Pulling the card key for the room from his pocket, Declan looked at her and held it above the slot. Gemma slid the card from his fingers and inserted it. When the access light blinked green, she pushed open the door and stepped into the room ahead of him.
The entire room was bathed in candlelight and flowers… She turned and reached toward him. As Declan took her hands in his, he met her gaze, losing himself in eyes that seemed both brazen and innocent.
With a smile that matched her gaze, Gemma pulled him through the doorway and into her arms. For a moment, she stood pressed against his chest, fitting so perfectly. Her supple warmth flowed into him, heated Declan further still. He already held her, touched her before but somehow it felt like his first time doing it.
&nbs
“Has he arrived yet?” Gemma approached slowly the reception desk. The girl working there looked at her a little puzzled.“Come on, Adele! Don’t keep me hanging here! Is he already in the building?” She sat down at the reception desk, turning to face Adele who sat behind her. The receptionist gave her another bemused look and replied in the most innocent tone.“Who? Elvis? Nope, he left the building a long time ago!” Adele tried not to laugh when Gemma started to shake her head and mimicked an amused expression.“Oh, my God, you’re so funny! Your talent as a stand-up comedian is wasted at ‘Starr Computers’… You should save a spot at ‘Gotham Comedy Club’… They will apprecia
“Come on now, Declan,” the other man replied, this voice sounding younger. He had called the first speaker Declan, confirming her belief that it was her boss the man behind that insulting remark about the female sex.“You like women as much as I do,” the man continued.“I enjoy them,” Declan Starr had corrected. “I don't know that I've ever actually really liked them. I've desired them, yes. But I find them preferable as bed-companions than as anything else.”“If one of them could hear the way you're talking...” Oh, but one can, Gemma wanted to shout. She had never felt so disgusted and degraded. How a man as successful and good-looking as Declan Starr could judge all women by the type he had obviously been associating with for years was
“Oh, you got back at me all right, Gemma Wakefield! This morning, not half an hour ago, in fact, I had a phone call from my friend, Jude Brennan congratulating me for my... engagement. I didn't know what the hell he was talking about,” Declan said forcefully. “I felt like a damned fool. But I managed to bluff my way out of it. Can you imagine what it felt like to be told by a third party that I'm supposed to be getting married? I didn't even know who Gemma Wakefield was, but I did know the name sounded familiar. Then I realized I hear it every morning when I entered the building.”“You called me… a mouse that day I came up here” Gemma reminded him resentfully. “A mouse…”“And for that, you landed us both in this mess?” Gemma flicked back her hair.“It will be all right, Mr. Starr. We can just announce in the next issue tha
“No, I wouldn't. But I do expect a little co-operation from you. This is all your fault, after all.”“All right, all right… I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” Declan looked unmoved.“Like I said, Gemma, it isn't enough.” He opened the door further.“I have an important appointment in five minutes.”“Okay, I… But what do I tell everyone?” Gemma asked.“Oh, I don’t know… Tell them I've fallen madly in love with you and rushed you off your feet.”“Please… Don't tease…” Her head was down bent. Declan wrenched her chin up roughly between thumb and forefinger.“Gemma, I don't know what the hell else you expect me to do. I can assu
Gemma stopped in her tracks, unconcerned when Declan turned to scowl his impatience.“But I don't want an engagement ring,” she declared. Declan walked back the short distance between them, grasping her arm roughly and pulling her to one side of the sidewalk.“Too bad because you're going to get one. And, please, don't shout like that in the street!” he snapped. She shook off his hand.“What else did you expect me to do? You walk so fast… You were miles away from me.”“Only because you deliberately hung back, behaving hysterically. What on earth is the matter with you? Surely you realize, since we are engaged, that I must give you a ring… People will be looking for that, especially this evening.”“I don't want a ring and I don
As it happened, she had exactly the right dress to wear to go out with this sophisticated man. It was a gown that had been bought for a special occasion that… had never taken place. It was an expensive one, bought to impress a boyfriend that she had finished with before the promised evening out. How ironic that she should now wear the dress to go out with Declan Starr himself!“You’re so exhausting… Do you have to argue about everything?” Declan snapped.“I need to hold on to my identity against you,” Gemma answered defiantly.“Oh, God! You're impossible!” He hailed a passing taxi, bundling her inside before sitting beside her.“Before you start a full-scale argument in the street,” he explained.“You're too dominant, t
Even so, Gemma wouldn't let him think he had got away with fooling her. Oh no, she would make sure she let him know his sordid little affair was known to her. And she wouldn't feel guilty anymore. Why should she? It didn't take her long to find Declan among the crowd, his height and distinguished appearance making him conspicuous. Gemma moved swiftly through the people to be at his side. Declan turned to look down at her flushed face and gleaming eyes, raising one eyebrow questioningly.“I thought you'd got lost.” Gemma took the glass of bubbly liquid he held out to her, flicking back her head haughtily and ignoring the curious stares of the other people.“You don't seem to be particularly bothered even if I had,” she replied coolly, sipping the chilled champagne.&
Gemma's hand flew up to her pale cheek.“Oh, no!”“Oh yes,” Declan nodded curtly.“Well… Surely they wouldn't…”“I tell you they will.”“Oh, my God! What have I done…?” Things seemed to go from bad to worse as far as she and Declan Starr were concerned. And it was all her own doing! Declan sighed.“I thought an engagement was bad enough, but this is something else completely. Marriages aren't so easy to get out of.”“Even so… I'm not marrying you, Mr. Starr!”“You may damn well have to,” Declan told her shortly. Gemma wrenched the ring from her finger and threw it on to the dashboard of the car.“No! Not in this lifet