CHAPTER 4

“No, I wouldn't. But I do expect a little co-operation from you. This is all your fault, after all.”

“All right, all right… I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!”

          Declan looked unmoved.

“Like I said, Gemma, it isn't enough.”

          He opened the door further.

“I have an important appointment in five minutes.”

“Okay, I… But what do I tell everyone?” Gemma asked.

“Oh, I don’t know… Tell them I've fallen madly in love with you and rushed you off your feet.”

“Please… Don't tease…”

          Her head was down bent. Declan wrenched her chin up roughly between thumb and forefinger.

“Gemma, I don't know what the hell else you expect me to do. I can assure you that if I did what I really want to do to you, you wouldn't like that either.”

          She was mesmerized by his glittering grey eyes, aware of the darkness of his skin and the tangy aftershave he wore.

“What is that you want to do?” Gemma asked breathlessly.

          His hand fell away and he turned her firmly out of the room.

“Put you over my knee and give your backside a good whooping. Just what you hoped to achieve I have no idea. But still, it might prove interesting.”

          Declan silenced her as they entered his EA's office, pausing at the door to look down at her with dark brooding eyes. Again, he raised her chin, uncaring of the two curious pairs of eyes watching them.

“I'll see you later, my darling,” he said, huskily soft, but loud enough for the other two women to hear. “I'll take you to lunch in our usual spot.”

          Before Gemma could answer Declan, his dark head swooped low and his lips fleetingly touched hers. She felt herself tremble in his arms, her eyes wide with surprise.

          She looked self-consciously at the women in the room, but they were apparently busily working. Gemma doubted they had been so engrossed a couple of seconds earlier! Her mouth tightened.

“Did you really have to do that?” she muttered angrily, her almost violet eyes glaring her dislike of him.

          Declan laughed throatily.

“You say the nicest things, Gemma.”

          He was obviously still playing to his audience, and she decided to play him at his own game, reaching up to wind her arms about his neck, her lips raised invitingly.

“Just how you like it… my love,” she coaxed, reveling in the anger displayed in his deep grey eyes.

          She slightly brushed her little nose against his taut jaw and sighed mockingly.

“Oh, darling…”

          His grip on her arms was quite painful and it took great effort not to cry out.

“We’re going to finish this later, Gemma… I promise.”

          His words sounded romantic enough, but she knew his words promised something completely different from what they were implying. She pouted up at him.

“But Declan…”

“If you don't behave yourself, I'm like to give you that good whooping I promised you,” he warned her quietly.

“Darling, how sweet of you to say so,” Gemma smiled up at him, uncaring of the dangerous look in his eyes. “See you later.”

          By the time she stepped out of the elevator into the reception area, her cheeks were burning like Gemma was on fire. How she was going to get through the next few months she had no idea.

          Adele was looking rather stressed by this time, having difficulty managing her switchboard and also dealing with people at the desk. Gemma hadn't realized she would be so long or she wouldn't have left her alone. She had expected to be only a few minutes, just long enough to be sacked.

“What’s happening? It took you forever to come back here…” Adele asked once the rush had died down and they had a couple of minutes to themselves again. “First, you receive a phone call that makes you look like the hounds of hell are chasing you and then you calmly step into the boss's private elevator and disappear for an hour.”

“I'm sorry I was gone so long, Adele. I didn't mean to leave you in the lurch like that.”

          She shuffled some papers on her desk, not anxious to answer the real question in Adele's words.

“So… What's going on? Is someone you know ill or something?”

“Uh… no.”

          Gemma didn't quite know how to explain what had just happened to her. She certainly couldn't tell Adele the whole truth. It would be too humiliating.

“I… Um… I seem to have got myself engaged.”

          Adele's eyes brightened with excitement.

“Really?” she asked frowning. “You haven't mentioned seeing anyone special…”

“No… Well, it seems to have happened all of a sudden. I've hardly had time to think.”

          Which was true. She certainly hadn't had time to realize exactly what this bogus engagement was going to mean to her. She did know that she had felt a strange floating sensation at the touch of Declan Starr's lips on hers. And also, to her shame, she had responded and did a whole lot more!

          Only momentarily, but it had been a definite response. But she blamed that solely on the suddenness of it, nothing else. She didn't even like the man now, let alone imagine herself in love with him. Adele still looked puzzled.

