Read Online The Irresistible Tycoon by Helen Brooks - Free Book Online Page A

word, pulling out of the company car park with a savagery that made the car growl as he murmured, ‘Without knowing any of the facts, and in direct variance to the notion that you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, I’d say you were well rid of the—’ He stopped abruptly. ‘You’re well rid of Mr Allen,’ he finished tightly.
    How right he was. She gave a peculiar little laugh. ‘I know it.’
    â€˜How did it happen?’ For a moment she glanced at him, at the harsh set face frowning at the road ahead, uncertain of what he was asking. ‘How did he die?’ Lucas asked abruptly. ‘Your application form merely stated “deceased”.’
    â€˜It was an accident.’ She didn’t want to continue this.
    She was aware of the piercing eyes flashing over her face although she was looking straight ahead again, and his voice had the smoky quality that was so disturbing when he said, ‘Car?’
    â€˜No.’ They were in mainstream traffic now but, in spite of their conversation, the frantic rush hour busyness and the fact that it had begun to snow again making the difficult driving conditions even more treacherous, all Kim was conscious of was hard male thighs just on the perimeter of her visions and firm capable tanned hands on the leather steering wheel. And the smell of him. Whatever aftershave he was using it should be banned as downright dangerous to a woman’s state of mind, she told herself silently. But perhaps it wouldn’t smell the same on anyone else.
    â€˜Graham cut an artery when he fell through a shop window.’ A full thirty seconds had crept by in screaming expectation and Kim couldn’t take the pressure any more. ‘He was drunk,’ she finished flatly.
    â€˜Usual occurrence?’ The silver light moved over her briefly.
    For a man who used words so sparingly he certainly made every one count, Kim thought resentfully. ‘Yes,’ she said hollowly.
    â€˜And now you want to talk about something else.’
    She had wanted to talk about something else from the moment she had got into the car! Kim sucked in a shaky breath and kept her trembling hands tightly clasped in her lap. ‘If you don’t mind,’ she said numbly.
    Lucas nodded slowly. ‘Tell me about your daughter.’ And his cool voice didn’t betray he was as surprised by the request as Kim was.
    â€˜Melody?’ Kim was startled into glancing at him and he met her big brown eyes for a second, his own thick black lashes hiding his expression in the next instant.
    â€˜Unusual name. Your choice?’ he asked easily.
    The scent of his male warmth was unnerving her more and more in the close confines of the powerfully virile car, forcing her to acknowledge her own awareness of him with a tenacity she couldn’t escape. ‘It was a long labour, difficult.’ She didn’t add that Graham had been out on a drinking binge and had only arrived at the hospital the following morning. ‘One of the nurses was very sweet to me; she was Jamaican. Her name was—’
    â€˜Melody.’ He finished the sentence for her.
    Kim nodded. ‘But it suits Melody,’ she said quietly. ‘She’s a happy little girl, always singing and laughing.’
    There was a warmth—a sweetness—to Kim’s voice when she spoke of her daughter that Lucas hadn’t heard before, and suddenly he was the one who wanted to change the subject.
    â€˜I’m sure she is,’ he said evenly. ‘Now, let me just run through the prime objective of this meeting before we meet Jim Clarkson and his son.’
    Kim listened quietly as he expounded further, but inside she was so churned up half of what he said flowed straight over her head.
    She wished she’d never taken this job. In spite of the fabulous salary, the car, everything, she did so wish she’d never set foot in Kane Electrical. She had known where she