‘But it does.’ He lifted his hand and cupped her chin before she could turn away, his breath warm against her skin, his dark eyes holding hers in fierce purpose. ‘Margot was at a nightclub and spoke to a man I’d had a meeting with today. I had mentioned I was staying in town tonight and that he could call me here with some information I required. Obviously in the course of his conversation with Margot he must have let slip the fact. As for her having the key to the apartment—it is true we did have an affair, but I broke it off before I met you.’
‘Your poor girlfriend didn’t seem to think so,’ Lisa said scathingly.
‘Don’t waste your pity on Margot; she was under no illusion about our relationship. It was never going anywhere; it simply mutually benefited both parties.’
‘If you say so,’ she responded grimly. ‘But, actually, I don’t really care.’ And at that moment she didn’t; she had taken too many shocks for one night, and simply wanted to be left alone.
‘That’s the whole trouble, you don’t care,’ Alex suddenly erupted, swinging away from her and marching across the room, and then turning back to face her. ‘That’s what this is all about. Any wife worth her salt would never have allowed another woman to climb into her husband’s bed in the middle of the night.’ A feral smile curved his lips. ‘I am damned sure I would not stand by and let a man walk into your bed.’
She didn’t doubt him for a moment. ‘But then, as you and I both know, unlike you, I have never invited any man into my bed,’ Lisa shot back.
‘I’m thirty-five. Few men my age have led a celibate life,’ Alex opined with a shrug of his broad shoulders. ‘Margot meant nothing to me, though I will admit she should never have got in here tonight. I have spoken to Security, but unfortunately the man on duty this evening has just returned from a rather long absence from work because of ill health. The man knew Margot, and was not aware I had since married. A mistake he will not make again,’ he declared. ‘I will not tolerate anyone who harms you, directly or indirectly.’
His dark-lashed eyes glittered brilliantly on hers, and he lifted his hand to brush a stray tendril of hair gently back behind her ear. Lisa believed he meant what he said, but sadly she recognised it was not from love, but from his inbuilt male possessiveness. She was his wife, ergo, his property.
‘You are my wife,’ Alex continued huskily, ‘and I can safely say from the minute I met you there has been no one else.’
Her blonde head flew back and she shook off his hand. ‘Are you sure about that, Alex?’
‘Of course. I do not lie.’ If she hadn’t known better, Lisa might almost have believed he was offended. He lifted his hand towards her again, and she stepped back a pace. His black eyes flared with some indefinable emotion which he then quickly masked, and his hand fell to his side. ‘But perhaps now is not the time for this conversation. We are both tired and may say things we will regret. ‘Suddenly he had gone all formal on her, his anger held in check. Only the tight line of his mouth betrayed his strict control.
‘The only thing I regret is marrying you,’ Lisa said bluntly. ‘And by the way, Alex, I recognised your girlfriend. She was appearing at the theatre in Stratford on the evening we met. You must have spent that night with her and then called for me the next day.’ She watched as a swift tide of colour swept up his face, turning his complexion a dark red. ‘I’m not a fool, Alex, even if I have let you almost make one out of me. But not any more. Next you’ll be telling me you forgot to ask for the key back,’ she continued scathingly. ‘You are certainly your father’s son. Five times married, isn’t it? Well, you can mark me down as your first. And start looking for the second. It is over. Finished.’
Alex stared at her in bitter, hostile silence for long moments. Then he stepped back. ‘It is finished when I say so,’ he informed her arrogantly ‘I am not prepared to argue with you any longer. You can stay in here for what is left of the night. We will continue this discussion in the morning, when you have got over your sulk and are prepared to act like an adult.’ Turning on his heel, he crossed to the door and opened it.
‘As far as I am concerned, the discussion is over. I will be leaving in the morning,’ she flung at his departing back.
Alex paused, then turned round and glanced at her, something dark leaping to life in his eyes. Lisa involuntarily stepped back, although he was nowhere near her. ‘You are not leaving tomorrow, or any other day. Understood?’ And before she could retaliate he walked out, banging the door behind him.