NOBODY of any importance! The words drummed through Libby’s senses as the car sped through the night.
‘They were persistent.’ She finally found her voice, but it was shaky in the extreme. She hoped Marc would put that fact down to the circumstance of running from the reporters, and not on the circumstances surrounding their kiss, because anything else would be too embarrassing.
She couldn’t believe that she had responded to him like that.
‘I don’t think they got a clear photo of us,’ Marc replied nonchalantly.
‘No, and of course telling them that I’m just a nobody will really throw them off the scent.’ Her voice was brittle with sarcasm and she could feel anger thundering through her in waves. But she didn’t know whom she was more furious with: herself for kissing him like that, or him for saying something so coldly insulting…so coolly flippant after such an intensely passionate moment. But of course that kiss had meant nothing to him; he had merely been toying with her, a bit as a lion might toy with its prey. The knowledge intensified her anger, and also curiously she was aware of a dull kind of raw ache springing up inside her from nowhere.
He glanced across at her. ‘I didn’t put it quite like that. I said you were nobody as far as they were concerned.’
‘I think that amounts to the same thing, doesn’t it?’ she said coolly.
‘I was just trying to keep you out of the press.’ He glanced over at her again. ‘But you don’t want that, do you?’ His voice hardened. ‘You want to be centre stage in all this.’
‘No, I do not!’ She curled her fingers into tight fists.
‘I’m telling you, Libby, no matter how much interest you try to whip up with the press, you won’t make that much money from selling your story. You will be a two-minute wonder.’
‘I’ve got you worried, though, haven’t I?’ Libby couldn’t resist the jibe.
‘I’m concerned, not worried,’ Marc retorted sharply. ‘This is a very important time for your father…but then you are well aware of that, aren’t you? You know exactly what you are doing.’
‘All I want to do is see him,’ she muttered. ‘I don’t think that is unreasonable.’
‘No, it’s not. And as long as you play by my rules, I will arrange that for you.’
‘Your rules?’ Her voice trembled slightly. ‘I don’t know who the hell you think you are, ordering me around…pouncing on me!’
‘Pouncing on you?’ There was a hint of amusement in Marc’s tone now.
‘You had no right to kiss me like that,’ she muttered.
‘It was just a kiss, Libby.’ He said the words gently, and then glanced around at her. ‘You could have pulled away…but you didn’t. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you enjoyed it.’
‘Oh, you think so, do you?’ He really was an arrogant so-and-so! Well, she would knock him down a peg or two and enjoy it. ‘For your information, actually, I was going to pull away.’ She smiled at him as their eyes met. ‘But I saw the press approaching and I thought why not give them something to photograph?’
‘I see.’ Marc looked back at the road. ‘It was a convincing act, I’ll give you that.’
She was slightly mollified to hear that his tone had lost a little of its cool arrogance. Good! She sincerely hoped that she had dented some of that male ego. There was no way that she wanted him to know just how much he had turned her on. It was far…far too embarrassing.
‘So is this your way of admitting that it was you who tipped the paparazzi off?’
His insouciant question made her momentary feeling of triumph disappear very quickly.
‘No! It certainly is not!’ she said quickly. ‘I told you I didn’t phone the press.’
‘Right.’ Marc’s voice was filled with dry disbelief. ‘You just played up for the paparazzi out of a philanthropic need to give them something more juicy to photograph.’
‘Listen, if we are going to get pedantic, you kissed me first!’ she retorted swiftly. ‘Maybe you phoned the press and were milking it for every penny.’
‘And why would I do that?’
‘I don’t know.’ Libby sought about wildly in her brain. ‘Maybe you thought you’d give the situation some emotional spin. Distract the press from the real story by throwing in a bit of a good old-fashioned love interest?’
‘Very amusing!’ Marc shook his head. ‘I can assure you, Libby, that I have no intention of giving you a public seal of approval. For one thing I have my position as your father’s agent and publicist to consider.’
