The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress Page 0,25

have your assistant send me the address and I’ll be there.”

He laughed softly and shook his head. “I don’t think so, Elana. I know the way you work and you’ll be in the lab until midnight, forgetting everything if I don’t make sure you arrive on time. I’ll pick you up at six.”

Elana looked back at him, irritated that he was being so stubborn about this. “I’ll set an alarm to make sure I leave the lab with enough time. I don’t want you in my apartment again.”

His smile was slow and sexy as his eyes looked at her figure, ending at her soft lips. “Why not? What are you hiding in that place?”

She squirmed under his intense scrutiny, her lips pressing together mutinously. “I’m not hiding anything in my apartment but even if I were, it still wouldn’t be any of your business.”

“So why don’t you want me in your apartment?”

“Because…” she wasn’t sure how to explain that his presence in her apartment set her world off kilter, made her private space seem as if he should be there more often. But she didn’t want to reveal that much to him. She didn’t want him to know that she still might have feelings for him. And she didn’t want to be hurt by him again. So the less time he was in her private spaces, the less of an impact he could have on her life and the easier her recovery would be once he left her life once again.

“Because I don’t want you invading my private life, Gaston.” She said it with finality, looking him straight in the eye and feeling proud that she didn’t back down this time.

He was silent for a long moment, his smile growing slowly and the light in his eyes, that light that made her stomach muscles quiver and her knees press together, told her that she was in deep trouble.

“Elana, I can guarantee that we’re going to be…invading…each other’s private space very soon. And I don’t think there’s anything either one of us can do about that.”

She was already shaking her head in denial, but the limousine pulled up outside his headquarters building. So instead of replying, she simply rushed out of the vehicle, her head low as she made her way through the crowd milling about so she could hurry back to her laboratory. She felt safe there. Things made sense when she was around her bacteria and experiments. And if they didn’t immediately make sense, she knew how to decipher the data so that she could unravel whatever mystery occurred.

Gaston didn’t make sense and he was too dangerous of a mystery for her to even consider tackling. Unfortunately, she didn’t find her much needed respite among her test tubes and centrifuges today. Thoughts of Gaston and the way he’d kissed her before lunch kept filtering through her concentration. She didn’t understand why she kept falling for him, for this almost painful chemistry that hadn’t dissipated over the years. In fact, if she were being perfectly honest with herself, she had to admit that the chemistry had actually increased. Or maybe she’d just pushed the previous intensity of their desire for each other out of her mind, not wanting to remember how wonderful it felt to be in Gaston’s arms.

Work. That had been her antidote to Gaston the last time. Just focus!

She sighed as she pulled her eyes away from the microscope. She looked down at her notes and grimaced because she couldn’t even read the data she’d just recorded. She’d have to run the whole sequence once again. But this time, she wouldn’t let the image of Gaston ruin her focus, nor would she relive that kiss from earlier today get in her way.

With a deep, cleansing breath, she started the whole process over again, forcing her mind away from the man’s strong hands, his muscular arms that she loved to feel around her, making her feel sexy and safe, cherished almost. Elana dropped a slide onto the counter, surprised that her mind had gone in that direction and she almost groaned with frustration. The only thing that stopped her was the curious stares from the others working nearby.

She had to get control of herself, she told herself firmly. This was crazy!

She worked all afternoon and well into the evening before she finally looked up to realize that she was the only person still in the lab. She glanced at her watch and noticed that it was already eight o’clock