The Millionaire's Revenge(40)

‘Oh, I might as well wait for you,’ Laura said eventu­ally, and he wondered whether she could hear his profound sigh of relief. He turned on his side, propping himself up on one elbow so that he could look at her.

‘Why don’t you come out of the shade of that tree and enjoy the sunshine? It is not that often we get weather like this in spring.’

‘I know,’ Laura agreed, pushing herself up and strolling over in his direction. ‘Last year it rained solidly for spring. If you think the fields are bad now, you should have seen them then. They looked like a jungle.’ She sat down, still keeping her distance, he noticed idly. ‘Old Tom McBride came and trimmed them back for next to no pay.’

Gabriel allowed his eyes to stray to the bottom half of her body, encased in faded, tight jeans and topped with laced-up old leather walking shoes. She was still sitting up with her arms stretched out behind her to support her body. His eyes lingered for a few seconds on the definition of her stomach under the sweatshirt, then moved lazily up­wards to the swell of her breasts. Bra or no bra? he won­dered. Difficult to tell under that thick cloth. Her head was flung back, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the sun.

‘What is your relationship with the estate agent?’ Gabriel asked.

Laura’s eyes flicked open and she turned to look at him. ‘Any estate agent in particular?’

‘The blond one who looked as though he perhaps had not started shaving yet.’

‘I don’t know any estate agents who fit that description.’

‘Little liar,’ Gabriel drawled. ‘Was he your lover? Was that how you got the job working there?’

‘I should come across there and smack you on the face for implying that,’ Laura said.

‘Well, why don’t you?’ he invited with a soft laugh that sent goose-pimples racing across her skin. ‘You can hit me as hard as you like for being such an insufferable, insulting boor ...and then I can take my revenge for being hit...’

‘Oh, yes,’ Laura said on a breathless little laugh. Her heart was racing and every shred of common sense was telling her that she was playing with fire. But the way he was looking at her, his black eyes roving lazily and ca­ressingly over her face, sent shivers of excitement through her that were shattering common sense.

‘What would you do?’ she taunted. ‘I know you, Gabriel, however much you’ve changed over the years. You wouldn’t dream of laying a finger on me...’

‘Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, would I?’ He pushed him­self up and moved closer to her, close enough to touch her if he wanted to but not so close that she would feel his presence as a threat. Every muscle in his body felt alive. He would take this woman and under all the reasons he had logically worked out for himself, under all his argu­ments about levelling scores and evening scales, he was burning with the sheer, overpowering craving to take her simply because he found her irresistible...



CHAPTER SEVEN

‘Gabriel, n-no...’

‘But I haven’t done anything.’ His slow smile was so devastating that it made the breath catch in Laura’s throat. He’d mesmerised her. He mesmerised her then and he mesmerised her now, even though she knew that the divide between them stretched like a yawning gulf. The impas­sioned young boy had developed into a cynical predator and his motives were at best based on animal lust and at worst ...she shivered to think.

But, God, the way his eyes were lingering on her face made her feel as though she were standing close to an open fire and on the edge of a precipice.#p#分页标题#e#

‘I—I’m not a complete idiot,’ Laura stuttered weakly, hugging herself.

I never implied that you were. What are you wearing under that baggy sweatshirt of yours?’

‘Wh-what?’

He gave a low, sexy laugh and continued to look at her. One long, hot look of burning intensity that seemed to send the heat spreading from the tips of her toes to the top of her scalp.

‘Are you wearing a bra? You never used to when you went riding. I remember you once told me that you dreamed of riding on a beach, naked, and that the closest you could ever get to that was to ride without a bra under your jumper. But then, in those days, there were always a lot more people around. Now ...here we are, alone on this little hill...’

‘This is not an appropriate conversation.’ She made a desperate effort to get back to normality but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him and her heart was pounding so hard that her ribcage felt as though it might crack at any moment. ‘We’re not the same two people now that we were then. I work for you. Have you forgotten? And you told me that you would never have a relationship with an employee.’