she accepted his explanation, but she couldn’t dismiss the unsettling notion from her mind that he had not been joking when he asked her if she was a thief. She was being ridiculous…it was the middle of the night…she was having spooky thoughts…

A stream of light suddenly bathed the yard as Manuel appeared, and when he smiled and said her name with obvious pleasure Liza was touched that he had remembered her. But in the next minute she was horribly embarrassed as she heard Nick quite casually tell Manuel to take her luggage to his room.

Grabbing Nick’s sleeve, Liza pulled him back as he would have stridden along the corridor after Manuel. ‘Wait a minute,’ she spat.

Nick stopped. ‘No need to whisper, Liza. There is no one in this wing of the house to hear you, only Manuel, and his wife Marta, who has long since gone to bed,’ he drawled, his dark eyes lit with amusement at the furtive look on her lovely face.

‘It’s not that,’ Liza muttered, feeling embarrassed and angry. ‘Surely you realise I can’t share a room with you in your mother’s house.’

His ebony brows rose as he bit out an expletive in Spanish followed by, ‘Damn it to hell!’ How had he overlooked what he now realised was glaringly obvious? He had leapt at the chance to use his mother’s telephone call to get Liza off the island and, being brutally honest, into his bed as well. But Liza was right; if his mother thought for a second he was fooling around with her friend’s daughter she would have him married to Liza in a flash.

He dragged in a deep, calming breath. Marriage was not on his agenda, and if he ever succumbed it would only be for the production of a child to inherit the Menendez fortune. But not for years yet—he enjoyed his freedom too much, and certainly not to a girl like Liza, who he still was not sure he could trust as far as he could throw her.

His dark eyes narrowed angrily, and something darker, devious hardened in their depths. He had wanted Liza Summers from the very first moment he saw her again at the café. His thick black lashes flicked down towards the sharp line of his high cheekbones, veiling his expression, and he allowed his gaze to linger on her perfectly formed body, the slightly creased black dress she was wearing a testament to their earlier passionate encounter, and then back to her face.

Exquisite: the pale skin, the long blonde hair, the lush mouth and the brilliant blue eyes that were shooting sparks at the moment. Sparks that told him she was absolutely determined not to share his bed beneath his mother’s roof.

He gritted his teeth and had to use all his famed self-control to prevent himself from sweeping her into his arms and carrying her to his bed. He had not had enough of her, not nearly enough, but he knew instinctively talking would not change her mind. He would have to be more subtle. But the irony of it was he knew they could have what was left of the night together, because his mother was spending the night with his uncle and aunt in Granada, attending their own golden-wedding dinner and a blessing in the cathedral on Sunday morning, and that they were all coming back here for lunch and the final huge party in the evening.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Liza, but then again he remembered she had been a very volatile teenager, and if her wildness in bed was anything to go by she hadn’t changed much. She would probably blow her top and land one on him for his treachery, and any hope of resuming what they had started on the plane would be distinctly remote.

Denying the temptation to reach out to her and take up where they had left off, explore her gorgeous body once more, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers, and turned his head to bark out a quick order to Manuel’s retreating back.

The blue room. Liza had never heard of it, but then she had not been here for years, and she did not know if she was relieved or reluctant to part from Nick. Glancing down the long length of him, she almost changed her mind; with his hands in his pockets and the fabric of his trousers pulled taut across muscular thighs, his potent masculinity was unmistakable…

Get your head up, girl—she jerked her head back and a tide of red flooded her cheekbones. When had she become such a voyeur of men? She sighed inwardly; not men—one man. ‘The blue room; I don’t think I have seen it before,’ she mumbled.

‘Maybe not; there have been some extensive renovations since you were last here.’ Nick slanted her a dark-eyed glance. ‘But it is not mine, I can assure you, so I hope your honour is satisfied,’ he drawled sardonically.

‘Yes,’ she snapped, ‘thank you,’ and gave him what she hoped was a cool look. He might have well as added if you have any, she thought as his dark eyes studied her with cynical, all masculine appraisal. And, straightening her shoulders, she stalked off after Manuel, but in one step Nick was beside her.

‘In a hurry to get to bed?’ he teased softly, bending his dark head to brush the words against her ear, and his husky chuckle did nothing for her attempt to remain cool.

She didn’t bother to answer and a grandfather clock chimed one, disturbing the silence as Liza walked along the corridor with Nick keeping step beside her. Manuel stopped and opened a door, and, placing Liza’s case inside, gave her a toothy smile and went back the way they had come.

Liza almost fell into the room, such was her haste to get away from Nick’s overwhelming presence. Making love with him—no, having sex, she corrected—had done nothing to quell the heated response of her body. In fact it seemed to have sharpened every one of her senses. Now she knew what she had been missing all these years. She was so intensely aware of him she ached.

‘Goodnight,’ she muttered, and would have shut the door in his face, but she was too slow. Nick reached for her and pulled her into his powerful arms, his mouth came crashing down on hers, and a shocked protest was stopped in her throat as excitement spiralled inside her like a typhoon, throwing all her sense out of sight.

His hands dropped to splay against her hips and haul her into connection with the hard strength of his arousal; she felt the sudden rush of warmth between her thighs as he moved suggestively against her. She lifted her hands but Nick suddenly lifted his head, and stepped back.

‘Now, that is a goodnight kiss,’ he drawled mockingly, studying her with dancing devilment in his black eyes. ‘The bathroom is on the left. See you later.’ And then he was gone, closing the door quietly behind him.

Liza stared at the closed door, and only after the long moment it took her to get her breathing somewhere near normal did she turn and glance around the room. A massive four-poster bed, draped in yards of the finest blue silk, and with a delicately embroidered coverlet in a deeper blue, was the central feature. Long arched windows with the same drapes hedged each side of the bed. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, kicking off her shoes. She glanced at the wall opposite, which housed a delicate dressing table with a fragile-looking gilt chair; her case was on the top of what looked like an antique trunk in one corner. She noted the bathroom door, again blue but edged in gold. The whole décor was blue and gold, a bit over-the-top for her taste but exquisite none the less.

With a weary sigh she stood up and, crossing to her case, she opened it and quickly unpacked her few clothes into the ornate wardrobe, and then headed for the bathroom.

The bathroom was equally as luxurious, all marble and mirrors with a large bath and shower stall. Stripping off her clothes, she took a quick shower, and, stepping out of the shower stall, she crossed to where a pile of towels were neatly stacked. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, and stopped, blushing scarlet. The tell-tale signs of Nick’s lovemaking were obvious. A slight bruise in the hollow of her throat, lower down a redness on her pale skin where the rough stubble of his chin had made a mark as he suckled her breasts. She felt her nipples tighten just at the memory.

Hastily she grabbed a large, fluffy towel from the pile and tugged it sarong-style around her slender body, refusing to look at her reflection again. The reminder was too poignant. She darted out of the bathroom, switched off the main light and dived under the sumptuous coverlet into bed by the light of a small night lamp on a table at the other side.

The traitorous thought that she could have been sharing the bed with Nick filled her mind. She lived again in her head every kiss and caress they had shared on the plane, and she wondered if she would ever experience again that passion or depth of emotion. She stirred restlessly in the bed, her body hot and wanting, she ran the tip of her tongue over her slightly swollen lips and lived again the touch of his mouth on hers. Swallowing hard, she tried to squash her wayward thoughts.

Their recent intimacy meant nothing, and she must never forget that, her common sense told her that she was only a temporary distraction for Nick Menendez. But her heart told her she was in dire danger of falling hopelessly and irretrievably in love with him. The love she had thought she felt for him as a teenager was as nothing to the power of her emotions now.

She had never known that desire could cut so deep, and she had the horrible conviction if she gave in to her feelings for him completely she would end up cut to shreds. Because the one thing she knew for certain was Nick Menendez would never see her as anything other than a brief distraction from his real life. He was a ruthlessly successful businessman of worldwide renown, and a Spanish grandee to boot, held in high esteem by all his countrymen.

She was here because his mother had invited her, albeit at Nick’s instigation, of that she had no doubt. He obviously cared for his mother, and he was not averse to taking advantage of the sex Liza had quite consciously shown him was on offer. He had made it equally as plain a brief affair was all he wanted. She could hardly change her mind now. If she was honest she didn’t want to…and with a bittersweet sigh she turned over and reached to extinguish the night-light.

Her heavy-lidded eyes registered another door set in the opposite wall, a dressing room maybe. She was too tired to think and, burrowing under the coverlet, in moments she was asleep.

But not peacefully, she tossed restlessly in the wide bed. In her dream she was running naked through a deep, dense forest, chasing after a huge dark, shadowy figure. Every so often the figure stopped and waited and she had a glimpse of a welcoming smile, and just when she thought she was in touching distance the figure vanished to appear well ahead of her, beckoning her on again. But the faster she ran the more naked, the more exposed she felt and the wood became thicker, darker, utterly silent, and somehow menacing.

She frowned in her sleep, fighting to escape the nightmare, her long lashes fluttering against her smooth cheek prior to opening, then inexplicably she felt a fleeting kiss as soft as a butterfly’s wing across her brow. A deep, contented sigh escaped from between her softly parted lips and she closed her eyes once more in sleep, totally unaware of the man watching over her.

Drawing in a deep, steadying breath, Nick tightened the belt of his short robe, a wry smile curving his hard mouth, his dark eyes lingering on Liza’s sleeping form.

He had called Carl and passed on the information that Brown was returning to Lanzarote to finalise the deal and when. But he avoided mentioning that Liza was supposed to meet up with Brown. He had lied by omission to his friend, something he had never done before. When Carl asked him about Liza he had assured him he had her under very close surveillance with him in Spain. But he was pretty sure Liza was not knowingly involved, and he would take personal responsibility for her. Carl was not happy; at the very least, he had pointed out, Liza would be a vital witness when they brought the case to court. It had taken some very persuasive argument on Nick’s part to get Carl to do nothing about Liza for the moment.

Then he had paced his bedroom for over an hour, determined not to give in to the temptation of the connecting door that joined his room to hers. Even if by some miracle Liza was innocent, he knew an affair with her was bound to cause trouble, given their mothers were great friends. Never foul your own nest, he reminded himself.

But for once in his life his ardour had overcome the armour he usually had no problem keeping around his emotions. Only this witch of a woman made him weak. He dropped his dark gaze down to her firm, full breasts and involuntarily his hand moved, but firmly he shoved it in the pocket of his robe.

When he had walked through the connecting door he had fully intended joining Liza in the bed. But, seeing her lying there, her beautiful face frowning in sleep, he had bent to gently kiss away the worry from her brow, hoping she would wake. But, hearing her sigh, seeing her relax back into a deep sleep, he was content to do nothing more… Turning, he left the room.

