What His Money Can’t Hide (6 page)

But, seeing they were nearing the site he’d proposed they visit together, all he did was say thoughtfully, ‘I’m sorry you miss them so badly, but life goes on, doesn’t it? We have to try and make the best of things. When bad things happen you can either wallow in the idea that you’ve been dealt a bad hand or you can be determined to rise above it. Personally speaking, I was never going to stay around here and regard myself as some kind of victim—no matter how difficult or challenging it was to rise above my circumstances.’

He drove into the large denuded area that had already been cleared in preparation for building and pulled up beside one of the several works vans belonging to the contractor he’d hired. A few feet away scaffolding waiting to be erected lay in precisely organised piles on the cold hard ground.

‘We’re here.’ Silencing the engine, he turned to study
his passenger. ‘I know the weather’s not great, but I’d still like to show you the site and tell you what we’ve got planned. Are you still up for a look round with me?’

‘Of course.’ Peering out of the windscreen, she let a fond smile touch her lips. ‘There used to be a great playground here when I was a kid. My brother and I sometimes walked all the way from our house to get to it. My dad was inevitably working, so during the school holidays after Mum was gone we were more or less left to our own devices. We used to think it was a bit of an adventure to go to the playground on our own, to tell you the truth. Do you remember it, Drake?’

‘I do.’

His own memories of the playground that had once stood on the site were definitely not as fond as Layla’s, he mused. He too had visited it on his own, but he hadn’t made any friends when he was there. The other kids had probably been warned by their parents to stay away from the boy whose mother had left him and who had a father notorious for being bad-tempered and more often than not
drunk
.

Bringing his focus firmly back to the present, Drake returned his pretty companion’s smile. ‘By the way, you’ll have to wear a hard hat … Health and Safety demands it, I’m afraid. I’ve got a spare in the boot.’

The word
cold
didn’t come anywhere near to describing the effect of the slashing raw wind that cut into Layla’s face as soon as she stepped out of the car onto the flattened muddied ground. Shivering hard, and reflecting on the vehemence in Drake’s tone when he’d talked about rising above his circumstances after the
devastating events of his childhood, she suddenly understood why his success must mean so much to him. From this rundown suburban no-man’s land to Mayfair was no small achievement. In fact, thinking about the deprivation in the area—both socially and educationally—his accomplishment was nothing less than remarkable. Wrapping her arms round the insubstantial padded jacket she wore with her jeans, she shivered again, fervently wishing she’d had the foresight to wear something much warmer.

‘Let’s walk. Some exercise will help warm you up. Here, you’d better put this on first.’

As he came to stand in front of her she saw the glint of concern that mingled with wry amusement in his mercurial grey eyes and her blood started to pump hard even
before
she started to walk round the site. She was so disconcerted by the reaction that as she moved forward to take the spare headgear he was holding out she immediately tripped over a stone and almost fell. The only reason she didn’t was because Drake’s hands caught hold of her arms just in time to steady her. In the process he grabbed the hard hat she was carrying and threw it to the ground, along with his own, so that he could properly support her.

During those volatile few seconds time slowed to a terrifying immediacy that ripped away all possibility of thought. Instead Layla was aware only of the acutely erotic heat that poured into the air between them. It was a formidable force that was impossible to ignore.

When her shocked gaze fell onto Drake’s, only to see the candid hunger that was laid bare in his eyes, she knew with a jolt that they were reflecting the same
shocking, raw need that she was experiencing. His steel-like grip on her upper arms didn’t lessen as his warm breath hit the icy air with visible little clouds of steam. She yearned to say something …
anything
to restore the situation to some semblance of recognisable normality before it was too late … before she succumbed to something she might live to regret. But the idea abruptly melted away when in that very same instant he took his hands away from her arms to cup them either side of her jaw. The surprising sensation of a couple of rough-edged calluses and warm smooth skin pressed against her cold face was a sensual revelation.

With a harsh breath that was a precursor to the inevitability of his next action, Drake crushed her mouth savagely beneath his.

The combined taste of his lips and tongue was immediately sexy and addictive. Like a heady smooth cognac that she couldn’t stop herself craving even when she knew drinking it would likely get her into trouble.

Layla found herself in the midst of a sensually battering storm that threatened to rip her from her moorings for ever, and her ears were filled with the sound of her own breathless gasps as her hands curled possessively into Drake’s cashmere coat in a desperate bid to bring his strong hard body even closer to hers. What she wouldn’t give to be skin to skin with him right then, instead of wearing restrictive clothing that prevented them from touching each other as passionately as they craved. Even in the teeth of the cutting wind that blew around them the fire they’d lit between them surely blazed hot enough to keep even the most arctic temperatures at bay?

