hers. That set of lips and movement of tongue were the heralds of her
arousal, and instantly he felt the response of his own body, too
powerful to deny, although he tried desperately.
What was it-' He did not hear the husk in his voice, but she did and
recognized it as readily as he had the flicker Of her tongue. She
reached across the table and took his wrist, and she felt the leap of
his pulse under her fingers.
Duncan wants you to come back into Christy Marine/ she said. And so
Duncan sent you to me. And when she nodded, he asked, 'Why does he want
me back? God knows what pains the two of you took to get rid of me. And
he gently pulled his wrist from her fingers and dropped both hands into
his lap.
I don't know why Duncan wants it. He says that he needs your expertise.
She shrugged, and her breasts moved under the silk. He felt the tense
ache of his groin, it confused his thinking. It isn't the true reason,
I'm sure of that.
But he wants you. Did he ask you to tell me that? Of course not. She
fiddled with the stem of her glass; her fingers were long and perfectly
tapered, the painted nails set upon them with the brilliance of
butterflies wings. It was to come from me alone., Why do you think he
wants me? There are two possibilities that I can imagine. She surprised
him sometimes with her almost masculine appraisal. That was what made
her lapse so amazing; as he listened to her now, Nicholas wondered again
how she could ever have let control of Christy Marine pass to Dun - can
Alexander - then he remembered what a wild and passionate creature she
could be. The first possibility is that Christy Marine owes you six
million dollars, and he has thought up some scheme to avoid having to
pay you Out, Yes, Nicholas nodded. And the other possibility?
There are strange and exciting rumours in the City about you and Ocean
Salvage - they say that you are on the brink of something big. Something
in Saudi Arabia.
Perhaps Duncan wants a share of that, Nicholas blinked. The iceberg
project was something between the Sheikhs and himself, then he
remembered that others knew. Bernard Wackie in Bermuda, Samantha
Silver, James Teacher - there had been a leak somewhere then.
And you? What are your reasons? I have two reasons, Nicholas/ she
answered. I want control back from Duncan. I want the voting rights in
my shares, and I want my rightful place on the Trust. I didn't know
what I was doing, it was madness when I made Duncan my nominee. I want
it back now, and I want you to get it for me. Nicholas smiled, a bitter
wintry smile. You're hiring yourself a gunman, just the way they do in
the Western serials. Duncan and I alone on the deserted street, spurs
clinking. The smile turned to a chuckle, but he was thinking hard,
watching her - was she lying? It was almost impossible to tell, she was
so mysterious and unfathomable. Then he saw tears well in the depths of
those huge eyes, and he stopped laughing. Were the tears genuine, or
all part of the intrigue?
You said you had two reasons. And now his voice was gentler. She did
not answer immediately, but he could see her agitation, the rapid rise
and fall of those lovely breasts under the silk, then she caught her