CHAPTER SIX

LIZA shivered, feeling the chill in the air, her long eyelashes fluttering over half-open eyes. A watery sun illuminated the room in a blue haze, and she pulled the cover up to her neck and shifted sleepily. For a moment she did not know where she was, then memory returned. Of course—Spain; it was not as hot in winter here as Lanzarote.

Oh, God! Nick!

Liza twisted around and a dozen unfamiliar aches and pains in places she never knew she had made her groan. What had she done? Suddenly the erotic memories of the night before suddenly overwhelmed every other thought in her head. Had she really made love with Nick on the plane? Just the thought made her temperature rise. Nick was every woman’s fantasy lover. Her whole body blushed as she recalled her own feverish abandonment to the power of his lovemaking, and she no longer felt in the least chilled.

She pushed the coverlet back down to her waist, and drew in a deep, steadying breath. So they had made love, and she was now a fully paid-up member of the mile-high club. Not something she had ever aspired to, but, being honest, she did not regret it… But it was only a holiday affair, she reminded herself quickly.

Perhaps not even that; Nick had quite happily accepted her ‘No’ to making love in his mother’s house, and now, with the memory of the passion and the pleasure fresh in her mind, she wondered if she had been too adamant in her refusal to share his room.

She was a grown woman and perfectly entitled to explore her own sexuality, live for the moment if she wanted to, and, dear heaven, she wanted to, she thought wryly. There was no point in denying it, and, reaching her arms above her head, she stretched languorously, relishing the new sensually aware woman Nick had made her.

‘Now, that is a picture worth preserving.’ A deep, husky drawl shattered the silence.

Liza froze at full stretch, her gaze winging to the tall man entering the room, a tray in his hands… Nick. She studied him with helpless appreciation as he approached the bed, obviously fresh from the shower—his black hair was brushed severely back from his brow and his incredibly attractive face radiated vitality. A white towelling robe covered him from shoulder to knee, but afforded a glimpse of a hair-roughened chest. Her heart lurched at the sight of him.

‘I wish I had a camera,’ Nick murmured, studying her tousled appearance. With her long blonde hair tumbling around her shoulders and her arms above her head, the smooth, creamy lift of her perfect breasts was enough to make him harden. The dusky peaks tightening as he watched didn’t help.

Suddenly Liza realised she had parted with the towel some time in the night, and she was naked from the waist up, and Nick’s gaze was fixed on a certain part of her anatomy. Making a mad grasp for the coverlet, she pulled it up and tucked it firmly over her breasts, her face flaming.

What did you say to a man that you had had sex with on a plane? It was not a scenario she was familiar with, and her stomach cramped with nervous tension, but before she could think of a flip reply to fling back he added, ‘You’d make a great centrefold.’

His words underlined her secret fear; Nick had wanted only one thing from her, and he had got it with remarkable ease. She had no one to blame but herself. She had looked at him, wanted him, and foolishly imagined she could play him at his own game, and indulge in a sophisticated love affair with no strings attached. What had been an incredible experience for her, probably ranked as an easy lay for him…

The knowledge hurt, but also stiffened her shaky resolve. If an experienced woman of the world was what Nick wanted, then that was exactly what she would be. Calling on a lifetime of ingrained good manners, she said, ‘Good morning, Nick.’

Stopping at the side of the bed, Nick drew his brows together in a brief frown. He was used to a more enthusiastic welcome from the woman in his life. Why Liza was trying to appear cool when the blush in her cheeks declared otherwise, he had no idea. If he hadn’t shared the most incredible sex with her, he would have said she was embarrassed. But that wasn’t possible… He was not the first man she had slept with and he was not absolutely convinced she was innocent in the other matter either.

‘Good morning. Is that it?’ Black brows rose in sardonic amusement. ‘And here I was, hoping for a kiss at least,’ his dark eyes roamed with knowing sensuality over her luscious body, ‘after all we have shared,’ he concluded silkily and, putting the tray down on the table, he sat on the edge of the bed and reached for her hand.

Liza snatched her hand away, and fixed all her attention on the tray, unwilling to acknowledge the blatant sensuality in his look. There was a silver coffee-pot, a jug of cream, a bowl of sugar and two cups and saucers and a plate of pastries. ‘You’re joining me for breakfast; how nice,’ she said politely, and unwillingly her gaze was drawn back to meet Nick’s.

‘That was the idea. I did not think you would object.’ He noted her small hands clench in the coverlet and realised she was nervous. ‘I thought a woman of your incredible sexual aptitude would naturally share all my appetites,’ Nick teased, a slow, intimate smile curving his firm lips.

‘No—yes…of course not,’ Liza said in confusion, not sure if she should be flattered or furious he had found her satisfactory! Not sure he should even be here in her room, she thought, panic rising in her breast. ‘What about Manuel…? Your mother…?’ Liza heard her voice rising but was unable to control it as the full import of what she had allowed to happen hit her, and she turned red with embarrassment.

‘Take it easy, Liza.’ Nick chuckled. ‘Manuel and Marta always have Sunday morning free to attend church. As for mother, she is at church in Granada, and won’t be back for a while yet. She need never know that you are sharing a coffee with me.’ And with a wicked grin he added, ‘Stark naked beneath that sheet.’

The reminder of her nakedness made Liza blush even more, but his smile surprised her. Nick could amuse her and make her feel wanton at one and the same time. It was a lethal combination that made her even more wary. ‘Oh, just shut up and pour the coffee,’ she snapped.

‘I do adore a woman who can take charge occasionally,’ Nick drawled with a sardonic arch of one ebony brow. ‘Especially in the bedroom.’

‘Just pour the damn coffee,’ she reiterated, her temper rising. ‘I can do without sexual innuendoes first thing in the morning.’

‘Pity,’ Nick opined, but leant forward and filled the two cups from the jug and passed one to her. ‘I guess you’re not a morning person.’

Liza took hers and swallowed it down with unseemly haste, clattering the cup down on the tray with a less than steady hand. ‘Well, you’re wrong. I am once I have my caffeine fix.’ She strove for normality, but it was difficult with Nick sitting so close. She picked up a pastry and took a bite, but she had never felt less like eating, and it was such a struggle to get the food down she didn’t risk another bite, and dropped it back on the plate.

Nick chuckled, a deep, throaty sound, and reached out a long, elegant hand to sweep the tangled mass of her hair from her face. Then settled his arm around her shoulders, trapping her in the arc of his muscular chest. ‘Prove it, Liza.’

His stunningly handsome face was much too close; she could see the curling length of his lashes sweep his high cheekbones, and lift to reveal eyes glinting with amusement, the firm mouth also quirking at the corners with humour.

‘Prove what?’ She stared up at him with a mixture of fear and anticipation.

‘This.’ And he covered her mouth with his own.

Her startled cry was silenced in her throat; she struggled wildly, lashing out at his great torso with curled fists. She was no man’s push-over…whatever Nick Menendez thought… With a husky laugh he tipped her back against the pillows, and captured both of her flaying hands in one of his and pinned them above her head, his long body pressing her to the bed, and then he was kissing her again with a hard, deep hunger that set her on fire.

Suddenly the reason for her resistance was lost in the chaos he made of her mind. She tried to pull her hands free to hold him and with another husky chuckle Nick lifted his head and stared down into her flushed face.

‘No, my lovely, I am not setting you free. I missed you in my bed last night.’ Instantly she was flooded with an emotion so powerful she nearly told him, she didn’t want to be free of him ever… Surely he could see that. He might be an overbearing, arrogant chauvinist, but she knew deep within her soul that he was everything she could ever want or need in a man.

She wanted back the friend she had missed, the lover she had only just discovered, and the intellectual and emotional strength that he had given so generously to a young girl before the episode that had made him her enemy.

‘Your mother…’ She made a weak attempt to object but her heart wasn’t in it. It was in her mouth as he kissed her again. She couldn’t get enough of his mouth, her tongue seeking his in a dance of desire that met and matched him with ever deeper abandon. She slid her hands over his shoulders removing his robe in the process.

His mighty chest heaved and finally Nick lifted his head, his breathing harsh and his eyes staring into hers with burning satisfaction. ‘Has no one ever told you it is not a good idea to remind a man of his mother at a time like this?’ he husked, the tension holding Nick’s huge, powerful body taut over hers relaxing slightly as he shrugged off the robe completely. His heavy thigh slid over her slender hips and his hand splayed under her bottom, and pulled her into fierce connection with the rigid strength of his erection, sending quivering arrows of exquisite delight up from the apex of her thighs to spread through every nerve in her body.

Lifting his eyes to hers, a gleam of devilment lurking in their depths, he said throatily, ‘But maybe you’re right. You just reminded me of the first pleasure in a male’s life—the joy of suckling.’

Leaning back, he looked his fill of the perfect mounds of her breasts, pale as magnolia with erect, rosy peaks. His hands cupped and shaped them, his thumbs teasing the straining nubs until Liza moaned her pleasure, and only then did he bury his hot mouth against her aching breasts. He laved his tongue over a rigid tip and then drew the tight bud into his mouth and suckled gently.

Helplessly Liza ran her fingers through the thick black hair of his head and urged him to deliver the same ecstasy to its aching counterpart and he obliged.

‘You like that,’ Nick teased and then replaced his mouth with his hands, rolling the distended, dusky nipples between his thumb and forefinger, while he trailed a burning line of kisses down over her flat stomach.

He nudged her long legs apart and, swamped in sensation after sensation, Liza helped him, and when his mouth delivered the most intimate kiss of all she welcomed it. Her slender hands grasped his wide shoulders and tremor after tremor shook her whole body, her nails dug into his flesh as the pressure heightened and heightened, until she thought she would die, and then suddenly it happened.

Nick reared up and, lifting her, plunged into the shuddering heat of her in one driving movement. ‘Dios! You feel fantastic, unbelievable.’

‘So do you!’ Liza cried out as she took all of him, and as he began to move she convulsed and convulsed again in a shattering climax. Her blue eyes flew wide and collided with molten black and his dark head bent and took her mouth in a deep, almost yearning kiss.

Incredibly the pleasure was rising again as Nick moved in a sensual rhythm, a driving urgency that Liza met and matched in a primitive, wild abandon that had her whimpering and crying out with pleasure. Then she felt Nick’s ferocious tension, and one last desperate plunge that seemed to rock her very womb. She climaxed again as his great body shuddered over her. He groaned out something in Spanish but she was too far gone to hear, as his life force poured into her.