The clawing sexual need that suddenly consumed her rocked her with its force. With an indisputable sense of urgency Drake hurriedly unzipped her jacket and roughly palmed her breast. Even through her clothing his touch was like a lick of raw flame scorching her. With a rough groan he broke off the avaricious kiss that was threatening to get out of control. His mouth’s desertion left Layla helplessly pining for more. But she didn’t feel abandoned for long, because straight away he pushed her jacket collar aside and pressed his mouth to the juncture between her neck and shoulder.

His heat all but undid her there and then. At the same time as his lips moved seductively over that highly sensitive region he sank his teeth into her skin and bit her. If it hadn’t been for the fact that both his hands were holding her fast by her hips she was sure she would have fainted from the sheer scorching pleasure of it. Yet a kernel of common sense somehow engineered its way into the dangerous fog of desire, and with her heart racing she freed herself from the circle of his arms and stepped away. As she moved back her hand gingerly touched the tender place where he’d bitten, feeling the sting that undoubtedly meant he’d left his mark. Her face flooded with violent heat.

‘We shouldn’t be doing this. We
can’t
do this. You were—you were going to show me round the site and tell me about what’s planned here. Perhaps we should concentrate on doing that instead of—instead of …’

‘Wanting to rip each other’s clothes off?’

Drake’s throaty intonation and teasing smile came dangerously close to making Layla hungrily return to his arms. To prevent such an occurrence she made herself
recall how devastated she’d been when her ex-boss had mercilessly persuaded her to invest her life savings in the financial scheme that had turned out to be totally crooked. The humiliating and hurtful memory reminded her of her vow to steer clear of wealthy charming men for as long as she lived. Better she fell for a factory worker or a postman so long as he was honest and true.

She’d already been burned by someone whose
raison d’être
was money and success, and she was in no hurry to experience a similar scenario.

‘I don’t know what came over me, but you can be sure it won’t happen again. Shall we go and look round the site now? Time’s getting on and I need to get back to work.’

She gave Drake the scantest glance she could manage, knowing that if she gazed too long into those magnetically compelling eyes of his her good intentions and warnings to herself would be crushed into oblivion and she would lose all ability to make sensible decisions where he was concerned for good.

‘Come on, then.’ He bent down to retrieve the hard hats he’d let fall to the ground. After placing one on his own head, he moved across to Layla and handed her hers. ‘Put this on. We’ll do what we came to do and walk round the site, then I’ll take you back to the café. Later on tonight, when you’ve finished work, I’ll ring you so we can talk about when to see each other again. And when we do, I’m going to absolutely insist that you let my driver collect you.’

‘Didn’t you hear what I said? What if I tell you I’ve decided I don’t want to see you again?’

‘I won’t believe you. Not after what just happened between us.’

Drake’s expression was as serious and formidable as she’d ever seen it. Layla’s icily tipped fingers gripped the hard hat tightly, but she wouldn’t put it on until she got her feelings off her chest.

‘Let me put you straight about something. I’m not interested in having some meaningless sexual fling with you that will burn out in a few days or even a few weeks. I won’t deny that I find you physically attractive, but that in itself isn’t enough to persuade me that it’s a good idea to see you again.’

‘No? Then what is?’

‘I’ll only agree to see you if you let me into your life a little … if you give me the chance to get to know the man behind the successful veneer you present to the world. If you’re willing to at least consider the possibility then I’ll agree to another date with you. If not, then we may as well forget the whole thing.’

‘Setting aside what I do for a living, and my public reputation, I’m a very private man, Layla. I very rarely let anyone get too close to me … especially women.’

He almost didn’t need to say the words. Straight away she was aware of the turmoil that raged inside him at the mere notion of allowing her more intimate access into his life. It was as though she was the enemy and he was behind an impenetrable wall of steel keeping her from advancing any further.

Her breathing was suddenly uncomfortably shallow. ‘So your previous relationships with women have been based on satisfying sexual desire and nothing more? Is that what you’re telling me?’

‘This really isn’t the time or the place to discuss this.’ Drake’s troubled gaze turned into a warning glare. ‘Right now I need to do my job and look round the site. I’ll ring you later on tonight and we can talk then.’

Indignation that she was being palmed off until it was more convenient made Layla bristle. ‘Don’t bother. I’m not interested in being placated by your no doubt charmingly reasonable explanation as to why you don’t want to let me get to know you properly, and neither am I interested in being some convenient bed partner while you’re in town.’ She unceremoniously shoved the hard hat into his hand. ‘Don’t worry about giving me a lift back to the café. The walk will do me good. I know the route back into town like the back of my hand.’

