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Just before five o’clock, the nurse phoned his private mobile number and explained that his mother had tripped over in the garden. ‘She is not injured other than some bruising, but she is upset and would like to speak to you,’ the nurse said.
While Jace was talking to his mother, his PA put her head round the door and informed him that Miss Buchanan had arrived. He glanced at his watch and noted that Eleanor was as punctual as ever. ‘Tell her that I will see her shortly,’ he mouthed to Rena.
His mother was sobbing on the phone. ‘I am a silly old woman, and a burden to you.’
‘Of course you are not a burden.’
‘I won’t be for much longer,’ his mother choked. ‘We both know the truth, Jace. I am dying. It breaks my heart that I’ll never meet the woman you eventually marry. If I could only be sure that you will be in a happy relationship it would not hurt so much to leave you.’
Consoling his mother took some time and when he finally said goodbye to her Jace sighed heavily. It occurred to him that if his original plan to marry Eleanor a year ago had happened, his mother would have had peace of mind in her last months. It was a shame he couldn’t change things. Before Eleanor had discovered the truth behind his marriage proposal, she had been eager to be his wife. But what if hecouldturn the clock back to a year ago?
He pulled his mind from his thoughts when he noticed the time and realised that over half an hour had passed since Eleanor had arrived for their appointment. He stepped out of his office and met his PA in the corridor.
‘Miss Buchanan left a few minutes ago. I explained that you were unavoidably detained, but she said that she refused to play mind games,’ Rena said, giving him a puzzled look.
Cursing beneath his breath, Jace took the lift down to the ground floor. He was incensed that Eleanor had walked out on himagain! He’d been gutted when she had left him in Paris. Her abrupt departure then had stirred memories of the sense of abandonment he’d felt after his father had died, leaving the unanswered question of whether Dimitri had chosen to end his life. Jace had learned valuable lessons in the past. Good things never lasted, the people you cared about left and happiness was ephemeral.
His heart sank when he strode through the lobby, which was empty apart from the receptionist sitting behind a desk. Eleanor had gone.Theos, he had banked on her needing his help. Did she have a rich lover who she had persuaded to pay off her brother’s debts? Why the hell did the idea of her in another man’s arms make his blood boil?
Ahead of him, a woman emerged from the cloakroom and walked quickly towards the revolving glass doors. Her stiletto heels clipped against the marble floor. Jace’s eyes travelled up her shapely legs to the hem of her short red dress that stopped several inches above her knees. Her dark blonde hair had streaks of paler gold and fell in sexy layers to just below her shoulders. Something about the sway of her hips as she walked seemed familiar. But it couldn’t be...
She was almost at the exit.‘Wait.’Jace increased his pace and caught up with her. He put his hand on her arm and felt her stiffen when he spun her round to face him.‘Eleanor?’He stared at her, stunned by her transformation from the demure woman who had briefly been his fiancée to this dangerously beautiful, scarlet-clad siren.
‘You have no right to manhandle me,’ she snapped. Her hazel eyes turned green and flashed with fury.
Jace dropped his hand down to his side, but his body refused to obey his brain and move away from her. His nostrils flared as he breathed in her perfume—a sultry, sensual fragrance that sent a rush of heat to his groin. A year ago he had been attracted to Eleanor’s understated prettiness, but this new and exciting version of the woman he had once planned to marry was intriguing andhot!
His jaw hardened when he saw her glance towards the door. Jace knew he must ignore his libido and focus on his goal. ‘Are you really prepared to risk losing the Pangalos and your brother’s freedom?’ he asked her silkily.
The scathing look she gave him would have shrivelled another man. ‘My brother is sick. His gambling addiction is out of control. What kind of terrible person are you to lend him money, knowing it would fall through his fingers? You might as well have given him a spade so that he could dig his own grave.’
Jace felt his gut clench when he saw a betraying shimmer of moisture in her eyes. ‘I was not aware when I lent Mark money that he is a compulsive gambler. I simply thought he maintained an expensive lifestyle and lived beyond his means. If you knew he had a problem, why did you put him in charge of the Pangalos?’
‘He told me he had stopped gambling.’ She bit her lip. ‘I hadn’t realised how serious his problem is. My brother needs help, not a threat of prosecution.’
Jace shrugged. ‘If you are serious about wanting to save him, come up to my office so that we can continue this discussion in private.’
He roamed his eyes over her flushed face and lingered on her scarlet-glossed lips. An idea of how he could fulfil his dying mother’s wish—as well as his father’s final plea—seeded in his mind and took root. ‘I am confident we can strike a deal that will give us both what we want,’ he told Eleanor.
‘Will you walk into my parlour?’ said the Spider to the Fly.
The line from the poem Eleanor had loved as a child popped into her head as Jace ushered her into his office. His secretary had been unable to disguise her curiosity when he had given instruction that he did not want to be disturbed for the rest of the afternoon. The snick of his office door closing made the butterflies in Eleanor’s stomach flutter harder.
He held out a chair and she sank down onto it, relieved she hadn’t stumbled in her four-inch heels that she was still getting used to. She grimaced when her skirt rode further up her thighs and tried to tug it down until she realised that Jace was watching her.
‘You have had a change of style,’ he murmured as he walked around his desk and lowered his long frame into the leather chair. ‘I approve of your new look.’
Eleanor felt herself blush and silently cursed her fair skin and lack of sophistication. If only Jace wasn’t so mesmerisingly sexy. His sculpted features were a work of art and the dark stubble shading his jaw accentuated his raw masculinity. A helpless longing swept through her as her gaze lingered on his mouth and she remembered the firm pressure of his lips on hers.
Although they had not had sex in the few months they had been dating, they’d indulged in heavy petting. Jace’s kisses had driven her wild with desire and her breasts had ached when he’d bared them and rubbed his thumbs over her swollen nipples. A tingling sensation in that area now made Eleanor glance down, and she was mortified to see the hard points of her nipples jutting beneath her dress.
She looked up again, and as her eyes met his across the desk the predatory gleam in the dark depths of his evoked a throb of response deep in her pelvis.
‘I’m sure you don’t want to waste yourvaluabletime discussing my appearance,’ she said curtly, thinking of how he had kept her waiting. No doubt his intention had been to demonstrate that he had power over her, but she refused to be intimidated.
He leaned back in his chair and appraised her from between his narrowed gaze. ‘I assume the reason for your visit is to ask for more time to try to raise the money your brother owes me. My answer is no.’
‘I need three months to restructure the company’s finances, and I should be able to pay back at least part of Mark’s debt,’ she said urgently. ‘Surely you can wait three months?’