He had given her more pleasure than she had ever imagined existed, and yet when it was finally over, and their sweat-slicked bodies lay entwined in exhausted abandon, she felt the chill tendrils of fear snake through her tired mind.

Nick had only to appear for her to collapse into his arms. How on earth was she going to hide her helpless reaction to him? Nick was conceited and arrogant enough already about women if the gossip columns were to be believed. He did not need her adding to his tally.

‘Nick, Nick.’ She pushed at his broad shoulders. ‘Please get up.’

‘What?’ His tousled head lifted and he thrust up off the pillow, releasing her from his weight. ‘Flattered as I am you think I am capable,’ he lay half over her and pushed her tumbled hair back from her flushed face, ‘it is going to take me a little longer to recover,’ he teased with a lazy smile, while his fingers toyed with her long blonde hair, smoothing a few strands down the elegant line of her neck, and over a slender shoulder.

Inflamed by his teasing comment and suddenly aware it was broad daylight, ‘It’s the middle of the morning,’ Liza yelped. He knew damn fine what she meant, and she jerked her head free and wriggled out from under him, and dragged herself up into a sitting position. Nick collapsed down on his back and slanted her a wicked grin.

‘So…’ he drawled. ‘You’re not so innocent as to believe people only make love at night.’ Nick laughed.

It was the laugh that did it. Liza glanced down at him. He looked incredible, she thought, swallowing hard, his tanned torso sleek and vibrant against the blue sheets, his black hair flopping over his brow, and his sinful black eyes glinting with mocking amusement.

‘It’s not in the least amusing,’ she snapped, her temper rising, along with it a great dollop of embarrassment at how easily he had overcome her scruples about making love in his mother’s house, conveniently ignoring that she had wanted him to!

‘What will Manuel, your mother think? They might be back any minute.’ She was getting into her stride. ‘But then I don’t suppose the great Nick Menendez ever needs to consider other people’s feelings, you arrogant swine.’ She was overreacting…being an absolute bitch…but with emotions raw and new tearing at her heart she didn’t seem able to stop herself. Yet she knew it was her own sense of insecurity making her behave so unlike her usual calm self.

Nick jerked up, his lean face strong and taut, and for a split-second Liza saw a flash of raw fury in his dark eyes, and then his sensuous mouth curved in a faint smile.

‘A stickler for propriety, Liza, and this from a girl who had no qualms about rolling around with a man in the stable of this same house,’ he drawled sardonically.

All Liza’s confidence and any attempt at sexual sophistication shrivelled and died. She felt as if he had knifed her in the stomach, the pain was so intense she could not look at him. Nick had never changed his mind about her. He never would, and she had foolishly thought she could have a holiday romance.

Romance! What a joke. Sex with her was just a game to him. A game he wanted to win. The same as he won everything else he set out to achieve.

Nick saw the hurt in her eyes, before she turned her head away, and he immediately wished the mocking words unsaid. He remembered his anger at finding Liza in the arms of that boy, but he had no right to throw it back at her, and especially not when he was lying naked in bed with her. How crass was that? And totally out of character for him. For once in his life he was ashamed of himself. He admired women and prided himself on his courteous treatment of any woman he became involved with.

Was he going mad? No, it was Liza; she was driving him crazy. His usual cool control deserted him as soon as he got anywhere near her. Volatile emotions were not something he had ever suffered from and it was all her fault. His dark eyes swept over her near-naked figure and he almost groaned.

Pride and anger coming to the fore, Liza made herself look at him. ‘I was sixteen and foolish,’ she snapped, and for a second she thought he winced. No, not the mighty Nick, she told herself. ‘But I have matured and learnt better over the years.’ Head high, her eyes blazing, she added, ‘You obviously have not. You are still the arrogant, chauvinistic devil you always were. You still ride roughshod over any woman if it suits you.’ And with that she flung her legs over the edge of the bed.

There was no way Nick was letting her get away with that; his own anger rising, he grasped her around the waist and hauled her back against him. ‘Damn it, Liza.’ He fell back on the bed with a squirming Liza lashing out at him. He spun her around until she was spreadeagled on top of him. ‘Stop it, woman,’ he growled as her hands scratched his neck and, grasping a hank of her hair, he twisted it around his wrist and pulled her head down to claim her mouth with his. He was not letting her go until her temper cooled. So he kept her where he wanted her, until he felt the fight go out of her, and only then did he let her come up for air and end the kiss.

‘Call me all the names you like, Liza,’ he said roughly, planting a gentle kiss on her throat, ‘but you are wrong— I don’t override all women.’ And he kissed her again, sliding his hands down her spine and holding her close to his mighty body, his hard body… He tilted back her head, and saw the shimmer of sensual awareness she could not hide, and as he brought his hand slowly up her thigh he felt her tremble.

‘In fact I rather like a woman overriding me,’ he drawled throatily, and kissed her again. The next time he set her free and murmured, ‘Care to try it?’ Her hands were on his shoulders and his were around her thighs as he lowered her onto him.

Liza gasped out loud, her head thrown back, as he filled her so completely she thought she would faint with the pleasure. She moved with unconscious sensuality. She had never felt anything like it. Nick’s hands slid up her spine and urged her forward and he captured the peak of one perfectly shaped breast in his mouth, and her anger, her resentment no longer existed. Only the man sheathed deep inside her.

A long time later Nick chuckled, a deep, throaty sound. ‘I hate to tell you, sweetheart, but it is almost noon.’ He heard her choked gasp, and, dropping a light kiss on her swollen lips, he swung his legs off the bed and pulled on his robe.

‘Oh, my God!’ Mouth open in shock, Liza could do nothing when Nick bent down and caught her to him, and claimed a long kiss. Instinctively she splayed her palms on his broad chest, drowning in the incredible sweetness of the sensual but surprisingly tender kiss.

When he released her Nick saw the heated longing in her eyes. He knew perfectly well how he affected her. But he straightened up before he gave in to the temptation to join her in the bed again.

‘Don’t worry, there is no hurry, Liza. Lunch is about one and I’ll meet you downstairs.’ He noted the high colour in her lovely face. ‘And don’t be embarrassed. You are a very welcome guest in this house, a family friend, and I promise you will enjoy your stay.’

The kiss, the endearment and his attempt at reassurance warmed Liza’s heart, and, as she relaxed slightly, her full lips curved in a smile. ‘You’d better or I might request a refund.’

His stunning dark eyes glinted devilishly down at her. ‘A refund—no… A replay—yes.’ And he headed for the door, leaving her to interpret that as she wished.

Half an hour later Liza stood and surveyed her reflection in the cheval glass. She had swept her hair back, and knotted a white silk scarf around it. A touch of lipstick and a moisturiser for her skin was all the make-up she needed. She had opted to wear a crisp white shirt and navy trousers, a matching leather belt accentuated her narrow waist and on her feet she wore soft hide pumps. Yes, she would do… She was a bit early but she could not wait to see Nick again. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she was not dreaming. Niculoso Menendez was her lover and she felt like shouting it to the heavens.

Instead she made her way along the hall towards the kitchen. Anna Menendez had usually kept lunch a pretty flexible affair, and she doubted anything would have changed. Five minutes later Manuel was showing her into the dining room, and she saw to her surprise there were several other guests there.

She hesitated just inside the door, suddenly overcome by nerves. She couldn’t see Nick anywhere. She scanned the room again and almost turned and ran when she realised he wasn’t there, and the other guests were all expensively attired, the men in suits and the women in designer clothes.

When she was a child visiting in the height of summer, lunch had been a casual affair and always eaten alfresco. Her own common sense should have told her in the middle of winter the dining room was a more likely venue. Except she had no common sense around Nick, and in her haste to meet up with him again she hadn’t thought. But Nick could have warned her. With all these people he must have known lunch was going to be a formal affair.

She saw Señora Menendez, and when she had recovered her poise sufficiently Liza made her way towards her. After all, she was here at the lady’s invitation. A family friend, as Nick had said. No one knew they were lovers, and if she found the thought vaguely disturbing she hid it from the woman she was approaching.

Liza had always liked Nick’s mother, a small, dark, very pretty woman, rather like Audrey Hepburn she had always thought. Today Anna Menendez was wearing what was obviously a Chanel suit. The other guests consisted of two elderly couples whom Liza had never seen before, and two young couples.

She felt rather underdressed and she could kill Nick for not telling her what to expect, and leaving her alone to face strangers. But with instant death to Nick, her nemesis, not an option…Liza straightened her shoulders and with all the poise she could muster she said, ‘Hello, Anna.’

‘Liza, how wonderful to see you again, it has been far too long.’ And suddenly Liza was being kissed on both cheeks and enveloped in a cloud of very expensive French perfume. For the next ten minutes she was subjected to a flurry of questions about her own mother and her work, and finally another invitation.

‘Your mother is coming at the end of March for Easter. We have not seen each other since she married again, but apparently Jeff has agreed to look after the business, so I am really looking forward to her stay,’ Anna told her. ‘You must come with her, we can have a real girlie break, shopping and gossiping. You must not be a stranger again. I was really angry with Niculoso for taking off to Lanzarote yesterday when he had promised faithfully to be in Granada for his Uncle Thomas’s celebration. But I totally forgive him because he found you.’ And, lifting a small, elegant hand, she patted Liza’s cheek.

‘It is great to be here. And I am sorry to hear you have been unwell,’ and, studying the older woman’s face, Liza was struck by the fact Anna looked positively blooming, her dark eyes, so like her son’s, were clear and twinkling merrily.

Anna gave her a most peculiar look. ‘Did Nick tell you that?’

‘Well, not exactly,’ Liza had to amend honestly when she thought about what Nick had actually said last night. But he had known perfectly well Liza had jumped to the conclusion his mother was ill, and played on her sympathetic nature. ‘He said you had been a bit down, but you look great.’

‘Oh, he probably meant the small chest infection I had a couple of weeks ago, but I am fine now, never better. But you know what men are, always exaggerating. Yesterday he left me a note saying he had to attend an emergency meeting with Carl Dalk and took off in the jet to Lanzarote. I doubt if it was really that vital and I expected Nick to bring Carl back with him. But instead he brought you, dear, for which I am very grateful. You didn’t happen to meet Carl, did you?’

Liza shook her head. ‘No.’ Her smooth brow creased in a puzzled frown at Anna’s revelation.

‘Maybe that’s just as well. He is very handsome and very wealthy, but what those two get up to together is anybody’s guess. I know Carl still encourages Nick in the extreme sports, long after the pair of them should have given up such things.’ She shook her dark head. ‘Still, it is lovely to have you here, and you will come back with your mother?’

