Carole Mortimer - The Prince Brothers - Satisfaction Guaranteed!

‘About what?’ Nik tried to sound unconcerned. Damn it, it was bad enough that just one word of encouragement from her and he would be back in her arms, without having her apologize for turning him down!

‘It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, isn’t it?’ he drawled.

‘I was referring to my accusations concerning the reporter, not—’ She broke off, sudden warmth colouring her cheeks. ‘Never mind,’ she mumbled.

No, never mind. The fact that every time he met this woman he was left a frustrated mess was his problem, not hers. It was just that she seemed to get under his skin…

If it weren’t for the fact she was J. I. Watson, then he would get the hell away from her—and stay away.

Which, from how she was looking at him, was obviously exactly what she was thinking too!

‘Um.’ She swallowed hard, almost squirming with discomfort. ‘Do you think your brother will be long?’

Of course, she hadn’t heard that part of the conversation. ‘Ten minutes should do it. Seven now,’ he added after a brief glance at his wrist-watch. ‘Can I get you a drink while we’re waiting?’ he offered almost desperately; this was obviously turning out to be the longest ten minutes of his life!

Her tongue moved to moisten her lips, Nik’s pulse leaping along with it, although he was pretty sure that Jinx had no idea how provocative the gesture was. There was no way she would have done it if she had!

‘A cola, or some other soft drink?’ he elaborated as her frown deepened. ‘Don’t worry, Jinx,’ he added scathingly, moving to show her the mini-bar that stood in the corner of the sitting-room, stocked with drinks, nuts and chocolate. ‘I have no intention of trying to get you drunk in the middle of the day in order to have my wicked way with you!’

‘No,’ she confirmed flatly—giving him no idea what she thought of that particular suggestion! ‘Does that happen a lot? The thing with the reporter and photographer,’ she explained quickly, once again not meeting his gaze.

Just in case he should misunderstand and assume she meant her having turned him down flat!

He grimaced. ‘All the time.’ He shrugged. ‘We all came over a couple of weeks ago for our nephew’s christening,’ he explained at her questioning look. ‘And we’ve all been avoiding the media ever since,’ he added dryly, ‘but my little brother Zak, who’s still in town because he’s discussing his next film with the director, makes much more interesting reading than I do. Talk of the devil,’ he said as the telephone began to ring.

Three times before ringing off. As promised.

He really should have a word with his little brother about his knowledge of such subterfuge…

‘Right, let’s get out of here!’ Nik closed the mini-bar, striding over to open the door. ‘Jinx?’ he prompted as she didn’t move; in fact, she seemed rooted to the spot.

She looked at him guardedly. ‘You’re sure this is going to work?’

No, he wasn’t sure this was going to work! Oh, he had no doubts that Zak and his companion would prove a suitable diversion; that wasn’t the problem at all. The problem was that he had really annoyed that photographer earlier by taking his camera, and members of the press, once annoyed, tended to stay that way. He also didn’t underestimate the intelligence of the reporter or the photographer; Zak arriving downstairs in this way could seem just a little too convenient to one or both of them…

‘I’m sure,’ he said with more hope than certainty, although there was no way that the reporter could know that Jinx was J. I. Watson. ‘Now, once we get downstairs, walk straight through the reception area, don’t look left or right, just keep on walking, and then once we’re outside we’ll get into a taxi and—what?’ he rasped as she slowly shook her head, her expression unmistakably sceptical now, the look in her eyes derisive.

‘You’ve done this before, haven’t you?’ she said knowingly.

‘Avoided reporters?’ He frowned. ‘All the time—’

‘No, not that,’ Jinx said slowly, no longer looking either apprehensive or remote; in fact, it was difficult to tell how she looked at this moment! ‘The telephone call to your brother. The easy way he agreed to help out. The fact that you have some sort of message to let you know he was on his way downstairs.’ She indicated the nowsilent telephone. ‘Nik, just how often have you had to sneak a woman out of your hotel room?’

Now he could tell exactly how she looked—disgusted best described it.

And he wasn’t sure whether that emotion was directed at herself or him!

WHAT a fool she had been!

It was so easy to forget, when Nik held her in his arms, when he kissed her, when he made love to her, exactly what sort of man he was. But the smoothness with which he had dealt with that reporter and photographer earlier, as well as now—with his brother’s help, of course!—had very quickly reminded her. Thank goodness!

‘Jinx—’

‘You have so many things worked out, don’t you, Nik?’ she scorned. ‘The way that you engineered that meeting at Susan and Leo’s last weekend, for example. Just how did you know I was going to be there, Nik?’ She could tell by the impatient discomfort in his expression that he would rather she hadn’t asked that particular question.

‘Jinx, you’re wasting valuable time—’

‘It’s my time to waste.’ She shrugged.

‘And mine—’

‘I don’t give a damn about your time, Nik—and I’m not leaving here until you answer my question!’ Her eyes flashed deeply blue.

He glared at her frustratedly. ‘You have to choose now to ask me that particular question?’

‘Yes!’

He sighed. ‘You’re not going to like the answer.’

‘I didn’t think for a moment that I would,’ she assured him scathingly. ‘I can reason that you were able to write directly to me to organize this morning’s meeting, because you discovered the PO box that was used for corresponding with Stephens Publishing—although I have yet to find out who your source was,’ she added coldly, deciding it was past time she had words with the publisher. ‘But it doesn’t follow that that would tell you I would be at Susan and Leo’s the weekend before last—Wait a minute! You had me followed from the post office earlier that week when I had lunch with Susan, didn’t you?’ she realized slowly as Nik looked decidedly uncomfortable now. ‘Which means, to know about her anniversary party on Saturday, you must also have had Susan checked out…’

There was no other way he could possibly have found out what her own plans were for that weekend. She had realized his being there at all was too much of a coincidence, but she certainly hadn’t realized the lengths to which he had gone—!

‘Didn’t you?’ she breathed incredulously.

‘Jinx—’

‘You did.’ She nodded furiously. ‘And my name is Juliet. Or Dr Nixon, if you prefer. Never Jinx as far as you are concerned,’ she bit out, grabbing her bag from where she had placed it earlier and walking determinedly to the door. She paused there, turning to glare at him. ‘If you—or anyone employed by you,’ she added scornfully, ‘attempt to come near me again, then that harassment charge I threatened you with last week will become a reality!’

She was so angry that at that moment she could cheerfully have hit him—and felt all the better for it. She simply couldn’t believe that anyone could behave in such an underhand way. Or that she could have allowed herself to kiss, and be kissed, by such a man.

He shook his head. ‘You’re being totally unreasonable—’

‘ I’m being unreasonable?’ she hissed. ‘Your own behaviour borders on obsessional. Hit a raw nerve, did I?’ she spat out as he seemed to pale slightly.