Lianne looked uncomfortable. “It occurred to me just for a moment, Olivia, but Alex is an aboveboard kind of guy,” she rushed to assure her. “He wouldn’t do anything underhanded.”
Olivia wasn’t so sure, but she couldn’t say that. She wanted no one to know that she didn’t have complete faith in her husband.
“No, he wouldn’t do anything underhanded,” she agreed, despair ripping at her insides.#p#分页标题#e#
She’d already been through one husband who had cheated on her, so that she had married another man who cheated her in another way was easier to believe. And if she didn’t believe that, what other explanation could there be for the cancellation? No, it was too much of a coincidence.
By the time she arrived home she had worked herself into a bit of a tizz. It was bad enough that she suspected Alex of manipulating the situation, but knowing that Lianne suspected it as well embarrassed and humiliated her.
She found him shaving at the bathroom sink, a towel around his lean hips, his broad back tanned, muscular and crying out for a woman’s touch.
Pain instantly twisted inside her. Oh God, shades of Eric?
“Going out somewhere, Alex?” she snapped.
He didn’t appear surprised by her presence, so must have heard her coming through the apartment. “I have a business dinner to attend,” he said, smoothing the razor along his jawline. “At the Teppanyaki.”
She remembered now. A few days ago he’d told her about the invitation for the men-only dinner with a Japanese billionaire.
Fine. So he wasn’t meeting another woman. One thing had nothing to do with the other anyway, she thought, swallowing a silly sense of relief that he wasn’t seeing someone else.
She stepped into the large marble bathroom and went up to him. “You got them to cancel the venue, didn’t you?”
He looked blank. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“The venue for my fashion show in Melbourne has fallen through. They said there’s a problem with the wiring. How convenient,” she sneered.
His blank look disappeared and his mouth clamped into a thin line beneath the remaining shaving cream. “And you think I arranged it?”
“Yes.”
For a moment everything went still. Something hard flared in his eyes, then cleared, and just as quickly he turned back to the sink, obviously ignoring her. Without thinking, she reached out to stop him, but instead her hand slipped along his damp skin and accidentally knocked the towel away.
Time stopped.
Even her gasp seemed to be made in slow motion.
Then she felt drawn to look downward. He was fully aroused. Heat washed over her and slowly she raised her gaze to his.
His eyes held an odd glitter. “Touch me,” he rasped.
She hesitated, unable to move.
“Touch me,” he repeated.
The command excited her, and she moistened her lips, seeing him tense at the action. Suddenly she wanted to see how much further she could arouse him.
Almost in a trance she reached out…and slowly…deliciously…wrapped her palm around him, gripping him fully. He felt so smooth, so firm, so incredibly male. A woman could do much to torment a man like this.
Her fingertips moved to do just that.
Instantly he put his hand over hers, stilling her. Anticipation leaped inside her, making her wonder what he would—
“You trust my body, Olivia,” he muttered. “So why can you still not trust me?”
His words were like a slap in the face. She swallowed hard and tried to pull her thoughts together. She dropped her hand away from him. “I—”
“Think about it,” he said coolly, and turned back to the sink to complete his shave, not bothering to cover himself with the towel on the floor.
For a moment more she stood there, warring emotions running through her. Then she spun away, needing time to be alone.
“Olivia?”
She stopped but didn’t look back.
“We’ll finish this later tonight.”#p#分页标题#e#
She didn’t reply, her heart jumping in her throat. What exactly did he want to finish? Their discussion?
Or their marriage?
Olivia was in the kitchen making a cup of coffee when she heard the apartment door close. Her chest ached with a growing pain. Alex had left without saying goodbye.
Well, she wouldn’t let thinking about Alex overwhelm her. She would have dinner, do some paperwork, then go to bed, just as she did every night.
Only, the massive bed seemed so empty without Alex. She tossed and turned, remembering the scene in the bathroom, her heart skipping a beat at how blatantly aroused he’d been for her.
And then her heart sank just as quickly when she remembered how fast he’d turned away. Angry, she got out of bed and made for the spare bedroom, where she tossed and turned some more. She must have fallen asleep eventually, for she awoke as the bedside lamp was turned on.