Liza smiled down at Anna, feeling slightly better. ‘It is great to be here,’ she responded. ‘As for March, I will try.’ But as she said it she knew she would not. Her affair, if that was what it was, with Nick was for a limited period, and she would probably never see Anna again after this.

In fact, the more she thought about it away from Nick’s disturbing presence, the more her suspicions were aroused. She was beginning to wonder why Nick had been so eager for her to come to Spain with him for the party. Was it just her sex appeal, as he said? Hardly likely, she thought ruefully, because she’d never thought she had much. Plus Nick’s story to his mother about an urgent meeting in Lanzarote with this Carl chap didn’t ring true. Nick had spent almost the whole day and the evening with her. He could hardly have meant the two-minute visit to the building site…could he…?

‘Is Carl Dalk in the construction industry?’ Liza asked Anna.

‘No.’ Anna grinned, and stretched out an arm to show Liza a brilliant diamond bracelet. ‘This is Carl’s business, diamonds, but I get the impression from Nick all is not—’

Nick walked up behind Liza just in time to hear Carl’s name mentioned.

‘Ah, Mamma. You have met Liza,’ he interrupted quickly, cutting out whatever his mother was going to say. ‘Now, I want to steal her away from you for a moment to introduce her to Uncle Thomas.’

Liza tensed as his large hand curved around her upper arm in a firm grip. Nice of him to arrive at last, but what had got into him, interrupting the conversation like that? She shot him a puzzled sidelong glance, her resentment rising when she realised he was dressed in a perfectly tailored silver-grey suit, white shirt and silk tie. He looked magnificent and his assured masculinity took her breath away, but when her gaze reached his darkly handsome face she saw he was smiling but the humour didn’t reach his eyes; instead his dark gaze was veiled, masking all expression.

Anna Menendez, at the age of sixty, was nobody’s fool. ‘You do that.’ Her small head swivelled between the tall, beautiful girl and her huge son. The tension between the two was palpable and she knew her only son too well not to realise he was up to something. If it was what she thought it was she could not be more pleased, but at thirty-five Niculoso was very set in his ways. He had the same charm and charisma as her late husband—more, in fact. But he also had an arrogant, cynical edge where women were concerned that his father, as a happily married man, had never suffered from. ‘But I will speak to you later, Niculoso.’

Two pairs of identical dark eyes clashed, and Nick was the first to look away.

Seeing the look between mother and son, Liza knew something was going on here she did not understand. ‘Wait a minute,’ she began, turning a frowning gaze on Nick. ‘I—’

‘Later,’ Nick said smoothly, tightening his grip on Liza’s arm. ‘My uncle is dying to meet you.’ And he propelled her across the room in front of him. She looked stunning, and her behind in those trousers was doing wicked things to his libido.

Nick could not believe it! He had never known a woman in his life take so little time to get dressed, and he had known plenty. It was barely an hour ago when he had left Liza in bed, for heaven’s sake! It never entered his head she would get to his mother before he did. Heaven knew what his mother had said. But he had a damn good idea he was going to find out, and not just from Liza, but from his mother as well. Not something he was looking forward to. He doubted the man was ever born who could hide anything successfully from his own mother.

Standing at Nick’s side, Liza silently fumed, His uncle was dying to meet her? Since when? she wondered acidly. She didn’t believe it for a minute. Then, running over the conversation with Anna, she suddenly stiffened, shooting Nick an angry glance. ‘You…’ She tried to pull her arm free. He had not wanted her talking to his mother, that much was obvious.

‘I said later,’ Nick growled between gritted teeth, and then in a complete turn-about, charm oozing from every pore, ‘Uncle Thomas,’ he addressed the small man in front of them, ‘I want you to meet Liza; she is the daughter of Pamela Summers, Mamma’s English friend.’

In a flurry of introductions Liza met Thomas’s wife, Ellen, her brother, Paulo, and his wife, and discovered the two young couples were not couples at all, but the sons and daughters of Thomas and Paulo; she caught the name Marco…he looked vaguely familiar, but the rest of the names were lost.

In the general conversation that followed Liza realised Thomas and Ellen were celebrating their golden wedding. Last night there’d been a dinner at their home in Granada. The dinner Nick had missed… Today a family lunch with Anna and tonight Anna was hosting a party for all their friends and relatives.

‘I want to talk to you,’ Liza muttered in a swift aside to Nick as with a hand at her back he led her to her seat at the exquisitely prepared dining table. ‘This is a family lunch and I feel terrible, an interloper…’

But the hand Nick had at her spine slipped around her slender waist, and halted them both. He stared down at her with intent black eyes. ‘You are not an interloper. I told you before, you’re a welcome guest.’

‘So you say,’ she muttered, ‘but you could have told me…I’m not dressed.’

Nick shrugged a wide shoulder. ‘You look pretty well-covered to me,’ he drawled sardonically.

‘That is not the point,’ she snapped crossly, but before she could get another word out Nick had pulled out a chair and, with his hand on her shoulder, urged her down onto it.

His dark head bent towards hers, and he said with sibilant softness, ‘Behave yourself, Liza…nothing must spoil Thomas’s day.’

Trust him to think only of the man in the celebration and not Ellen, the wife, the chauvinistic pig… ‘What about…?’ His long fingers dug into her shoulder in a none-too-subtle threat.

‘Not now, Liza.’ His look flashed her a warning that she could not fail to recognise. ‘Later,’ he commanded and sat down on the chair next to her, his hand slipping from her shoulder to land on her thigh beneath the cover of the tablecloth.

Liza tensed in shock at his boldness and her own instant reaction to the long finger that caressed her inner thigh. She knocked his hand away, and glanced warily around, and only then did Liza realise the rest of the company had fallen silent and were watching her and Nick with varying degrees of interest. She wanted to slide under the table with embarrassment.

Surprisingly the lunch was not as bad as Liza had feared; the food was superb, and she might have quite enjoyed the spirited and lively conversation that ensued, except she could not dismiss from her mind the growing suspicion that somehow Nick’s reason for bringing her to Spain was not just because of his mother and the instant attraction between them, as she had believed.

Even admitting it had been pure coincidence that Anna had called while Liza was with Nick last night, Nick had deliberately mentioned her presence, knowing his mother would do what she had done and invite her to stay.

Liza had the nasty feeling she was somehow Nick’s second choice. His mother had thought he was meeting a Carl Dalk and bringing him back to the party. But Liza couldn’t see when Nick had had the time to meet this Dalk chap. Nick had told her he had just come from the airport and then he had spent virtually the whole day with her. Surely in the normal course of conversation he would have mentioned an urgent meeting; instead they had visited a building site for a few minutes. Maybe the two men had had some dangerous, illegal stunt in mind, like bunjee jumping into a volcanic crater in the Timanfaya National Park. According to Anna they were partners in such escapades, and then perhaps Carl Dalk had not turned up.

‘More wine, Liza?’

Liza looked up with a start, her blue eyes searching his handsome face; his expression was bland, his dark eyes revealing nothing. ‘No, thank you,’ she said firmly, recognising Nick was very good at hiding his feelings. But how much more was he hiding…?

He had been very insistent she come to the party. He had not actually lied and said his mother was ill, but he knew she had thought that was what he meant. She needed to talk to him, and she needed some answers; something smelt fishy, and it wasn’t the steak on her plate. But before she could pursue the subject Uncle Thomas asked her why a lovely girl like her was not married. Which caused great gales of laughter and a sardonic glance from Nick.

‘Because I have never found a man that suits me,’ she said with a grin. ‘Until I met you, Thomas, but unfortunately you’re taken,’ and banished her suspicions to the back of her mind in the laughter that followed.

The wine flowed freely, and when the older couples started reminiscing about the distant past, long before the rest were born, Anna suggested Nick take Liza and his cousins outside and show them his latest addition to the stables, a particularly fine racehorse.

Nick was standing, his hand on the halter of the magnificent black stallion, and smiling with obvious pride of ownership as he stroked the sleek, glossy neck. Everyone enthused over the animal.

Man and beast looked magnificent, Liza acknowledged. Two of a kind, superb male specimens. Nick looked so breathtakingly good-looking, devastatingly cool and in control of the animal. Choking back the sudden swell of emotion just watching him caused, she tore her gaze away, suddenly afraid he had been controlling her with the same accomplished ease.

She glanced around and a split-second later the colour drained from her face and involuntarily she shivered as she realised exactly where she was. The horse was in the one stall she had never wanted to see again.

Liza lifted appalled eyes just as Nick glanced in her direction, and the brilliant smile on his lean, strong face vanished as their eyes met, his expression suddenly harsh, and all her suspicions resurfaced with a vengeance.

Spinning around, Liza dashed back out of the stable, and for a moment leant against the wall, taking deep, steadying breaths, hating herself for panicking in front of everyone. It seemed in Nick’s company she could not help but regress into the besotted child she had once been, and it had to stop. Straightening up, she set off across the cobbled courtyard towards the house. To hell with Nick and his horses, she had had enough of both for the moment.

Nick handed the halter to Marco. ‘You four have a look around. I need to check on something,’ he said before he followed Liza out.

Liza had only gone a dozen yards when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and hauled her hard against a taut male body.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Nick demanded roughly.

‘Anywhere away from you,’ she shot back defiantly. She had made an enormous mistake. Nick did not need to say anything; it had been there in his face as he had glanced at her. He still thought she was no better than the slut he had accused her of being years ago, and she had compounded the notion by freely coming to Spain with him and succumbing with wild abandonment to his lovemaking. Whatever his reason for wanting her here, she was pretty sure it was not just his stated desire to sleep with her. He could have any woman he wanted, after all.

Nick hauled her around in one powerful arm and marched her towards the back of the house without a word.

‘Let go of me, you great brute,’ Liza cried, trying to break free.

‘No.’ His dark eyes without a glimmer of expression rested for a moment on her flushed, defiant face. ‘It was insensitive of me, I know, but save the recriminations until we get back to the house,’ he advised hardly.

‘Why the hell should I?’ Liza was hurting and suspicious and furious with herself for being such a push-over.

A black brow lifted sardonically. ‘Because this is a celebration, remember, fifty years married, and you are not going to cause a scene. Though how any man could stand a woman for fifty years is beyond me,’ he bit out cynically.

Hectic colour tinged her face. ‘Me, cause a scene. Your poor mother—’

‘Enough,’ Nick exploded. He was not used to having his actions questioned by anyone, and certainly not by a slip of a girl. Acting on impulse, he swung her off her feet and carried her through the kitchen, oblivious to the astonished looks of Manuel and the staff, and didn’t stop until he reached her room, and flung her on the bed.

