Exposed: Misbehaving with the Magnate Read Free Page B

with her forearm across her eyes, as if by blocking her sight she could block out the memory of her conversation with Lucien. ‘You should not have said that.’
    It had been seven years since she’d last seen Luc. Seven years of complete indifference on his part. No phone calls, no letters, no contact. Not once. A sixteen-year-old girl had deduced from Luc’s actions that he’dsimply been playing with her when he’d kissed her all those years ago. That the housekeeper’s daughter had meant nothing to him.
    Not once, not once , had it ever occurred to her that Luc had been trying to protect her from a relationship she’d been nowhere near ready for.
    Still wasn’t ready for if her recent reaction to him was anything to go by.
    So she had money behind her now, and self-esteem, and a good deal more to offer a man on an intellectual level. That still didn’t equip her to deal with the likes of Luc Duvalier. Luc, whose brooding black gaze could make her forget every ounce of self-preservation she’d ever learned.
    How many minutes in his company had it taken her to test the strength of her physical reaction to him? Two minutes, or had it been three? How long had it taken her to lay herself bare for him? Telling him that her first lover had been a disappointment to her. Gabrielle groaned and rolled over onto her side, burying her head in a pillow and pulling the blue chenille bedspread around her for comfort. What kind of woman told a man that?
    A woman who’d never quite forgotten the ecstasy and the agony of a single stolen kiss, said a voice that would not be silenced.
    A woman who’d known all along that no one at Caverness would bid her welcome and mean it.
    A fool.
     
    Luc didn’t usually wait impatiently for his sister to return home from her work, but this day he did, seeking Simone out in the kitchen, never mind the box of freshfruit and vegetables in her arms or the fact that she hadn’t yet managed to put the box down.
    ‘ Bonjour , brother of mine,’ she said cheerfully. ‘I come bearing good food and even better news. The sales figures are finally in and we,’ she said, setting the bags on the counter with a flourish, ‘had a very good quarter.’
    ‘Congratulations,’ he said, but something in his voice must have alerted Simone to his turmoil for she turned sharply, set the box down on the bench, and took her time looking him over.
    ‘Something’s wrong,’ she said warily. ‘What is it?’
    ‘Josien had a visitor this afternoon.’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘Gabrielle.’
    Luc watched his sister’s face light up with wry resignation. Simone and Gabrielle had been close as children. Closer than sisters, never mind the huge gap in social standing between them. ‘Gaby is here?’ asked Simone. ‘Here as in here at the chateau? Where?’
    ‘Here as in staying in the village, and before you start in on my manners, yes, I offered her a room, which she declined. Dammit, Simone! Why didn’t you warn me that you’d sent for her? And why the hell didn’t you tell Josien?’
    Simone’s expression grew guarded. ‘I left a message on Gaby’s answering machine saying her mother was ill. That’s all I did. What was there to tell?’
    ‘You knew she’d come,’ muttered Luc darkly.
    ‘I thought she’d call first.’
    ‘Well, she didn’t.’
    ‘So what happened?’ asked Simone warily.
    Luc gave it to his sister straight. ‘Josien wouldn’t talk to her. Wouldn’t even look at her.’
    A barrage of swear words followed his announcement, none of them becoming to a lady. ‘So then what happened?’ demanded Simone. ‘Did you make Gabrielle feel welcome?’
    ‘Sort of.’
    ‘Sort of? For heaven’s sake, Luc, you’re a grown man! Would it have killed you to behave like one?’
    ‘I did behave like one,’ he said grimly.
    Simone halted, midway between the fridge and the counter. ‘Oh, hell,’ she said. ‘You still want her.’
    Luc didn’t deny it. What he didn’t reveal to his sister was