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her quite a kick, and it had the double advantage of taking her mind off her reaction to him. His closeness was setting all her nerves at attention and, under the circumstances, that was treachery of the highest order.

      ‘Oh, I’m full of surprises,’ she retorted mockingly, finding it remarkably easy to slip into the character he thought her. For months she had had to hold her tongue, and the relief of verbal battle was quite heady. If he wanted a fight, she would give him one. In spades.

      He smiled then, and he reminded her of nothing so much as a tiger—a very hungry one. ‘I just bet you are. As a matter of interest, just how did you manage to snare him? I would have expected someone of Alex’s intelligence to see you coming.’

      Laura ground her teeth. Lord, when this man went for the jugular, he held nothing back. ‘Do you want the gory details, or will a rough outline do?’ she asked sweetly. all the while sending invisible daggers into him.

      Quinn’s lips twitched, though the amusement was chilly. ‘I’m a big boy. You don’t have to spare my blushes.’

      ‘I doubt very much that you have ever blushed, Mr Mannion,’ she returned pithily.

      ‘Quinn,’ he invited, swatting her verbal dart aside and returning one of his own.

      Committing murder had never been so inviting a proposition. ‘Are you sure we’re on intimate enough terms for Christian names?’ she asked coyly, and he laughed dryly.

      ‘Rest assured you and I will never be on intimate terms but I think, under the circumstances, we can dispense with the formality.’

      So, they were to play games, were they? That was fine by her, too.

      Laura allowed a sensual smile to spread across her lips. ‘Quinn, then,’ she flirted dangerously, and from the corner of her eye caught sight of the stunned expression on Jonathan’s face.

      ‘Don’t do this, Laura,’ he advised urgently, knowing full well that Quinn was a formidable opponent and never backed away from a fight but, before he could do more to head her off, his friend was responding.

      ‘He’s right. It wouldn’t be a wise move to use your feminine wiles on me, Laura.’

      Ignoring the look on Jonathan’s face, Laura ventured where angels and sensible folk feared to tread. “Why not? It could be fun,’ she teased, boldly reaching out to run her fingers up and down the zip of his jacket, wondering at the same time just exactly where it was she got her nerve.

      With a look of distaste, Quinn brushed her hand away. ‘Believe me, you wouldn’t enjoy the experience,’ he warned, but, truth be told, she was beginning to enjoy herself and merely batted her lashes at him.

      ‘You don’t know what I like,’ she purred sultrily.

      His beautiful mouth twisted into a sneer. ‘I’m beginning to get the picture. Now cut it out.’

      Delighted by her success, Laura heaved an elaborate sigh, as if to say he was no fun. ‘All right, where was I?’

      ‘You were about to tell me the truth about how you got my godfather to give you all that money,’ Quinn gritted through his teeth.

      Actually, that was the very last thing she was about to do. She had a deep dislike of people who jumped to conclusions. He knew nothing of her, save what he had obviously read in the newspapers, and he had already decided it was true. Since he had clearly made up his mind, she was not going to waste time trying to persuade him differently.

      ‘I used the gifts God gave me,’ she vouchsafed provocatively, and it didn’t surprise her in the least to see his gaze travel the length of her body. Quinn Mannion was nothing if not predictable.

      ‘With which you are fulsomely endowed,’ he drawled contemptuously, making her blood boil. ‘I never thought my godfather would be so easily taken in.’

      Unabashed, she smiled. ‘Alexander got exactly what he wanted from me. Do you want me to draw you a picture?’ she challenged sweetly. It was amazingly easy to dislike this man, even if he did have megawatt sex appeal which turned her insides to mush.

      ‘I’ll pass, thanks.’

      He looked as if he had just discovered a bad smell right under his nose, and Laura couldn’t resist taunting him some more, to rub salt in the wound.

      ‘We were about to go to dinner. Would you care to join us?’ she invited, and heard Jonathan’s sharp intake of breath. He was going to be livid.

      ‘Sorry, but I can’t’ Quinn refused with every appearance of regret. “There’s someplace I have to be and—’ he glanced at the gold Rolex on his wrist ‘—I’m late already.’

      Her smile of dismay was as sincere as his regret. ‘What a shame. Another time, perhaps?’ she ventured politely, holding out her hand. Unable to be so pointedly rude as to ignore her gesture, Quinn reached across and took it.

      His hand closed around hers. Flesh touched flesh, and it seemed to Laura that a breathtakingly powerful charge of electricity shot clean through her system, bringing every atom of her body alive. It was like being plugged into a live socket. Her heartbeat accelerated off the scale, and her blood ran hot and thick through her veins so that her whole body thrummed with it It was a totally stunning sensation.

      When Quinn released her and turned to Jonathan, Laura was left trembling in the aftershock. She had never felt so unnerved in her life. An hour ago she had been in blissful ignorance of the possibilities, but now she was seriously rattled. She was left gazing down at a still tingling palm. She drew in a shaky breath. My God, she thought dazedly, how could a simple touch do that?

      ‘What on earth did you think you were doing?’ Jonathan snapped at her, bringing her head up sharply. They were alone. Quinn had gone.

      ‘What?’ she asked blankly, still rocked by her reaction. She could scarcely believe it had happened, yet her hand told her it most certainly had. She shivered. She was glad he was gone. If she never saw him again, it would be too soon.

      Jonathan raked an agitated hand through his hair. ‘My God, Laura, you were acting like an idiot!’ he exclaimed in disbelief.

      ‘I was acting the way he expected me to act,’ she declared defensively, and Jonathan rolled his eyes heavenwards, seeking patience.

      ‘You could have disappointed him.’

      Laura was fully aware that she had just done herself no favours, but the man had rubbed her up the wrong way right from the beginning and she did not regret what she had done. In fact she would do it again, with as much satisfaction.

      ‘His assumption annoyed me,’ she pointed out testily, and he snorted.

      ‘You don’t say!’

      She frowned at him. “There’s no need to be sarcastic. You know very well I couldn’t tell him the truth,’ she argued reasonably.

      Jonathan jammed his hands in his pockets as if to keep from strangling her. ‘Maybe not, but you didn’t have to tell such a bald-faced lie, either.’

      Her still tingling palm was annoying her, and she rubbed it over her coat to ease it. ‘I didn’t say a thing!’ she protested, and he laughed humourlessly.

      ‘Trust me, your implications were eloquent. Quinn now thinks you’re the very worst kind of gold-digger.’

      ‘I wasn’t aware there was any good kind of gold-digger,’ she riposted facetiously, and drew a quelling look for her pains.

      ‘Laura.…!’

      She held up her hands in defeat. ‘Oh, all right, I admit I was at fault. I just couldn’t help myself. It was either that or punch him on the nose.’

      That finally brought a smile to Jonathan’s pursed mouth. ‘All in all, I think I’d rather you’d hit him,’ he admitted drolly.

      Laura laughed, but soon sobered again. ‘What

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