Guy did not argue as he stumbled out of the lift and almost ran along the corridor. Lauren hugged her arms around herself, shivering as shock set in.
‘Here.’ Ramon slipped off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
The silk lining was warm, and carried the faint scent of his cologne. Lauren hugged it to her as he guided her back into the lift. ‘That was my floor,’ she muttered, her brain finally clicking into gear when the lift moved smoothly upwards. ‘Where are we going?’
‘You need a drink, and I have a bottle of brandy in my room—unless you want to go back downstairs to the bar?’ he suggested, when she looked as though she was about to argue.
Lauren shuddered at the thought of returning to the party with Ramon, knowing they would attract curious glances from the other PGH staff. But she could not risk being alone with him, she thought desperately. Not because she feared him in any way. No—it was herself, and her overwhelming awareness of him that scared the life out of her.
But when the lift halted at the top floor it was easier to follow him down the corridor than to cause a scene—especially as her legs suddenly felt as though they were about to give way beneath her. Unlike her small, functional hotel room, Ramon’s suite was large and luxurious, and she sank down onto one of the leather sofas while he crossed to the bar and poured them both a drink.
‘Here—drink this. It might bring some colour back to your face.’
She was about to remind him that she never drank alcohol, but the expression in his eyes warned her that his patience was dangerously thin, so she obediently took a sip of brandy and winced when it burned the back of her throat.
Ramon dropped down onto the sofa beside her, close enough that she was aware of the heat emanating from his body. He loosened his bow-tie and unfastened the top couple of shirt buttons to reveal several inches of olive-gold skin and a sprinkling of dark chest hairs. After one furtive glance at him, Lauren took another gulp of brandy.
‘So what was all that about?’ His eyes darkened as he inspected the bruises on her arms. ‘You should have let me hit the bastard.’
‘Guy was just being…Guy. He’s asked me out a few times in the past, and didn’t like it when I turned him down. Anyway, maybe he has a point,’ Lauren said dully, feeling another wave of sick misery wash over her when she remembered Guy’s remarks about the reason she had been given the Velaquez contract.
Ramon frowned. What do you mean?’
‘I mean that, according to Guy, everyone at PGH thinks
you picked me to work for you for other reasons than my capabilities as a lawyer,’ she said bitterly. ‘There are several other commercial property lawyers who are more qualified and experienced than me, so I suppose it’s not surprising that people believe I slept my way into the job.’
‘As a matter of fact Alistair Gambrill recommended that you would be the best person to work on my project,’ Ramon told her quietly.
The knowledge made her feel marginally better. ‘But you know what office gossip is like,’ she burst out, jumping to her feet in agitation. ‘People will have been wondering why I was chosen for the contract above more senior lawyers, and the fact that you danced with me all evening will fuel the rumours about me.’
Anger and humiliation surged up inside her, and she spun round to face Ramon, her eyes flashing fire. ‘I’ll be known as the Mata Hari of the legal world,’ she cried wildly, ‘and it’s all your fault.’ Once again he had turned her world upside down. ‘Why did you have to come back, Ramon?’
‘Because I couldn’t keep away,’ he countered harshly. He stood up, his eyes fixed intently on her, and the blazing fire in their golden depths sent an answering heat coursing through her veins. ‘I tried to forget you—but, Dios! You were always there in my mind. Even on the day of my father’s funeral I found myself thinking about you,’ he revealed grimly, his voice laced with self-disgust, because in the midst of his grief he had closed his eyes and imagined himself resting his head on Lauren’s breasts. Of course he had not wanted to be comforted by her, he told himself angrily. He had wanted sex: the physical satisfaction that for some reason was so much more intense with her than with any other woman.
She should move, Lauren told herself as Ramon strode towards her. She should run for the door and keep on running. But her feet seemed to be welded to the floor, and her heart was beating so fast that her breath came in sharp little gasps.
He was so close that she could see the flecks of gold in his eyes, and a rampant, undisguised sexual hunger that filled her with fear and shameful longing. ‘Leave me alone,’ she said shakily, putting out a hand to ward him off.