The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress (5 page)

She was definitely old enough
now to handle what he wanted from her.  And there was no use denying it any longer when the evidence was so painful.  Yes, he wanted Elana.  More than before, which seemed almost impossible.  There had never been another woman who had enticed him like she had.  Not before and not since he’d left her all those years ago. 

As she walked back to the table, carefully maneuvering her way in her obviously new shoes, he noticed that her nipples were standing at attention, his eyes taking in all of her this time.  Her mouth was slightly open, inviting him to kiss those soft, full lips.  Her breasts were beckoning him, begging him for attention. 

And he’d never been one to ignore something so obvious.  He wanted her.  She obviously felt the same way.  They were two adults with adult needs and cravings.  He could handle it this time, knowing that she shared her body with whoever she pleased.  As long as he went into the relationship with that knowledge, he could come out unscathed.  He’d have to take things slowly though.  She looked worried at the moment, so not scaring her away could be tricky, especially with the lust he was feeling at the moment. 

Elana recognized the look on Gaston’s face and her feet faltered.  She’d seen that look many times before, but never with such intensity.  She almost turned and ran from the restaurant.  The only thing stopping her was the challenge that showed up in his eyes
when he looked over at her as she approached their table.  He knew, she thought.  He realized that she was prepared to run and he was daring her to do it. 

When she reached the table, s
he glanced down, trying not to look at him and what she saw made her mouth fall open.  “That’s not fair!” she hissed at him, standing right there beside the table, unwilling to sit back down.  “Why would you do something like that?” she demanded, waving to the decadent chocolate dessert sitting in front of her chair. 

Gaston laughed softly, knowing exactly what she was talking about.  “Why would you be angry that I ordered you some chocolate cheesecake?”  His eyes looked down her too-thin figure.  “You need the calories, Elana.  You’ve lost too much weight.  This is just my attempt to protect my investment.”

She ignored his comment about her weight and focused on the other part of his statement.  Her eyes lit up and she sank down into the chair as gracefully as possible.  All her hopes shining through her eyes.  “You mean I get the grant?” she asked breathily. 

“I can honestly say I’ve never heard a more impassioned explanation of someone’s experiments before,”
he said, chuckling at her excitement. 

She blushed and look
ed down at the table, her eyes lighting on the cheesecake once again but this time not in anger.   Cheesecake really was her favorite dessert and she didn’t even discriminate on type, just loving the rich, creamy texture no matter the flavor.  And this piece had thick chocolate syrup drizzled over the top with raspberries and whip cream.  Scrumptious!  “I guess we should celebrate then!”

Gaston hadn’t realized what he was getting into with that statement. 
Although he had a plate of rich tiramisu in front of him, he wasn’t really into sweets himself, but when she picked up her fork and took a bite of that dessert, he almost groaned out loud.  Her eyes closed, her mouth savored the rich dessert, her whole body seemed to shudder with exhilaration.  Her expression was almost sexual, erotic and sensuous.  His body, which had been semi hard ever since he’d gotten control of himself while she’d been in the bathroom, hardened painfully once again as she took another bite.  He was grateful for the table which hid his body’s reaction from both her and the rest of the restaurant. 

When she put the fork down, it startled him.  He’d been watching her mouth and her eyes, her facial expressions so closely he hadn’t noticed that the dessert was gone.  She’d eaten all of it and something uncurled inside of him.  She wasn’t anorexic.  She just hadn’t eaten well lately. 
He was so relieved he wanted to kiss her.  Well, he wanted to kiss her for many reasons, this one just being yet another. 

Why did he have the sudden urge to make sure that she ate properly from now on?  That wasn’t in the bargain.  If the woman wanted to starve herself, then it was none of his business.  He just needed to
get her married and then he could set her up in an apartment, a proper apartment though, and be on his way with his father’s happiness assured before he died. 

Elana wasn’t sure what to do.  Her dessert was finished and Gaston was staring at her, a look in his eyes that caused butterflies to dance around in her stomach. 
“Are you ready to leave?” she whispered almost frantically, reaching down to pick up her purse, now stuffed with her project data once again.  “When can I start at your laboratory?” she asked, wanting to fill the silence that felt charged with a tension she didn’t want to define. 

Gaston gritted his teeth. He was in the throes of
the most painful sexual fantasy of his life and she wanted to work.  He looked down at her as he stood up, coming around the table to pull out her chair.  He was determined to change this scenario.  He wondered how long it would take him to get her to the same place he was. 

It was an experiment he was more than willing to initiate he thought with relish as he put a
hand to the small of her back while he led her out of the restaurant.  He felt her shiver and almost smiled in anticipation.  He’d held back before.  There was no need to now. 

Elana tried to move faster, wanting to remove his hand from the small of her back.  But he was tenacious.  She didn’t understand what he was doing.  Why was he being so gentle?  What was his plan?  Something just didn’t feel
right and his swings in emotion all evening confused her.  Earlier in the night he’d been angry and now he was basically a protective, terrifying giant standing next to her, glaring at any man who even glanced in her direction as they made their way out of the restaurant. 

What was with this jealousy?  She hadn’t noticed it when they were together before, but maybe the difference at that time was that he knew she would never cheat on him.  She’d read an article that a man who was assured of a woman’s fidelity was much more confident when others noticed her.  Was he not sure of her fidelity now? 

She sighed as he opened the passenger side door to his car.  What a stupid question, she told herself sternly.  Of course he wasn’t sure of her.  Nor should he be!  He’d left her without any reason, without consideration for what she’d believed they had together.  She’d never put herself through that again which meant that she wouldn’t let herself feel those things with him. 

