Harlequin Presents January 2015 Box Set 3 of 4(85)

Rage tore through him.

He made his way through the thinning crowds. The noise level was high. People had had a lot to drink. Hell, she had had a lot to drink!

He descended on them like an avenging angel and cupped her elbow in the palm of his big hand.

‘Time to go, Alice.’

‘Already?’ There was still that laughter in her eyes as she turned to look at him. Her face was flushed, her full mouth parted, inviting...

‘Already,’ Gabriel gritted. He spoke to the blond guy in rapid French and then waited in silence as the other man replied and then, when nothing further was forthcoming, made his apologies, taking her hand and kissing it in a way that smacked of unwelcome intimacy.

‘We’re going to bid our farewells to our charming hosts.’ He still had his hand on her elbow and was channelling her towards Francois and Marie who were standing in the centre of the room, surrounded by their friends and family. ‘And then we’re going to head back to our hotel.’

‘Hasn’t it been a fantastic affair?’

‘Who the hell was that loser you were talking to?’ He plastered a polite smile on his face as they approached their hosts, and kept smiling as he thanked them for a wonderful time, to be repaid in full when they were next in London. Arrangements were made for meetings on Monday. He didn’t take his hand away from her.

‘That,’ he said, dropping her elbow as they walked out into the cool late night air, ‘was not what I brought you here to do.’ In his mind’s eye, he saw her laughing face as she looked up at Prince Charming of the floppy blond hair.

Alice laughed. The champagne had gone to her head, as had the fact that she had only had a handful of the delicious canapés being passed around. The memory of that searing kiss in the back seat of the limo, her confusion at what had promoted it and sheer nerves at being somewhere so utterly out of her comfort zone had combined and she had drank far more than she usually did.

‘You wanted me to dress the part and mingle...’

‘I wanted you to stay by my side and listen so that you could make mental notes of what was said about the deal!’ He waited until she was in the passenger seat, indicating to the chauffeur to remain where he was, and slammed the door behind her.

‘I did not expect you to drink like a fish and start cosying up to random men!’

Alice swivelled to look at his hard, unyielding profile. ‘I wasn’t drinking like a fish or cosying up to random men,’ she protested. She sensed the tension in his bunched shoulders and sat on her treacherous hands, because more than anything else she wanted to touch him and that wasn’t going to do.

‘Who was that guy? Did he have anything to contribute on my acquisition of Francois’ company?’

‘Well, no...’ She stifled a yawn and was treated to a thunderous glare.

‘Am I keeping you awake? Maybe you’ve forgotten that you’re being paid a hefty amount of money for the inconvenience of losing your weekend.’ He knew he sounded like a tyrant but he wasn’t about to back down. She looked sleepy-eyed and just so damned sexy...

‘I would have stuck to you like glue if you had made it clear that that was what you wanted, but I gathered...’ she stifled another yawn, which didn’t go unnoticed ‘...that this was a social event. Besides, I didn’t notice you in any tête-à-têtes with Monsieur Armand or I would have come over. I know I’m being paid a lot for my overtime here. You don’t have to remind me.’

Gabriel couldn’t care less about the money and she wasn’t saying anything he wanted to hear. Who was that guy? Had she answered that question? No. Had telephone numbers been exchanged? Had some kind of date been set up?

‘So who was he?’ he asked through gritted teeth.

‘Are you...jealous?’ Her lips parted and she was suddenly as sober as a judge.

‘Did you exchange numbers? Set up a hot date for later in the week? If so, you can forget it. You’re going nowhere on company time.’ He raked his fingers though his hair and stared at her with frowning intensity.

He had never been jealous in his life before. He didn’t do jealousy. Why would he? Women came and they went and, whatever the pasts were, whoever they had been out with or spoke to, well, he had never cared. Nor had he ever doubted that once they were in his bed they were utterly faithful.

He was jealous now and he didn’t like the sensation.

‘Of course I didn’t give Marc my telephone number,’ Alice muttered, half-resenting that she had been called to task like a kid, half-thrilled because, whatever he said or didn’t say, he was jealous. It made her feel better about fancying him. At least she knew that he wasn’t as casual about it as he had pretended.