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‘You’re joking.’
‘I never joke about business.’
‘But she could do you colossal damage. The woman hates you—’
Remembering those incredible legs wrapped round his waist, Zander experienced an instant physical response and tightened his jaw. ‘She doesn’t hate me.’
She was afraid of him. Afraid of the powerful connection between them.
Alec rose to his feet, sweat clinging to his brow. ‘As your lawyer I have to advise you against…’ His voice tailed off under the force of that burning gaze and he shook his head. ‘It’s a huge risk, Zander.’
‘I thrive on risk.’
‘Well, I have to confess that in this case I don’t understand you,’ Alec confessed ruefully, shaking his head and flicking the file shut.
Zander didn’t respond. He was having trouble explaining his actions to himself. For a man who prided himself on never looking backwards, he’d become uncomfortably fixated on his disastrous relationship with Lauranne. It was just because she’d refused to work for him, he reasoned, laughing silently at his own inability to ignore the challenge she’d set. Their whole relationship had been conducted in the same vein. When one of them fought, the other fought harder. It had made for a totally explosive relationship but one that had excited him more than any other.
And the prospect of even more contact filled him with a thrill of anticipation that was totally beyond his comprehension.
CHAPTER FOUR
LAURANNE glanced at her watch and realised that if she was going to take Tom’s advice and lose herself in London, then it was time to move.
She slipped into the bathroom that joined onto her office and stared at her reflection in the mirror, seeing not the immaculately groomed businesswoman, but the face of the girl she’d been five years before.
Lauranne closed her eyes briefly, reflecting that, no matter how hard you worked on your external image, nothing could change the way you were inside.
Outwardly there was no sign of the innocent girl who’d fallen so crazily in love with Zander Volakis, but on the inside—on the inside that hot, wildly passionate girl that he’d discovered was still very much alive.
She lifted a hand to her mouth, touching her lower lip, remembering—
It had been wild. Crazy. Two months with Zander—dark, sexual Zander—had unlocked a part of herself that she’d carefully denied ever since and just the memories were enough to ignite a spark that warmed her body. She felt the familiar ache deep within her pelvis, a warmth, a tingling, a shockingly exciting sexual awareness that was triggered by just the mention of his name. She hadn’t known it was possible for a woman to feel what Zander had made her feel.
Her feelings had been totally beyond her control, so pagan, so basic, that she hadn’t recognised herself. Everything had seemed intensified, especially the pain of parting.
Lauranne closed her eyes and gripped the basin tightly.
If she concentrated hard enough on the parting, then the physical need would go. She wasn’t twenty-one any more and she certainly wasn’t naïve.
Being with Zander hadn’t just taught her about sex.
Everything she knew about pain and grief and loss she’d learned from him, and thanks to Zander she’d become an expert.
Which was why she was going to run hard in the opposite direction.
She absolutely definitely didn’t want Zander Volakis to be any part of her life ever again and as soon as she could she’d see a lawyer to discuss a divorce.
Galvanised into action, she grabbed a pair of jeans from one of the cupboards, found a clean white tee shirt and changed quickly, cramming her blonde hair under a cap.
Satisfied that she looked nothing like the elegant businesswoman he’d seen earlier, she slipped her feet into a pair of flat, practical shoes and grabbed her bag.
Even if he did spot her, there was no way he’d look twice at her dressed like this. Zander mixed with truly elegant women and at the moment she looked more like a street urchin.
Outside the streets were crowded with commuters making their way home and Lauranne walked briskly away from the office and flagged a taxi, directing the driver towards the river. A walk would clear her head and she could stop for a coffee and something to eat at one of the many cafés and restaurants that overlooked the river.
The taxi dropped her off near the Houses of Parliament and she stood for a moment, watching the evening sunlight dancing on the River Thames. It was the height of summer and people hurried past, eager to get home, no one showing the slightest interest in her as she slipped on a pair of sunglasses and settled her bag on her shoulder. She felt anonymous, just another commuter on the busy streets of London, and she started to relax.
This was her home now. Her life. Thanks to Tom, she had a life again. A life that was a million miles from Volakis Industries and Zander.
