LITMIR.BIZ

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heartbeat quickened until finally it hammered a painful tattoo against her ribcage. She wanted to put her hand over it, still its flight, but to do so would alert Cade to her fear. What was he suggesting—that he buy her out? She couldn’t allow that. It would be too ironic by far.

      ‘There’s nothing you can do, nothing I want you to do,’ she declared fiercely, continuing her race out of the restaurant. ‘I’ll sort my own problems.’

      It was bad enough that he’d paid her bill, without him offering to bail her out of her present financial difficulties. And it was extremely humiliating that he had asked around and found out how badly MM Charters was doing. She could have done with hiding that fact from him. Her situation was actually worse than anyone knew. A few more weeks, maybe less, and she would be out of business altogether.

      But Cade was persistent. ‘You really would be a fool to turn me down.’

      He was hot on her heels as she raced out of the restaurant, and Simone fancied that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. She hurried even faster to her parked car. It was unbelievable that he still had the power to churn her emotions. It felt as though the years in between had melted away like raindrops in the sun.

      Their relationship had been hot and amorous; she’d given herself to him so completely that it was embarrassing now to even think about it. He had taught her the art of love-making. He had turned her from an innocent teenager into a woman fully aware of her body and all the pleasures it held. She had been totally in love with him.

      When she reached her car she turned around, fully intending to tell him to leave her alone. But when their eyes met, when she saw the dangerous darkness lurking there, a cyclone erupted, sucking all the breath from her body. She saw once again the man who had been her perfect lover, and instead of thinking about her troubles all she could concentrate on was Cade himself and the way he could still whip up her emotions to such an extent that she wanted to scream for release.

      ‘Please leave me alone.’ Her voice was no more than a husky whisper, and she was conscious of her breasts rising and falling far more rapidly than they were supposed to. The only time they had ever behaved like this was when they’d been making spectacular, glorious love.

      Simone checked her thoughts. Best not think along those lines. Not at this moment anyway. She was more concerned with getting rid of Cade.

      Except that Cade did not want to go. His feet were planted firmly on the ground. He leaned on the car with one hand, and his other looked as though it was prepared to take the key fob from her if she should dare try to climb inside.

      His eyes locked unwaveringly with hers. She had never met a man with eyes so sensationally golden. They were the colour of a lion’s skin—sometimes softly seductive, sometimes purposeful, sometimes dark with passion. They used to turn her bones to liquid, and the annoying part was that they still had the power to thrill.

      ‘Don’t dismiss my offer out of hand, Simone,’ he said softly. ‘If what I’ve been told is true, I’ve arrived at exactly the right time.’

      ‘And why would you help me?’ she asked faintly.

      Cade was asking himself the same question. Why would he want to help Simone when she had been instrumental in him losing his fortune? He ought to run a mile. She could deny it for as long as she liked, but Matthew Maxwell had confirmed that his daughter had known all along exactly what she was doing. He had never thought her capable of such duplicity, and his hurt had been unbearable. He should have been pleased that Simone was out of his life. But, damn it, he’d never been able to forget her. He’d enjoyed teaching her the pleasures of the flesh, and she’d become a sensational lover. He’d thought she was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He’d been wrong.

      His blood pounded through his veins at the very thought of them making love again. It was what he’d wanted from her from the first moment he’d set eyes on her in the restaurant. Not that he’d forgiven her for her past actions, or ever would—but it might give him a feeling of satisfaction to use that beautiful body again. Bend her to his will, make her dependent on him, and then maybe… He smiled at the idea entering his mind.

      Cade had been devastated when she’d let him down. He’d believed that she’d had more integrity than to plot with her father against him, and his faith in humanity had been badly dented.

      Cade’s trip out here had nothing to do with Simone. He knew the Whitsundays well, and had simply seen them as the perfect place to set up another branch of his business. He hadn’t even known whether Simone still lived in the area. And yet here she was, as vividly beautiful as he remembered— more so, in fact. She was devastatingly, heart-stoppingly stunning with her shiny dark-auburn hair tied back in a cute ponytail, revealing in all its exquisite detail her heart-shaped face and huge, luminous violet eyes. Her mouth was soft and tempting even in the midst of her resentful anger.

      He wanted to touch, he wanted to take, and he was not unaware of the effect he’d had on her. She ought to be uncomfortable after what she’d done to him, indeed she’d do well to be afraid of him, But he’d observed her deepened breathing, seen the darkening of her eyes and he guessed that she too was remembering the exciting times they’d spent together. He’d bet his life that she was wondering what it would be like to be made-love to by him again.

      He rigidly pushed such unworthy thoughts to the back of his mind. ‘It’s not a matter of why I’d help you,’ he said tersely. ‘It’s—how shall I put it?—a matter of expediency. Like I said, I’m looking to expand my business, and picking up the bones of an old one might be better than starting out afresh. I’ve been looking around; there aren’t too many new opportunities here. The area’s pretty well covered.’

      ‘You mean you want to take me over?’ Simone’s eyes widened even further and her chin jutted, lengthening her already long, slender neck.

      She looked so beautiful when she was angry. Her cheeks coloured delicately, her eyes flared, and her whole body took on a new, exciting life. It was all he could do not to reach out and touch her, kiss her, feel her against him.

      Begin his campaign—take what he wanted and then…

      ‘Not in the least.’ Cade sounded normal. How could that be when his heart had begun racing at the mere thought of what he intended to do? ‘Think about what I’ve said, Simone, and we’ll meet for dinner tomorrow evening to discuss it.’

      Simone struggled with reason. Cade was walking all over her. The point was, did she go along with his suggestion to help her out, or simply admit defeat and fade into nothingness? What exactly did the business mean to her?

      Her father was way beyond giving advice; he’d sunk into the misery of a gambler gone beyond his means. He’d added drink to his troubles, and her worried mother, whose heart and health were failing, was now in a nursing home completely unaware of Simone’s troubles. Simone still lived with her father, she couldn’t afford not to, but apart from cooking him the odd meal they lived independent lives.

      So the answer to Cade’s question was simple, really—the business meant everything to her. She loved what she was doing. She loved boats, and water and sun and sailing, and the whole way of life. She didn’t want to let it go. She didn’t owe her father anything—quite the opposite!—but she owed it to her mother to keep the company going. And if what Cade was looking for was an investment—not a takeover—then maybe she ought to consider his offer.

      ‘That’s a yes, then?’

      Simone hadn’t realised Cade had been watching her every expression, that he’d seen the fight she’d had with herself and the conclusion she’d drawn. She nodded, not altogether sure she would be doing the right thing, glancing at him only briefly—because to look straight into his eyes sent vibrations through her body, procreating a hunger she had never imagined possible to feel again.

      But perhaps she ought to have looked at him. One moment she was worrying whether she

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