‘Right, Liza, let’s have it,’ he demanded roughly.

For a stunned moment Liza thought he was referring to sex. Her face paled, and then a swift tide of red suffused her cheeks. ‘Why, you—’

‘My, but you do have a one-track mind…’ Nick drawled mockingly, the knowing light in his deep brown eyes telling her he had read her mind.

‘Hardly surprising around the Spanish Stud,’ she flung back.

‘Ah, Liza,’ he glanced down at her, viewing her angry expression with an indulgent smile, ‘you should not believe everything you read in the gossip columns.’ He grinned smugly. ‘Though I didn’t hear you complaining this morning—quite the contrary.’

His impregnable confidence in his masculine prowess made her temper rise to boiling point, and, leaping off the bed, she marched up to him.

‘I am glad you think it is funny.’ She poked him in the chest with a finger. ‘You conniving bas—’ Her wrist was caught in an iron grip and the insults stuck in her throat.

‘No one talks to me like that.’ Nick’s hard jawline clenched and glittering black eyes scanned her angry face. ‘Especially not a woman of your kind,’ he told her icily.

‘My kind?’ Liza repeated, a terrible coldness taking the place of her anger that he could be so callous.

‘You know what I mean, Liza. I was not your first lover and I certainly won’t be your last, though if your overreaction is anything to go by your past lovers must have been pretty ineffectual. You were as up for it as I was from the moment we met again. Why the outrage now?’ he demanded with a cruelty she would not have thought him capable of. ‘Simply because you found yourself in a stable that held a memory of a past indiscretion?’

Colour tinged her cheeks; she did not need to be reminded of her helpless surrender to his sexual expertise, and certainly not of her juvenile reaction to him years ago. ‘That is a filthy thing to say…but about what I would expect from a man of your morals.’ And, blue eyes flashing flames, she stared furiously up into Nick’s face. ‘But this isn’t about sex,’ she said, fighting to retain her temper. ‘There is something going on here that I don’t understand. Who the hell is Carl Dalk? Your mother thought you had an urgent meeting with him yesterday, and I can’t believe you would lie to your own mother but you told me you had just come from the airport when we met, and you spent the whole day with me. I am not conceited enough to think a man like you would dump an emergency meeting for me.’ Once Liza started listing her suspicions she could not stop. ‘Your mother thought this Carl chap was coming back with you.’ She fixed angry, assessing eyes on his hard face. ‘And another thing, last night you let me think your mum was ill, and yet when I met your mum she said she has never felt better in her life. Don’t take me for a fool, Nick.’

Nick absorbed her flushed and angry face with arrogant detachment. He had known it was coming but he had hoped to divert her. Liza’s mention of Carl was a little too close for comfort. Narrowed dark eyes met brilliant blue and he was impressed—not many people stood up to him or even tried. He supposed he should be flattered that at least Liza did not want to think him capable of lying to his own mother, but what to tell her?

‘Watch it, Liza, your paranoia is showing,’ he tried to tease, but she met his attempt at humour with an elegantly elevated brow. She was an intelligent woman and wanted answers, Nick recognised, and humour wasn’t going to do it for her.

‘Just answer the question,’ Liza demanded.

‘Carl Dalk is an old friend of mine and, contrary to what you assumed, I did speak with him yesterday afternoon, after I left you at your hotel.’

‘Oh.’ Liza supposed that was possible, but it didn’t strike her as very urgent if he could wait all day to meet the man. ‘Not that much of an emergency, then,’ she prompted defensively, beginning to wonder if maybe he was right and she was being paranoid…

‘My, my, Liza, you do have a suspicious mind in that very lovely body. As for Mamma, I told you she was feeling down.’ He shrugged a shoulder. ‘You drew your own conclusion.’

‘And you let me!’ Liza exclaimed, amazed at the sheer gall of the man. ‘You dragged me a thousand miles to sle…to Spain…’ She stuttered to a stop, having almost said to sleep with me and stared at him, scanning his strong dark features, the devastating face, looking for some guilt… She found none. Instead to her shame her anger faded beneath the mesmerising effect of his powerful presence. She shook her head; she didn’t understand. ‘Why?’

‘First, I don’t recall any force involved. You accepted my mother’s invitation, before I told you she had been ill. I just helped reinforce your decision when, like a typical woman, you looked like changing your mind,’ Nick contradicted silkily as two strong hands curved around her shoulders. ‘As to the why—because I wanted you; it is that simple.’ His dark head lowered, his lips feathering across hers, and she trembled as the pressure of his kiss deepened, the hard heat of his mouth burning on her own.

‘No,’ Liza groaned in denial, but couldn’t prevent the familiar heat igniting in her traitorous body.

Nick stifled a groan of pent-up desire and ended the kiss. He could not tell her the whole truth, not if he wanted to keep her safe and in his bed, and suddenly he discovered keeping her in his bed was becoming of vital importance to him. The enormity of the thought shocked him.

Defence mechanisms clicking in, Nick stilled then eased away slightly. ‘OK.’ Her head was thrown back, her eyes were closed and her cheeks were hot with colour. He couldn’t resist so he nuzzled the elegant line of her throat, heard her soft moan and sensed her fluctuating inclinations as expertly as he read the stock market.

When he finally lifted his head he saw her eyes open and the flicker of disappointment in their depths she was unable to hide. His smile was a battle between contrition and triumph. He was still in control. ‘Be honest, Liza, you know the sexual chemistry between us is too powerful to ignore,’ he prompted with total conviction.

The chemistry she could not deny, and did not try to. ‘But why did you want me to speak to your mother in the first place?’ she asked shakily, feeling her way through a minefield of conflicting emotions. He implied it was because he wanted her… She should be flattered…but something still niggled. He was an experienced man, and her own innate honesty forced her to admit she would have gone to bed with him anywhere, and he had to know that. ‘We could have stayed in Lanzarote,’ with no family and friends to bother them, she thought, but didn’t say it.

Nick slipped a hand around the nape of her neck; as she felt his fingers lacing through her hair and trying to ignore the racing of her pulse and the heat curling through her at his closeness, she repeated, ‘Why?’

‘Simple expedience, Liza.’ His dark gaze held hers with a narrow-eyed intensity that tore at her fragile control. ‘I had to return to Spain, because my mother and I are the hosts of this party tonight.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Liza murmured. She had forgotten that and felt a fool.

‘Yes, Liza.’ And he tilted her head towards his. ‘And, having just found you, I could not bear to let you go.’

Fantastic as it sounded, Liza wanted to believe him, she wanted Nick to feel just a fraction of what she felt for him, and she told herself his explanation was reasonable. But, held close to his hard body with one arm around her waist and with his other hand in her hair, she had a suspicion he could have told her black was white and she would have believed him. The raw sexuality he exuded was an almost tangible force that enveloped her practically to the exclusion of everything else. But not quite…

‘You could have just asked me.’ Liza stated the obvious, while unable to restrain a thrill of pleasure that a man like Nick might actually want her so desperately.

‘And you would have agreed to take off to another country with me for a party. Just like that?’ Nick stated with a sardonic lift of one black brow. ‘Don’t forget I remember you of old, Liza, and did not fancy getting my face slapped for my cheek.’

‘No, probably not,’ she conceded.

‘So I am forgiven, and that is our first fight over and forgotten and we can get back to more satisfying pursuits,’ he declared huskily.

No asking forgiveness, just declaring it—how like Nick, she thought dazedly as he asserted his masculine power in a wordless possessive look that ripped through the last of her defences. ‘You’re impossible,’ Liza said, her lips parting in a wry smile. ‘Your arrogant conceit never ceases to amaze me.’ But the soft glow in her expression took the sting from her words.

His dark head bent and his hand in her hair tightened, tilting her face up to his, and he brought his mouth gently down on hers. ‘Ah, but admit it, Liza. You would not have me any other way.’ He mouthed the words against her lips and then stopped her outraged gasp by the seductive invasion of his tongue.

Later she might regret it, but with pulses pounding, and the familiar ache of desire coursing through her body, her hands stroked up and over his broad shoulders, and quite simply clung…

Nick’s mouth lifted from hers, his deep brown eyes darkening with passion. ‘I would continue,’ he murmured throatily, ‘but I think I have embarrassed you enough for one day carrying you up here,’ he said ruefully, studying her beautiful, flushed face. ‘Being late for Mamma’s party would really feed the gossip mill.’

‘You’re right.’ Liza sighed her agreement.

‘I always am,’ Nick stated outrageously, and he kissed her again. The passion of his kiss was so overwhelming that she could not immediately pull herself together when he raised his head and stepped back. ‘And, before you ask, the party is formal, and I will be back here to escort you at seven.’

‘I’ll have to find something to wear,’ she blurted, grateful for something normal to focus on when Nick made pea soup of her usually astute deductive powers.

‘You do that.’ And, swooping down, he brushed her mouth with his again. ‘But I much prefer you naked.’ And left.

CHAPTER SEVEN

STANDING under the soothing spray of the shower, Liza tried to make some sense of the past two days. She had woken up in her hotel yesterday morning expecting to attend a seminar for the next two weeks with her boss. Now she was in Spain, having spent a crazy, fantasy few hours of passion with Nick Menendez, and if she was not very careful she was in danger of falling in love with him all over again.

The thought stopped her cold. No, she could not love him…must not, but she had a sinking feeling it might already be too late. What on earth had possessed her to believe she could have a holiday romance and walk away unscathed from a man like Nick? She supposed it was a compliment that he wanted her so badly and, knowing he had to return to Spain, he had got his mother to invite her. But how long would he desire her, and could she survive the ending of what was only a lustful affair to Nick?

Usually she was the sanest, most conservative of women. So what had happened to her? Nick had happened to her…

Turning off the shower, she stepped out and, wrapping a bath sheet around her body, she padded into the bedroom. Ten minutes later, dried and wearing only white lace briefs, she sat in front of the dressing-table mirror drying her hair, a dreamy smile playing around her lips as she reran in her mind the fantastic coincidence of meeting Nick again. She remembered every moment, every touch, every word…

When suddenly she realised just what had been nagging at the back of her mind since last night. When she had met Nick yesterday morning he had taken a great deal of interest in her job. She had told him she worked for Stubbs and Company and she was in Lanzarote with her boss for a conference and all about her unexpected break. But she was sure she’d never mentioned Henry Brown by name.

Yet last night over dinner when Nick had been teasing her about being a lap dancer and suggested she might have a high-powered lover, she had responded that that was classified information.

But then Nick had said he had heard her boss Henry Brown was nowhere near as discerning about his love life and he knew Brown was married.

