First Love, Last Love. Carole Mortimer

him.’

      Neither had she! ‘He was away when we both started with the firm,’ she evaded.

      ‘Then how do you know he’s bossy and has a temper?’

      Lauri shrugged. ‘It stands to reason.’

      ‘I don’t see why.’

      ‘Of course it does. The man’s used to his own way—look at all the women he has, and he’s bound to be bossy being in such a position of authority.’

      Daryl shook his head. ‘It doesn’t follow.’

      ‘All right, so it doesn’t follow,’ she snapped impatiently, feeling as if she had done nothing but talk about Alexander Blair all day. ‘Are we going to the cinema this evening or not?’ she changed the subject.

      ‘We are.’ He opened the lift doors for her, waiting until it began moving before turning to her.

      Lauri knew of his intention to kiss her as soon as his arm went about her shoulders, and she lifted her head invitingly. She had always found his kisses pleasant, never allowing him to do any more than kiss her, and she found this lengthy caress as pleasurable as usual.

      ‘If you’ll excuse me?’ a glacial voice remarked.

      Without them being aware of it the lift had come to a halt at Daryl’s floor and a man stood outside waiting to get in. Lauri’s heart sank as she recognised Alexander Blair. And it was obvious he recognised her too, his gaze passing scathingly over her as she still stood in the circle of Daryl’s arms.

      ‘Sorry,’ Daryl grinned at the older man. ‘Just kissing my girl goodbye until tonight.’

      Dark eyebrows rose. ‘Your girl?’ Alexander Blair enquired coolly.

      Lauri struggled out of Daryl’s arms, straightening her slim-fitting sweater where it had ridden up to reveal her midriff, and pushing a hurried hand through her rumpled red-gold curls. This was terrible! And poor Daryl could have no idea of who their audience had been.

      Daryl grinned. ‘Just for the rest of this week,’ he confided.

      ‘I see. And then you—er—part company?’ Alexander Blair was obviously weighing up this information, drawing his own conclusions about the closeness of the relationship.

      ‘Yeah,’ Daryl laughed, ‘I guess we do. The lady refuses to travel around the world with me.’

      ‘I would think the—lady,’ he drawled the word as if he hardly thought the description fitted Lauri, ‘I would think she’s having too much fun where she is.’

      ‘You’re probably right,’ Daryl acknowledged. He bent to kiss her briefly on the lips. ‘I’d better get back to work, old Crowther’s prowling about timing everything we do with the boss back in town. See you later, sweetheart,’ he grinned, his good humour back in evidence. ‘See you,’ he nodded to Alexander Blair.

      ‘No doubt,’ the other man agreed softly.

      Lauri hardly dared breathe once the lift doors had closed behind Daryl’s departing figure. This just wasn’t her day! First of all she hit Alexander Blair’s Rolls-Royce, and now he had caught her kissing one of her fellow workers in the lift.

      ‘That was quite an exhibition,’ he remarked scornfully.

      Her cheeks flamed at his insulting tone. ‘It wasn’t meant to be a peepshow,’ she snapped, glaring up at him as he towered over her, his six feet in height reducing her to his shoulder height.

      ‘I don’t recall “peeping”,’ he mocked.

      ‘No,’ she agreed angrily. ‘You had a damn good look, didn’t you?’

      ‘I could hardly do anything else,’ he said coldly. ‘And let me tell you that I’m unaccustomed to summoning the lift and finding two of my employees in a passionate clinch when the doors open.’

      ‘It wasn’t a passionate clinch,’ she denied heatedly, her green eyes flashing.

      ‘No?’

      ‘No!’

      ‘Then what would you call a passionate clinch?’ he asked softly.

      Lauri shrugged. ‘I don’t know. But that wasn’t one.’

      ‘Perhaps not,’ he said calmly. ‘How would you gauge this?’

      Before she had had time to do more than gasp his arms were about her and his dark head swooped as his lips claimed hers in what was definitely a passionate clinch. His mouth moved persuasively against hers, parting her lips with the sensuous tip of his tongue, kissing her more intimately than anyone else had ever done, his hands moulding her to the lean length of his body.

      Lauri had never experienced anything like it before, feeling as if the world were spinning, and that all that mattered was that he should go on kissing her. That Alexander Blair should go on kissing her.

      Suddenly she was free, and Alexander Blair looked for all the world as if that devastating kiss had never taken place, totally in command in the light grey suit and snowy white silk shirt that both looked as if they had been tailored on to him. His impeccable appearance made her own denims and jumper all the more conspicuous.

      ‘Well?’ he taunted.

      ‘Well …?’ she repeated dazedly. ‘Oh,’ she nodded. ‘Er—yes.’

      ‘Yes—what?’

      ‘Just yes,’ she said breathlessly.

      He smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile. ‘Do you always give in on such short acquaintance? If so I’m not surprised at your popularity with my male employees.’

      His scorn shocked her out of the sensual enchantment she seemed to have fallen into. ‘I wasn’t saying yes to that!’ she denied hotly. ‘I was just saying that it—that that was a passionate embrace. And given by an expert, I have no doubt.’

      ‘Insults, Lauri?’

      ‘You deserve them. How dare you kiss me?’

      He gave a throaty laugh. ‘I dare. Your name,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘It isn’t really Lauri?’

      She frowned. ‘No. Lauren.’

      ‘Lauren,’ he savoured it. ‘Mm, I like it.’

      What did she care what he liked! ‘I’ve always been called Lauri,’ she said defensively.

      He nodded. ‘That accounts for it.’

      Long after she was back at her desk the question still plagued her—‘accounted’ for what?

       CHAPTER TWO

      STEVE sat at the table watching Lauri as she prepared their evening meal. ‘Had a good day?’ he taunted, leaning forward on his elbows.

      ‘Fantastic!’ she drawled sarcastically. ‘Really great. I crashed my uncle’s car into my boss’s Rolls this morning, had an argument with my boy-friend at lunch-time because I refused to go on his travels with him, and then—–’

      ‘Yes?’ Steve prompted curiously. ‘And then?’

      Lauri’s cheeks were bright red. ‘And then the bus was fifteen minutes late tonight.’ She had no intention of telling anyone about that unexpected kiss Alexander Blair had given her. After all, the kiss had been given as an insult, and although she might have reacted to it the insult had still gone home.

      ‘Oh,’ he nodded, ‘I see. So Daryl’s been trying to persuade you to take off with him, has he? I’m glad you’ve decided not to go with him.’

      ‘I thought you liked him.’ She placed a mug of tea