Untouched by His Diamonds Read Free

shoulder.
    ‘Can I give you a lift somewhere?’
    She hesitated, looked at him with those doe eyes, and said, ‘No, I don’t think so. But thanks, Slugger,’ and damn well kept walking.
    Click, click, click.

CHAPTER TWO
    G ODDAMN . Unbelievable…
    Clementine hobbled over a puddle, heading towards the light at the end of the underpass, cursing under her breath. She tried to focus on the practicalities. She would have to find the embassy. She would have to borrow money from her friend Luke. She would have to phone her bank in London. She would do it all once she’d had a little sit-down and a cry.
    Her handbag was her lifeline.
    It was her own fault. She was usually much more street smart than this. She’d been so wrapped up in her little fantasy with the Cossack she hadn’t been paying attention. She’d ruined that too. She’d been too shaken, too tongue-tied to do anything more than try to block him out whilst she extricated herself from the situation even after he’d rushed in to save her.
    Her chest gave a little flutter at that thought. He’d been magnificent. He’d just handled it. You didn’t run into guys like that in London.
    The light hit her face and, pulling awkwardly at her skirt, she ascended the steps. She was chilled despite the sun, and that was her own fault too. She should have changed out of this ridiculous outfit Verado liked her to wear, back into her street clothes. But there hadn’t been time, and she’d left the bag of clothes at the store, and now she was wandering thestreets of St Petersburg in great boots but frankly looking a little too uncovered for her own liking.
    Emerging into the street, she hobbled over to a nearby kiosk and took a seat. She was really shivering now, and it didn’t have much to do with her lack of layers. She supposed it was delayed shock, but she also felt naked without her bag—vulnerable. She was used to depending on herself and that bag had everything she needed to keep herself safe. She was beginning to wish she hadn’t sent the Cossack away.
    It was useless going back to her lodgings. She needed to head back into the city centre, find Luke.
    That was when she saw the limo. It was idling across the road, one of its doors angled wide, and then she saw him, striding straight towards her. He’d removed his jacket and had his hands shoved into his pockets, so that the fabric of his superfine blue shirt pulled taut across a muscular chest and abdomen. Clementine’s miserable thoughts dwindled to a virtual halt. He looked powerful and it wasn’t just his size. It was the way he held himself, with tremendous confidence and that measured response to what was going on around him she had seen in action in the underpass.
    But what he was giving her now was full sensual male interest. Clementine told herself she could handle men, but all her female instincts were telling her she couldn’t handle
this
man at all.
    He was so male as to be of another species.
    Big shoulders, big arms, hard thighs—long and lean and coming straight at her.
    He’d crunched bones for her, broken skin, shed blood.
    ‘Come on, get in. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.’ He spoke abruptly, his voice deep and deliberate.
    She just sat there, looking up, trying to clamber over the overwhelmed feeling to something more considered.
    He lifted those big hands of his. ‘I’m a good guy. I don’t wish you any harm. You need some help, yes?’
    ‘Yes,’ Clementine said softly, distracted by the intensity of his green eyes.
    ‘Are you staying far from here?’
    Clementine knew she should tell him nothing and refuse the ride. But he had helped her. He had put himself at risk for a stranger. This
was
a good guy. This was a very, very sexy man. This would buy her a little more time with him. And she was so tired of looking after herself. It wouldn’t hurt to accept a lift.
    ‘Do you know where the Australian embassy is?’
    ‘I’ll find it.’
    And she believed he would.
    Serge