The Best Of The Year - Modern Romance. Annie West

the soundbites in which your flatmate—Simone?—congratulates us on our impending nuptials were a genius touch. I must commend you on that. It ties everything up in a nice little bow, non?’

      Shock careened through her as the oxygen left her lungs. Some of these paparazzi were in a class of their own, but even Ana couldn’t believe they’d come up with such a preposterous story overnight.

      She looked up, ready to defend herself, and saw his gaze fixed on the picture. ‘I had no hand in any part of that story. But that’s not what’s bothering you, is it?’

       ‘Excusez moi?’

      ‘The picture bothers you way more than the article.’

      Bastien’s gaze iced over. ‘You’re in danger of stepping way over the line.’

      ‘Why? Because this picture shows you looking at me as if you care? As if I get to you where no one else can?’

      To the untrained eye he looked as most people saw him—a cool, suave businessman who was in complete control of his world. Sure, the tight jaw and the broad shoulders held an edge of danger that anyone would be a fool to ignore. But the concern, the touch of gentleness in his eyes, that same look she’d seen a long time ago when she was eight, was clear for her to see.

      ‘You have a very active imagination, cherie,’ he breathed.

      ‘And you are not the icy, emotionless man you want the world to think you are. What are you so afraid of, Bastien?’

      He didn’t answer, merely speared her with his silver gaze as if trying to decipher whether she’d lost her mind. Hell, she might well have. She was tugging the tail of a dangerous beast.

      ‘Bastien...’

      ‘Let me be clear. Whatever you think you see in this photo does not exist. If you’re scheming, making little plans in that beautiful head of yours, kill them dead—understand?’

      Self-preservation kicked in, along with a healthy dose of anger.

      Courage, Ana. ‘I won’t allow you to bully me, Bastien.’

      He merely shrugged and strode for the door. ‘Rest assured, any punishment I exact will be willingly accepted.’

      ‘Dream on!’

      He merely smiled. ‘We’ll see.’

      She forced herself to take her time. She straightened her jacket, picked up the paper from the floor and placed it on the coffee table. Going to her bedroom, she scooped up her purse and the coat Mathilde had lent her. Shrugging it on, she fastened the belt and returned to the living room.

      Bastien hadn’t moved an inch. She slid past him and tried to ignore him as they rode the lift down.

      The grand hotel’s opulent foyer barely sparked her interest. It took every ounce of her willpower just to put one foot in front of the other, to follow Bastien’s lengthy stride through the revolving doors to the car waiting at the kerb.

      As they travelled along the cold streets of Geneva she struggled to come up with something to say, but appealing to Bastien’s better nature would be a waste of time.

      A quick glance showed he’d become engrossed in a stack of papers, his pen flying as he drew harsh lines through the document.

      ‘Will you need me to speak to the board?’

      The newspaper article had worsened her position. Firing her had become a real option now.

      Bastien’s lips firmed. ‘The damage is already done.’

      ‘What does that mean?’

      ‘It means that now you get to reap the results of your little experiment.’

      Her trepidation mounted as they drew up outside a large, elegant stone building. They’d left the gleaming, modern glass edifices behind a short while ago and entered the Old Town.

      A liveried doorman complete with white gloves glided to the door and held it open. As she stepped into Bastien’s lair Ana was aware that she could be leaving here with the course of her life very much altered.

      Plush cream carpeting muffled their footsteps. Impressive paintings graced the walls—discreet, yet sure to make an impact on the super-rich clients lucky enough to be invited to invest with the Heidecker Corporation.

      From behind a semi-circular reception desk a superbly coiffed receptionist greeted Bastien. ‘The board members are assembled in the usual room, Monsieur Heidecker.’

      He nodded. ‘Merci, Chloe. Can you tell Tatiana to meet us outside the boardroom?’

      ‘Of course.’ Her glance at Ana held unabashed curiosity as she picked up the phone to do Bastien’s bidding.

      He stepped into the lift and pressed a button. ‘Tatiana’s my PA. She’ll make you comfortable while I’m in the meeting.’

      Irritation surged through her. ‘So I’m expected to just cool my heels? I could’ve stayed at the hotel.’

      ‘We’ve already had this conversation. Where I go, you go,’ he reiterated arrogantly.

      ‘You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?’ she snapped.

      ‘Why the sudden eagerness to present yourself to the board? I seem to recall you jumping out of a moving car to avoid coming here.’ His eyes skimmed over her. ‘You’ve even gone to great lengths to improve your appearance. Why is that, Miss Duval?’

      ‘Do you always jump to the worst possible conclusions about everyone, or am I just flavour of the month?’

      His brows merely lifted a fraction.

      ‘Of course it wouldn’t have occurred to you that I want this over and done with so I can get on with my life?’

      A cynical smile twisted his sensual lips. ‘Missing the thrill of the limelight?’

      ‘No—just eager to get away from you and your warped ideas about me. I can’t help but feel the more time I spend in your presence, the more I risk contamination from your twisted impressions of the human race.’

      If she’d thought his gaze back in her hotel room could freeze water, his expression now sent a jagged bolt of apprehension through her. He lunged for her, strong hands hauling her up until only her toes touched the floor of the lift.

      ‘A word of advice, cherie. Learn to pick your battles wisely.’

      Afterwards Ana reckoned she must have gone slightly insane. Just for a few seconds. Because even she couldn’t understand her compulsive need to goad him further.

      ‘Or what, Bastien? You’ll punish me for getting under your skin again?’ The words slipped out before she could stop them.

      With lightning speed he had her caged against the back wall of the lift. His mouth crushed hers, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth before she could draw half a breath. Molten heat scalded her from head to toe, sending a rush of sensation so heady she groaned with the sheer pleasure of it.

      The sound seemed to galvanise Bastien. His hands bracketed her, his powerful body imprisoning her. From chest to knee, every muscle of his hard, streamlined physique was imprinted against hers as he devoured her lips.

      When his tongue slid boldly against hers liquid fire shot through her bloodstream to pool low in her pelvis. The sensation was alien, but so exquisitely delightful that Ana whimpered. Again, the sound triggered something in Bastien.

      He surged closer, rolled his hips until the unmistakable force of his arousal lay hot and heavy against her belly. A wave of longing stole over her, sparking a yearning to reach for him, to touch him in a way that would appease the stark hunger.

      His strong jaw abraded her palm. Glorying in the new and exciting textures, she traced her fingers to his nape, slid her fingers through his hair once more. She didn’t