Thinking about it now, she recalled a brief moment when something had struck her as odd, but she had been so busy trying to act the sophisticate and hold up her side of the conversation she had banished it to the back of her mind. But the more she thought about it, she was absolutely certain she had not mentioned Brown by name earlier in the day. Plus, how had Nick known she was sharing a suite with her boss? For a man who ran a huge international corporation it was odd Nick seemed to know an awful lot about a small company like Stubbs and Company, and had even asked more. As her imagination took flight, industrial espionage sprang to mind…

Later still, wearing the dress she had packed originally to wear at the gala to end the seminar, she studied her finished image in the long mirror. With her long hair swept back into a French pleat, ending in a loose tumble of hair on the top of her head, and the careful application of eye-shadow and mascara and her lips outlined in a dusky-rose lip gloss, she looked cool and poised. But she was nowhere near as cool inside; she could not banish her suspicion of Nick’s motive from her mind.

Sighing, she turned away from the mirror, and slipped her feet into three-inch-heeled silver sandals that matched the silver strapless dress she was wearing. Maybe Nick was right and she was paranoid? She straightened up, and adjusted the chain of the diamond crucifix at her throat. She looked good, she was attractive, so why was she plagued with insecurities? Maybe that was what love did to one?

No, she was not in love, Liza told herself; she needed to get a grip. So far she had allowed Nick to call all the shots and it had to stop. She wanted some straight answers to some straight questions from the man. If they were not forthcoming then she was going to leave tomorrow. If Nick was telling the truth and he really had a great desire for her, he would follow her, and if he didn’t then better to know now before she got in too deep.

The door flung open, and Nick walked into the room. ‘Dios, Liza.’ He stopped, his dark eyes roaming over her from the cool beauty of her face and lower to where the silver strapless gown revealed the gentle swell of her breasts, then lovingly clung to every perfect inch of her to end mid-thigh. She had legs to die for… ‘You look incredible.’ She reminded him of some fabled Valkyrie, a Norse goddess, and he felt the most inexplicable pain in his chest.

‘Have you ever heard of knocking?’ Liza smiled but stepped back as he walked towards her, an unmistakable gleam in his eyes.

‘We are way past that stage.’ Nick’s glance slanted meaningfully at the bed, and back to roam slowly over her once again.

‘You maybe, but not me,’ Liza said firmly. But her pulse was racing at the sight of him. In a formal dinner suit he was devastating.

‘Am I missing something here?’ Nick asked drily, and caught her hand, bringing it up towards his chest. ‘I thought we were past playing games, but if you insist on formality…’ He bowed his dark head and kissed her hand.

Her fingers curled against the tingling sensations shooting up her arm, and when he lifted his head she saw the desire tinged with anger in the depths of his dark eyes.

‘Not formality,’ she countered steadily, ‘but good manners never come amiss. And I told you last night I am not sleeping with you when your mother is at home, and this time I mean it.’ Her blue eyes clashed with his. He was watching her intently, a curious expression on his starkly handsome face.

What on earth was she doing lecturing Nick Menendez on manners? She grimaced at the thought. ‘I’ll forgive you this time, Nick.’ She opted to tease. ‘Now, where is the party?’

‘I know where I would like it to be,’ he drawled mockingly with another glance at the bed, ‘but it seems that is not an option.’ And tightening his hold on her hand, he added, ‘anyway, duty calls. But, be warned, we are leaving at midnight for a drive if that is the only way to get you alone.’ And to illustrate his point he bent his arrogant dark head, and ran his tongue along the curve of her breasts above the bodice of the dress.

Instant excitement lanced through her body. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she jerked back.

‘Please, Liza, no innocent outrage, we both know it is a lie,’ Nick drawled cynically, staring down into her brilliant blue eyes. She was stunningly beautiful, and incredibly sexy, but he was a lot older and a lot smarter than he was when he had hungered after her in a stable all those years ago. Life had taught him that women were devious creatures, and this one was probably more treacherous than most. Two hours ago he had left Liza eager and wanting, but something had changed, and why the hell he was trying to protect her he did not know.

‘Come on,’ he said flatly, ‘we’ll be late,’ and with her hand still in his he pulled her out of the bedroom.

Nick had just spent a painful half-hour being lectured by his own mother on his relationships with women; he did not need any more hassle from the fairer sex, though he was beginning to think there was nothing fair about them.

His mother had told him quite frankly she knew perfectly well he used women for his own gratification with no thought of commitment. But if he had any idea of treating the lovely Liza in the same way he could forget it.

If any other person talked to him as his mother had done he would have felled them. But she was his mother so he had contained his temper, though it had been a near thing when she had caustically informed him that she was certain the reason Liza had stayed away since she was sixteen had to be because Nick had made a pass at the girl and terrified her, and he was not to repeat the mistake. Liza was a good girl.

He’d almost lost it then and told his mother the truth. Good in bed, yes! But as for the rest… The injustice of it still made him see red.

Tightening his grip on Liza’s arm, he hurried her through the long corridors to the main part of the house. Dark eyes hard, he glanced at her exquisite profile; he was trying to save the woman from almost certain arrest, but to hear his mother talking he was one stop short of a sex maniac.

But, even worse for a man who prided himself on being in control, he knew he was on very shaky ground. Plus, if he took Liza at her word, his sex life was down the drain as long as they stayed here.

What a dilemma. He was between a rock and a hard place and he did not like it. Damn it to hell! He was much too wily and jaded a male to fall for typical feminine ploys, and rescuing damsels in distress had gone out in the last century with the advance of feminism. So what had possessed him to act like a misguided knight to save Liza? He had no answer, or not one he was prepared to admit to. But he had discovered it was not easy trying to act the white knight, especially when he was thinking below his waist most of the time, and that was Liza’s fault as well.

Liza was quietly fuming. ‘Wait a minute, Nick.’ He had almost dragged her through the house without giving her time to catch her breath, but now they could hear the music playing and they had almost reached the entrance to the huge salon.

‘Before we go any further,’ Liza stopped and that got his attention, his dark eyes glancing impatiently down at her, ‘I want to know how you knew the name of my boss Henry Brown. I never told you but you mentioned him first at dinner last night, and also how did you know I was sharing a suite with him?’

So she had finally noticed the one real slip he’d made. He wasn’t surprised; she was an intelligent girl. ‘You have a very low opinion of your own attraction if you have to keep searching for a reason to be with me, other than sex,’ he said bluntly. ‘And a very fertile imagination, Liza; a bit of business espionage, something like that on your mind, hmm?’ And tightening his grip on her wrist, he added, ‘I don’t usually explain my actions to a woman, but I will make an exception in your case. It is quite simple; when I arrived at your hotel last night I asked for you at Reception. The girl there was very chatty,’ Nick opined hardly. ‘She told me you were sharing a suite with a Henry Brown.’

His crack about a low opinion of herself and sex hit a nerve, but it did not stop her questioning his response. Was a receptionist supposed to give out that kind of information? Liza didn’t think so. But then, remembering her first sight of Nick in the hotel, leaning on the desk laughing with the girl, and her own jealous reaction, she had to accept his answer was perfectly feasible. Nick could charm anything out of any woman, she thought drily, and felt stupid for asking. ‘Do you mind? You’re hurting me,’ she snapped.

‘Not at all.’ He dropped her wrist as if it was something unpleasant. ‘It would never do for us to be seen holding hands, family friend and all that,’ he mocked.

‘Señor.’ Manuel appeared at Nick’s side, and said something softly in Spanish.

Nick placed a hand at the base of Liza’s spine. ‘Go on in—I have to take a call.’ And he was gone before she could protest, disappearing into what she knew was the study. Liza stood for a moment, her eyes on the closed door. Industrial espionage was a bit wild, but she was still not convinced that Nick didn’t have some agenda of his own, and it wasn’t just a helpless fascination for her body, she was sure.

A crowd of people entered the hall and reluctantly she gave up trying to fathom Nick and walked into the large salon. The party had already started and there had to be over a hundred people there.

A small dance floor had been laid at one end and a trio was playing lively Latino music. Liza glanced around but she hardly knew anyone.

Seeing a passing waiter balancing a tray, she gratefully accepted a glass of champagne and took a good swallow, cursing Nick under her breath for deserting her, but at the same time realising it was inevitable. He had passed her off as a friend of the family, and that was how she must stay. Deviousness was not in her nature, but Nick was a master at it. He had dismissed her honest question as not important and sadly she realised it was not important to him, because she was not important to him. He didn’t actually care how she felt as long as he got what he wanted.

Liza could not tolerate deceit of any kind, and unfortunately, Liza realised, drawing on the harsh lesson she had learned nine years ago, wanting someone was not enough. Respect and trust had to be part of the equation, not to mention love. Better to nip the affair in the bud now, before Nick actually broke her heart. Her decision was made; she was definitely going to leave in the morning.

She only had to get through tonight. Draining her glass, she placed it on a convenient table and, straightening her shoulders, she lifted her head and looked around.

Nick leaned against his desk in the study and listened in mounting anger as Carl filled him in on the latest developments.

The case had taken a nasty twist. Two men had beaten up Daidolas’s receptionist at the shop—probably the sailors the police were trying to find. They knew there had been a delivery and they wanted to know where Daidolas was; he owed them money or they would take diamonds. The terrified receptionist had revealed an English girl had delivered a parcel but she knew nothing about it, or where her boss was. The police had checked Liza’s hotel, and worse was to follow: somebody had called and asked to speak to Mr Brown’s PA, and the talkative girl on the desk, probably the same one Nick had spoken to the night before, had quite happily revealed Liza had left with a Señor Menendez, and that Liza’s luggage had been sent for a few hours later.

Nick cursed the downside of being a high-profile businessman as Carl informed him it was more than likely the two men knew Liza was in Spain with him and everyone had heard of the Menendez stud.

A few telephone calls later and Nick left his study, his handsome face hard and slightly grey beneath his tan. He had arranged for round-the-clock security on the estate, by his own men and the local police. But he was still not content. It was a big party, and with over a hundred guests anybody could have slipped onto the property in the bustle of arrivals. He wanted Liza out of here.

Liza placed her empty glass on a window ledge, and looked around the crowd of people. There was still no sign of Nick. Fortunately at that moment Thomas’s son, Marco, appeared at her side.

‘The lovely Liza, and alone. Can I have this dance?’ he asked with a grin.

She was relieved to see a friendly face, having been introduced to him at lunch. Marco was a young man in his twenties, very attractive and very aware of it; she had an inkling he was a bit of a flirt, but it was just what she needed.

