Heart On Fire Part 3

Hanging up, he said to Claudia, "Go into your bedroomV and strode past her towards the front door. She ran into the room she had chosen and quietly closed and bolted the door, standing behind it, listening to the deep, curt tones of Ellis's voice.

"Come in, bring them all into the sitting-room," he said.

"This way, please."

"I'll wait and take back those you will not require, sir," said a voice she recognised, and she could easily imagine the expression on Betty Lloyd's face--catty, excited, curious.

"No, just leave them all. I'll make sure any we don't want are returned to you. The rest can be charged to my bill here."

"Oh. Certainly. I hope the lady likes..." The voices died away as they vanished into the sitting-room. Claudia waited, listening intently, and after a moment or two heard them coming back.

"Well, thank you," said Ellis, and there was a rustle of paper, then Betty Lloyd said, "Oh, thank you, sir..." How big a tip had he given her? wondered Claudia.

From the note in her voice, a very large tip indeed. She had rarely heard Betty sound so pleasant.

Ellis said, "Good evening," and the outer door of the suite closed.

Claudia did not yet emerge; she wanted to be quite sure Betty Lloyd had gone.

She heard Ellis's muted footsteps on the carpet. He tapped sharply on her door, making her jump.

"You can come out now! She's gone."

She unbolted the door arid opened it. He was already walking away; she followed him into the sitting-room and found him opening a square gold-printed box, shaking out of it an exquisite drift of cream lace and silk;j he opened another box, which held a delicate pastel-green nightie, began opening a third, but Claudia stopped him.

"No, don't open them all! I only need one, and any of them is fine!"

He gave her a sideways, glinting look.

"Aren't you going to give me a fas.h.i.+on show?"

She stiffened, s.n.a.t.c.hed up the cream nightdress and walked away with it.

"I'll take this one! The rest can go back."

"Oh, I think you'll need these," he said, holding out another box.

She took it, saw that it was a matching set of underwear in the same shade and style; slip, bra, parities. Claudia had never been able to afford lingerie of that quality or price, and she couldn't resist accepting these.

After all, she told herself defiantly, it was Ellis Let~vre's fault that she had to stay here overnight. She wouldn't need these things if she weren't imprisoned here.

"Thank you," she said, not meeting his amused gaze, however, and took both boxes into her bedroom, placing them on a chest of drawers. She stayed in there for several minutes, reviewing her situation and feeling distinctly worried. She did not like the way he had asked if she was going to give him a fas.h.i.+on show. Could she trust him? She looked at her watch, her brows knitted. She would tell him she was very tired, ask for an early supper to be sent up, eat it, and then go to bed. No doubt he would he going down to dinner with the other conference members; he wouldn't be back for hours, and she would make quite sure that her door was locked and bolted. She would not be opening it, either, whatever he said.

She went back to the sitting-room and found Ellis sitting behind the desk, his dark head bent, reading ~ a copy of the speech. She watched him skim down the lines and was astonished by the speed with which he went through each page. Now and then he would halt, pick up a pen and make some small alteration, so he must really be reading each word--but so fast that she hardly believed it possible. He took no notice of her, so she quietly finished clipping the other copies and placing each in a prepared folder.

She didn't look at Ellis again, yet her senses were attuned to his every movement: the calm, regular breathing, the rustle as each page was turned, the long, sinewy hands holding the speech, the very male body leaning back in the chair, at ease and yet somehow always poised for action. Claudia couldn't remember ever feeling this aware of a man; it was a physical thing, a response to him deep inside her own body.

He read the last page and looked up.

"Yes, that's more or less what I wanted, but I've made a few alterations-would you get those pages changed and printed out again?"

He got up and walked out without waiting for her to answer. Almost in disbelief she heard the outer door close behind him as she hurriedly picked up the speech and began flicking through the pages, noting every change.

Six. no, seven. Seven pages would have to be altered and printed out again!

Rage burnt inside her. That would take her another hour, even on the computer. She looked down at a page--the alteration. was so small, a change of phrase, nothing more. Did he have to do that? It had sounded fine the way it was--why change it? Oh, it might actually be better put this new way, but in her opinion it was just a pointless waste of her time. That wouldn't bother Ellis Lefevre, of course. He had her penned JO up here,"a prisoner, with time on her hands, so why not make her work?

She cleared the desk again and sat down grimly to w~ork as fast as she could.

The telephone kept ringing. She was briskly polite and got rid of each new caller with as few words as possible, made a note of the name and time, and any message, then went back to work.

At last she reached the end of the revisions and once more clipped the pages of each copy together and slid them into their folders, sat back and closed her eyes, feeling exha~isted.

She had felt tired when she got up this morning, she would much rather have stayed in bedwbut she had come to work because she desperately needed the money, and her day had been one of the most hectic and trying of her whole life. She yawned and stretched. She was dying for another cup of tea, too.

