Hunting Lust (Orion the Hunter Part Three) (4 page)

Within seconds, I had a glass of white wine in my hand.  It was both honeyed and lightly spicy and, without intending to, I had drained the glass far too quickly.  Lucas raised an eyebrow but I saw his mouth twitch.

“Thirsty, Miss Prince?”

“Um, apparently so.  This is delicious,” I enthused as he topped up my glass.

“It isn’t it.  I had it the last time I was here.  It’s a Burgundy - Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières.”

I grinned.  “I’ll take your word for it.  So, assuming that you got your hands on this place one day, what would you do with it?”

He looked thoughtful for a second.  “I don’t know – I haven’t even been in the hotel.  I just saw it and wanted to own it.  An impulse purchase, if you will.”

“Just like that?  I wouldn’t have had you down as an impulsive person.”

“I’m not really.  Even it if had been for sale, I wouldn’t have purchased it without thorough investigation and contemplation.  That’s what happened with Mini Dakota.  I saw it, wanted it and then evaluated it as a business venture.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t think why but I felt a little deflated upon hearing that Mini Dakota was purchased simply as a business venture.  I recalled how animated and passionate he was when he first showed it to me and I’d assumed that he had some kind of emotional investment in it.  Apparently not.

I became aware of him studying me closely.  “You seem disappointed,” he said.

“Oh, it’s nothing.  I get way to emotional about beautiful buildings and perhaps I expect others to feel the same way.  Stupid really.”  He’s going to think I am mad.

“I’m not saying that I have your romantic viewpoint but I do care.  I would prefer all beautiful old buildings like Mini Dakota to be well maintained or restored but-“

“But if there is no profit in it, then you walk away,” I finished for him.

He looked at me quizzically.  “Issy, if I didn’t, I would be bankrupt in no time.  Of course I have to look for profit; how do you think I built up my property and construction empire?”

I felt foolish – of course he had to take on profitable ventures.  “I know.  I guess we just look at properties differently.  I see their beauty and imagine their past and their future and you-“

“I see that too but I have to walk away if it is not a sound business proposition.  I’m sure you would too, if you were in my position.”

“I think I will stick to making their interiors look beautiful again.”

He smiled.  “I can’t wait to see what you do with Mini Dakota.”

“Well, that kind of depends on what you want me to do.  It is more difficult when you have no specific person’s tastes to cater for.  Mind you, your bedroom is divine Lucas.  You obviously have good taste when you decide to use it.  Perhaps you should tell me what you would have if you were going to live there.”

He thought for a second.  “Perhaps.  But I would like you to design the largest of the apartments first as if you were going to live there.”

My eyes were like saucers as I absorbed his words.  “But my taste may not be what anyone else would want.”

He shrugged.  “I think you have impeccable taste.”  Then he sat back and sipped his wine.

I was prevented from asking what he knew of my tastes by the arrival of our food.  Lucas must have ordered for both of us.  I wasn’t sure I liked his presumptuousness but once I tasted the poached salmon, I couldn’t imagine choosing anything better.

“Lucas, this is to die for.”

He smirked, “I know.  The chef here is so talented.  They’ve been given a Michelin Rising Star award showing that they have the capacity to attain a Michelin Star.  Once they do, they will be fully booked for weeks, if not months, in advance.”

I nodded in agreement.  “I’m surprised that more people aren’t enjoying the spring sunshine out here on the terrace.”

He topped up my wine glass but ignored my comment and, for some reason, I got the feeling that it wasn’t an accident that we were alone.  Yes, that could be seen as a romantic gesture but I suspected that it had more to do with his anti-social tendencies than romance.

“Are you trying to get me drunk, Lucas Hunter?”

He frowned.  “Now why would I do that when I like you just fine when you’re sober?  I am topping up your glass because, for one thing, I’m driving, and for another, you said it was delicious.”

“That doesn’t mean I want to drink the rest of the bottle.  I wish I could take it home – Angel would love it.”

He shook his head and chuckled.  We chatted amicably about the properties that he owned in New York and, it turned out, in other states too.  He didn’t know how many properties he owned, apparently it changed almost daily as newly constructed builds were sold and other buildings were acquired.

I found myself wondering why he was so anti-social.  He was extremely good company and wasn’t at all awkward interacting with the waiter – it just didn’t make sense.  Why would he want us to eat on the terrace alone?  I didn’t know whether it was the wine or his relaxing company but, the more I thought about the situation, the more I wanted to ask him.  Just as I was considering which words to use, he excused himself from the table.

I watched him walk back into the restaurant; he moved with such athletic grace and confidence – not like someone who was uncomfortable in his surroundings.  I made it my mission to find out exactly why he didn’t socialise.  As soon as he came back, I resolved to ask him. 

I was watching the vast array of wild birds that were flitting from branch to branch and tree to tree when Lucas came back.  He surprised me by identifying most of the bird species and then went on to explain which were only visitors for the winter and would by moving on soon.  As he sat, he placed a rectangular black box on the table.  He didn’t mention what was inside so I didn’t ask, but I was curious. 