Well, to be perfectly honest, she wouldn’t let herself feel those
things for any other man either.  She’d wrapped herself up in her work, not letting anyone get close to her.  Not even female friends.  Could anyone blame her?  She’d been so hurt, so devastated when he’d disappeared from her life, then seeing him with the other women in the gossip columns, women who were tall, blond and pale, the complete opposite of her, had been brutal.  She didn’t ever want to go through that again.

“You seem very pensive,” Gaston observed as he drove through the dark streets.  “What’s going on in that pretty little brain of yours?”

She turned her head to look at him.  The street lights danced across his handsome face, fading as he confidently drove through the night only until the next light caught his face and the whole process happened again.  Over and over again, the light brightened, then faded revealing a part of him which would then disappear into shadows once more.  Was this how her life would be?  Would he come into her life, brighten things up and then fade out again?  Was she destined to be this man’s puppet? 

No.  She was stronger than that.  She wasn’t going to allow him to manipulate her in that way again. 

In answer to his question she slowly explained, “I was wondering why you showed up.”  She didn’t elaborate or even try to soften the question.  It was a legitimate question, one she should have asked as soon as she realized he was in her apartment. 

Okay, so maybe she had and she just couldn’t remember.  She’d been a little bit, well….a lot, overwhelmed by seeing him once again. 

He didn’t react in any way other than to glance down at her briefly before his eyes went back to the road.  “I received news that you needed funding.  I knew that you were doing something worthwhile so I stepped in to help.”

“But why?” she asked, needing to better understand his motivation.
Something just seemed…off. 

“Does it matter?” he asked, pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex. 
He looked down at her, his eyes hidden by the night.  “You have the grant money and a secure lab to work in.  Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?” He didn’t bother to mention that he’d ensured that no other agency or company would even consider funding her project.  He’d pulled in favors from several people in order to get her here tonight.  Right where he wanted her! 

She bit her lip because
it hadn’t been what she wanted.  Her dreams had all been blasted away by the picture on the internet of another woman on his arm seven years ago.  But she wasn’t going to tell him that.  The arrogance in him was already bad enough, she didn’t need to stroke his ego. 

“There are a lot of things I want in life,” she replied with a false brightness.  
“A fabulous lab, no worries about where I’m going to find my next grant, co-workers that help instead of hinder….I could go on and on, but I’m probably boring you.”  She realized that they were now parked in front of her building and she grabbed her purse, eager to get away from him.  She wanted to settle down her heart rate, to start to relax.  Being around Gaston wasn’t a relaxing time period.  He was too strong, too dynamic and just too male for her to calm down. 

She had one hand on the door handle but stopped when she remembered her manners. 
“Thank you very much for dinner and I will work hard to make sure that the grant money you’ve provided shows results.  I’ll contact your office for details.”

As she was stepping out of the car, she heard his door open as well.  When she was on the sidewalk, she glance
d over at him, startled to realize that he was getting out and following her in.  “What are you doing?” she asked, her throat constricting with fear as he approached her. 

“I’m walking you to your door,” he said as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. 

“I don’t really need you to do that.”

He shook his head
as he walked around the car, putting a strong hand under her elbow to propel her forward.  “Elana, there’s no way I’m letting you walk those dark hallways by yourself.  Why hasn’t your landlord put up adequate lighting anyway?”  He was glaring at the building and she could see his mind already working overtime. 

“I suppose
because that would increase the maintenance costs and that would in turn increase the rent.  No one around here wants that,” she replied stiffly, clutching her purse to her stomach as if it were some sort of shield that would keep the impact of his closeness at bay.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t working very well and her legs were starting to wobble, her stomach muscles clenching and all those horrible feelings that she’d thought were long buried were rising up once again. 

“It’s irresponsible,” he growled, putting that large, warm hand onto her back and leading her through the hallways.  “Why haven’t you complained?”

She laughed, the sound coming out sounding harsh.  “Because I can’t afford more rent.”

He glared at her lovely face, wondering why he even cared
, but he did.  “Safety should come first,” he responded, looking down at her, seeing how her knuckles were almost white as she clutched at her purse.  “Why hasn’t your father demanded that you live in a safer place?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.  It wasn’t any of his business, but he couldn’t help but ask. 

She stopped and turned to face him.  “
I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions and providing for myself,” she answered him heatedly.  “Besides, My father is a very sweet old man who is having problems of his own.”  She sniffed slightly before turning back to walk up the stairs.  “My father can’t control me anyway.”

He leaned down and shook his head.  “Your father…” he started to say something, but then stopped.  He wouldn’t make any progress getting her to his ultimate goal by maligning her father in her eyes.  Not that she would believe him anyway.  Elana had always revered her father, thinking him a saint.  The man wasn’t a saint by any stretch of the imagination, a fact of which he knew all too well since he’d been slowly destroying the man’s business.  What he’d found out about Rufus’ business practices wasn’t very good, but his daughter didn’t need to know that. 

Why was he protecting her?  Why did he care if she still cared for her father?  He should shove the old man’s crimes right at her, let her live in the real world.  Rufus was unethical and ran with some pretty unsavory people.  If he wasn’t breaking the law, Rufus was definitely skimming that line. 

She glared right back at him. 
“What?  Are you going to tell me that my dad needs to take care of me?  That I’m not old enough or smart enough to make it alone in life?”  She was really working up a steam of anger now.  It was all a defense against letting him inside her apartment, but she didn’t care.  She pulled herself up to her full height, pushing her shoulders back and feigning confidence.  “I’ll have you know that I’m fully capable of running my life exactly the way I want to.  My father has his interests and I have mine.  I don’t ask him for anything!” she finished, poking him in the chest to emphasize her point.