angled glimpse of strong features, a firm jawline, dark groomed hair.
A corporate wolf in his mid to late thirties clothed in black designer jeans, open-necked white shirt and a black soft leather jacket was vastly different from her preconceived image of the new company CEO.
A swift unbidden curl of sensation deep within surprised her, and was immediately discounted as a ridiculous flight of imagination.
Alexei held the advantage, one he used without compunction as he slowly turned to face the young woman who’d once shared a part of his life.
Dark almost black eyes regarded her steadily...waiting for the moment recognition hit.
As it did within a few fleeting seconds, and Alexei took pleasure in witnessing the faint widening of her eyes, the way her mouth parted, the quick swallow as if a sudden lump had risen in her throat as she visibly fought to school her expression into a polite mask.
Alexei? Here?
Coherent words momentarily failed her big-time, as she struggled to control the feeling she’d been hit by a forceful, if metaphorical, punch in the solar plexus.
Breathe, she bade herself silently as emotions rose to the surface, a gamut almost defying description, for how often had she attempted to cast aside images from their shared past?
Too many times to count.
Nights, on the edge of sleep, were the worst.
For it was then the memories returned to haunt her...the way his smile affected each and every pulse in her body; the gentle trail of his fingers down her cheek to trace her soft trembling lips. His mouth savouring her own, teasing, tasting, as he drove her wild with wanting more. The heat in his dark gleaming eyes a prelude to mind-blowing intimacy.
Five years on there was no warmth apparent in his demeanour, just an inflexibility that sent a chill scudding down her spine.
What did you expect...a romantic reunion?
Seriously?
After five years... Are you insane?
From a time when she’d been able to accurately define his every expression, now she felt as if she’d been flung into a maelstrom of wild conjecture where nothing made any sense as he allowed the ensuing seconds to weigh heavily in the electrified air permeating the room.
Her mind reeled with unvoiced questions. Initially, his motive to buy out the firm formerly owned by her father?
Rapidly followed by...how could Alexei Delandros have accumulated so much wealth in the space of five years?
Groomed designer stubble shadowed his jaw, adding an edgy quality, and there was a hardness apparent which didn’t equate with the man she’d once known...and loved.
Natalya kept her eyes fixed on his in a determined effort not to escape his steady gaze. An act of defiance...or a mix of self-preservation and stubborn pride?
Both, she conceded.
Alexei took a degree of dispassionate interest as he examined Natalya’s slender curves, narrow waist, slim hips, showcased in a black tailored business suit, with killer heels emphasising toned legs encased in sheer hose.
Subtle use of cosmetics enhanced her delicately boned face, emphasising expressive dark eyes and generously curved mouth.
The length of brunette hair styled into a sleek chignon made his fingers itch to free the pins to allow the thick waves to frame her face.
Professional cool...successfully achieved, Alexei admitted.
Absent was the vibrant, fun-loving girl who’d once embraced the world and all it had to offer. The sweet curve of her mouth parting in a laughing smile...eyes sparkling with teasing humour. The touch of her mouth on his own, magical, incredibly sensual as passion transcended to intimacy.
Alexei lifted one dark eyebrow in a gesture of musing cynicism. ‘Nothing to say, Natalya?’
Where would you like me to begin? presented a tempting start.
Instead, she cut straight to the point. ‘If this is some kind of sick game,’ she offered with controlled calm, ‘I refuse to be a part of it.’
He’d expected no less of her, given his deliberate act to conceal the new owner’s identity from the media.
He inclined his head in silent mockery, enlightening, ‘I prefer...a calculated strategy.’
Any sense of calm was discarded as anger rose to the surface, almost robbing her of speech as she fought the desire to slap his face hard.
‘What else from a man such as you?’
Dark eyes speared her own. ‘You have no knowledge of the man I’ve become.’
So very different from the Alexei she’d once known as memories flashed through her mind...hauntingly real for a few heart-stopping seconds as she recalled her body beneath his...supple, avid, in a manner that drove her wild.
For him, only him.
Dear God in heaven...stop.
Reflection in any form was a madness she could ill afford.
Almost as if he knew the passage of her thoughts he indicated the nest of chairs framing the front of his desk. ‘Take a seat.’
Natalya spared him a dark glare, which had no effect whatsoever. ‘I prefer to stand.’
He merely inclined his head...and waited.
An action which ramped her animosity up a notch, and her eyes speared his as she sought a measure of calm. ‘The employment contract your henchman presented for my signature bears no mention of your name.’
‘Henchman, Natalya?’ The query held a vague musing quality. ‘Marc Adamson is ADE’s legal consultant.’ He eased his lengthy frame against the edge of his desk as he spelled it out. ‘Alexei Delandros Electronics.’
‘Very cleverly disguised in the contract I signed,’ she accused as she reached into her satchel, removed the folded document, ripped it in half, then tossed the pages onto his desk, quietly pleased when a few of the torn pieces fluttered onto the carpet.
She wanted to hurt him, as she had been hurt by his abrupt disappearance from her life. Days when she could barely function. Nights where sleep eluded her until the early dawn hours.
Weeks, dammit, spent examining every possible reason he could have left without a word.
An inexplicable action which compounded when she woke one morning feeling queasy and had to make a mad dash into the en suite bathroom. Something she ate became less likely when a second early morning bathroom dash occurred the following day, and the next. A positive pregnancy test had tipped her into a state of shock...they’d always used protection, so how?...until she recalled a night when need had obliterated common sense.
A rapid calculation of pertinent dates had merely confirmed a distinct possibility, followed by a host of scattered emotions that briefly pitched her between delight and despair, and the inevitable...this can’t be happening. Except a further three pregnancy tests over several days had eliminated any vestige of doubt.
Vivid images swirled unbidden through her mind of times shared, long nights together, the joy of love and quietly spoken plans for their future...then nothing, no word as to why Alexei had seemed to disappear like smoke in the wind.
The energy she expended attempting to track him down without success. Details of staff employed by Montgomery Electronics revealed Alexei’s file had been deleted—but she had no idea who by or why.
It appeared he’d intentionally slipped off the radar...but for what possible reason?
She’d lain awake for nights searching for an answer...any answer. Only to come up with a few scenarios, none of which seemed to fit the man she thought she’d known so well.
Was she that desperate to locate the father of