Five

‘He was shattered.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that, but I can assure you Niamh will not break your brother’s heart.’

Grayson’s eyes glinted with his trademark cynicism. ‘Not if I can help it, she won’t.’

I tightened my mouth and glared back at him. ‘Firstly, you won’t be able to pay her off.’

  One dark brow rose in a perfect arc. ‘How about you?’

I stared at him for a thumping heartbeat or two. What was he implying? That I could be paid to go away and take my sister with me?

‘You think you can write a cheque to get rid of me? Think again.’

He moved closer and looked down from his considerable height into my upturned face. I stood, totally mesmerized. I wanted to look away but I couldn’t. My body was disconnected from my brain. My brain was saying, Step back, put some distance between him and you, but none of it was getting through. The Wi-Fi was down or something, or too weak to pick up the message. And I was too weak to do anything but look into his darkly handsome features. I was transfixed by the intractable light in his eyes, by the sudden flare of his nostrils, by the alluring smell and heat of him that dazzled my senses as no one had ever done before.

‘How do I know you’re not behind them getting together?’ he said, through thinned lips. ‘For all I know, you’ve probably facilitated their getaway, all the while pretending to be as surprised by their announcement as me.’

I was shocked by his cynical assessment of me, shocked and angry, but I was keen to keep a lid on my emotions. He was a powerful opponent and I didn’t want to give him any advantage by behaving like I had zero emotional regulation. But right then I wanted to swing a savage kick at his shins. I wanted to scrape my nails down his too-handsome face. I wanted to grab a fistful of his hair and tug and tug and tug. Another secret part of me wanted to grab the front of his crisp business shirt and lift my mouth to meet his hard one.

But, instead, I drew in a quiet and calming breath and held his gaze with cool composure. ‘I’m as completely in the dark as you. And we’re losing valuable time arguing the point here.’

He held my gaze for a long pulse- stopping moment. Then he let out a harsh-sounding breath and raised one of his hands to the knot of his tie, tugging at it as if it was choking him. ‘I need to find my brother before he does something he later regrets.’

‘At least we live in London, not Las Vegas. If so, they could have been married by an Elvis impersonator by now.’

Grayson didn’t appear to appreciate my attempt at humor. He glared at me so darkly I thought I might turn on the spot to smoldering ashes. Or maybe it was because I was already feeling so hot in his disturbing presence. I’m no naïve innocent like my sister but I have never met someone who stirs my senses into such a frenzy. I’m normally so logical and sensible but I had trouble keeping my thoughts in order. My brain kept coming up with X-rated images of Grayson Barlowe and me in bed together, naked limbs entangled, his muscled arms and legs pinning me to the mattress. Or the floor, or the ground, or up against a wall...

I gave a tiny shudder and gave myself a concussion-inducing mental slap. I had to stop thinking about him in such an erotic way. He wasn’t my type and I was certainly not his. I’d seen him in the gossip pages, and at awards events, with blonde bombshells who looked so perfectly put together, they could have been supermodels. Some of them are supermodels. Interestingly, Niamh is a blonde bombshell with her white-blonde hair and stunning figure. I haven’t cracked any mirrors lately but I can safely say I do not look anything like a supermodel. Not even close. I fall into the category of a mousy girl next door. Or maybe a girl down the road, so far down the road you wouldn’t notice her at all.

Grayson shoved his shirt cuff back to check his designer watch. My gaze was drawn to the dark hairs that covered his wrists and tapered over the backs of his hands and long strong fingers. He glanced back at me and my heart skipped and tripped.

‘We’d better check Ethan’s apartment first, then we can widen the search.’

‘We?’

‘Yes, we. It will be quicker if we stick together. Besides, I don’t want you out of my sight until I’m sure of your motives.’

I gave him a gelid look. ‘I can assure you my motives are the same as yours. The same.’

Grayson’s brows rose ever so slightly and a devilish glinting light appeared in his gaze that made my pulse pick up its pace like a runner dashing for the finish line.

‘So you want the same as me.’ It was a statement, not a question, but I wasn’t so sure he was still talking about his brother and my sister. The electric energy was back in the air again, fizzing around us like a wayward current. Tingles ran up and down my spine, hot little pinprick tingles that made me aware of my escalating pulse and increased breathing rate. Seriously, I had to either get fit or get laid. Eek, why was I always thinking about sex around this man?

‘I want to find my sister before your brother breaks her heart,’ I said. ‘I’m sure he’s a nice guy and all that but she has no experience around men.’

Grayson moved towards the exit, signaling for me to follow him. ‘Come on then. We’ll try Ethan’s place first and go from there.’

A few minutes later, I drew up behind Grayson’s car outside a block of apartments in a lovely tree-lined street in Islington. Before I could unclip my seatbelt he was by my driver’s door, opening it for me. I didn’t know whether to be flattered or furious. The feminist in me insisted I was perfectly capable of opening my door, thank you very much. But another part of me lapped up the old-world chivalry with relish.

Grayson led the way to the entrance of the building. He typed some numbers into a keypad and the doors opened. We walked across the shiny marble foyer to the lift and he pressed the call button and the doors whispered open at his command.

He waved me to go ahead of him. ‘After you.’

I stepped into the lift and he followed and the doors locked us in together. I was doing my best to avoid his gaze but my eyes kept tracking back to his face as if drawn by a magnetic force. He was still frowning, the twin pleats between his brows deep and tight enough to grip a pencil.

‘Does your brother live alone?’

‘Yes, he insisted on it a couple of years ago. He has a support worker to help him in the morning to get ready for work but he spends the rest of his time alone.’ His jaw tightened like a clamp and he added, ‘Or so I thought.’