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'Why on earth would I be nervous, Monsieur de Maistre?'
‘I think we both know the answer to that' His eyes flashed 'And perhaps you had better start calling me Xavier from now on'
He was only telling her to use his Christian name—yet with that rich, French accent which flowed over her skin like silk it sounded as if he was suggesting a breathtaking intimacy
Laura looked into the mocking depths of those eyes, and suddenly she was scared.
CHAPTER FOUR
'We will be landing in just under an hour, monsieur '
Xavier glanced up from the sheaf of papers he had been studying and into the doe-like eyes of the beautiful stewardess
'Merci bien’ he said, and turned his gaze to Laura, who was sitting opposite him, reading, in the opulent cabin of the aircraft, which had been created to resemble a rather smart salon
She had surprised him during the flight for he had expected her to babble, to make conversation just for the sake of it, as women inevitably did—never seeming to realise that silence could sometimes be the most alluring quality of all But instead she had picked up a rather serious-looking novel and proceeded to read it
It was ironic that for once he could have used some mane chatter in order to distract him from the troubling nature of his thoughts . Last night his sleep had been haunted with strange, disturbing dreams, and he had woken with a start He had sat up in the bed of his Parisian apartment, his body naked amid the rumpled sheets, and stared into the black mantle of the night—aware that the Englishwoman had forced him to address an area of his life which had always been a mystery Even if her claim were true he was unsure whether he wanted that mystery revealed—and yet somehow he felt compelled to commence this voyage of discovery by something he hadn't known was within him
For a man used to being in control, it had unsettled him But Xavier had done what he did best— compartmentalized, shutting out the disquieting feelings and the what ifs with a steely determination What was the point in trying to imagine what he might find when they landed in Kharastan when they would be there soon enough?
So he had brought work with him for the journey and attacked it with his usual thoroughness But now he had finished he was left alone with thoughts he would have preferred not to have And the glossy redhead was not paying him the deference he would normally have expected—which of course made him want her all the more Desire was something he could deal with—far less disturbing than the subject of his identity Desire had a beginning and a conclusion, and once he had this Laura Cottmgham under his spell he would tire of her.
'You would like something more to eat?' he queried softly 'Or to drink?'
Laura looked up from her book and wondered if he had noticed her reading and re-reading words which had been stubbornly refusing to make any sense He was a difficult man to concentrate around
'No, thanks I'm not hungry'
'But you barely touched your lunch,' he observed
This was true The perfectly poached piece of fish and green vegetables had failed to appeal—and even a chocolate extravagance of a pudding which would have normally had her drooling back home in England on a night out with the girls had made her feel very slightly queasy
She could blame her lack of appetite on the flight—but that would have been a lie The plane journey had been smooth and noiseless—with only the slightest turbulence when they were flying over the mountainous terrain of Dashabhi
No, her lack of appetite and extraordinary feelings of self-consciousness could be attributed to one cause and one cause only—and it was sitting staring at her now
'Women don't eat as much as men,' she answered stoutly
The black gaze changed direction, lingering appreciatively on the outline of her legs, which were stretched out in front of her 'English women never eat properly,' he observed caustically 'They skip breakfast and eat crisps for lunch '
'Well, actually I never eat crisps—I wouldn't be able to deal with clients all afternoon if I existed on junk food And, as well as being an outrageous generalization, I really don't think my dietary habits are a suitable subject for discussion, do you?'
'Au coniraire’ he demurred, because flirting was a lot easier to deal with than thinking about what might lie ahead And her lawyer's tongue was sharp enough to make him want to pit his wits against her If you do not want a man to remark on your sensational body, cherie, then you should not show it off in quite such a way'
Laura looked down at herself as if her outfit had been replaced while she had been reading without her noticing—as if she might suddenly find herself sitting there in a skimpy little bikini But of course her new wardrobe was still taking a bit of getting used to
The stylist had chosen clothes for Pans and clothes for Kharastan—and the two were vastly different Pans was cling and Kharastan was camouflage, and today she had dressed accordingly—in a manner befitting an employee of the Sheikh soon to arrive in a land where women's clothes were expected to be modest.
From neck to ankle she was covered in a long-sleeved dress of pure silk in a pale buttermilk colour A fairly demure split went only as far as the knee—and that was to facilitate movement rather than to show off any leg Gold sandals shimmered on her bare feet, and the only real extravagance was a pair of heavy and intricate dangling earrings set with beautiful deep green stones
'But I am not dressed provocatively!' she defended
'No?' He raised a dark brow 'Surely that dress was designed to emphasise the very feminine shape beneath? One of those cleverly cut shapes which is supposed to be modest and yet looks anything but—particularly to a member of the opposite sex Sometimes concealment can be unbearably exciting, as I am sure you know I commend your taste, cherie '
He was making her sound like some kind of temptress who had deliberately set out to seduce him. Should she tell him that this was a million miles from what she would normally have worn? That she had been guided by the expert eye of a stylist employed to dress her by Sheikh Zahir? But why tell him more than he needed to know? That sort of information would probably result in him interrogating her as to what she usually did wear, and then no doubt those intelligent black eyes would narrow and that sexy voice would start asking her even more personal questions
And she didn't want to get personal with him, for that way lay danger—instinct told her so In the past, she had been guilty of ignoring her gut feelings—of doing what she believed was the right thing to do instead of what she knew in her heart to be right for her But not any more From now on she stayed true to herself—and a cool, professional distance was exactly what was required
