Propositioned by the Billionaire Read Online Free PDF Page A

hadn’t probed.
    With hindsight, she should have insisted on knowing more. His name at least. That would have saved her a whole lot of trouble.
    ‘Anyway, you two should get to know each other.’
    No, they shouldn’t. Phoebe already knew far more about Alex than she was comfortable with, and his rigid expression gave her the impression that he wasn’t particularly keen on the idea either.
    ‘We met earlier,’ she said pleasantly. ‘The encounter was brief.’
    ‘But intense,’ he said, shooting her a searing look.
    ‘And wet, by the looks of things,’ said Jo, frowning as she glanced at the damp patches on Alex’s suit.
    ‘I decided to take a stroll round the gardens. It involved an unexpected detour via the pond.’ Alex rubbed his chest and Phoebe was instantly transported back to the moments before he’d kissed her. Images flashed into her head. The way he’d stared at her mouth, the hunger in his expression and the fire in his eyes. So different from the cold, controlled man standing in front of her.
    Surely he couldn’t be that upset about not being sent an invitation? But if it wasn’t that, what was it?
    ‘If you’re falling into ponds,’ said Jo lightly, ‘you must be more jet-lagged than usual.’
    ‘I must be,’ murmured Alex. His eyes locked with Phoebe’s and her stomach flipped.
    ‘Jet lag makes him do the oddest things,’ said Jo, clearly thankful that the attention had shifted away from her. ‘The last time he had it he shredded a six-figure cheque instead of banking it and stashed his car keys in the fridge.’
    Phoebe raised an eyebrow. ‘How absolutely fascinating.’
    ‘Don’t you just love siblings?’ he drawled.
    ‘Simply adore them,’ she said, and then thought of her own. ‘But I couldn’t eat a whole one.’
    He didn’t even crack a smile and Phoebe felt her hackles shoot up. What was his problem? ‘I didn’t think international playboys bothered with things like fridges.’
    A warning gleam entered his eyes. ‘Are you making assumptions about me, Phoebe?’
    ‘Simply making an observation,’ she said with an innocent smile.
    ‘Champagne has to be chilled somewhere, don’t you think?’
    ‘It certainly does. The colder the better.’
    ‘Especially in this heat.’
    Phoebe shivered at the smouldering silvery sparks in his gaze.
    ‘It’s not that warm,’ said Jo. ‘Not for May. And, Phoebs, you’ve got goose-bumps.’
    ‘Cold?’ Alex asked softly, running his gaze over her, and to her irritation her body responded instantly. Her breasts tightened uncomfortably against the close-fitting dress and her nipples hardened while hot flames of desire licked deep inside her.
    ‘No.’
    The seconds stretched, and the longer their gazes held, the more it felt as if nothing else existed beyond the sizzling attraction that arced between them. Her gaze dipped to his mouth and the desperate longing to have it on hers again thumped her in the stomach.
    And Alex wanted it too, she realised with a jolt. She could tell by the darkening of his eyes and by the way his body seemed to go utterly still. Phoebe shuddered at the desire that suddenly ripped through her and dragged in a shaky breath. Alex frowned and ran a hand through his hair and when he jerked his attention away from her Phoebe felt as if a piece of elastic had snapped her in the face.
    She had to stop this. She’d never had trouble controlling her hormones before, so why now?
    Jo thankfully seemed oblivious to the electric undercurrents that fizzed between them and was looking round the gardens. ‘So what do you think of the venue?’ she asked brightly. ‘Isn’t it heavenly?’
    ‘Quite literally, given that we’re six storeys above the streets of central London,’ Alex replied. ‘The gardens are…’ his gaze swung back to Phoebe and her heart practically thudded to a halt ‘…illuminating.’
    ‘That’ll be the clever lighting,’ she said, amazed that her voice sounded so steady when her