Page 19 of One Dangerous Desire
He nodded and drew near to lean his forehead against hers, still cradling her cheeks between his palms. “Thank you for that kiss. I will always treasure it.” His voice broke as he whispered, “I’ll never forget.”
Bracing both palms against the firm expanse of his chest, May pushed. Hard.
Rex stumbled back.
“Forget, Mr. Leighton. Please do forget any of this ever happened.”
May whirled around and started toward the French doors that led back into Ashworth House. She ignored the rawness of her lips, the gallop of her heartbeat, the breath she couldn’t seem to catch, and focused on the night air. Its coolness was a refreshing contrast against her overheated skin.
Fool!What did her father call the men he bested in business? Dupes. She’d take that label and more for allowing herself to believe, even for a moment, that she meant anything more to Rex Leighton than she had to the man he’d been back in New York. One kiss, he’d said, and she’d taken it and been willing to give him more. Clearly, he’d meant it to be the end.Foolish, gullible girl.That’s what her father had called her when he decried her infatuation with Reginald Cross.
He could change his name, build the biggest hotel in London, become wealthier than her father at the height of his success, but she would never let the man break her heart again.
“May, wait.”
Not this time.She ignored his request and kept walking. Just on the verge of slamming the door behind her, a thought struck and made her turn back.
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“I’m glad.” He sounded wary, uncertain.
Oh, she liked that. Let him be off kilter for a while, as she’d been since the moment he’d walked back into her life.
“I don’t want you to forget, Mr. Leighton. I want you to remember. Because if I’m ever inclined to you kiss you again, I’ll need someone to remind me what complete and utter folly that would be.”
His eyes widened a fraction, but he said nothing in response, so May turned and started back into the warmth of house.
“You’re just going to stomp away like a spoiled child?”
The taunt ignited her fear. Perhaps she was still that spoiled, gullible girl. Whatever she’d learned from the first time he’d broken her heart hadn’t stopped her from falling into his arms again tonight.
It was time she shed fanciful notions about love and happily-ever-after. It was time to think and act practically, as her mother had always urged her to do.
Glancing over her shoulder at Rex, a bulky shadow in the darkness, May drew in a breath and willed her voice not to shake. “Good-bye to you, Mr. Leighton, and all of this nonsense between us. I leave it behind me. I’ll take the duke’s wager.” She was speaking too fast. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth. “Please know that I thoroughly intend to win.”
Chapter Seven
TWO DAYS LATER, Rex found himself summoned to Ashworth’s library-office. He sat in front of the man’s desk in the same uncomfortable chair he’d occupied during his first visit. Being in the duke’s house again unsettled him, but he trusted the tumbling in his gut would ease. And if Ashworth would cease flitting around behind him, his headache might wane too.
The cluttered room, with books and Oriental pottery stacked everywhere, bore no resemblance to the house’s elegant drawing room. Yet his mind kept wandering to that upstairs space and his first sight of May in her ruby evening gown. The back garden terrace haunted him too, even if hergood-byehad been the right choice. And it had been.
She was right to put an end to it. Soon his body would catch up with the logic of it too.
As for the duke’s wager—he simply had to win. There was no other option. Rex lifted his gaze to study the walls, carpet, and decorations in the room. As much as he’d be curious to see how May’s artistic mind might transform Ashworth House, he required the man’s funds. Finding another investor would take finagling for which he had no time or inclination.
He’d wandered from rented home to rented home most of his life. It was time for permanence, something of his own.
“Thorndike, welcome. Come and meet our young aspiring hotelier.”
Grateful for a reason to stand and stretch his limbs, Rex rose from his chair and reached up to straighten his necktie before turning to greet the man who could change his life. He needed Thorndike to sell his prime piece of Mayfair real estate where the Pinnacle would stand.
“Mr. Leighton, I trust you’ve been well.” Thorndike shook hands with a firm hold and met Rex’s gaze directly.
“And you, sir.”
Thorndike’s almost-smile buoyed Rex’s spirits. Sullivan had gathered information that a rival investor had recently shown interest in the property. Ashworth had been gracious enough to arrange a meeting with Thorndike so that Rex could present his case. Considering that Ashworth had yet to definitively back the venture financially, the last thing Rex needed was a bidding war.
“Gentlemen, we’re waiting for one more guest to join us. Tea in the meantime?”
