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He finally looked away from the disturbing provocation of the woman on the other side of the aisle and yanked at his bow tie, undoing it. He felt petty now, for not letting her change earlier. It wasn’t exactly helping to douse his desire, knowing that just under the slimmest of coverings that tantalising body was—
‘There were no paparazzi, were there?’
Ben jerked his head round to find those cool blue eyes narrowed on him, and saw that her arms were folded. Some of the tension inside him loosened and he turned towards her, seeing how her gaze involuntarily darted down and then back up.
She wanted him. And he would prove it to her.
Feeling only the tiniest prick of his conscience, Ben said, ‘If you remember, I said I thought we’d been papped.’
Her eyes flashed. ‘I can’t believe I fell for it.’
Ben shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. ‘You still wouldn’t have had a choice in the end.’
That lush mouth tightened and Ben had to restrain himself from reaching across to touch it, make it soften. He thought of something then, and said, ‘I like that you’re called Lia. It’s less...rigid.’
Those ivory cheeks flushed. ‘Like I said, that’s for friends and family.’
Ben smiled, enjoying her discomfiture more than he should. ‘I think we’re definitely more than friends now, Lia. I don’t know what you’re used to, but in my world friends don’t kiss the way we did earlier. Lovers...now, that’s a different matter.’
Lia darted a glance behind her, to where the discreet staff were, and then hissed across the aisle, ‘We will never be lovers, Mr Carter.’
Ben ignored that and sat back, extending his legs, making himself comfortable even though the last thing he was feeling was relaxed. ‘There’s a bedroom at the back of the cabin. You should slip into something more comfortable and get some rest. We’ll be in the air for another seven hours at least.’
‘You’re still insisting on not telling me where we’re going?’
Ben glanced at her with mock innocence. ‘And ruin the surprise?’
Her jaw clenched. ‘I don’t like surprises, Mr Carter.’
‘Please, Lia,’ he purred, enjoying himself immensely, ‘call me Ben.’
After a long moment, when she looked as if she was seriously tempted to do him some physical violence, she undid her seat belt and stood up, saying, ‘You’re impossible. This is impossible.’
She took her bag from an overhead locker and the wrap over her dress fell to the floor. Ben let his gaze roam freely over her curves, in particular her pert behind.
She whirled around and he looked up. She grabbed the wrap from him as he picked it up and held it out to her, and said tersely, ‘I’m going to get some sleep. And I don’t want to be disturbed.’
Ben smiled. ‘Please, be my guest.’
Lia walked to the back of the plane, her red dress swirling about her body and those long slim legs. She went into the bedroom and the door was shut forcefully enough behind her to make Ben wince slightly. Then he heard the distinct click of the lock being turned.
His smile slipped from his face as he had to shift his body to accommodate his erection. He felt feral enough to be tempted to go and kick open the door and prove to Lia right now that they were more than friends. But he reminded himself that he was civilised.
After all, he had to acknowledge bitterly, for the first twelve years of his life Ben had been exceedingly civilised. Until everything had changed and the real world had been revealed, like in The Wizard of Oz, when the curtain had been pulled back to expose the truth.
Just then Ben’s phone vibrated and he welcomed the distraction. He took it out of his pocket to see a name flashing on the screen. He smiled mirthlessly and answered, ‘Trakas. Are you missing me and our new friends already?’
‘Hardly,’ came the dry response. ‘The internet is buzzing about you making some outrageous bid at a charity auction and absconding with a British society princess for the weekend. I thought we were trying to improve our reputations, not make them worse.’
Ben looked pointedly at the closed door of the bedroom and said through a tight jaw, ‘Don’t worry, it’s all part of the plan. Elizabeth Young set us up on a date. Was there something in particular you wanted or did you just call to gossip?’
Xander Trakas was silent for a moment, and then he said, ‘And...? How was she?’
Ben frowned. ‘Who? The matchmaker?’
Trakas sounded impatient. ‘Of course.’
Ben felt another pang of his conscience when he thought of what she’d think of his pursuing Lia in spite of her warning. ‘She was fine. Why the hell do you care anyway?’