‘Don’t go.’

There was a heartfelt plea in his voice that stopped her in her tracks.

‘Why? Why shouldn’t I go?’ she asked, her heart thudding inside her chest as though she teetered on the edge of a cliff.

‘Because I want to show you round the site and explain what we’ve got planned to improve it.’ He expelled a frustrated sigh. ‘Aren’t you at least interested in that?’

Even though she was mad at him, Layla couldn’t deny that she was more than interested in the planned improvements. After all, she knew only too well what it would mean to the town and its downtrodden population. It would feel like a betrayal of everyone she knew who lived there to just walk away and pretend she didn’t care.

Pushing her windblown hair out of her eyes, she
slowly nodded. ‘Of course I’m interested. All right, then … I’ll stay and let you show me around.’

Quirking a wary eyebrow, Drake smiled. ‘And what about me ringing you later on tonight so we can talk about another date?’

‘If you agree to seriously consider my request about letting me into your life a little … then, yes … you can ring me.’

Shaking his head, as if he knew it was pointless to pursue the matter further, Drake lightly placed his hand at Layla’s back and led her onto the site.

‘S
O WHAT
do you think of the planned improvements?’ As he drove them out of the site, Drake stole an interested glance at his passenger and saw that her incandescent brown-eyed gaze was definitely reflective.

‘Ithink it’s terrific what you plan to do,’ she replied enthusiastically. ‘Especially the idea of having a communal garden with lots of lovely planting and an adjoining play area for the kids.’

‘You don’t think the kids will pull up the plants?’

‘No, Idon’t. Give people a place to be proud to live in, a place that’s aesthetically beautiful as well as practical, and in my view they’ll do everything they can to take care of it. A lot of the smaller children Iknow love plants and flowers, and if someone shows them how to plant and water them they’ll love them even more.’

‘So the plans have your personal seal of approval, Miss Jerome?’

Layla’s pale cheeks were suddenly flooded with the most becoming shade of pink. ‘You don’t need my approval … but I’m glad you asked my opinion just the same.’

‘There’s one more place I’d like to show you before Itake you back—a place that we’re planning to improve
as well. It’s a short, nondescript side-street in one of the more rundown areas.’

‘Okay.’

Drake’s heart was thundering on the drive to the location where he’d been raised as a boy, but he tried to look beyond the now emptied shabby Victorian houses and envisage instead the more modern and attractive buildings he intended to erect in their place.

‘This is the street you were talking about?’ his companion asked, her expression puzzled as she peered through the windscreen.

‘Yes. It’s been empty for a long time now. Do you know someone who used to live here?’ Immediately Drake prayed that she didn’t. He didn’t want her view of him tainted by some gossipmonger’s lurid account of his family.

‘I don’t know anyone that lived here, but I know there are a few locals who are petitioning the council to save the buildings and have them renovated.’

His lips twisted ruefully. ‘I heard about that. As well-meaning as those folks are, I’m afraid the petition has already been discarded.’

‘Why?’

Taken aback by the look of horror on Layla’s face, and a little rattled by it, Drake sighed. ‘Because an independent party has purchased the entire street and has plans to demolish the houses and construct more contemporary residences in their place.’

‘When did you hear that?’ The huge brown eyes that had dazzled him right from the start widened in shocked disbelief.

‘About three months ago … when I put in a bid to buy the street.’

Layla’s even white teeth clamped down against the soft flesh of her plump lower lip and her slender hand pushed shakily through her hair. ‘So
you’re
the independent party?’

‘Yes … I am.’

‘And
you
plan to pull down these historic old buildings and replace them with cheap modern “Identi-Kit” houses with about as much character as cardboard egg-boxes?’

Drake would have grinned in amusement if it weren’t for the fact that Layla looked so painfully aggrieved. ‘I hope I have a lot more taste than that,’ he said dryly. ‘And for your information I never build cheap modern houses … no matter where they’re situated. First and foremost, it’s important to me to build housing that residents will be proud to live in, and I always utilise the most skilled craftsmen I can find to build them—as well as using the very best materials.’

‘Be that as it may, the Victorians knew how to build houses that stood the test of time and were elegant too, and I have to tell you that I’m one of the town’s residents who petitioned the council. If you’re planning on improving the area why can’t you just invest your money in renovating what’s already here?’

‘Because I’d rather rebuild than renovate, that’s why.’

‘I don’t understand. Why won’t you consider renovating?’