‘Wouldn’t want to demean yourself in the press’s eyes with a mere nobody, you mean? Sorry…silly me.’ Libby’s voice grated dryly. ‘You really are quite a pompous stuffed shirt, aren’t you?’ She glared out towards the sea, and was furious with herself for feeling upset. What on earth was wrong with her? She knew perfectly well that Marc had a low opinion of her and, OK, so she had enjoyed being kissed by him! That had been a mistake…a stupid…stupid mistake! But it was just a kiss and better forgotten!
‘I’m a businessman first and foremost, Libby,’ he retorted bluntly. ‘And I suggest you bear that in mind before you play any more games. If there are to be winners and losers in this, then I have no intention of being the loser.’
Libby made no reply, just continued to stare out to sea. She was willing to bet that Marc Clayton never lost, that he was prepared to be as ruthless as it took to get exactly what he wanted.
‘I think under the circumstances that we should move you out of your hotel straight away.’
The sudden suggestion made her look back at him in surprise. ‘Certainly not! I can’t see the point in that at all,’ Libby said quickly.
‘The point is that the press are all over you already. It is only going to get worse.’
‘Well, that is a chance I’m willing to take.’
‘I’m sure you are,’ Marc said laconically. ‘But it’s not one I want to take. No, I want you where I can keep an eye on you.’
‘That’s as may be, but I’m not moving out of my hotel.’
‘If you want to see your father, you will do as you are told.’
‘Now who is using blackmail?’ Libby gave a shaky, incredulous laugh.
‘This is for your benefit as well as your father’s.’
‘And I really believe that!’ Libby muttered sardonically.
‘I have a house not far from my own; I keep it for special clients who need privacy when they are over here on business. The security is very tight there. It has electric fences and gates, and it is run by a very trustworthy staff.’
‘You want to lock me away behind electric fences?’ Libby was enraged. ‘You must be joking! That’s a bit like being sent to prison, isn’t it? Well, you can forget that!’
‘No, I won’t forget it and I’m deadly serious.’
‘Well, so am I when I say that I wouldn’t want to move into your house if it was the last place with a roof left on the Côte D’Azur.’
‘I can assure you that the arrangement will be perfectly civilised and it will be nothing like being in prison.’ Marc sounded lazily amused by her vehemence, before continuing firmly, ‘The house is the last word in luxury with magnificent views over the Mediterranean and a heated outdoor swimming pool. You can come and go as you please and you will have your own cook, cleaners and chauffeur.’
She was momentarily distracted. It sounded too good to be true. ‘And it would all just be for me…?’
‘Yes.’
‘There would be nobody else in the entire house except for me and the staff?’ She checked again.
‘That’s correct.’ Marc smiled to himself. He wanted her out of Cannes and away from the press and he felt he had her within sights of his hook now. He glanced around at her and added casually, ‘I’ll be there now and again, of course. The house is next door to mine and has a connecting private beach.’
Alarm bells rang very loudly inside Libby. She couldn’t help remembering the way Marc had kissed her and the wild passion that had taken them over. It was imperative that she kept her distance from him! ‘So what will you be doing; dropping over to collect the rent?’ she asked dryly.
‘I might have known that the first thing you’d think about would be money. You will of course be able to stay there free of charge.’
Libby opened her mouth to say that she hadn’t actually been thinking about money, and then closed it again. It was too embarrassing to broach what had momentarily flicked through her mind.
There was a moment’s silence.
‘The arrangement will be completely above board,’ Marc said suddenly. ‘If that’s what’s bothering you.’
‘I didn’t for one moment think anything else!’ she lied.
‘Didn’t you?’ he flicked a wryly amused glance in her direction and she tried without success not to blush.
‘I would just rather stay where I am,’ she said firmly and looked away from him hurriedly.
‘Why?’
The blunt question annoyed her. ‘Because that is where I want to be.’
