the ghosts of the past are all gone now. So, tell me, do you usually go to bed so early?’
The humour that replaced the pain in his eyes lifted her heart after the sad confession about his home-life. At least she now knew why he was so determined to demolish those houses.
‘During the week when I work I always go to bed early. I know you wanted to speak to me last night, but do you really think talking on the phone is the best way to get to know someone? I personally prefer to talk to my friends face to face … especially when it comes to discussing something personal.’
Drake’s answering short laugh made all the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.
‘So it’s my friend you want to be now, is it?’
Brushing her hair out of the way, he laid his hand over her cheek, gently stroking the pad of his thumb down over her flushed skin, eliciting an explosion of goosebumps.
‘I’ll only agree to be your friend, Layla, if I’m afforded certain … shall we say … privileges?’ he said, smiling.
As enticing as the idea to afford him those privileges was, Layla determinedly held her ground, even though his touch was seriously making her melt. ‘I think that comment sounds very much like an avoidance strategy to me.’
‘You think I’m avoiding something, do you? What am I avoiding?’ With an incorrigible grin he moved his hand to rest it lightly on her shoulder.
‘Answering the question I asked you yesterday—about—about letting me get to know you … giving me the chance to see the real man behind the successful architect.’
Once again she caught her breath as she waited for his reply. His grin faded almost immediately and his grey eyes suddenly acquired a glint of terrifying sadness that made her stomach roll over.
‘That question ensured I barely slept a wink last night,’ he told her gruffly.
‘Why?’ she whispered.
‘Before I answer that, I have a question for you … Why did you give up a presumably well-paid job in London to move back home? What happened with this boss of yours? You said he wasn’t a boyfriend, but I get the feeling something intimate happened between you. Was it an affair that perhaps turned sour?’
Drake’s hands were suddenly fastening round her arms again, and his grip noticeably tightened, making her heart thump. ‘I didn’t have an affair with him. I just—he plied me with drink at an office party and I stupidly succumbed to sleeping with him. It was only the one time, and I hated myself for it straight after.’
Feeling angry that Drake had turned the tables on her, Layla tried to twist free, but he was having none of it and held her fast.
‘My boss was like a lot of men who have wealth and power. He thought it was a golden ticket to having anything he wanted, and no doubt after my refusing his requests for a date for so long it helped boost his ego to get me drunk and finally persuade me into his bed.’ Her face was suffused with embarrassed heat. ‘I despise myself for being so weak, because he was the most unscrupulous and unprincipled man I’ve ever met.’
‘Was that the reason you quit your job?’
Sucking in a steadying breath as the memory of the shameful betrayal that had finally forced her to leave washed over her, she gazed into Drake’s eyes with an unwavering furious stare.
‘No. At least, it wasn’t the main one. In another stupidly weak moment I let him persuade me to invest all my savings in a deal that was a total scam from start to finish. When I lost every penny, he shrugged as if he couldn’t care less and said, “That’s the business we’re in, Layla. It’s all about risk. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. You should have known that … silly girl.” He wasn’t wrong there.’ She shook her head bitterly. ‘I was silly … Let me rephrase that. I was utterly and unforgivably stupid. My common sense deserted me. But at the time I invested in his deal I’d long grown tired of the soulless nature of my job and my boss. I was desperate to leave. I wanted to retrain as a youth worker or something along those lines instead … something that could be of use to people. But I knew if I was going to study I’d need money to support myself. That’s why I fell for my boss’s expert sales pitch. I thought that because he’d reached the heights as a broker, and made a lot of money by speculating and taking risks himself, he must know what he was doing. I never thought for one minute that he might take me to the cleaners because I only slept with him once and refused to do so again. It’s amazing what we can convince ourselves of when we’re desperate, isn’t it?’
‘I’m sorry.’
The comment sounded genuinely compassionate, and Drake’s firm grip on her arms gentled.
‘Not half as sorry as I am. I know one thing for sure. I’ll never make a decision out of desperation again.’
‘You did nothing wrong, Layla. It’s your low-life ex-boss that needs hanging out to dry.’
‘Anyway …’ She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. ‘You live and learn, as my dad always used to say. Are you going to answer my question now, Drake?’
Withdrawing his hands, he pressed his fingers deep against his temples. For the first time since he’d appeared in the outer office she noticed the softly bruised shadows beneath his eyes that denoted his previous night’s lack of sleep.
‘I’ve been giving it some serious thought.’
Not brave enough to prompt him, Layla neither moved nor spoke.
Lifting his strong cut-glass jaw, Drake gave her one of his searing, compelling glances. ‘I want you Layla. I’m sure you know that only too well by now. You’re like a fever in my blood that I can’t recover from. So I’ve decided that I will give you more access than I’ve given to any other woman before and let you get to know me a little. But I want to make it clear that that doesn’t mean there’ll be no holds barred—because it’s quite likely there will be.’ The glitter in his eyes that followed this statement was almost fierce. ‘I don’t share my feelings or my thoughts easily. Maybe that’s a habit I’ll eventually learn to break, but there’ll definitely be boundaries if we become more intimate. Think you can handle that?’
With her heart bumping heavily against her ribs, Layla found herself nodding slowly. ‘Yes, I do. At least, I’m willing to take the risk.’
AFTER they had their coffee Drake gave Layla the ‘grand tour’ of his offices, because he knew if they stayed alone together any longer, cloistered in his private domain, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her. As it was he had to contend with the too interested glances of his colleagues … especially the men. But how could he blame them when her slim-hipped jeans-clad figure and beautiful face was a magnet for any male with a pulse? No matter how young or old …
From the moment he’d told her that he was willing to let her get to know him—barring one or two no-go areas that he hadn’t yet outlined—he’d begun to feel uncharacteristically possessive towards her. It was a new sensation for Drake, and one he’d never experienced before—not even with his ex Kirsty.
As they toured the offices on each floor Layla appeared genuinely fascinated by the different projects his architects and designers were undertaking—taking him and them aback by asking the kind of in-depth questions that he asked his clients himself in a bid to ascertain their construction needs. She was particularly interested in the social and environmental aspects of the various designs, and his younger male architects were only too happy to oblige her with full-length explanations, he saw. The realisation made him proud that he’d hired such good people, but it also made him intensely jealous that they were practically falling over themselves to interact with Layla.
When she stood beside them to examine an architectural model more closely,