Even though seeing Layla’s obviously distressed glance was akin to being punched hard, and it had shocked him to learn that she had been one of the petitioners
who had fought to keep the Victorian terraced houses rather than demolish them, Drake didn’t feel up to explaining why he’d rather raze the old buildings to the ground and build new ones. He was feeling somewhat peeved that Layla should take it upon herself to advise him what to do. When he’d last looked,
he
was the architect in charge of helping to regenerate the town.

‘I’d better get you back to the café,’ he murmured.

‘Why won’t you answer my question? If you’re planning on pulling down the houses you might at least have the courtesy to explain why.’

Turning to face her, Drake bit back his irritation as best as he could. ‘I can see that you clearly have some romantic ideas about renovating these properties, but it takes a hell of a lot of money to restore old houses and bring them back to their former glory. Sometimes it’s far more economical and easier to build new ones. Don’t forget I’m a businessman as well as an architect, Layla.’

Before she had a chance to reply he gunned the engine and reversed the car rapidly down the street, and she glumly averted her gaze to stare out of the window …

Layla had asserted that she wanted him to let her into his life and to get to know the man behind the successful veneer. It was the single most scary thing that a woman had ever said to him.

Drake put down the tumbler with a double shot of whisky in it and morosely folded his arms.

Even scarier was the growing temptation to flirt with the idea of considering her request. But he was worried that after showing her the street where he’d grown up,
and telling her he planned to demolish all the houses there and erect new ones, she’d change her mind about wanting to get to know him at all. She’d hardly taken the news of his plans for the street well. Yet it hadn’t affected the powerful allure she still had for him.
Damn it all to hell!
Layla Jerome had put a spell on him … either that or he had somehow lost his mind.

The decision to return to the place of his birth to help regenerate the area was seriously backfiring on him. The
very
last thing he’d expected to happen was that he should end up seriously lusting after a beautiful local girl that worked in a café.

He’d come back to Mayfair after finishing work that evening, but he’d neither eaten nor showered. His mind, body and senses had been too caught up in a tornado of longing and lust to accomplish either of those fundamental things so he had headed out to a hotel bar he knew in a bid to hopefully distract himself. Eating held no appeal when there was so much churning going on in the pit of his stomach, and he hadn’t showered because he didn’t want to wash away the alluring scent of Layla’s body. Her seductive smell was all over him, and if he shut his eyes he could recall the wonderful sensation of her soft velvety skin beneath his fingertips and the incredible taste of her sexy mouth …

A bolt of inflammatory need shot straight to his loins and Drake silently cursed the ill-timed inconvenience of it. Even though she’d firmly told him that she wasn’t interested in a sexual fling that would last only a few days or weeks he was still hoping to get her into bed soon. She’d asserted that she wanted to get to know him, but he knew if he let her she would probably be
extremely uneasy with the taciturn, insecure man behind the glamorous and successful reputation—a man who was still too haunted by his past to be anywhere near comfortable with the idea of making a serious commitment to a woman.

Glancing impatiently down at his watch, and seeing that it was much later than he’d thought, he lifted the glass he’d put beside him on the bar and drank down the remaining contents in one hit. Even though Layla had been less than warm towards him when he’d dropped her off at the café, Drake had insisted he would ring her, and if he left it any later he knew he probably wouldn’t get to speak to her at all tonight.

‘Had a bad day?’

He glanced round in surprise at the shapely blonde who lowered herself onto the barstool next to him. She wore a fitted silver-grey suit over a dark red shirt with a revealing neckline, displaying enough décolletage to start a small stampede.
Except that the provocative sight left Drake completely cold
. There was only one woman he would head up a small stampede for and that was Layla.

‘It wasn’t all bad,’ he drawled laconically, getting to his feet, ‘there were definitely some highlights.’

‘You’re not leaving?’

The pneumatic blonde didn’t try to hide her disappointment. But once on his feet Drake knew emphatically what was next on his personal agenda—and it wasn’t whiling away the evening in a bar making small talk with a woman who was clearly on the lookout for a profitable sexual encounter with someone.

‘I’m afraid I am. Have a nice evening,’ he murmured,
the automatic half-smile that touched his lips quickly fading because all he could think about was getting back home and phoning Layla.

‘She’s gone to bed?’

On receiving this astounding information from Layla’s brother Marc, Drake stopped stirring the mug of strong black coffee he’d made and turned round to lean back against the marble-topped counter in the kitchen.

Feeling stunned and aggrieved at the same time, he couldn’t help the irritation that seeped into his reply. ‘What do you mean, she’s gone to bed? It’s barely after ten.’