But she couldn't ring room service, because Ellis Lefevre had the only key, and they would not be able to get in here until he returned. She looked at her watch.

It was gone seven. How much longer would he be?

Surely he hadn't forgotten her and gone off to dinner with someone?

She wouldn't be surprised if he had. That would be typical. Leaving her stranded here, without any food, while he talked business, ate a wildly expensive dinner and drank an even more expensive wine, no doubt!

And what was she supposed to do while she waited? Furiously, she got up and went into the room she had chosen, locked the door, picked up the nightdress and underwear that had been sent up from the shop, and tried them all on, at her leisure. The warm cream shade looked terrific against her red-gold hair; it was perfect Hi~AKI ~JN PIKI~ for her colouring and gave her skin a wonderful glow The neglige had a deep collar of lace, like a soft ruff and floated around her, the feel of the wild silk on her skin so blissful that she kept both nightdress and n~glig~ on while she switched on the television an curled up on the bed to watch a nature programme, It was a mistake to lie down. She meant to dress again as soon as she heard Ellis Lefevre return, bu within ten minutes she was l~ast asleep, dreamint chaotically of everything that had happened that day but in so jumbled a form that it took on the aspec~ of a nightmare.

Someone was chasing her through ~ dark hotel, from strange room to strange room; ter. rifled, she hid in a cupboard, but somebody knocke, on the door and whispered her name. Claudia didn' dare move; she listened, trembling, and heard who eve was outside trying to open the door. No! she thought horrified. ,.

And then she woke up, hot and perspiring, acr of panic on her lips, to sit up in total disarray, 1ookinl around the strange bedroom in shock, not knowin~ where she was or what had happened. For a sec on she thought she was still dreaming. Someone wa knocking on the door.

"Claudia!" a deep voice impatiently said, and she stared at the door, petrified then suddenly realised she was awake, remembered, everything and knew that that was Ellis Lefevre outside. He had come back at last.

Huskily, she called, "I won't be a moment!" an slid off the bed, so unsteady that she fell and knocke over a gilt bedroom chair which fell with a crash. "Are you OK? ".

Ellis said sharply.

"Yes," she said, very fl.u.s.tered, getting to her fe~ and picking up the chair.

"Open this door!" Ellis demanded.

"Have you had an accident?"

"No ... well ... l just knocked over a chair... Please, I'll be out in a little while," she wailed, wis.h.i.+ng he would move away.

"You sound very odd," he slowly said.

"Open the door now, let me see you " No! " she cried in panic, grabbing at her own clothes and in her hurry managing to drop one of her shoes on her bare foot. She gave a little yelp.

"That's it! Open this door or I'll break it down!" Ellis snarled, hammering on the wooden panels, and Claudia was afraid he might actually manage to do it, so she pulled back the bolt and turned the key, backing away, clutching her clothes to her breast, as the door swung open and he charged through it.

He halted, his grey eyes flickering over her, then flashed a look around the room.

"There's nothing wrong, you see!" she told him defiantly. "I was asleep when you knocked, that's all. Now, can I get dressed? And would you kindly order my dinner, because I'm starving and I want to eat and go to bed early?"

He nodded, coolly allowing his gaze to wander up and down her slender body in the creamy silk and lace. Claudia felt her nerve-ends p.r.i.c.kle, her skin heating; she moved hurriedly to the door and pointedly held it open.

"I won't take long," she said coldly.

He took two steps and was suddenly far too close. She froze as he fingered the deep lace collar of the neglige "You look very beautiful," he said softly, and then before she had notice of his intention he had s.n.a.t.c.hed her own clothes away from her and thrown them back on to the tumbled bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Claudia tried to get away but he caught her hands and held her in an unbreakable grip.

"Don't bother to dress again," he drawled.

"I prefer you that way.

That boring grey outfit doesn't suit you at all; it makes you look prim and proper, a sort of grown-up schoolgirl. " His insolent gaze ran over her again and she became intensely conscious of the sensuality of his mouth; a look matched by the gleam in the grey eyes.

"But these make you look very different," he murmured.

"Ravis.h.i.+ng, very s.e.xy..."

Claudia's breath caught for a second; her green eyes stared up at him, wide and disturbed.

For a second she' felt distinctly odd; feverish, dizzy, as though she had the influenza which was sweeping through the hotel staff--and perhaps she did, she thought, almost with relief, because what else could explain the peculiar sensations? She hardly knew Ellis Lefevre; he couldn't be causing her symptoms.

She pulled free and backed.

"Don't flirt with me, Mr. Lefevre! You promised me I needn't feel uneasy about spending the night in this suite; please keep your word, or I shall ring the hotel management and insist that someone comes up here to let me out!"

