Read Online Innocent in His Diamonds by Maya Blake - Free Book Online Page B

restless night had been spent reliving that kiss and how she would survive the next three weeks in the emotional cauldron that was being around Bastien.
    Another knock fractured her thoughts. She let the waiter in and he wheeled a trolley underneath the window facing a picturesque view of Lake Geneva.
    In the early-morning light the Alps and Mont Blanc rose majestically in the distance, the rolling range curving almost protectively around the city. She’d travelled to other parts of Switzerland on photo shoots but had never visited its best-known city.
    Ana sat down at the table...forced herself to eat two pieces of buttered toast and a mouthful of scrambled eggs. It was just as she lifted the glass of orange juice that she spotted it.
    A newspaper was tucked underneath the napkin, and on its front page was her picture. Only it wasn’t just her picture. The photo showed her in Bastien’s arms, emerging from the court yesterday. Showed the way she’d clung to him like a limpet, her eyes closed and her face buried in his neck as if...as if he was her protector.
    God...
    But that wasn’t the worst of it. It was the look on Bastien’s face that made her hands shake as she unfolded the paper.
    What she could understand of the caption froze her blood.

    Heidecker’s New Love. Is He the Cure for this Drug-Addicted Supermodel?

    Skimming the article, she desperately tried to recognise enough words to understand what the article said. Her horror grew as she spotted Simone’s name repeatedly. Her breakfast surged upwards, making a bid for freedom.
    She barely made it to the bathroom before she emptied her stomach’s contents. Trembling from head to toe, she wrenched at the tap, rinsed her mouth, then clutched the sink, eyes squeezed shut, struggling to breathe.
    This was the absolute last thing she needed...
    Standing there, propped against the sink, she didn’t realise the pounding wasn’t just in her head until she heard her name called out.
    â€˜Open the door, Miss Duval.’
    Heart leaping into her throat, she prised her fingers from the cold porcelain and approached the bathroom door.
    She cracked it open. ‘What do you want, Bastien?’
    He surged into the room. ‘What took you so long?’
    A few smart answers rose to her lips but she smothered the more hysterical ones when she caught his frown. ‘What...?’
    â€˜You look pale. Are you all right?’ He laid a hand against her forehead.
    For several seconds she couldn’t speak. ‘I’m fine,’ she finally managed. ‘How did you get in here?’
    â€˜This hotel belongs to me.’ He dropped his hand. ‘HH Geneva is one of several hotels owned by my bank.’
    The HH Group—Heidecker Hotels—was renowned for its understated opulence, was yet another feather in the Heidecker cap...a fact she’d missed with her weariness last night.
    â€˜It doesn’t explain what you’re doing in my room,’ she replied, cringing as she wondered whether he’d heard her retching.
    â€˜I told you to be ready at nine—that was five minutes ago. When you didn’t answer your door I let myself in. Don’t fret. If I’d hoped to catch you naked I’d have turned up an hour ago as you took your shower.’
    â€˜Careful, there, Bastien, or I’ll add Peeping Tom to your list of unsavoury characteristics.’
    That earned her a mocking look as he returned to the sitting room and crossed to the open suite door. He didn’t slam it. Yet the decisive snick of the lock and a glimpse of what he held in his fist sent a shaft of pure, unadulterated dread through her.
    He unfurled another newspaper. The front-page picture was the same as on hers, but the language was different.
    â€˜Tell me what you know about this,’ he invited softly.
    â€˜If you’re asking if I’ve seen the paper, yes—I have.’ Her eyes inadvertently slid to the