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Not so superior now, are you, Elsie? she thought as her nervous system coming out of hibernation reacted to the unsubtle sweep of his eyes down her body as if it had been his long tapering fingers, or maybe his mouth, she mused, her eyes drifting languidly to the outline of his carnal, sensually carved lips.

Her breath came in ragged little pants through parted lips as her imagination summoned up images of a sensual collision with that mouth.

The sensations that tore through her were totally unfamiliar and extremely unwelcome, which begged the question why she was indulging them. Maybe that was why, she thought as she shifted her weight, thrusting out one hip to ease the liquid congestion between her thighs.

She dug her nails into her palms to kickstart her brain and was relieved when her vocal cords reacted, and amazed to hear her delivery sound almost normal. If she could just stop staring, she’d be free and clear.

‘Sorry to disturb you. I thought I had the place to myself,’ she said, riveted by the water streaming down his golden-toned skin, the sparkling drops clinging to the diamond of body hair on his chest and the directional line that vanished beneath the waistband of his black low-slung swimming shorts.

Her furtive glance located the big fluffy robe and she took a sideways shuffle in that direction while her awakened hormones kept her conscious of the heat pooling low in her pelvis and the abrasive pressure of her swimsuit against her nipples.

He had never warranted a mental file in her head but if he had it would have been headed shallow and superficial… Dangerous had never come into the mix… That, she realised, had been a mistake. If she could have chosen a moment for her dormant libido to kick in big time she would really have been wearing more clothes.

Disgusted with herself, she gave him her coolest stare, which disintegrated when he opened his mouth and spoke.

‘I am sure you’d be insulted if I said you didn’t disturb me.’

It was a slick line that should have made her laugh…would have if it had been delivered by someone who didn’t have that voice. Her eyelids fluttered, the depth of his speaking voice, deep with a gravelly edge, had a mouth-drying quality.

‘I’ll give you the room…’ If he recognised that this was an icy rejection it didn’t show in his expression. ‘I n…need…’ To stop talking.

Head tilted a little to one side, he waited, his heavy eyelids half lowered. His ridiculously long eyelashes effectively screened his expression but not the hypnotic quality of the glittering dark depths.

The silence stretched until he broke eye contact to glance at his watch, dragging a hand through his saturated hair as he did so.

The loss of eye contact and the fresh shower of cool water droplets against her now overheated skin shook her free of the sexual thrall. She experienced a stab of self-disgust.

‘You will be needing this.’

He extended the hand that held the tiara towards her and smiled.

‘Very classy, swimming in a tiara…’ His glance skimmed the sparking circlet he balanced on his palm and the slight indent between his eyes deepened. ‘You seem to have lost a diamond.’

He put the tiara down on one of the tables that were arranged nearby and, without pause, dived into the pool, his sleek body vanishing for what felt like a long time. She was on the point of being concerned when he resurfaced, all white teeth and smiling satisfaction as he levered himself out once more. Clearly, showing off was his factory setting.

‘Don’t I get a…’ the suggestive pause and the way his wicked sparkling eyes rested on her lips sent a fresh rush of heat through her body as he held out the paste gem ‘…thank you?’

‘You really shouldn’t have bothered. This one is not real.’

He looked startled and then, after a moment, laughed. ‘I like you.’

‘You make me feel so special,’ she snapped out sarcastically.

‘So no thank you?’ he said, looking hurt, then, without any warning, he leaned forward and covered her lips with his. He made no contact anywhere else and the kiss was light, more a sensuous whisper.

The effect on her nervous system was not light.

‘I consider myself thanked.’

As she turned and stalked away, Elsie heard the splash as he re-entered the pool and his mocking laughter followed her.

CHAPTER TWO

Four years later

LIGHT FLOODED THE room through the floor-length windows, making the illumination from the chandeliers above the long table redundant, though the extra light did highlight in detail the expressions of shock, horror and denial etched on all but one of the faces.

The same man poured iced water from a jug into the crystal glass at his elbow before lifting his gaze in an unhurried manner, scanning the faces staring at him.