‘Because it’s where you told the press you’d be?’
‘No!’ She shrugged. ‘I just think that it is best that you and I keep our distance.’
‘You’ll be in a separate house to me,’ Marc said dryly. ‘How much distance do you want?’
As they left the darkness of the coast road behind and entered the bright lights of the city Marc slowed the car and changed down a gear. His hand brushed against her arm as he moved. It was just a casual, accidental touch of his skin again hers, but it immediately sent a hot sense of awareness racing through Libby’s whole body.
Separate planets would probably be too close, for her peace of mind, she thought with a sense of annoyance. She hated the fact that he had this power over her senses. How could she let such a hateful man set her pulses racing like this?
‘There is absolutely no reason why you should want to stay on in that hotel of yours, except for the fact that you are playing games with me and with the press,’ Marc continued with annoyance.
‘I am doing no such thing. And…anyway there is another reason why I want to stay in my hotel. It’s convenient.’
‘Not as convenient as having your own chauffeur.’
‘Even so…’ She sought around for something else to throw in. ‘I do have my reputation to think about.’ It was the first thing that came into her mind. ‘For all we know pictures of us kissing could be splashed all over the papers tomorrow and then if I move into the house next door to you…well…people will start to put two and two together and reach five, won’t they?’
‘I don’t think so. Why should they?’
‘Well…because of the papers—’
‘The papers are more interested in your relationship with your father, Libby. Nobody will think there is anything going on between us.’
Libby bit down on the softness of her lip, and something…maybe some spark of pride…made her add, ‘Yes, well, my boyfriend might not take such a relaxed view of things, and if he finds out about that kiss and then hears I’ve moved from my hotel, he might not be so easily persuaded that nothing is going on between us.’ She smiled to herself, pleased by the quick-thinking reply. OK, she wasn’t an important celebrity, but she wasn’t going to let Marc Clayton think that no one gave a damn about her.
‘Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you kissed me,’ Marc said dismissively.
‘Well, maybe I should,’ she grated. ‘But I have no intention of making things worse by moving out of my hotel and into a house that you own. That could be seen in a much more serious light,’ she blustered. ‘That could really rock things badly between Simon and I. And I don’t need any further complications in my life.’
Marc shrugged, ‘I really don’t think the press will play up a romantic connection between us; if you were moving into my house, not the house next door maybe they would be interested. However, if they do print something and your ex really loves you, maybe it will just make him all the keener. Might even make him regret letting you go in the first place.’ Marc slanted a wry look across at her. ‘But then perhaps you already thought of that when you rang the press?’ he added wryly. ‘Maybe you thought you’d kill two birds with one stone?’
‘Do you think I spend all my time dreaming up ways of manipulating people?’ Libby grated, wildly irritated by the remark.
‘I think you are a woman of hidden depths.’
‘Just because you are deep and devious doesn’t mean everyone else is,’ she muttered.
Marc smiled at that. ‘Well, if I thought the woman I loved was seeing someone else I’d be doing something about it…and pretty quickly. Even if that something was just calling to ask what was going on.’
‘Yes, well, I won’t hold my breath on that.’ Libby hadn’t meant to say those words aloud. So much for keeping her pride, she thought angrily.
‘Then he’s not worthy of you and you should forget him,’ Marc said gently.
Libby frowned. He was just playing games, of course…pretending to be sympathetic for a moment. She wasn’t going to be taken in by that.
‘Even though I’m a cold-blooded gold-digger?’ She muttered the words unevenly.
Marc glanced over at her and smiled. ‘Yes…well, you are also a very attractive woman,’ he murmured with wry humour.
Libby wished that his husky, teasing tone had no effect on her, but unfortunately just the lazy inflection in his tone had a swirling, confusing effect on her emotions. But she managed to push the feeling to one side and regain some composure. ‘Coming from someone who is probably a compulsive womanizer, I won’t let your compliments go to my head,’ she retorted sarcastically.
