JACQUELINE BAIRD - Mediterranean Tycoons - Dark & Demanding - At The Spaniard's Pleasure / A Most Passionate Revenge / The Italian Billionaire's Ruthless Revenge

His mother had told him quite frankly she knew perfectly well he used women for his own gratification with no thought of commitment. But if he had any idea of treating the lovely Liza in the same way he could forget it.

If any other person talked to him as his mother had done he would have felled them. But she was his mother so he had contained his temper, though it had been a near thing when she had caustically informed him that she was certain the reason Liza had stayed away since she was sixteen had to be because Nick had made a pass at the girl and terrified her, and he was not to repeat the mistake. Liza was a good girl.

He’d almost lost it then and told his mother the truth. Good in bed, yes! But as for the rest… The injustice of it still made him see red.

Tightening his grip on Liza’s arm, he hurried her through the long corridors to the main part of the house. Dark eyes hard, he glanced at her exquisite profile; he was trying to save the woman from almost certain arrest, but to hear his mother talking he was one stop short of a sex maniac.

But, even worse for a man who prided himself on being in control, he knew he was on very shaky ground. Plus, if he took Liza at her word, his sex life was down the drain as long as they stayed here.

What a dilemma. He was between a rock and a hard place and he did not like it. Damn it to hell! He was much too wily and jaded a male to fall for typical feminine ploys, and rescuing damsels in distress had gone out in the last century with the advance of feminism. So what had possessed him to act like a misguided knight to save Liza? He had no answer, or not one he was prepared to admit to. But he had discovered it was not easy trying to act the white knight, especially when he was thinking below his waist most of the time, and that was Liza’s fault as well.

Liza was quietly fuming. ‘Wait a minute, Nick.’ He had almost dragged her through the house without giving her time to catch her breath, but now they could hear the music playing and they had almost reached the entrance to the huge salon.

‘Before we go any further,’ Liza stopped and that got his attention, his dark eyes glancing impatiently down at her, ‘I want to know how you knew the name of my boss Henry Brown. I never told you but you mentioned him first at dinner last night, and also how did you know I was sharing a suite with him?’

So she had finally noticed the one real slip he’d made. He wasn’t surprised; she was an intelligent girl. ‘You have a very low opinion of your own attraction if you have to keep searching for a reason to be with me, other than sex,’ he said bluntly. ‘And a very fertile imagination, Liza; a bit of business espionage, something like that on your mind, hmm?’ And tightening his grip on her wrist, he added, ‘I don’t usually explain my actions to a woman, but I will make an exception in your case. It is quite simple; when I arrived at your hotel last night I asked for you at Reception. The girl there was very chatty,’ Nick opined hardly. ‘She told me you were sharing a suite with a Henry Brown.’

His crack about a low opinion of herself and sex hit a nerve, but it did not stop her questioning his response. Was a receptionist supposed to give out that kind of information? Liza didn’t think so. But then, remembering her first sight of Nick in the hotel, leaning on the desk laughing with the girl, and her own jealous reaction, she had to accept his answer was perfectly feasible. Nick could charm anything out of any woman, she thought drily, and felt stupid for asking. ‘Do you mind? You’re hurting me,’ she snapped.

‘Not at all.’ He dropped her wrist as if it was something unpleasant. ‘It would never do for us to be seen holding hands, family friend and all that,’ he mocked.

‘Señor.’ Manuel appeared at Nick’s side, and said something softly in Spanish.

Nick placed a hand at the base of Liza’s spine. ‘Go on in—I have to take a call.’ And he was gone before she could protest, disappearing into what she knew was the study. Liza stood for a moment, her eyes on the closed door. Industrial espionage was a bit wild, but she was still not convinced that Nick didn’t have some agenda of his own, and it wasn’t just a helpless fascination for her body, she was sure.

A crowd of people entered the hall and reluctantly she gave up trying to fathom Nick and walked into the large salon. The party had already started and there had to be over a hundred people there.

A small dance floor had been laid at one end and a trio was playing lively Latino music. Liza glanced around but she hardly knew anyone.

Seeing a passing waiter balancing a tray, she gratefully accepted a glass of champagne and took a good swallow, cursing Nick under her breath for deserting her, but at the same time realising it was inevitable. He had passed her off as a friend of the family, and that was how she must stay. Deviousness was not in her nature, but Nick was a master at it. He had dismissed her honest question as not important and sadly she realised it was not important to him, because she was not important to him. He didn’t actually care how she felt as long as he got what he wanted.

Liza could not tolerate deceit of any kind, and unfortunately, Liza realised, drawing on the harsh lesson she had learned nine years ago, wanting someone was not enough. Respect and trust had to be part of the equation, not to mention love. Better to nip the affair in the bud now, before Nick actually broke her heart. Her decision was made; she was definitely going to leave in the morning.

She only had to get through tonight. Draining her glass, she placed it on a convenient table and, straightening her shoulders, she lifted her head and looked around.

Nick leaned against his desk in the study and listened in mounting anger as Carl filled him in on the latest developments.

The case had taken a nasty twist. Two men had beaten up Daidolas’s receptionist at the shop—probably the sailors the police were trying to find. They knew there had been a delivery and they wanted to know where Daidolas was; he owed them money or they would take diamonds. The terrified receptionist had revealed an English girl had delivered a parcel but she knew nothing about it, or where her boss was. The police had checked Liza’s hotel, and worse was to follow: somebody had called and asked to speak to Mr Brown’s PA, and the talkative girl on the desk, probably the same one Nick had spoken to the night before, had quite happily revealed Liza had left with a Señor Menendez, and that Liza’s luggage had been sent for a few hours later.

Nick cursed the downside of being a high-profile businessman as Carl informed him it was more than likely the two men knew Liza was in Spain with him and everyone had heard of the Menendez stud.

A few telephone calls later and Nick left his study, his handsome face hard and slightly grey beneath his tan. He had arranged for round-the-clock security on the estate, by his own men and the local police. But he was still not content. It was a big party, and with over a hundred guests anybody could have slipped onto the property in the bustle of arrivals. He wanted Liza out of here.

Liza placed her empty glass on a window ledge, and looked around the crowd of people. There was still no sign of Nick. Fortunately at that moment Thomas’s son, Marco, appeared at her side.

‘The lovely Liza, and alone. Can I have this dance?’ he asked with a grin.

She was relieved to see a friendly face, having been introduced to him at lunch. Marco was a young man in his twenties, very attractive and very aware of it; she had an inkling he was a bit of a flirt, but it was just what she needed.

‘Yes, thank you, Marco.’ And when he put his hand around her waist and led her through the crowd to the dance floor, she felt none of the tension Nick’s touch aroused in her.