“With you?” she scoffed.
“You’re always safe with me, Gabrielle.” He captured her eyes with his. “It’s yourself you’re not sure about.”
The breath caught in her lungs, but thankfully the elevator doors slid open and she quickly stepped inside, standing away from him, wishing it wasn’t empty.
The doors slid shut, enclosing them alone together. “It would be easier if I stayed in a hotel,” she insisted stubbornly, knowing she was fighting a losing battle but determined to fight all the same.
He glanced at his Rolex as if he didn’t care one way or the other. “My apartment has a spare bedroom. You may as well use it.” Yet when he looked up, his eyes had darkened to a jungle green, and just as untamed.
A quiver surged through her veins. “You didn’t have a spare bedroom before,” she said stupidly, saying the first thing that came to mind, trying not to let him see her reaction.
“That’s because I didn’t have this apartment before,” he drawled.
She flushed. “Fine,” she said, giving in to stop from blathering like an idiot again. “But it’s only for a few days and that’s all.”
A satisfied looked crossed his face, making her even more tense. “That’s settled then,” he said, just as the elevator stopped and the doors opened so other people could get in with them.
She and Damien moved to the back of the compartment, but she was still very aware of him. She tried to resist the compulsion to look sideways but decided one quick look wouldn’t hurt.
And that was her mistake.
His gaze lingered on her figure, making her n**ples tighten beneath the light material of her pantsuit. She’d chosen the outfit because it flattered her moderate bustline and slight swell of her hips, and because she always felt good in it. The last thing she’d expected when she’d dressed this morning was an X-ray treatment from a man who’d been her lover and knew every inch of her body.
Oh God. Her staying at his apartment may have been settled, but she had the uneasy feeling nothing else had been settled at all.
Having Gabrielle in his apartment was more than Damien expected on her first day back in town, but he would take it one step at a time. He wanted her in his bed but he also wanted a willing partner and was prepared to wait until she was ready.
It won’t be a long wait.
She could fight herself all she wanted, but it was obvious she was fighting a losing battle. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He could smell that want in her…that need of desire. He felt the same. Her scent filled his nostrils…filled his apartment even now.
And all she had done was walk through to the spare bedroom, he thought with a wry smile as he remembered her cool comment that she’d see him at dinner. But she hadn’t been cool inside. He knew the two of them struck sparks off each other and that it was only a matter of time before they burst into flames.
In the meantime he didn’t mind playing with matches, he mused as he showered and changed for dinner, then arranged for dinner to be delivered.
Then he sat on the sofa to do some paperwork, though his mind kept flicking to Gabrielle and her parents. He had to admit that Russell hadn’t been the best father in the world after Caroline had left a few years earlier. And what had gone on before that, he didn’t know. He hadn’t known them then, having moved to Melbourne for a few years, building his fortune, only flying back to Darwin every so often to play poker with his best friends, Brant and Flynn.
Then one day he’d decided he missed the tropics and he’d come home for good. Fortuitously, Russell had been looking for a business partner at the time, and he’d been looking to make more money. He’d gone on to forge his own company and make his millions. It had worked out well.
Until now.
Until Gabrielle Kane had walked back into his life.
Just like she was doing this very minute as she made an appearance at the living room doorway. She was worth the wait, dressed in a sleeveless, teal-colored crocheted top and long white pants that clung to her gorgeous figure, making her look casual yet stylish.
“Hungry?” he said, putting the papers aside on the sofa and getting to his feet.
“A little.”
He started across the open-plan apartment toward the dining table nestled over in the corner. “Everything’s ready.”
She slowly followed him, then frowned when she saw the table laden with food. “Are others coming?”
“No. Just us. I ordered from the restaurant across the street.” The chef had gone a little overboard with the array of tropical salads, dishes teeming with prawns and lobster, Tasmanian salmon and barramundi fish. “I told them plenty of seafood,” he said, deliberately reminding her that he remembered how partial she’d been to this type of food.
Her eyes brightened, then she flushed. “Thank you, but I doubt I’ll do it all justice.”
“No problem. My housekeeper will be delighted to take the leftovers off my hands.” He held out the chair for her. “Sit here.”
She moved forward and did as he suggested. Once she was comfortable, he took his own seat and poured wine into their glasses.
Her gaze darted around the room. “This is a really nice apartment.”
“I know. Lucky for me one of my friends married a very talented lady who loves to decorate.”