‘She’s never been able to hack staying up late. She’s a real morning person.’

‘And how is it that you’re answering her mobile? Is she staying with you at the moment?’

‘We share a house. I have the ground floor and Layla the top. Didn’t she tell you that?’

‘No. She didn’t. Anyway, morning person or not, I’d appreciate it if you’d go upstairs and see if she’s still awake. I told her to expect my call,’ he said, mustering as much authority as he was able—because he was still reeling at the notion of her going to bed and apparently not being the slightest bit perturbed that he hadn’t rung earlier. Was it because she was still mad at him for wanting to knock the terraced houses down and build new ones?

‘I can’t do that, I’m afraid. I’ve got strict instructions not to. That’s why she left her phone with me. She said if you rang I was to tell you that she’ll ring you
on Monday. I’m really sorry, Mr Ashton, but it’s more than my life’s worth to disturb her. You may not know this yet, but my sister’s got a real temper on her. Trust me—glass can be shattered when she loses it!’

Drake clenched his jaw and curled his palm into an angry fist down by his side. She was going to ring him on
Monday
? Was she playing some kind of game with him that entailed teaching him a lesson for not agreeing to renovate the Victorian terraced houses? he wondered. Could she even
guess
at the depth of frustration she’d left him with earlier today? More to the point, did she believe that her request that he let her get to know him had frightened him off? Clearly if it
had
she certainly wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it.

‘Okay. Thanks,’ he muttered, finding himself completely at a loss to know what else to say.

Crossly replacing the receiver, he dropped down into a nearby chair.
Did she really mean to let an entire weekend go by before she saw him again?
He scowled. If he’d had her address and had been anywhere near the vicinity of her home he would have considered battering down her door to
make
her come and speak to him if he had to …
temper
or no. He wasn’t about to let a potential display of volatile emotion put him off his goal. Besides which, the mere idea of Layla losing her temper instigated an immediate fantasy of him subduing it with a long, lazy open-mouthed kiss on that sexy mouth of hers.

Having already sampled her exquisite taste, the fantasy was almost too real to be borne. Releasing a hard to contain groan, Drake pushed impatiently to his feet.
The hot leisurely shower he’d envisaged was going to have to be replaced by one closer to sub-zero temperatures if his frustration was going to be remotely eased tonight …

Layla released a long sigh of relief when Marc told her the next morning that Drake had rung. She’d gone to bed early because she’d been genuinely tired, but she’d also been irritated with him because he wouldn’t consider renovating the Victorian terrace. It was clear he was also aggravated with her, because she’d asserted that she wanted to get to know him, that she wasn’t just interested in a short-term fling.

The man clearly had issues around allowing a woman to get too close to him and Layla wanted to find out
why
. She also wanted to know why he wouldn’t consider renovating the Victorian terrace. Somehow she didn’t buy it that it was more profitable to build new residences in its place. Drake might be a businessman as well as an architect, but she didn’t believe that financial consideration was the
only
reason he wouldn’t look at renovation.

Still, at the end of the day the man was doing far more for the town than anyone had in too many years to mention, and even if she was upset he wouldn’t listen to a small local petition to keep the terraced houses she couldn’t let that taint her feelings towards him … not when she sensed deep down that he was a genuinely good man.

It was while she was clearing away the debris of her breakfast and stacking the dishwasher that a sudden idea took hold. Maybe it was time she played a more proactive
part in their association? Perhaps it was time to turn the tables and this time surprise
him
? She decided that if anything at all was going to come from their association—be it an irresistible and unforgettable fling or a mutual commitment to a much more meaningful relationship—she wanted at least to have joint command of it. Never again would she allow a man’s desires to take precedence over her own wants and needs—or, as in the case of her unscrupulous ex-boss, to convince her that
he
knew best.

In particularly good spirits that day, Marc agreed to let her have the afternoon off. He even gave her an affectionate hug when she confessed she was going up to London to see Drake.

‘I like him. He’s a very astute businessman,’ he said, smiling. ‘He told me I shouldn’t be in a hurry to throw in the towel and sell the café just because the takings are down. At any rate it isn’t a good time to sell, and I’d only get peanuts for it. He explained that the whole point of regenerating the area was not just to encourage new residents to move here, but to encourage more successful and appealing retail outlets to inhabit the high street and sell their goods. The influx of new customers would help small businesses like the café become more thriving concerns. “Give it a couple of years at least to see if things work out,” he advised. So that’s what I’m going to do. I can’t tell you how much better I feel at having some direction at last. Say thanks again for me when you see him, won’t you?’