The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress Page 0,5
spunk if not her morals. “This is no time to let pride stand in your way. You’ve made progress but someone in your lab is sabotaging your work. I’m offering you continued funding plus a place in my laboratory where you can ensure that your work is not tampered with.”
Elana wasn’t sure what was more surprising. That her work was tampered with or that he was offering her funding. Both ideas were so far outside the realm of possibles that she couldn’t even think for a moment while her mind processed those two items.
Because the tampering was less…invasive, for lack of a better word, she attacked on that. “What do you mean about my work? And how would you know if someone were tampering with my results anyway?” She knew she sounded belligerent, but this man just brought out the worst in her. Which was sad because he used to bring out the best, challenging her mind, pushing her harder than she’d ever thought she could go and rising above the petty irritations to get her studying finished faster and more thoroughly, just so she could spend more time with him. Seven years ago, every moment spent in his company had been precious and exciting. Now she just couldn’t wait to get him out of her apartment and as far away from her as possible.
“You know exactly what I mean,” he said evenly, leaning his shoulder against the cream colored wall. “Why don’t you have any color in your apartment?” he asked, his eyes looking around. “You used to love color, surrounding yourself with anything that was bright and almost crazy.” Why he cared, he didn’t know. But something about the way she lived didn’t feel right.
Elana shifted on her feet, suddenly realizing that the fridge was still open and she had the milk in her hand, holding it as if it were a weapon. She turned around and put the milk back on the shelf, then slammed the fridge. “I don’t need to explain my environment to you,” she replied stiffly. In reality, she’d had no color in her life, not just her apartment. Since he’d left her, everything had seemed dull and pointless. She’d put all of her energy into finishing school and competing with the other students as well as herself to do better, work harder and achieve her goals faster. It had paid off. She was one of the few students working on her PhD in botany for her age. She had him to thank for that, although she wasn’t going to give him the credit since he’d done it by leaving her without any explanation and moving on to, not just the next woman, but the next fifty women. She’d been so heartbroken she had barely been able to function those first few months. But she’d eventually gotten through the pain. With gritty determination, she’d buried herself in her studies and her work, resolutely not allowing Gaston’s absence to throw her into a tailspin like so many other women had gone through.
Gaston shrugged, accepting that what her walls looked like wasn’t relevant. “Good point. So, what’s your answer on the funding and lab space?” He took another step closer to her, his nostrils filling up with the sweet scent of her. It was a scent he remembered so well. She was fresh and alive, like roses.
She was actually shaking, her whole body trembling as he came closer to her. She wanted him gone, but her voice wouldn’t speak, her eyes looking up at him warily. “I don’t know why you’re here but there has to be a reason. And whatever that is, I don’t care. Get out,” she said, wishing the trembling in her voice would stop so she could appear, at least on the outside, more confident and unaffected by this man.
He didn’t listen to her. In fact, he came even closer, his eyes skimming over her features one by one. “Are you sleeping well, little one?” he asked softly, his eyes noticing the dark circles under her previously vibrant eyes.
Her mouth fell open at the endearment and she blinked, not sure what he was doing. She didn’t realize that her body language had softened but she felt her insides melting, frustrated because that had always happened when he came close to her. “Don’t do this, Gaston,” she begged, not even caring that she had to plead with him if it got him away from her.
“Don’t do what?” he lifted his hand and pushed