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‘Only if she’ll stamp your chauvinistic one at the same time,’ she said smartly.
He laughed softly and she ignored him, turning to slip past him, determined to show him how little he affected her. Unfortunately the room was a lot smaller than she realised and she drew in a sharp breath as her bottom brushed up against his thighs. It shouldn’t have had any effect given the layers of clothing between them but streaks of tingling awareness zipped through her already aroused body and she had the overwhelming urge to push back against him.
His hands rose to rest lightly at her waist and she thought she heard him take a quick indrawn breath before she turned her head and saw the way he was staring at the spill of her hair down her back.
He looked at her as if he was about to bend his head toward the creamy expanse of her neck, as if he was about to raise his hands and bring them around to cover her breasts that felt twice as full as normal, and for all her hot-headed denial she knew she wanted to feel what it would be like to have his hands on her. His mouth. Then he flashed his cocky movie star smile as if he knew exactly what she was thinking and she jerked back from him.
God, she was really starting to hate that smile.
* * *
Two hours later and dead on her feet Eleanore was relieved when Lukas’s limousine pulled up outside what must be her apartment building.
All she could think about was a long shower or bath followed by a blissful night’s sleep. She wasn’t even sure she’d eat anything. Particularly since she had no idea how to order takeout in Russian and she didn’t have the energy to find a local grocer to buy food.
And it would be such a relief to be away from Lukas and his disturbing presence as well. No matter how many times she told herself to think professionally, or reminded herself that he really was a cold, heartless businessman who had basically blackmailed her into working for him with his threats about going to the Chatsfields, she couldn’t stamp out her sexual awareness of the man. Nor could she wipe out the feel of his hands on her waist or forget how intensely feminine she had felt pressed up against him. How much she had wanted to kiss him.
Was that even normal?
‘No need to see me up,’ she said a little too quickly, convinced that a good night’s sleep would set her internal system back to right. ‘Just tell me the number of the apartment and I’m sure I can find it easily enough.’
‘And drive your opinion of me even lower by being inhospitable?’
Before she could stop herself Eleanore smiled sweetly. ‘Please be reassured that it couldn’t get any lower.’
His blue eyes dropped to her mouth and she wished that she’d held her tongue. Previously she would have said she didn’t have a sarcastic bone in her body but somehow her parents’ well-mannered training flew out the window when she was with this man.
‘More foreplay, moya krasavitsa?’
Oh! Eleanore forced her jaw to unlock. ‘I hope that’s not something sexist you’re calling me.’
His devilish smile encouraged her to push him for an answer. Instead she gave him a look before stepping out of the car.
When he followed her out she decided that the quickest way to a hot bath and a warm bed was to let him have his own way. She shook her head as if he was unredeemable and raised her chin as she moved past him.
The building was a butter-yellow neoclassical style and the inside was full of old-world glamour with mirrored surfaces and marble floors that warmed her soul. The apartment was on the fifth floor, and as it was with many old buildings the elevator was incredibly small. Wedging herself into a corner she stared at Lukas’s shiny black shoes so that she wouldn’t be tempted to stare at the man himself. She loved shoes and she knew his had been custom-made. Along with his suits, because no way could store-bought pants fit so perfectly that they gave a hint at the strength of his thighs but didn’t cling in an ugly way as some men’s did. He had his hands in his pockets so the sides of his suit jacket were pushed wide and it pulled his pants low on his lean hips, outlining... her heart bumped inside her chest. Shoes. She had been looking at his shoes. The expensive stitching, the...
The slight jerk of the lift as it shuddered to a stop brought a rushed exhalation of relief. Nearly there. Nearly out of her suddenly restrictive suit and maybe she had a rogue chocolate bar in her handbag she hadn’t already inhaled at some point.
Hoping there would be a cup of tea inside the apartment with her name on it she followed Lukas out of the lift. When he stopped at the end of the hallway she was so caught up in her haste to end the day she barely managed not to barrel into the back of him. She gave him a brief smile and held her hand out for the apartment key.