He pushed his hands into his pockets and made a wry face.

"I was paying you a compliment. What's wrong with that?"

Coldly, she said, "You know very well what's wrong--I don't want your compliments, I don't want you flirting with me. I'm here simply and solely to work for you as a secretary. If you want a woman for some other purpose, I suggest you look around Soho."

He didn't like that and his grey eyes flashed in temper, as bright as white-hot steel. Claudia pretended he didn't make her nervous, looking at her ~,~ HF. ,~RT ON FIRI~ that way. She ~d colby, "Now, I want to get dressed--would you leave my room, please~' He bed his teeth at her in a mock s~le.

"Very well. Any preferen~s?"

"What? She stiffened, ready to lose her temper ag~n, ~d he gave her a coolly m~king look. " About ~er~' "Oh," she s~d, and he smil~ like a duel list who had dra~ blo~.

"Do you want to read the room se~ ice menu," he softly asked, 'or have you ~cady got something in mind~' She had the deflate f~ng that he w~ ~king on two levels, playing g~es with her, having fun at her expense, but she was not going to encourage him.

"I'~ be happy with a ~ad," she s~d ~y. '~d I would ~kc to e~ soon~ ~d you ting do~ fi~t away~' He bowed and left, and Claudia bolted the door behind him with a stiff sigh of relief. It was becoming ~ orde~ being with the m~.

She looked at her watch and realised with a shock that she hadn't rung Anette to warn her that she wouldn't be home, so she hurriedly pick up the phone and got ~ outside Hne.

"Not coming home tonight?" Anette sounded smug.

"C~udia, what ~e you up to? I know I told you to s~ have~ fun, but I wasn't expecting you to take me at my word." She led. Claudia ~dn't, remem~ting that this conversation was being ~ corded and would be he~d by Ellis Lefevre later.

Tm having to stay on to work, or rather to be on c~, in c~e I do have to work," she s~d flatly.

"It isn't wo~h coming home later, so I'm staying in the hotel, but if you want me you can ring me on extension 453."

"Where's that? A cupboard up in the attics?" Annette knew that if staff did live in at the hotel they were always given the very worst of the rooms, the one guests would complain about.

Claudia let her eyes wander around the elegant bedroom, her face ironic.

"Not quite," she said drily. "I must go, Annette. See you some time tomorrow. Sorry I can't help in the restaurant tonight. I hope you don't have too hectic an evening."

"We'll manage," Annette a.s.sured her.

"I hope you won't have to work at all; maybe you can get an early night for once, and get up late."

"Maybe," Claudia said.

She hung up and dressed again in her grey suit and white blouse, brushed her hair and did her makeup. The mirror showed her a neat, reserved, remote young woman; it was the image she wanted tonight.

She did not want Ellis Lefevre to have any wrong ideas about her.

Obviously he was a flirt, and Claudia had no intention of becoming one of the scalps dangling from his belt. She couldn't deny she found him interesting that switch from a hard, icy businessman who had himself very much under control to a teasing, mocking charmer was a fascinating one, but not contradictory. The man who could bulldoze a company into accepting a merger they had never sought was very much the same man as the one who had been making advances to her just now.

The technique wasn't identical, but the ruthless, unscrupulous nature of the man was the same. He might chase her, but she was not going to let him catch her.

When she emerged there was no sign of him, however. His bedroom door was closed; she listened outside it and heard him Whistling, heard the sound of a shower running. She went back into the sitting-room and turned on the television, curled up in a corner of the couch and watched a doc.u.mentary on Egypt for twenty minutes, fascinated by the contrasts between the ancient civilisation of the countryside and the modern streets of Cairo.

The programme was just ending when Ellis Lefevre reappeared. He was in' immaculate evening dress: black jacket and trousers, a pleated white s.h.i.+rt and black bow tie, his hair smooth and gleaming. He stood in the doorway, inspecting her with derision.

"Your meal should be up here any moment," he said. "I'll stay to make sure you get it, then I'm off downstairs to dinner."

"How nice for you," Claudia said bitingly.

"Do enjoy yourself."

He laughed.

"Why, thank you, I intend to."

Room service arrived at that second; he went to unlock the door and dismissed the waiter at once. Claudia watched Ellis wheel the table into the sitting-room. No doubt he would be eating a first-rate cordon bleu meal while she was tucking into her salad. She knew that the cabaret after dinner downstairs was very entertaining at the moment; the female singer was supposed to be brilliant. The conference guests would sit through that and then dance the night away. Weren't they lucky? All she had to look forward to was an early night.

Ellis was watching her as he placed a chair in front of the table.

"You look wistful--sure you don't want me to stay?"

Her chin went up and she gave him an irritated look. "Quite sure, thank you!"

He shrugged.