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‘I can’t take any of the credit, I’m afraid’ His smile was bland ‘I had someone do that for me A woman called Alannah Collins’

Ellie nodded Of course he did Men like Alek didn’t choose their oallpaper or spend ages deliberating where to position the sofas They paid for someone else to do it Just as he paid shop owners to release their staff early from a contract He could do what the hell he liked, couldn’t he? All he had to do was to take out his chequebook ‘She’s a very talented designer,’ she said

‘She is’ He narrowed his eyes ‘So I take it you’ll be able to tolerate living here for a while?’

‘Who knows?’ she answered lightly ‘Weto kill each before the week is out’

‘We ht find infinitelyways to sublimate ourfrustrations What do you think, Ellie?’

His words were edged with e sparking beneath that cool stare, and of course she was tempted by that look

But even stronger than te sense of disorientation as he flirted with her Seeing him in his fancy hoht her here Had he really arrived at her humble roole bed? It seeently at her clothing, like a er on his face and then the sudden transforiven way to a passion which had left her crying in his arms afterwards

But men could feel passion in the heat of the moment and then turn it off once their appetite had been satisfied, couldn’t they? She didn’t knohole heap about sex, but she knew that much and she had to remember that she was vulnerable as far as Alek was concerned They ether as equals that day, but they weren’t really equals Shebut that was only a sy It certainly didn’tband was supposed to mean She needed to keep her emotional distance She had to, if she wanted to protect herself fro hurt

‘Just to be clear’ She leato persuadeyour time’

He gave a wry s to think that sharing a room with you would only complicate an already complicated situation’

Ellie felt a wave of soh her as she followed hie reception room Couldn’t he at least have pretended to be disappointed, rather than appearing alaze away from his powerful back and forced herself to look at all the different things he was showing her The plush cines in the sha room, which didn’t look as if it was used very lea table On the wall of his study, different clocks were lined up to show the time zones of all the world’s major cities and his desk contained a serious a pool in the baseym

The bedrooirly—and ould it be?—but at least it was restful The bed was big, the view spectacular The en-suite bathroom had snoels and expensive bottles of bath oil and she thought about how perfect everything looked And then there was her Standing there in her jeans and T-shirt, she felt like a cobhich had blown onto a line of clean washing

‘Do you like it?’ he questioned

‘I can’t iertip along a delicate twist of coloured glass which served no useful purpose other than to capture the light and reflect it back in rainbow rays ‘I just can’t i to fit in here’

His gaze followed the line of her fingers ‘Neither can I But I wasn’t planning on having a baby when I bought this place’

‘You didn’t think that one day you ht have a family of your own? I don’t mean like this, obviously—’

‘Obviously,’ he interrupted tightly ‘And the answer is no Not every man feels the need to lock himself into family life—particularly when so few families are happy’