Mediterranean Tycoons: Dark & Demanding. Jacqueline Baird

Yes, I am,’ she stammered.

      He really was a hunk of a man and the years since they had last met had been kind to him. If anything he was more attractive than she remembered, age giving character to his stunningly handsome face, with perfectly carved features, high cheekbones and a sensually curved mouth. As for his eyes, deep brown and as dark as sin with thick black curling lashes. The kind of eyes that would melt any female’s heart and the slightly long, silky black hair would tempt any female’s fingers. Liza was no exception; she wasn’t even aware she was staring and she never saw the brief glitter of triumph in his gorgeous eyes.

      Nick Menendez’s physical presence was almost hypnotic; he exuded a lethal charm, an aura of potent masculine sexuality that called out to every atom of femininity in a woman. On a scale of one to ten, he had to be a twenty. Liza almost groaned out loud as all her deeply buried teenage fantasies rose up to haunt her.

      ‘I’m amazed.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘A lovely girl like you, alone! But grateful.’ Her blue eyes widened to their fullest extent on his darkly attractive face at his teasing compliment. ‘So, unless you would like another coffee, how about joining me in the Jeep?’ A strong hand gestured to where the vehicle was illegally parked on the pavement. ‘Before some official tows it away. I have to inspect the building site but after that I am at your disposal.’

      If only! A vivid image of a naked Nick at her disposal filled her head and, ashamed of her sexy thoughts, she answered hastily. ‘I was going to return to my hotel and laze around the pool.’ She was still slightly wary of this new, charming Nick. Over the years she’d worked hard to block out any sign of emotion where this man was concerned, and she wasn’t sure she liked the way he cut through her defences like a knife through butter with just a smile.

      He had been scathing in his contempt of her, brutally so, in the past. So why the turn-around, the flattering comments now? she wondered. Nick was a powerful, dynamic man; add wealth and looks, and it wasn’t surprising he was so arrogantly sure of himself. But surely he must be married by now with a handful of children, yet her mother had never mentioned it. ‘And maybe your wife, Sophia, would object.’ Fool, fool, she castigated herself as soon as the words had left her mouth.

      Hooded eyes narrowed intently on her slightly pink face. Nick was a man of considerable expertise where the female sex was concerned, and despite her cautious reserve he sensed an underlying attraction. She wanted him, and the question on his marital state confirmed it. ‘Sophia and I parted years ago. I have no wife, no ties, and I like it that way. Now, no more argument.’ Nick rose to his feet and held out his hand. ‘Come on, you know you want to,’ he opined with sheer masculine arrogance and a wicked grin. ‘I have been reliably informed I am a charming companion. Surely you would not want to disappoint me and dent my fragile ego.’

      Liza grinned back; she couldn’t help it. ‘That would be an impossibility,’ she mocked. ‘But surely a man in your position must have better things to do than spend a day sightseeing with me,’ and she nearly added of all people. Memories of the past made her super-cautious; Nick had made his dislike of her very plain, and she was still not convinced of his sincerity now.

      ‘Are you still angry with me?’ Shrewd dark eyes bored down into hers, guessing the reason for her hesitation. ‘For lecturing you as a child?’

      Lecturing her! So that was how little he thought of crushing her burgeoning sexuality under a diatribe of insults and a savage kiss and grope. But with the benefit of maturity Liza wondered if maybe he was right, and she had made too much of what had happened. ‘No, of course not,’ she denied. If he could be so casual about their fight, then so could she, and, putting her hand in his, she allowed him to pull her to her feet. Liza was tall at five feet nine, but Nick towered over her, and she had to tilt her head back to look at him. ‘Why should I be?’ she asked, and suddenly she was conscious of the nearness of his great, virile physique, but was incapable of moving away.

      ‘No reason at all,’ Nick drawled throatily, pinning her with a smouldering glance, and after a provocative pause added, ‘not now.’ He lifted her hand to rest on his broad chest, and she felt the heat of his flesh through his shirt, and involuntarily she shivered. ‘What is not acceptable in a girl of sixteen does not apply to the beautiful woman you have become,’ he declared huskily and gazed at her, his eyes smouldering with an explicit sensual promise.

      Liza stiffened slightly. Nick was as arrogant as ever; he would not come on to a teenager, but an older woman was fair game. Why was she surprised? In a way he was quite moral, she thought wryly. Then his long fingers tightened on her hand, the pad of his thumb caressing her palm, and she stopped thinking altogether.

      ‘So unless there is somewhere else you need to go,’ he urged her along the pavement, ‘any shopping or more errands to run for your boss…?’ He stopped and trailed off.

      ‘No, no,’ Liza denied, not quite sure what she was denying—his question or her helpless response to him. ‘Work finished when I dropped a package off for my boss at Daidolas in the town this morning, just before I met you actually.’

      ‘Daidolas the opticians?’ Nick asked swiftly.

      ‘Yes, that’s right, I think it was probably some glasses,’ she babbled on, intensely aware of him with every beat of her heart. ‘My time is my own from now on.’ She saw his dark eyes flicker with some emotion she did not recognise, and felt the sudden tension in his tall frame, and her hand trembled in his. ‘So thank you for your kind invitation, Niculoso,’ she heard herself say with ridiculous formality in an attempt to hide the chaotic feelings his nearness aroused in her, and snatched her hand free from his, dying with embarrassment.

      Then she gasped as two large hands closed around her waist, and she was lifted off her feet and spun around, a hard, warm mouth briefly brushed her lips, and then she was in the Jeep.

      ‘So polite, Liza,’ he drawled mockingly. ‘Please, we are old friends and my friends call me Nick.’ And, chuckling at her flushed, bemused expression, he added, ‘Fasten your seat belt,’ before strolling around the front of the car and stepping into the driving seat.

      ‘My friends call me Liza,’ she muttered distractedly, still reeling from the touch of his mouth on her own, as he started the engine.

      Nick cast her a glance, a broad grin lighting his tanned face. ‘I did know that, Liza,’ he mocked her. The speed with which she had offered the information he required meant his mission would not be as difficult as he had thought. ‘I just have to make a call.’ He gestured with his mobile. ‘The reception is better away from the traffic.’ And he jumped back out of the Jeep and strolled a few yards to the beach. He was taking no chances on Liza overhearing. Damn! But she was good. By revealing her actions so readily, either she really was simply an innocent messenger, or a consummate actress.

      It may have been glass in the package! But not of the optical variety…he would bet his last cent.

      Quickly he called Carl and gave him the information about the drop-off point and then talked Carl out of having Liza picked up immediately by persuading him it made more sense for Nick to keep her with him on the off-chance she had more information of use to them.

      What troubled him slightly as he leapt back into the Jeep was why he was so keen to believe in her innocence. A man of his wealth, and bachelor status, he was used to the adulation of women and was wise to all their tricks to entrap him; consequently he had a very cynical attitude to the female sex in general, but Liza confused him… Not an emotion he was comfortable with.

      Liza wriggled deeper into the seat as Nick flashed her a brief smile before driving away. She glanced down at his elegant, bronzed hand wrapped around the gear stick, saw the sinews in his strong arms flex as he changed gear, and thought of the same hand on her breast.

      Oh, hell! She silently groaned. What a time to start having erotic thoughts about the man. She must remember Nick thought he was miles above her in every way; he had made that very plain years ago. She had to try and relax and enjoy the day for what it was. Two old friends sharing a tour of the island. It was sheer coincidence they had even met again. But in that she was wrong…