“Do you eat here regularly?” I asked suddenly, thinking that it was a good way to get on the subject of socialising without being too obvious.

“No.  I had a series of meetings here in order to obtain the necessary clearances for a project of mine to go through smoothly.”

“So you’ve never come here in a social capacity?”

His eyes narrowed and he hesitated before answering.  When he did, his tone was noticeably cooler.  “Not until today, no.”

Leave it, Issy.  Now obviously isn’t the right time to have this discussion.

“But why?” I blurted out.  “Why don’t you socialise, Lucas?”

Oh crap!  I shouldn’t have said that.  Look at those eyes darkening.

“If you hadn’t noticed, I am socialising … with you.”  His tone was now positively arctic.

And I know that I should have left it.  I know that I should have shut up but I didn’t.

“Before this, when was the last time you attended a social gathering?” I persisted.

“I don’t recall exactly.”  He looked truly irritated now but still I didn’t stop.

“A week ago?  A month?  A year?”

He sat up and ran his hand through his hair.  His response was delivered through clenched teeth.  “What does it matter when it was?  You know I don’t enjoy socialising – I’ve told you already.”

“But I don’t understand why.  Haven’t you enjoyed our lunch together?”  I spoke deliberately calmly and tried to keep my tone light.

“Of course I’ve enjoyed it – I’m with you,” he said as if there answer was obvious.

I flushed with pleasure at the sincerity of his words.  “But that doesn’t tell my why you don’t usually enjoy it.  Is it because you aren’t in a relationship?  Because that doesn’t matter – I love going out with Angel or with the boys.  Socialising with friends is great.”

“I don’t have any friends.  Or family,” he said wryly.

“Ah.  There’s your problem then.  You must know loads of people that you could be friends with.  All those people who work for you?  All the contractors that you use?”

He sighed, clearly irritated now.  “You can’t consider employees as friends.”

“I would have thought that with your wealth and status, you would have so many connections with the rich and famous.  The gossip magazines are full of young, rich and famous people every week.  You could be out partying with them, being one of them.

“I could think of nothing worse.  It makes me cringe, the way that some of them court publicity – doing outrageous things just to get their name mentioned in a gossip column.”

“I probably shouldn’t be admitting to this but when I found out who you were, Angel and I Googled you to find out whether you were the phantom that I’d seen. We found your name mentioned in relation to construction projects but no information about you, no gossip, no photographs … nothing.  It was almost as if you didn’t exist.”

“And that’s just the way I need it to stay, at least for now,” he muttered, almost to himself, and I just knew that there was more that he wasn’t saying.  I didn’t know why I knew it, but I did.

I opened my mouth to challenge him but the hostile look he gave me sent shivers down my spine.  I closed my mouth and decided to leave it … for now.

“I can’t believe you Googled me,” he said, as he finished off his wine.  “What were you hoping to find when you went snooping?”  His eye had a mischievous glint and he had a playful smile on his face.

I was a little taken aback.  Hostile one minute, playful the next … it was like being with someone with a personality disorder. 

“I wasn’t trying to find anything out.  I was searching for a photograph for Lucas Hunter after Clarke had mentioned your name as the only person who matched my phantom’s description and the only person who could have left flowers in my office without him knowing.  I wasn’t prying – just looking through publicly available information.  And anyway, you can talk about snooping!”

He toyed with his wine glass but avoided looking at me.  “What do you mean?”

“You let yourself in to my office using your master key.  Surely that was grossly abusing your position as the owner of the building.  Not to mention a gross invasion of my privacy.”

He gave a slight smile.  “Don’t overreact, Issy.  I unlocked the door, placed the bouquet on your desk and left, locking the door behind me.  I promise that I didn’t snoop at all.”

“Aha – but how did you know my name?” 
I’ve got you now!

He shrugged, but I knew he wasn’t innocent.

I stared at him pointedly.  “You must have looked through my application for the office and found the copy of my birth certificate.  Only one person has ever called me Isobella.  A man I loved who is lost to me forever.  And I was determined that he would be the only one who ever did.”

Lucas closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  He seemed angry – probably kicking himself for not covering his tracks. Then, abruptly, the stem of the wine glass snapped in his hand and the top part fell and I heard it smash on the floor.

I sat open mouthed as he dropped the bottom half of the glass onto the table, thrust his chair back and stood up.

“We need to get back,” he said curtly, as he picked up the black box from the table.

I just sat and stared at him, trying to comprehend what had just happened.  Cold, black eyes stared back at me.  Instinct told me that now wasn’t the right time to ask him about it.  I picked up my purse and followed him back through the restaurant to his car.  He drove like a bat out of hell and my fingers were soon stiff from gripping the leather seat. 

We didn’t speak a word to each other all the way back to the Orion Building.  I just couldn’t figure out what had happened.  I knew he was angry but not why. 
Was he angry at me?  Himself? 
It made no sense.