The Dare Collection September 2019. Stefanie London
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу The Dare Collection September 2019 - Stefanie London страница 24

СКАЧАТЬ temper vanishing in an instant. ‘Seriously? In that case, yes. I’d love to have a bloody drink. Though it’ll have to be non-alcoholic. I’m still driving.’

      I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high, but I couldn’t stop the excitement that gathered in my gut as we were ushered to the head of the queue outside the bar, the velvet rope being pulled aside so we could enter in front of everyone else.

      Inside, the bar was dark, full of dimly lit alcoves and small rooms where people could sit and chat in complete privacy. Another room had a dance floor in it, but we passed it by, Mr Evans leading me to an out-of-the-way alcove furnished with a dark blue velvet couch and a low coffee table in dark wood. The lighting was atmospheric, the music low and seductive.

      As we sat, a waitress came to take our drinks orders and I went with an orange juice while he had a Scotch.

      I perched awkwardly on the couch while he sprawled out beside me, surveying me, the electricity in his eyes turning into something hotter and more potent, and I was very conscious of how close he was, his knee nearly brushing mine.

      His proximity was insanely distracting, near enough to me to feel the heat pouring off his body. It made it hard to concentrate on anything else.

      ‘Okay, so what’s this proposition?’ I asked when the waitress had gone. ‘And why couldn’t you ask me in the car?’

      ‘Because I didn’t want you to be distracted by driving.’

      ‘Fair enough. This is about the investment money, yes? About what I asked you in Paris?’

      ‘Yes.’

      My heartbeat got faster. ‘And?’

      His gaze was very direct. ‘I don’t change my mind often, Miss Little. And when a thing is done, I consider it done. But I’ve had a week to think about what you asked me and I’ve decided that I was too hasty in refusing you.’

      I swallowed, taken aback despite myself. I really hadn’t thought he’d reconsider. ‘You were?’

      ‘Yes. I had a chance to look at your family’s company personally this week and I’m willing to give Australis more time before we need to see some return on our initial investment.’

       Yes!

      Despite how I’d nearly screwed it up, my gamble in going from Paris to England to face Mr Evans personally had paid off. Dad was going to be so pleased.

      Triumph glowed in the centre of my chest and I grinned like a lunatic. ‘That’s just fantastic, Mr Evans. I can’t tell you—’

      ‘But you’re going to have to do something for me in return,’ he went on, as if I hadn’t spoken.

      The triumph glowed a little bit less bright.

      ‘If you’re wanting sex—’ I began.

      ‘Sex is not required,’ he said before I could finish, a spark of his usual bad temper glowing in his eyes. ‘You must know by now I’m not that kind of man.’

      ‘But I don’t know,’ I shot back. ‘All I know is your reputation and, to be honest, that’s pretty shitty.’

      His gaze narrowed. ‘Fair point. But understand me, I don’t need a business deal in order to get sex and I certainly don’t blackmail people into it.’

      I refused to feel ashamed about it. After Mark, who knew?

      ‘You can never tell,’ I said. ‘So what do you want from me, then?’

      The scar pulling at his mouth was very white against his olive skin, his sneer pronounced. ‘What do I want?’ The scar twisted further as his mouth curved, making his smile seem savage. ‘I have an event I have to be at in Dubai in a week’s time. And what I want is for you to be my date.’

       CHAPTER TEN

       Ash

      ‘YOUR DATE?’ ELLIE ECHOED, her eyes wide. ‘For...what?’

      She was sitting on the end of the couch with her arms crossed, her shoulders hunched, clearly trying to keep what distance there was between us.

      Which was probably a good thing.

      I hadn’t realised that seeing her in the flesh would be quite so problematic, though I should have.

      She was in her chauffeur’s uniform as usual—white shirt, black trousers, black tie and hat. And her glossy brown hair was tied back. Again, she wore no make-up at all.

      Again, she was the fucking sexiest thing I’d ever seen.

      She was staring at me suspiciously, hazel eyes narrowed, yet all I could think about was how she’d looked straddling me, with that white shirt pulled open, her bare breasts pressing against my chest. The tight clasp of her pussy around my cock. She hadn’t been so suspicious then. No, she’d been full of hunger and demand, gripping onto me as if she couldn’t bear to let me go, warming up the cold places inside me with her heat.

       But you’re not going to keep thinking that, are you?

      Bloody hell, no. I wasn’t here for sex. And besides, I’d been there, done that, and I never went back.

      Fighting down the relentless pull of our chemistry and the anger of thwarted desire, I tried not to snap at her. Because that wouldn’t get me what I wanted. Playing nice wasn’t in my nature, but I’d do it. I knew how to play the long game, too.

      ‘I’m a member of a very exclusive club that hosts a lot of charity events around the world,’ I said. ‘In fact, that event you took me to in Paris was one of them.’

      ‘But you didn’t need a date for Paris.’

      ‘No, but I do for Dubai.’

      ‘Why me?’ she asked bluntly. ‘You must have a hundred other women who’d jump at the chance. And why do you need a date anyway?’

      I was conscious all of a sudden that I didn’t want to give her the details of my plan to dupe Delaney. She was very...blunt. And there was an honesty to her that made me certain she wouldn’t approve.

      Then again, I had no idea why her approval mattered to me. ‘Okay, here’s the situation,’ I said, deciding on the full truth and to hell with my ridiculous qualms. ‘I have a luxury hotel chain that I want to get off the ground and I’m angling for a couple of islands in the Caribbean that would make for a perfect resort site. Unfortunately, the man I want to buy them from is getting cold feet about selling them to me. He wants someone more “family-minded” to have them.’

      Ellie’s gaze sharpened. ‘And you’re not...family-minded.’

      It wasn’t a question.

      ‘No,’ I agreed. ‘But I want those islands. Which means I need to convince this man that I’m as family-minded as he hopes СКАЧАТЬ