“But what does it have to do with Declan Starr?”

“Oh… Just about… everything,” she said with feeling.

“Everything?”

          Adele's frown cleared, to be replaced with a look of amazement.

“Are you… Do you mean to tell that…? You? Him?”

“Yes. I'm engaged to Declan Starr.”

“Oh, my goodness! But you… you can't be! I didn't even realize you were seeing him.”

          Her friend’s face showed her disbelief.

“It has been rather sudden. I…”

“Excuse me,” interrupted a husky female voice. “I'm looking for Mr. Starr's office.”

          Gemma turned to look at the woman, her nostrils twitching sensitively with the deep heavy perfume she wore. This woman was gorgeous… absolutely gorgeous. She was very tall, her red hair shoulder-length and waving provocatively about her face, her eyes a glowing green, her tiny nose uptilted, her pouting mouth painted an inviting scarlet.

          To Gemma, she looked exquisite and she wondered who she could be. Obviously one of Declan's women, of that she felt sure. She looked the type he would go for, about thirtyish and very sophisticated.

“Mr. Starr's office is on the tenth floor,” she answered politely. “If you would like to take the private elevator up, I'll announce your arrival.”

          The woman nodded coolly.

“Thank you, Miss… Gemma Wakefield!”

          Her green eyes narrowed as they looked at the gold lettering on the nameplate.

“Oh… You're Gemma Wakefield?”

          Gemma frowned.

“Yes.”

“Well, well, well.”

          The woman seemed to have regained her composure.

“Clever old Declan,” she murmured to herself.

“I beg your pardon?”

          The redhead gave her a dazzling smile.

“It isn't important. So nice to have met you, Gemma. You have helped to explain a lot.”

“But I… didn't do anything.”

          She needn't have bothered to speak. The woman had already walked away from the desk to enter the elevator. How rude of her!

“Who was that?” she asked Adele.

          Her friend's eyes widened.

“You mean you don't know?”

“I didn't get the chance to ask her,” Gemma continued ruefully.

“You shouldn't have needed to. That was Queen Warwick… Queenie, for the friends.”

          Gemma gasped, looking after the woman.

“The wife of the billionaire?”

           Adele nodded.

“The one and only.”

“Oh…”

          What on earth could a woman like her want with Declan Starr? There seemed only one explanation, and yet that didn't seem at all likely. Marcus Warwick was even better known than Declan Starr, and one of the richest men in the world. He was also a very good-looking man, although being in his late fifties he was much older than his thirty-year-old wife.

          Gemma looked up sharply as the woman came back down again half an hour later. She must have been Declan's important appointment, a very beautiful appointment, and it certainly wasn't a business appointment, of that she was sure.

          Queen Warwick gave her a cool smile before exiting the building. By the time Declan came down in the elevator, at twelve-thirty, Gemma had managed to stir herself up into a very nervous state.

          But perhaps he just intended for them to look as if they were leaving to go to lunch together. Perhaps they would part when they got outside. She really hoped so. Gemma grabbed her leather jacket and handbag from the cloakroom before he came over, smiling nervously at the girl who was taking over for her during her lunch break.

          Declan's eyes narrowed as she reached his side, but he said nothing about her flushed cheeks and too-bright eyes, merely taking hold of her elbow to guide her out of the door opened for them by the doorman.

          Once outside the building, his hand dropped away and Declan turned left towards the shopping center, leaving Gemma to run to keep up with him, his long strides taking him along much faster than her own.

“Could you slow down a little?” she asked breathlessly.

          He turned to look at Gemma as if suddenly becoming aware of her, his pace slackening slightly but still much too fast for her.

“Where are we going?”

          She looked up at him. His mouth turned back in a sneer.

“I would’ve thought it was obvious.”

“But I… I thought we were going to lunch. It's mainly shops in this part of town.”

          Declan sighed.

“Yes. And I’m interested in one shop in particular.”

“What shop is that?”

“A jeweler’s shop. There's a very good one not far from here.”

          Again, Gemma felt panic rising within her.

“A jeweler? What for?”

“Darling, if we're going to be engaged, you're going to need a ring. That's where we're going now, to buy you an engagement ring.”