„In which case, I suggest we go back to my apartment.‟

Mattie almost laughed at the suggestion, even though a treacherous part of her stirred at the thought of it.

„Over my dead body.‟

„Where there is a very comfortable sitting area downstairs. We can finish our

conversation.‟ He gave his address to the taxi driver and was aware of her staring at him for having removed the decision from her hands.

„You really have got a nerve! How dare you?‟

„Stop running from me,‟ he drawled softly. „I always catch the things I want, Mattie.‟

„And you want me.‟

„And I want you.‟

He wasn‟t touching her, but God, she felt her body burn as if he were.

„You want a good-looking waitress in a nightclub. You don‟t want me. You don‟t even know me.‟

„Is that a plea from the heart?‟ he drawled.

„It‟s a matter-of-fact statement, actually,‟ Mattie snapped in return. „You may have spent your life with women tripping behind you in your wake, wondering if they might be the lucky little thing to get the ring on her finger, but, buddy, where I come from I can see straight through men like you! You‟re a taker, Mr Drecos.‟

„But you don‟t even know me.‟

Mattie uttered the strangled sound of someone whose impeccable reason has been neatly lobbed right back at them, and decided that she wouldn‟t dignify his comment with a reply. Not that she could think of anything to say to his barbed piece of verbal cleverness.

But she didn‟t like the fact that she was sitting in a taxi with him and being transported to wherever his apartment was, even though that gut feeling she had had three evenings before was back with her. A deep knowing that he was a man who didn‟t lie. If he said that there would be somewhere downstairs where they could talk, then there would be.

The problem was that she didn‟t want to talk.

No, she amended truthfully to herself, the problem was that she was a little too tempted to talk for her own good.

She felt as though her emotions had been put on hold forever, building up behind a dam which was beginning to strain at the weight put against it.

She wanted to talk, but why him? He had already told her what kind of interest he was feeling and it wasn‟t the sort that wanted to get to know her, whatever he had to say on the subject. It was the sort that wanted to get her into his bed.

„If I get there and I find that the only thing waiting downstairs is a lift to carry me up to your apartment, then you‟re out of luck. I‟ll walk straight back out of the door and into the nearest taxi I can find!‟

„Fair enough.‟

He had deprived her of further argument, but he could still feel her simmering away next to him. Sexy as hell and as appealingly defensive as a cornered cat.

He watched her averted profile, the stubborn tilt of her head, and wondered if she had any idea how seductive her mutinous silence was.

By the time the taxi pulled up in front of his apartment block, he was almost willing to bet that she would have changed her mind about coming in.

But all she said to the driver was, „Would you mind waiting here for a few minutes? Just in case I need to get back to my house?‟

„No problem, love.‟

„Well? Does it pass muster?‟ Dominic asked, the minute they were inside the building.

„There‟s the sitting area over there and, as you can see, there‟s a security guy permanently on call by the desk. His name‟s Charlie and I‟m sure he‟ll fly to your rescue if you decide to start shrieking.‟

„Very funny.‟

„So are you going to tell our taxi driver to disappear or are you going to climb into his taxi and run away again?‟

It was his implication of cowardice that did it. Or so Mattie told herself. She walked out of the foyer without answering, leaving him to nurse the unsettling thought that she had decided to clear off, then returned almost immediately.

Dominic could hardly believe the surge of relief that washed over him.

They stood and stared at one another, across the expanse of expensively tiled foyer, with Charlie‟s curious gaze flicking from one to the other, and Mattie was the first to move, walking towards him with the same wary expression on her face.

„Would you like something to drink?‟

„Where from? I don‟t see too many vending machines around here.‟

„No vending machines,‟ Dominic agreed, standing perfectly still, waiting for her to approach him, to look up at him. „But a kitchen just off behind you. Charlie has all the necessary equipment to provide us with coffee or tea or whatever your preference is. At a pinch, he could probably rustle up something to eat, although I wouldn‟t guarantee that it would go beyond a sandwich.‟

„Coffee would be fine.‟

„And you can take your jacket off,‟ Dominic said drily. „Sit wherever you like.‟

Unlike many London apartment blocks, this particular one was fairly unique in so far as there was always a porter manning a desk at the front, and the actual hall area was extensive.

Large enough to accommodate the generous proportions of Charlie‟s desk, as well as two separate sets of sitting areas and a fair number of plants that were cleaned and watered daily.

She was still standing uncertainly when he returned to her with two mugs of coffee and a plate of biscuits balanced precariously on the top of one of the mugs.

„This is beautiful,‟ Mattie said politely, following his lead and sitting down, though not on the two-seater sofa alongside him, but in the chair facing him.

He was at home here. He breathed power and wealth and these surroundings were

tailor-made for men who were powerful and wealthy. The marble tiles on the floor gleamed, the brass details on the balustrade that wound up the flights of stairs were indecently shiny, the overhead chandeliers were solid and impressive.

„So.‟ She sipped some of the coffee and tried to remain blithely underwhelmed by the surroundings. „You have an apartment here…‟

„I have…‟

She could sense his dark eyes fixed on her as she slowly looked all around and had never felt more self-conscious in her life before. Jeans, a sweatshirt and trainers were not at home in a place like this, although, in all fairness, he hardly seemed to notice her attire.

She noticed, though, and weakly reminded herself that her duty was to carry on pointing out all the differences between them, as she had started to do in the hotel bar.