The place hadn’t been half-bad before, but Danielle had suggested some ideas and he hadn’t had the heart to dissuade her. He and Flynn had smiled at each other as she’d enthusiastically promised a stylishly furnished apartment with class and sophistication that was ideal for executive living. And she’d lived up to that promise. The open plan of the living and dining area, abundant with natural light, soaked up the magnificent panoramic views of the harbor…her words, not his. She’d done a great job of it.
“It’s lovely,” Gabrielle agreed.
“Just like you are, Gabrielle,” he said, holding her eyes with his. One day soon he would hold her in his arms. And he would show her how lovely he thought she was.
A pulse beat at the base of her throat. “You know, I’m suddenly really hungry,” she said huskily, and began piling the food on her plate.
He was too, but it wasn’t for food. Dammit, waiting was already harder than he’d expected.
It would be easier once he said what he needed to say. She wasn’t going to be so placid then, he decided, as they ate in silence for a while, listening to the soft background music, but eventually he knew he couldn’t put this off. She wasn’t going to like it.
He raised his glass in a toast. “To you, Gabrielle.”
Her eyes widened. “Me?”
“For having the courage to come home again.”
She looked pleasantly surprised as she picked up her glass and clinked it against his. “Thank you,” she said, a slight catch to her voice that unfurled something soft inside his chest.
He took a sip of wine, then said, “Your mother was pleased to see you today.”
“Yes.”
“I imagine Russell will be, too.”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you glad now that you came?”
Her forehead creased a little, her eyes growing puzzled. “Yes, I am.”
He rested back against his chair. “And you’re happy to be here in Darwin?”
She eyed him with sudden suspicion. “Okay, what’s this about, Damien?”
Leaning forward, he placed his wine glass on the table, then dropped the bombshell. “Your cousin has taken control of the Kane Property and Finance Group.”
Her cousin was an idiot.
A dangerous idiot.
She gaped at him. “Keiran? How on earth did he get involved in all this?”
Damien’s mouth tightened. “Some years ago your father sold forty percent of the company shares to him, that’s why.”
She sat up straighter. “What! Why would he do that?”
“Russell wanted to keep it in the family if anything happened to him, and Keiran worked on him until he sold him the shares.” Damien had advised Russell against it, but the older man seemed to have a blind spot where his nephew was concerned, and now his company that specialized in providing investment property finance here in Australia and the growing Asian market, was paying the price. “Your father also left written instructions with his attorney that if he became incapacitated, then you were to get forty percent of the shares as well.”
“What!”
“You each now hold forty percent of the Kane Property and Finance Group.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe I’m hearing this.”
“Believe it.”
“Oh my Lord.” She sat there for a moment looking stunned.
“Keiran’s been at Kane’s for some years now and he knows the business. As soon as Russell had the stroke he stepped in and took over. Your cousin was always quick when there was something in it for him.”
“I know.”
He paused, then, “And that’s exactly why you needed to be here.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened. “Good heavens, you don’t expect me to step in and start running a multinational company, do you?” “Why not? Keiran did. He’s already made some decisions that would give your father another stroke if he knew, and we can’t do a damn thing to stop him.” The only person who could stop him was sitting right here. “If you assume control, Keiran will hopefully slink back into his own little office where he can do no more damage.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “But Keiran owns as many shares as I do now. He’s not going to give up the top job.”
Damien could feel his jaw clench. “Let’s try him first.”
She shook her head, obviously trying to get it clear in her mind. “Hang on. Why didn’t you tell me all this back in Sydney?”
“Would you have come home?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her forehead marred with a crease. “And I don’t understand why my father left me forty percent.”
“Perhaps he expected you would come back if he needed you. And he does need you now, Gabrielle.”
A cynical light came into her eyes. “You mean he thought it was a good way of blackmailing me into coming home if he ever needed me.” She shook her head. “It’s still all about him, isn’t it?”
Damien ignored that. “Your father wouldn’t expect you to take over if you weren’t capable.”
Her eyebrows shot up as realization dawned on her. “Oh, so he’s been keeping tabs on me, too.”
He had no idea, but it was highly likely. “Russell doesn’t always take me into his confidence.” The older man had been a friend and mentor but he’d never spoken about his daughter until recently. “Look, I’ll help you. I’ve delegated some of my own business dealings to others. I’ve got the time.”
A flicker of apprehension crossed her face. “To work with me every day, you mean?”
“Yes.” And if he got to make love to her sooner, all the better.