LITMIR.BIZ

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body go rigid.

      He stilled as she wrenched his mouth from his own, and when she pushed against him he released her to arm’s length. ‘Please—don’t.’

      His eyes narrowed and became impossibly dark. ‘That wasn’t the message you were giving me mere seconds ago.’

      Because she’d craved his touch and didn’t think! Damn it, she’d never been able to think when he was anywhere close.

      Something he’d always known, and she was willing to swear he’d taken pleasure in taunting her vulnerable emotions with a look, the touch of his hand, the light teasing brush of his lips to her cheek in welcome whenever he’d flown in from the States. The occasional kiss that came close to getting out of hand …

      The times she’d taken his actions as deliberate … and hated him afresh for it.

      ‘A few days, Wolfe,’ Lara reminded him. ‘Will it be such a hardship to wait until I have your ring on my finger?’

      He inclined his head. ‘If you insist.’

      It hurt that he acquiesced so easily.

      Sex, she reflected a trifle bitterly. That’s all it is to him. So get over it.

      Without a further word she crossed to the large bed she’d nominated as her own, lifted the covers and slid beneath them.

      Habit ensured she activated the alarm on her watch, and her eyes widened as he began shedding his clothes.

      For a moment she was transfixed by the sight of him, the smooth flex of rippling muscle and sinew with each movement, as he pulled his shirt free from his trousers and discarded it.

      Next he loosened his belt, undid the clasp at his waist and slid down the zip fastening.

      Oh hell, she was no voyeur, and her lashes swept down, remaining closed until she heard the faint rustle of bedclothes as he occupied his bed.

      ‘You’re quite safe.’

      His faintly inflected drawl held a tinge of amusement, and she turned to look at him as he crossed his arms above his head.

      She was aware of the faint drift of exclusive cologne, the faint, male muskiness … The pulse at the base of her throat leapt to a faster beat.

       Safe?

      Did he have any idea how her body reacted to him? All her skin cells seemed alive and begging his touch. Something she found difficult to control, and totally at variance with the dictates of her brain.

      ‘The loan shark has been paid off.’

      ‘Thank you.’

      She should feel relieved, and she did.

      Really.

      Except, with every step she took, it felt as if she was merely exchanging one form of debt for another.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      THE alarm and wake-up call sounded simultaneously, and Lara deactivated her watch as Wolfe reached for the phone.

      His upper body was bare to the waist. Gleaming tanned skin pulled taut over superb musculature that rippled fluidly with every move. She caught a brief glimpse of exposed buttock, and momentarily froze.

      Her gaze met his, and for an unguarded moment she resembled a startled doe.

      Wolfe’s eyes darkened and became thoughtful as he replaced the receiver and swung back to his side of the bed.

      It was a long time since he’d shared a room with a woman where sex hadn’t featured throughout the night. A sophisticated, willing partner who knew the score … and, when the relationship concluded, accepted the appropriate gift with no hard feelings.

      Yet this was different, without precedent.

      Until now, marriage hadn’t formed part of his agenda.

      Risk taking, following his instincts and acting on them, was part of who he was. In the cut and thrust of tough business deals, he’d surprised his competitors … and at times, himself … by winning against incredible odds. It had also made him a very wealthy man, with enviable share-and-property portfolios, and was something of a legend for his business nous.

      On Monday he’d entered Darius’ lawyer’s sanctum with no intention other than learning the contents of his late father’s will. Yet within the space of a few hours he’d made a series of life-changing decisions.

      Based on what?

      A young woman’s air of fragility that meshed with strength, pride and resolve. The memory of a teenaged girl whose lips had melted against his own … warm, giving and innocent. His sudden and totally unexpected reaction.

       Impossible.

      It was a decision based on loyalty to his father. An attempt to make amends for following his own path, instead of agreeing to the one Darius had set for him.

      The marriage clause was contestable and unlikely to stand up in a court of law … yet he’d chosen to concede to the written dictum.

      With Lara … the daughter of Darius’ second wife, a young woman far removed from his usual intimate companions. Someone who’d won Darius’ affection and had returned it in kind, refusing, as had Suzanne, financial help in achieving her goals. Evidenced by legal proof … a fact which had surprised him and soon destroyed his previous misconceptions.

      Even now, with every passing day, Lara continually battled for independence.

      Unless she was a skilled actress, which he seriously doubted, she hated relying on him for anything.

      Lara gathered up fresh underwear, jeans, tee-shirt and disappeared into the en suite, to emerge soon after to discover Wolfe dressed and in the process of pouring coffee into two cups.

      ‘There’s no need—’ for you to come with me … Except one hard look in her direction ensured she didn’t finish the sentence.

      ‘We did this yesterday,’ Wolfe drawled. ‘Let’s not do it again.’ He held out a cup and saucer. ‘Coffee. Black, two sugars. Drink it, then we’ll hit the road.’

      There was the temptation to tell him what to do with the coffee, and only the need for a caffeine fix prevented a verbal comeback.

      The fact he knew irked her, and she opted for silence during the short drive to the fish market, where she made her selections, haggled a little, smiled when she beat down the price and executed a high-five gesture with a competitor.

      ‘Negotiations are in place on a property at Point Piper,’ Wolfe informed her as they shared breakfast.

      One of Sydney’s luxury harbour-front suburbs, she acknowledged. Expensive—make that very expensive—real estate.

      ‘I’ve arranged for a firm of interior decorators to quote on refurbishment. Ideally, it’ll completed by the time we return from New York.’

      Why should she be surprised? Money, enough of it, could achieve almost anything.

      ‘I’ll collect you at two-thirty this afternoon.’

      Lara opened her mouth to argue, only to close it again as Wolfe continued, ‘And have you back at the restaurant by four. Your staff assured me they’ll manage.’

      ‘You arranged this without first checking with me?’

      ‘I merely circumvented your objection.’

      So he had, with sufficient finesse that left her no quarter but to concede … or sound like a petulant child.

      ‘DO all women of your acquaintance fall at your feet, eager to fulfil your every wish?’

      The corners of his mouth curved with humour. ‘What an interesting concept.’

      ‘You didn’t answer the

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