thrust his shaking hands into his pockets and forced back the flash of fear. A tiny child’s happiness depended on his ability to handle this situation. Caught off guard by the unexpectedness of Emma’s arrival, he’d had only a short time to decide his plan of action. But he must make no mistake in its execution.
He stiffened, every muscle in his body creaking with strain. His heart raced. It was Emma.
Like a butterfly spreading its wings, she drew herself up, took a deep breath and flung her head back to absorb the sunshine, her whole body language exuding uninhibited joy.
‘Entirely misplaced,’ he muttered.
If she thought she was free to snatch her daughter, she was wrong! He’d watch her every step of the way. She might be devious and driven by revenge to cause him the maximum amount of trouble, but he was on his home ground and had a whole raft of people looking out for his best interests.
And Lexi’s. God keep her safe. How could Emma drag a child away from the only home she’d ever known? Her lawyer, John Sefton, had hinted something like this might happen but he’d never believed she could ignore her daughter’s needs so ruthlessly.
Emma set off as if she knew where she was going. Interesting. He kept his distance as she headed for the taxi rank—which she ignored. The drivers didn’t ignore her though, and he didn’t blame them for staring in admiration.
‘Poli oraya,’ they murmured, seeking his agreement as he drew level to them.
Yes, she was strikingly attractive, he acknowledged grudgingly. Prison had obviously been no hardship and the gaunt, sick woman had become a beauty again.
Her long-legged stride was fluid, giving an impression of suppleness and energy. Leon’s mind, perhaps overwhelmed by those lushly swaying hips, translated that vigour into Technicolor visions of athletic sex.
‘Forget it. You’re celibate,’ he muttered under his breath, reluctantly amused by his astonishing arousal.
But he couldn’t. She’d gained weight—though not the plumpness of her youth. To Leon’s hot appraisal her figure was more spectacular than ever before: full breasted, yet slim, and with a tiny waist above those eye-catchingly seductive hips.
She wore a blindingly blue sundress the same colour as her eyes and her blonde hair swung around her shoulders in a thick and glossy cloud. Her skirt was being whipped by the wind around her long, bare legs and afforded breathtaking glimpses of firm and shapely thighs.
Leon tried to normalise his thudding pulses as she stopped and looked about her—clearly waiting for someone. Caught between desiring and despising her, he allowed himself the brief luxury of letting his sexual imagination run riot.
He wished he hadn’t. His libido seemed to be making up for lost time and it was taking over his mind as well as his body.
With hazy eyes, he saw a car come to a stop alongside her. A man clambered out. Emma opened her arms in welcome, her face wreathed in smiles.
Leon’s vision sharpened. John Sefton, Emma’s lawyer. He knew him well from the custody discussions they’d had over the past two years. And that was no proper greeting between a professional man and his client, he thought darkly. Too much hugging. Too much delight.
Spurred by an anger which had come from nowhere, Leon noted the stubby male fingers gravitating slowly towards Emma’s highly touchable rear and strode forwards before the roving hand reached its target.
His heart pounded like a trip hammer in his chest and he had to concentrate hard on containing the overwhelming emotions which battled for supremacy in his seething brain.
‘Well! They’re letting jailbirds into my country now!’ he drawled.
Emma gasped at the venom-laced voice, detached herself from John’s enthusiastic embrace and whirled around.
‘You!’ she said stupidly.
Leon’s cynical eyes lingered mockingly on her parted lips and she felt a flush creeping up her body as he began to investigate the rest of her with breathtaking thoroughness.
‘Yes, me. I live here,’ he observed when his tour had climbed to her cleavage. ‘What’s your excuse?’
She bristled, wanting to shout, My child, dammit! What do you think? Instead, she summoned her new and remarkable self-control, raised an eyebrow and with cool composure murmured, ‘I’ve come to arrange access.’
Custody was out of the question. John had fought for that on her behalf ever since she’d been sent to prison and he’d hit a brick wall. Access was a different matter—though she intended to remove Lexi from the island, once they had got to know one another well.
‘I was going to call you. I wanted time with Emma first,’ John said to Leon, looking flustered.
‘Oh, yes?’ Leon drawled coldly and turned to Emma. ‘I’ve got half an hour free. We’ll discuss it. Without your boyfriend.’
Emma let her mouth tighten with irritation. ‘You’ve met John several times. You’re perfectly aware that he’s my legal adviser—’
‘And hopes for more,’ Leon murmured, his gaze challenging John’s.
‘Don’t be ridiculous—’ she protested indignantly.
‘Ask him,’ drawled Leon.
‘My relationship with my client is her own business,’ John said rather pompously.
And, she felt, defensively. She looked up at him with different eyes. Could Leon be right? And then she frowned. Of course not! It would suit Leon to cause trouble between herself and John, who’d become her friend and ally.
‘John has worked long and hard on my case. He’s good and kind and worth ten of you,’ she declared loyally. ‘Without him I’d have been alone in the world.’ Her face flushed when she thought of those terrible, heart-breaking days and her voice faltered. ‘John was there for me. He stood by me and encouraged me when I was desperate. And he never gave up fighting for my early release.’
‘How dedicated. And, I trust, well-paid?’ Leon said purring.
But the look he gave her lawyer was one of pure menace and she felt John shrink back in apprehension. That bothered her. She needed her lawyer to be more than a match for Leon.
‘That’s none of your business,’ she replied. Selling her house had been a price worth paying. ‘The sun is too hot for me. Can we find some shade?’ she suggested and slipped in a crafty, ‘Or perhaps we could go to your home now?’
Leon’s dark eyes considered her for a moment. She met them boldly at first, confident of her hard-won protective shell. But slowly his eyes seemed to melt and she felt as if she was floundering in fathoms-deep water. A silky sensation seemed to be flowing up her body, softening her tense muscles and turning her brain to treacle.
The heat. It was melting her as though she were an ice cream. She licked her dry lips and lifted her hair from her damp neck.
‘I will talk to you and you alone,’ Leon said, his voice low and rolling through her unnervingly. ‘Otherwise…nothing.’
‘That’s not on, Emma!’ John began in protest.
She gave him a particularly dreamy smile, partly because of the warm liquidity of her body and partly because her friendship with John seemed to annoy Leon.
‘What does it matter? It’s what we want and I’ll come to no harm,’ she said affectionately. John didn’t look too sure. Amused, she rested her hand on his arm and fondly kissed his cheek. ‘I’ll see you later. I’ve got your number. I ought to speak to Leon if I’m to visit Lexi before…’ she gave him a conspiratorial smile ‘…before I return to England.’
‘I don’t like it. Don’t make any decisions. Don’t agree to anything. Remember his agenda,’ John advised sullenly.
‘Of