‘Yes, thank you, Marco.’ And when he put his hand around her waist and led her through the crowd to the dance floor, she felt none of the tension Nick’s touch aroused in her.

‘You don’t remember me, do you?’

‘Should I?’ Liza grinned; he was a handsome young man.

‘I stayed here once when you were here. I was twelve and you were sixteen and I had the most enormous crush on you, but you only had eyes for one of the grooms.’

‘Oh, no.’ And she laughed it off with, ‘Was I that obvious?’

‘Only to me, probably.’ Marco grinned and spun her around.

Marco was a great dancer, and Liza was no slouch, and when the music ended she was naturally included in the group of his friends.

It was as she finished dancing with one of them over an hour later that she bumped into a hard male body. A strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back a few steps.

‘Enjoying yourself, Liza?’ Nick’s mocking drawl feathered across her cheek. ‘Giving the young men a treat, I see.’

Spinning around out of his arms, she took a step back, and looked up and froze at the derision in his angry black eyes. But, pride coming to the fore, she flashed him a brilliant smile that did not reach her eyes. ‘What did you expect, Nick? That I would stand at the side like a wallflower until you deigned to return?’ she drawled sarcastically. ‘Well, sorry, buster, but this is a party, and I intend to enjoy myself.’ Once she would have been quelled by his attitude. Now she was just furious.

‘Oh, I can see that.’ His firm lips twisted in a sneer. ‘The last boy you danced with had you hauled so close he was almost having sex with you. Not that I am surprised; you were sharing a suite with Henry Brown when I found you,’ he drawled derisively.

The music had stopped and the last sentence fell like a stone in the muted conversations around them.

Liza spared him a bitter smile, and, jerking around, she pushed her way blindly through the crowd of people, tears prickling at the backs of her eyes. As humiliating moments went, that was a corker, and she had to get out of here. Now…

‘Wait, Liza.’ A large male hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. ‘I’m sorry, I…’ But she never heard him, as with a violent shrug she dislodged Nick’s grip.

She was suddenly, furiously, magnificently angry at his undisguised contempt and his total humiliation of her. Why should she run away? He was the villain here. ‘What for—so you can slag me off some more?’ she prompted bitterly. ‘I don’t think so. You are a two-faced pig, you take what you want when you want it, and to hell with everyone else.’ And she glanced up, her lovely face tense with strain and anger. Violent black eyes clashed with hers, and she shivered, her mouth running dry. She had gone too far…

A dark tide of red washed up over his high cheekbones. ‘Are you through?’ Nick demanded between gritted teeth. ‘Trying to embarrass me in front of my whole family?’

Gathering what little will-power she had left, she plastered a smile on her face, and played the part of vamp he had obviously cast her in. She jutted her hip and put her hand on it, and, deliberately fluttering her long lashes up at him, she declared, ‘What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander…big boy,’ and then lifted her other hand and traced a slow path up his arm to rest on a hard bicep. ‘But don’t worry, I am out of here in the morning.’

Her mocking response set Nick back on his heels, and he had to fight down a twitch of reluctant amusement at her brave performance. He had never known such an infuriating bloody woman. Yet through the red haze of rage that had consumed him from the moment he saw her dancing with that handsome young man he suddenly realised she had given him the perfect solution to his problem…

‘Depend on it.’ He wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her hard against him, and, dropping his head so only she could hear—they had been enough of a floorshow for one evening—he added, ‘I’ll see you off the premises myself.’

He had a ski-chalet in the mountains above Granada. It was the perfect place to keep her safe. ‘I will even help you pack. But first you are going to dance with me, smile at me and try to behave like a lady for the rest of the evening. Understood?’

Her chin tilted fractionally. ‘Perfectly.’ And she bit her bottom lip hard to stop the sudden tremble. He could not have made it plainer what he thought of her. So what if it had been her suggestion to leave? In her heart of hearts she had not expected Nick to be quite so eager to see her go. He might have been overcome with lust last night and this morning but obviously he had very quickly had enough of her.

She held herself stiffly in his hold as they reached the dance floor. The music had changed to something slow, but she let her hands rest defensively on his strong arms as he urged her closer.

His dark head bent towards her and she felt his warm breath against her temple. ‘No one will believe we are old friends if you persist in dancing like a puppet with a scowl on your face that would make a child cry at ten paces,’ he mouthed against her skin and as he slipped lower his breath shivered over one earlobe.

Liza tried to resist the compelling power of his huge body, she stifled a sound in her throat, but it was no contest. In seconds she gave in and melted into the hard warmth of his embrace. They fitted together so well; one powerful thigh glided between her legs as he turned her slowly around the floor, and she was made shockingly aware of the strength of his arousal. She lifted startled eyes to his.

Nick saw the confusion in the darkening depths and for a moment she looked so young and acutely vulnerable. ‘I think we have danced enough.’ He loosened his hold on her slightly. ‘It is time we did our duty and circulated a little.’

Nick had decided he would go along with the scenario she had painted. It fitted in with his plans ideally. As for the ‘no sex in his mother’s house’, it would mean him keeping guard by the connecting door all night, rather than sharing her bed. But he could afford to wait with the prospect of sharing the ski-lodge with her tomorrow to look forward to.

Liza said nothing as Nick clasped her elbow and led her through the crowd, pausing here and there to speak to acquaintances, and with meticulous politeness introducing her as a friend of the family. She should have been pleased but instead she felt a deepening sense of dismay. That was compounded when they stopped to talk to Anna Menendez.

‘Lovely party,’ Liza said politely.

‘I am so glad you are enjoying yourself, Liza, but don’t let this son of mine monopolise you; there are some very handsome bachelors here tonight, and we can catch up on all the gossip tomorrow.’

‘Sorry to disappoint, Mamma.’ Nick wasn’t sorry at all; he needed his mother encouraging Liza to flirt like a hole in the head, he thought furiously, but none of his anger showed in the dark eyes that met his mother’s. ‘But Liza has to leave tomorrow; she has to attend a conference she can’t get out of. Isn’t that right, Liza?’ Nick demanded smoothly.

Liza took a deep breath, then released it slowly. She glanced at Nick; his dark eyes stared blandly back at her, with no sign of the incredible passion they had shared in the cold depths. He could not get rid of her fast enough. Forcing a smile to her face, Liza looked at Anna. ‘Yes. Nick is right; I’m sorry, Anna, but I do have to go.’

Just for once she would have liked to ruffle Nick’s colossal control and she added, ‘I promised Henry…’ and stopped, glancing back at Nick ‘…I mean, my boss…’ her smile was a masterpiece of confident sensuality ‘…that I would return in time to go home with him.’ She saw his dark eyes narrow, and felt his contempt right down to her bones, and she didn’t care.

‘Who is going where?’ a husky voice interrupted.

‘Sophia, darling.’ Nick’s delighted greeting knocked Liza’s veneer of confidence for six, and she was forced to watch as Sophia, his supposedly ex-fiancée, slipped her arm through his and lifted her face for his kiss. Nick enthusiastically obliged.

‘You remember Sophia, Liza.’ His dark eyes lifted and he pinned Liza with a hard, challenging look.

Jealousy fierce and primitive lanced through her, but she managed to force a smile for the other woman. ‘But of course. Hello, Sophia.’

‘Hi; I never thought I would see you here again.’ Sophia gave her a brief dismissive glance and then was whispering something coyly in Nick’s ear.

Nick threw his arrogant head back and laughed out loud, and Liza felt as if she had been knifed in the gut. Obviously Nick was still very close to his ex-fiancée, and Liza felt about two inches tall.

‘Excuse me,’ she said to Anna, and turned on her heel. In minutes she was swallowed up in the crowd, and when she bumped into Marco she welcomed his easy-going attitude.

Held in Marco’s arms as the band played a slow tune, she saw Nick dancing with Sophia. No, not dancing—glued together, they simply swayed to the music. Marco, catching the direction of her gaze, looked down at her. ‘I saw you dancing with Nick before and I thought you and he might be an item.’

‘Good heavens, no.’ Liza pinned a bright smile on her face. ‘We are old friends, nothing more.’

‘Ah, I should have guessed when Sophia arrived and Nick grabbed you, the most beautiful girl in the room, he was probably trying to make her jealous.’

Liza looked up into the guileless young face of Marco. ‘Why would Nick want to do that?’ she asked, her stomach churning with nervous dread. ‘I thought they broke up years ago.’

‘I’ll let you into a secret Anna told my mother, and she told me. Nick is not quite the womaniser he seems. Apparently Nick met the love of his life years ago, and he thought she was his, but they parted and he has carried a torch for the girl ever since. Well, it has to be Sophia; it is common knowledge she left him when she finished university and got a job as a translator at the EU in Brussels. I think she liked the idea of a rich fiancé while she was a poor student in Madrid.’

‘You think so?’ Liza managed to murmur.

‘Yes, she is a real career lady; no one has seen her at any family get-together since Nick’s father died a few years ago. But it was common knowledge she had accepted the invitation to this party.’

As the music stopped Marco, with a hand at her elbow, led her to the side, and, turning, he chuckled, looking over her shoulder.

‘I don’t think they have noticed the music has stopped and Sophia is clinging to him like Velcro now, so it looks like making her jealous has finally worked for old Nick. The next big party here could be the wedding. The pair of them are both getting on a bit.’

Slowly Liza turned back and looked across the dance floor, and sure enough Nick was standing with his arms around Sophia, and she was smiling up into his face as if he was the only man in the world.

‘Do you mind, Marco?’ Liza excused herself to go to the rest room, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. Hurt and anger raged in equal parts in her bruised and battered heart.

In a flash of blinding clarity she saw it all now. Her suspicions had been well-founded, but it had nothing to do with her wild idea of industrial espionage, and everything to do with the fact that Nick Menendez was an opportunist. He had bumped into Liza, and quite fancied her, and when his mother had called and reminded him to get back for the party he must have known he was going to see Sophia again, and saw an ideal way to make the love of his life jealous, and if he got a bit of sex on the side all the better. It was that basic.

Taking care to keep well away from Nick and Sophia, Liza finally found Anna and Thomas and his wife, and said her goodnights. Anna took her in her arms and kissed her. ‘I may not see you in the morning, Liza; my old bones won’t get out of bed so quickly any more. But please do try and come with your mother in March.’

The genuine affection in Anna’s smile made Liza want to cry all the more. But she managed to control the tears until she made her way back through the brightly lit hacienda. She gave Manuel a weak smile as she passed the entrance to the kitchen, and a few moments later she carefully locked her bedroom door behind her.