Marc laughed at that.
Hell, he even had the most attractive laugh! Life just wasn’t fair, Libby thought hazily as she strove for immunity. She felt tired now and emotionally drained. And suddenly she was longing for the peace and tranquillity of her hotel room.
‘So shall I pick you up at about ten tomorrow morning?’ Marc asked calmly.
‘What for?’ Libby frowned.
‘I told you. To move you into my safe house,’ he replied calmly.
‘I don’t need a safe house!’ She shook her head.
‘And I think you do.’
‘Well, I don’t think that my moving out of the hotel will help anything. In fact, it will just complicate things further.’
‘I’ll worry about the complications. You just pack your stuff and be ready for me to pick you up tomorrow morning at ten.’ Marc’s tone was uncompromising. He pulled the car up outside her hotel. ‘And don’t talk to the press until I get here.’
‘I wish you would stop telling me what to do.’ She glared at him. ‘Because I really—’
Anything else she had been about to say was cut off as he leaned across towards her.
‘Marc—’ Her words were silenced by the softness of his lips. She tried to make herself pull back from him, tried not to return his kisses, but they were so tenderly provocative that she could feel herself starting to surrender, starting to melt towards him. Just at the moment when she knew she was lost and started to kiss him back, he pulled away.
‘What was that for?’ She looked up at him breathlessly.
‘I suppose I wanted to check and see just how much of that last kiss really was for the press’s benefit,’ he said softly.
‘Dented your ego, did I?’ She managed to make a flippant reply, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from his; they seemed to hold her spellbound. She could hear her heart thundering against her chest and she hoped sincerely that he couldn’t hear it too because it was wildly out of control…a little like her emotions.
He smiled at her. ‘No…not in the slightest, because I don’t think the press had anything to do with the way you kissed me before. I think chemistry is a much more realistic explanation.’
Libby shook her head, and desperately tried to clear her senses. ‘You really are an arrogant so-and-so, Marc Clayton. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the truth is your kiss left me cold. Other women may fall at your feet, but frankly I’m not like other women.’
‘Yes, I think I already gathered that much.’ He sounded very amused. ‘But if that is your response when left cold…I can’t wait to warm you up.’
Libby reached angrily for the door handle. ‘Just…just keep away from me, Marc.’ There was a definite wobble in her voice and she cursed herself for it.
His smile grew. ‘I’ll see you in the morning. Pleasant dreams.’
‘After the night I’ve had I’ll probably be beset by nightmares.’ She tossed the words at him over her shoulder and walked away.
Marc watched her go, admiring her fire and her spirit and the way her shapely body moved as she marched away from him. He probably shouldn’t have kissed her…but the temptation had been too strong and he had been right about the chemistry: she was dangerously provocative. It was a long time since a woman had intrigued him so much. OK, she was a loose cannon as far as his client was concerned, and totally untrustworthy…but what the hell? Why not enjoy a little playtime along the path to getting rid of her? She was a worthy adversary.
The light went out as Libby was halfway to her bedroom and she scrabbled her way blindly to her door. This was a bit like her life at the moment, she thought wryly. She felt totally lost where Marc Clayton was concerned. She knew he was playing games with her. Therefore she should find it easy to keep him at arm’s length, so why did she keep kissing him back like that? And why was the experience so enjoyable? No one had ever kissed her like that before…turned her on with such ease before. He seemed to breach her defences with the ease of a high tide against a sand wall. It was scary. How could a man she didn’t even like do that to her?
She found her bedroom door and practically fell inside. One thing for sure, she would not move out from this hotel…no matter what!
Libby stripped off and headed into the bathroom to stand under the shower. She tried to clear all thoughts of Marc Clayton from her mind, but she kept remembering the feel of his lips against hers, his hands against her skin.
He was obviously a skilled womaniser, she told herself sharply. And if she gave in to his kind of charms she really would deserve to be badly burnt.