The Helen Bianchin Collection. Helen Bianchin

      One glance at Alejandro’s harsh features was enough to determine that a battle was about to commence.

      Alejandro leaned across and opened the passenger door. ‘Get in.’ His voice sounded clipped, and Elise slid in beside him and fastened her seatbelt.

      It took the next change of lights before he could ease the Porsche ahead of the traffic, and their progress was hampered by the sheer number of vehicles vacating the city.

      ‘I planned on being home before now.’ It was a statement, not an apology.

      ‘Obviously.’

      Anger rose to the surface as she turned towards him. ‘Dammit, Alejandro, I won’t allow you to put me in a gilded cage!’

      Something flickered in the depth of his eyes. ‘My position in the business arena is well-reported in the Press.’ A muscle tensed at the edge of his jaw. ‘In today’s society there are a few fanatics who take pleasure in targeting those who lead a high-profile existence. Consequently, I take extreme care to ensure any possible risks are kept to a minimum.’ He spared her a dark glance, then returned his attention to negotiating the traffic. ‘Hence the necessity for security measures. The reason I insist you always carry a mobile phone, and each vehicle has a car phone. A need for someone—myself, Ana, José—to be aware of your whereabouts. For protection. Not restriction.’

      She lifted a hand in angry agitation. ‘If I’d had my own car, this wouldn’t have happened.’

      He didn’t say anything. He had no need, Elise decided darkly as the car cleared the city confines and traversed Bayswater Road. The traffic thinned slightly as they reached Double Bay, and ten minutes later the Porsche swung through the wide double gates at the entrance to the Point Piper mansion.

      The garage doors lifted at a touch from Alejandro’s remote module, then the car slid into place between the Pajero and a stunning red topof-the-range Mercedes sedan.

      ‘Yours,’ Alejandro told her as she cast it an admiring glance.

      Her stomach executed a slow flip, and she turned slowly towards him. ‘You bought it for me?’

      His expression was unfathomable. ‘José will take you for a test-drive tomorrow.’ He unclipped his belt and slid out from behind the wheel.

      Elise did likewise, pausing long enough to run tentative fingers over the red satin-smooth paintwork. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she said quietly and, taking a step towards him, she reached up and placed a fleeting kiss on the edge of his chin. ‘Thank you.’

      His mouth curved to form a wry smile, and his eyes assumed a darkness she found impossible to fathom.

      ‘Your hand,’ Alejandro asked quietly. ‘How does it feel now the bandages and plaster have been removed?’

      ‘A little strange. Stiff,’ she elaborated with a slight shrug. ‘Physiotherapy helps.’

      ‘Shall we go indoors? Ana will be waiting to serve dinner.’

      She needed to freshen up, and use the bathroom. ‘Give me ten minutes.’

      Elise took time to change into silk trousers and a matching top, then ran a brush through her hair. A quick slash of pink restored colour to her lips.

      Her expression was vaguely pensive as she joined Alejandro in the dining-room, and she spooned her soup with little real appetite and merely picked at the tender beef with its accompanying vegetables.

      ‘Not hungry?’

      Elise looked at him carefully, examining the strong bone-structure, the assemblage of muscle and skin that moulded his features into compelling attractiveness.

      Before the accident she would not have had the least compunction about beginning an argument with him. Not only that, she would have delighted in doing battle, exulting when she succeeded in rousing his temper. It was madness, because she could never win against him.

      Now she seemed hell-bent on following a similar path. His brand of caring during their time together at Palm Beach, his tender affection, had wreaked havoc with her emotional heart. Worse, it had destroyed the very core of her resentment.

      ‘No,’ she answered at last, pushing her plate to one side.

      ‘Have some fruit.’

      Elise looked at the selection Ana had placed in the bowl, then shook her head. She reached for her glass, miscalculated, and water pooled across the table.

      ‘Oh, hell,’ she said shakily as she collected a napkin and began mopping up the excess. What was wrong with her, for heaven’s sake?

      ‘Leave it.’

      She rose to her feet. ‘I’ll get another napkin.’

      ‘Leave it, Elise,’ Alejandro commanded silkily. Stupid tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked furiously in an effort to prevent them from spilling over. Any second now she’d make a fool of herself, and that would never do.

      She moved from the table and had taken three steps when a hand closed over her arm.

      ‘Let me go. Please,’ she begged in bleak despair, hating the degree of vulnerability evident as he tilted her chin.

      ‘When you tell me what is disturbing you.’

      She closed her eyes against the sight of him, then slowly opened them again. ‘I didn’t deliberately stay in the city in order to cause you concern.’

      ‘I wasn’t aware I implied that you had.’ He cupped her face between both hands and brushed a thumb-pad across one cheek.

      Dear heaven, why did she feel so acutely sensitive where he was concerned? A few days ago she wouldn’t have thought it possible that she would find it imperative to offer him any explanation or proffer an apology. Now she was doing both.

      However, soul-searching wouldn’t achieve anything, for there was no easy resolution.

      ‘Thanks for the car,’ she managed unevenly, and glimpsed his faint smile as he watched the fleeting emotions chase across her expressive features.

      ‘What good manners you have, mi mujer,’ he drawled. ‘I shall look forward to a more—passionate shall we say?—expression of your gratitude.’

      It took considerable effort to keep the pain from her voice. ‘Payment in sexual favours?’ she queried, and saw his eyes darken.

      ‘You little fool,’ Alejandro responded with deadly softness as his mouth fastened over hers in a kiss that was meant to punish.

      A silent cry of impassioned entreaty remained locked in her throat, and it seemed an age before he lifted his head.

      His eyes speared hers, and she became trapped beneath the degree of latent sensuality evident, a primeval recognition that had everything to do with the senses.

      Her mouth quivered, its soft curves faintly swollen from the ruthless force of his own, and she cried out a single negation as he swept her effortlessly into his arms.

      In the bedroom he let her slide down to her feet, and she wanted to vent her rage against his deliberate seduction as he gently cupped her face.

      Eyes that were impossibly slumberous held her own captive, and helpless frustration welled up inside her as she became caught up in mesmerised fascination.

      Did he know how difficult it was for her to accept the traitorous desire she experienced in his arms? The breath seemed to catch in her throat, and her eyes clung to his, bright with anger, yet intensely vulnerable.

      A hand slid beneath her hair, urging her close as his lips trailed across her forehead, then moved slowly down one cheek to settle at the corner of her mouth, teasing, gentle, and incredibly erotic as he conducted a sensual tasting that made her ache for more.

      Beneath his sensual mastery a deep flame flared into vibrant life, and she gave herself up totally to the delights