‘Of course not,’ Laura breathed, inching away out into the corridor. ‘But ...but it’s getting a bit late. Perhaps we ought to have a quick look around the stables ...before the light fades...’
Gabriel pushed himself away from the door. Whatever she felt for him now, he would make sure that time worked its magic on her, time and his persuasive powers to seduce her back into his arms, back into his bed and towards the inevitable rejection. He would allow her to wriggle but then he would reel her in. He wondered how her body would feel after all these years, and felt himself harden at the thought.
‘No need to show me the land,’ he commented. ‘Just the stables and, of course... the other outbuildings.’ He saw her pause fractionally when he said this and he knew, with a fierce stab of undiluted satisfaction, that she was thinking the same thing that he was. The offices. Home of their stealthy love-making seven years ago. She might have eradicated him from her life when he had made a nuisance of himself by daring to propose marriage to her, but she still couldn’t quite forget the passion they had shared, could she?
It was still light when they got outside, but he had not arrived till a little after four and the light was already beginning to fade.
‘I only have the three horses left,’ Laura was telling him, with her back to him as she walked past the empty stalls. ‘Two are so old that they probably won’t make it through this winter, and I really shouldn’t be spending money on feeding them, but...’
‘But you cannot bear the alternative.’
Laura turned to look at him, her eyes flashing with anger. ‘That’s right, Gabriel! I can’t bear the thought of having them put to sleep! I know that it doesn’t make financial sense and I suppose, to a man like you, anything that doesn’t make financial sense isn’t worth considering, but I’m afraid I’ve still got some compassion left!’
‘Unlike me?’ He looked at her and fought the urge to kiss her very firmly on that quivering pink mouth. God, even after all the muddy water under their bridge, he was still attracted to her! It confused him and confusion was not an emotion with which he had much familiarity.
‘Unlike you!’ she agreed with vehemence. ‘You never used to be like this, Gabriel. What happened?’ She had intended to throw that at him with scathing disdain, but Instead she winced as she heard the genuine curiosity in per voice.
‘Life happened,’ he said abruptly.
‘I’m surprised you never married.’ A slight, cool breeze lifted her hair from her shoulders and Laura wrapped her slender arms around her body.#p#分页标题#e#
‘Because I am such a catch?’
‘You’re good-looking and eligible. I would have thought that you would have had hundreds of women beating a path to your door in search of a band of gold.’
‘Oh, but I have,’ Gabriel drawled smoothly. ‘I prefer my life to be uncluttered, however, so I usually try and end things before the beating-down of the door occurs.’
Of course he would have had numerous lovers, but she still felt a jolt of searing jealousy at the thought of them all, lying in bed with him, making love.
‘Now, shall we continue with our tour of the empty stables? Or are there any more pressing questions you feel you need to ask?’
‘I was simply being polite,’ Laura muttered. ‘If we’re going to be doing business together, then we might as well be civil to one another, wouldn’t you agree?’
‘Doing business with one another?’ He began strolling down the corridor that ran along the stabling blocks, peering into the forlorn, vacant stalls, seemingly checking each one for signs of imminent collapse.
‘Hold on. We are doing business with one another, aren’t we?’ Laura hadn’t budged and he eventually turned around to look at her. ‘That’s what all this is about, isn’t if’ she persisted, her heart thudding as he slowly approached her. ‘You did say that you were serious about buying the place, didn’t you?’
‘I also said that it would depend on its condition. I’m a businessman first and foremost, as you were at such pains to point out. It’s hardly likely that I’m going to throw my money into a pit from which I shall never be able to recover any of it, wouldn’t you agree?’ His mouth curved into a smile and Laura gave a little shrug of her shoulders, uneasily aware that he was toying with her even though what he had said was absolutely true and would have been said by any prospective buyer. Anyone would demand to see the goods and approve them if they were to invest money.