The Billionaire Banker(43)

‘Do you know that you’re one strange girl?’

She looks down at her bare feet, wriggles her toes.

‘Have you never wanted to look in a woman’s handbag?’

‘Never.’

‘Why not?’

He rubs his chin. ‘Can’t say the contents of a woman’s handbag have ever held any interest for me. I was always more interested in the contents of their clothes.’

With a sigh, she gets up to return to her side.

‘Like now,’ he says softly

She looks down on him, a half smile on her face, then pulls her T-shirt over her head and discards it on the floor.

His eyes begin to glitter, and instantly her body responds and yearns for him. The tug of anticipation is strong, but she doesn’t go to him. She stands very still as the juices accumulate between her thighs.

‘Come here,’ he says finally, his voice at once husky and slumberous, and it is a relief to have that man’s strong hands grasp her by her upper arms and press her into the mattress.





Twenty

ana wakes up early. She presses the remote button Lfor the curtains and they sweep open, revealing a beautiful day. The sun is already shining brightly. She dresses quickly in a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt and heads for the coffee machine. After several tries she walks to the phone and calls the desk downstairs.

Mr. Nair answers. He immediately tells her he will be around to show her how to use it. Mr. Nair even shows her how to froth the milk for her cappuccino. He tells her he used to work in a coffee bar in his younger days.

‘Do you want one?’ Lana offers.

Mr. Nair’s eyes shine. ‘Are you sure, Miss Bloom? We only have instant downstairs and I’d love a real coffee.’

‘Of course I’m sure,’ Lana says and takes down another saucer and cup.

‘Ah,’ Mr. Nair says delicately. ‘I am a Brahmin and I am not allowed to drink from other people’s cups. I have my own mug. I will bring it up.’

And he does. He brings his own I Am The Boss mug.

Lana opens a tin of biscuits and offers it to him. He takes two, she raises a that’s-it eyebrow, and he grins and helps himself to two more.

‘Any time you want a real coffee, call me, and if I am in, feel free to come up,’ Lana says.

‘Thank you. Thank you, Miss Bloom, you are very kind indeed.’

Lana drinks her coffee, then goes to her mother’s house.

They have a busy day ahead. They pick up her wig from Selfridges and spend some time shopping for things her mother will need. Her mother chooses a burgundy trouser-suit that looks very good on her, two pretty pastel dresses, and some new underwear. Afterwards, Lana watches while two women give her mother a pedicure and manicure. They paint her mother’s nails coral. Her mother smiles at her shyly. There is also a trip to the doctor’s surgery. At five the flat is clean and her mother is ready. Her new wig looks wonderful.#p#分页标题#e#

Lana cries. So does her mother.

Billie shoos them both out of the flat. Lana watches her mother and Billie get into a mini cab and head for Heathrow. Then she goes back to her mother’s empty apartment, falls on her mother’s bed and cries her heart out. It is nearly six when she washes her face and leaves for the apartment.

She is surprised to see that Blake is already in. He comes out of the dining room when he hears her.

‘Is she gone?’

Lana nods.

‘That’s good. I thought you might not feel like going out tonight so perhaps we can have a Chinese takeaway?’

‘No.’

‘Don’t you want any food?’

She shakes her head.

‘Would you like to lie down and rest for a bit?’

‘Yes. That’s a good idea.’

‘OK, sleep for a bit. It’ll do you good.’

She nods and he retreats into the dining room. As she passes him in the corridor, she sees that he is working. His briefcase is open. There are papers spread out on the long dining table and he appears to be concentrating hard on them.

She lies down on the bed and falls asleep. Her sleep is restless and full of dreams. A noise wakes her in the middle of the night. She realizes instantly that she is alone in bed.

She listens again. It is coming from the kitchen. The little bedside clock says it is two a.m. Her mother and Billie will still be in the air. She gets out of bed, and pads towards the sounds.

She stands at the doorway dazzled by the light, pushing hair away from her eyes. Blake is toasting two slices of bread and does not see her. Her mind takes a picture of him, shirtless and wearing only his low-slung jeans. To be kept for later, when he is no longer around. When he spots her, he leans a hip against the work counter, and looks back at her, his arms crossed, his eyes unreadable.