make her so hyped up with sexual awareness, Mickey would be blotted right out of her mind and he’d be the man—the only man she’d be conscious of all through the night.
She was patiently waiting for his agreement, her eyes boring into his, boldly challenging his desire for her. He sensed that some essential part of her had clicked off. She’d moved beyond caring what he said or did. The equation was simple. He either went with her plan or that was the end of anything personal ever happening between them.
‘Okay,’ he said calmly. ‘I’ll make arrangements for us to occupy the pavilion villa on Friday night.’
She nodded, the expression in her eyes changing to a knowing mockery. She had labelled him a playboy on quite a few occasions so he knew what she was thinking—a night of sex would always be amenable to him, regardless of why it was offered.
He decided to live up to her idea of him.
‘As long as you’ll fit in with some conditions I have in mind,’ he said with a quirky little smile.
That shot some tension through her. ‘Like what?’ she asked sharply.
‘Like not saying no to anything I want to do.’
She frowned. ‘I won’t do kinky stuff, Harry.’
‘I’m not into sado-masochism, domination or bondage,’ he assured her. ‘But I don’t particularly care for clinical intimacy, either. A bit of sexy fun is more to my liking.’
‘What do you consider sexy fun?’ she asked suspiciously.
He grinned. ‘How about you wear that butterfly blouse again, without a bra underneath? Be wicked for me.’
Hot colour raced up her neck and scorched her cheeks. Harry didn’t care if she connected the butterfly blouse to her Mickey fantasy. He’d had a few fantasies about it himself.
‘And team it with a bikini bottom with side strings that I can undo with a flick of the fingers,’ he added. ‘Some bright colour that goes with your butterfly. I’m sure you’ll be able to find one in the boutique.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘I didn’t realise you needed provocative clothes to turn you on, Harry.’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t. I’d simply like you to look and be accessible for once. I’ve been hitting a brick wall with you for two years. Accessible has a lot of appeal to me.’
Her cheeks heated up again, making her eyes look glittery. ‘Do you have anything else in mind?’ she clipped out.
He waved an airy hand. ‘Let me think about it. You have rather sprung this on me. If I’m only to ever get one night with Elizabeth Flippence...’ He cocked an eyebrow at her. ‘That is the plan, isn’t it?’
‘Yes’ hissed out between her teeth.
‘Then I want it to be a night to remember. Something extra special. The most sensual trip of a lifetime. I need to let my imagination work on it for a while.’
‘Fine!’ she snapped, and hopped off the desk, adopting a brisk and businesslike air. ‘You have three and a half days for your imagination to flourish. Since we have the essentials settled, let’s get on with resort management.’
He could almost hear the steel click in her mind. In his experience of women, Elizabeth Flippence was definitely something else. But she would soften for him on Friday night. He’d make damned sure she did!
He rose from the chair. ‘I’ve brought up the file on all our suppliers on the computer. Go through it. Write down any questions you have and I’ll be back later to answer them. Okay?’
‘Okay.’
Her relief that he was leaving her to work alone was palpable.
He strode quickly out of the office, needing time apart from her, too. He was still churned up inside. A work-out in the gym should rid him of the violent energy that was currently coursing through him.
Three and a half days...
He wondered if he’d feel free of this mad obsession with Elizabeth Flippence after Friday night. He really was beginning to hate how much she got to him. Probably she hated how he got to her, too.
Was having sex the answer to settling everything?
Impossible to know beforehand.
Afterwards...
That should tell him whether to persist with trying to form a relationship with this infuriating woman or let her go. It all hung on one night and—by God!—he was going to make the most of it!
ELIZABETH found herself rebelling against any regret over her decision to take Harry Finn as her lover for one night. It might be stupidly reckless of her to have sex with him. There would probably be consequences she wouldn’t like but she refused to care about what could happen next. Just for once she would be totally irresponsible, except for the important issue of birth control, which was impossible to ignore.
She tackled Harry on that point as soon as he returned to the office. ‘I’m not on the pill,’ she stated bluntly. ‘Will you take care of contraception on Friday night?’
‘No problem,’ he blithely replied. ‘And incidentally, I’ve thought of another condition.’
Elizabeth tensed. If it was too outlandish...
‘When we’re in the villa, I want to call you Ellie.’
She was startled into asking, ‘Why?’
He shrugged. ‘A childhood name, conjuring up the age of innocence. I like that idea.’
‘I’m not innocent, Harry.’ Surely he couldn’t still be thinking she was a virgin.
‘Nevertheless, it’s what I want. Okay?’
She shook her head over his whimsy but...what did it matter? ‘If it pleases you,’ she said carelessly.
‘It will please me,’ he asserted, then smiled at her. ‘I also want to please you. If you think of anything you’d particularly enjoy on the night, let me know. Your wish is my command.’
‘I prefer to leave everything in your very capable hands, Harry,’ she said dryly, not wanting to think too much about it.
But she did over the next couple of days. And nights. It was weird how completely distracted she was from thinking about Michael and Lucy. The now-certain prospect of having sex with Harry made her more physically aware of him than ever, and the anticipation of it was zinging through her almost continually.
He didn’t come up with any more conditions, didn’t raise the subject at all, keeping their time together on a strictly business basis, as she had requested. Somehow that contributed to a sense of secretive intimacy, knowing what they were going to do when Friday night came but not mentioning it.
She found a red string bikini in the boutique and bought it, deciding it suited the occasion since she was acting like a scarlet woman, taking a lover she didn’t love. Oddly enough she felt no guilt about doing it. Somehow it represented the kind of freedom she probably wouldn’t feel with someone she did love. There were no dreams to be smashed, no expectations of sharing a life together. It was just a night of sexy fun with Harry Finn.
On Friday morning, Harry announced he had business in Port Douglas and would be gone for most of the day. He printed a notice that the office would be closed at 6:00 p.m. today and stuck it on the door. ‘Go on up to the villa then,’ he instructed. ‘I’ll be there. Don’t want to miss the sunset,’ he added with a smile that sparkled with anticipation.
‘I’ll bring a bottle of champagne from the bar,’ she said, remembering how she had envisaged the scene with Michael and Lucy.
‘No need. I’ll have one ready