Kicking off her shoes, she threw herself down on the bed and only then did she allow the tears to fall. How could she have been so gullible as to believe Nick had wanted her so badly he had to whisk her away with him? He had wanted her for one reason only, the most basic of human emotions—to make Sophia jealous.

Liza turned over and buried her head in the pillow, great sobs racking her slender body. She had been right to be suspicious all along. He still saw her as a tramp, because he thought nothing of using her for sex, and that was the cruellest cut of all. Choking on a sob, she felt her heart tear with grief, and she gave in to a paroxysm of weeping. Until finally she lay pale and still, her throat hoarse, and stared with sightless eyes at the ceiling, all cried out.

A long time later she sat up, and pressed her knuckles against her red-rimmed, swollen eyes. She and Nick had only ever been a childish dream; she should have left it that way. Now he was her worst nightmare, and, slipping off the bed, she headed straight for the shower.

What kind of idiot was she? she asked herself bitterly as she stood beneath the pounding spray. She had compromised her ideals in the first place by deciding to enjoy a holiday romance. Some joke! A one-night stand was all that had been on offer. She should have known when he got her into bed as soon as the damn plane took off!

Nick Menendez was an arrogant, unfeeling devil. He had told her years ago he liked extreme sports for the instant thrill, and kept looking for harder and harder challenges because he was easily bored. She had been a prize idiot for falling for his charismatic charm, and with a new determination in her eyes she scrubbed at her skin, determined to wash any memory of the man from her body and her thoughts.

CHAPTER EIGHT

LIZA finally gave up trying to sleep when she heard the muffled chimes of the clock in the hall strike six. At eight she was ready to leave, with her bag packed, her long hair divided into two neat braids and wearing denim jeans with a red shirt and denim jacket—she was dressed for travelling.

With one last look around the blue interior, she unlocked the bedroom door and, suitcase in hand, she left. Unable to resist, she glanced at the door to Nick’s bedroom as she walked along the hall. It was wide open, and the bed was undisturbed. She closed her eyes briefly against the pain squeezing her heart, and quickly looked away.

Using her to make Sophia jealous had obviously worked for Nick, Liza thought bitterly. The hurt and humiliation were crushing, and she couldn’t get out of the place fast enough. She was going to get the first plane back to Lanzarote; at least there she would be alone for a while, and free to lick her wounds in the privacy of her hotel suite. She wished like hell she had never left it and she didn’t care if she had to sit all day at the airport; anything was better than staying here. She was angry at her own feeble-mindedness in wanting Nick. He had used her, and she despised the man…

With that thought in mind she marched into the kitchen and dumped her suitcase on the floor. Straightening up, she focused on Manuel busily preparing a coffee tray.

Manuel turned around. ‘Señorita Liza, I was just about to bring you coffee.’

‘Thank you, Manuel, but I am leaving as soon as possible. Would you please call me a taxi to take me to Malaga Airport?’ She walked past the kitchen table to where Manuel stood beside the preparation bench.

‘But I will have a coffee while I wait.’ Manuel filled a cup and handed it to her, and then stood hovering, as if he did not know what to do next. Spooning a big dollop of sugar in her cup—she needed the energy—Liza reminded him, ‘The taxi, please, Manuel; I am in a hurry.’

‘Yes, yes, of course.’ He moved to where the telephone was suspended on the wall. ‘For Malaga, you say.’ He looked back at her with a frown. ‘You are sure.’

‘Yes, Manuel.’

‘No, Manuel,’ a deep voice commanded, ‘a taxi will not be necessary. I will drive Liza into Malaga.’

Liza stiffened, anger and resentment simmering inside her along with a hollow feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with hunger. So much for Nick’s statement she was a welcome guest, she thought bitterly. He couldn’t wait to see her leave, probably frightened in case she told Sophia what a love-rat he was.

With slow deliberation Liza sipped her cup of coffee to the dregs. Now all she had to do was face the dregs of her relationship with Nick. Placing the cup carefully down on the bench, she composed her features into a bland, socially acceptable mask.

Taking a deep, calming breath, she turned around. ‘Good morning, Nick; that is very kind of you,’ she said with determined brightness. ‘But I would prefer a taxi.’

He was standing in the middle of the room, his magnificent body clad in black jeans and a white cashmere sweater, his legs slightly splayed and his thumbs tucked into the pockets of his trousers. He was all bristling male attitude, and the hard dark eyes that stared back at her held no hint of the intimacy they had shared, only a flash of irritation that she had declined his offer.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

Not only was she a slut but she was also ridiculous in his estimation. ‘Thank you for that.’ Her attempt at social politeness sank as the crushing weight of his betrayal sparked her anger. ‘But I was trying to be reasonable. I would not dream of putting you out in any way,’ she drawled sarcastically. She jerked her chin up, refusing to let him see how he had hurt her, and met his aloof gaze with stony eyes, at the same time thinking, what she would really like to do was knock the arrogant, deceitful devil out flat! But instead she added coolly, ‘I’m sure you have much more important things to do with your time.’ Sophia for one, she thought bitterly.

‘But I insist, Liza. I brought you here; it is only good manners I assist you to depart, and I know what a stickler you are for good manners.’

A cold hand closed around her heart as she searched his handsome face. She saw his strong jawline harden, and the arrogant cynicism in his expression that said clearer than words that it was over. Pride alone made her step forward.

‘In that case you won’t mind getting my luggage,’ she said with saccharine-sweetness and indicated her suitcase with a wave of her hand. ‘I am in a hurry.’

‘Not so great a hurry we can’t have breakfast first, surely,’ Nick prompted silkily. ‘What time is your flight?’

She noticed there was no offer of the private jet. Why was she not surprised? He probably knew damn fine she had not booked a flight, he was simply being his usual sarcastic, superior self. ‘I have no idea,’ she said airily. ‘I intend to wait on standby; the sooner I get back to Lanzarote the better.’

‘Well, if you’re sure I can’t tempt you,’ he drawled, the mockery in his eyes clear for Liza to see, ‘to eat…’ and scarlet colour stained her cheeks and she just knew the pig was laughing at her.

Five minutes later, seated in the passenger seat of a Land-Rover, Liza glanced at Nick as he started the motor. He was whistling! Whistling a catchy tune as if he had not a care in the world. But then, why would he? He was probably recalling his night in Sophia’s bed.

The anger and resentment that had sustained her from the moment he walked into the kitchen this morning gave way to a gut-wrenching pain as an image of Nick naked with Sophia filled her mind, touching the other woman, kissing as he had kissed her… Turning her head, she looked out of the window at the countryside flying by without even seeing it.

What kind of idiot had she been to imagine that Nick would have the slightest interest in her, other than a quick roll in the hay? Maybe not so quick! But not much more than a one-night stand nevertheless.

Nick had hurt her at sixteen, his scathing comments had cut deep into her psyche, and she had deliberately denied her own sexuality for years. She had finally woken up to the fact after her broken engagement. She had realised she had dated Bob because he was no sexual threat; it wasn’t surprising their one attempt at sex was a disaster, and she blamed herself for it. But the real blame lay with Nick, and, fool that she was, she had let him hurt her again almost a decade later. Was she never going to learn? He was Nick Menendez, a famously successful captain of industry, and an equally renowned womaniser.

In the sophisticated society he belonged to she had simply been a pleasant diversion for him, she realised bitterly. He had said he wanted her, but he did not trust or respect her, never had. Sex was all he wanted, to pass the time during a boring night flight, and until his long-time girlfriend turned up the next evening.

What on earth had she been thinking? Liza shook her head and slanted a glance at him with puzzled eyes, trying to fathom how one man could have so easily persuaded her to act so out of character. His handsome features were granite-hard and totally concentrated on the road ahead as he drove the Land-Rover way above the speed limit.

She had served her purpose, to make Sophia jealous and to provide a bit of casual sex on the side. She swallowed hard against the acid taste of shame that filled her mouth. Her bitter gaze slid down to his hand on the gear stick, lean and strong, and she experienced a sudden rush of déjàvu.

Forty-eight hours ago she had been in the exact same position, but now she knew exactly what his hand felt like on every pore of her skin. She shuddered inwardly, her eyes misting with tears, and hastily she turned in her seat and looked out of the window again. Liza was emotionally exhausted, bone-deep tired—she had hardly slept in two nights—but she knew she had to get a grip on herself before they reached Malaga.

No way was she letting him see how much he had hurt her again…

As the road wound up high into the sierras Nick cast a sidelong glance at the sleeping Liza; her head had fallen against his arm, and a golden rope of hair lay on his chest. Dios, she looked about fifteen. What the hell was he doing? And he quickly turned his attention back to the twisting road.

Last night kidnapping Liza had seemed like a great idea. He was definitely losing his marbles… But not enough to turn around and head back towards Malaga Airport…

He had already lied to his friend Carl, and for a man who took pride in his honour he had behaved outrageously. He was a brilliant entrepreneur because he never invested in anything without a thorough investigation of the company and weighing up all the costs. He was good at dangerous sports, but only because he had the sense to take every reasonable safety precaution. His relationships with women were successful because he was generous, laid down the rules at the beginning and never got emotionally involved. He never acted on impulse…

Nick shook his dark head in bemusement. He had broken every one of his own tenets of behaviour, and why? Because of Liza; the sight, the feel, the touch of her affected him like no other woman. She turned his brilliant, decisive mind into mush.

‘Dios!’ He was halfway up a mountainside on his way to a secluded ski-chalet, with a sexy woman who might or might not be a criminal. Had he finally lost his mind? But a sidelong glance at the sleeping Liza and he had his answer. She was exquisite, and so innocent in sleep. His gaze moved over her beautiful face, her softly parted lips, and his chest heaved with a scarcely remembered emotion, a throwback to the past.

She looked just as she had at fifteen when they had taken the horses and gone on a picnic. Liza had been thrown from her horse, and he had jumped from his and cradled her head in his arms; her eyes were closed and for one terrible second he had thought she was dead. The same fear he had felt then Nick had felt again last night when Carl had told him two of the gang were still on the loose and could possibly target Liza.

It did not matter what she was or what she did, for some bizarre reason he was automatically programmed to protect her.

He manoeuvred the four-wheel-drive between a narrow cut in the cliff and brought it to a halt outside a log cabin. He leant back in the seat and glanced down as the golden head slipped forward, and Liza wriggled back against the constraints of the seat belt, and flung a hand across his lap.

Nick dragged in a sharp breath as his body tightened at her casual touch. She was going to wake up any second, and she was going to blow her top when she did. The thought was oddly exciting, but then everything about the mature Liza excited him, he wryly acknowledged. Even so, he was in no hurry to have the argument with her he knew must follow.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.