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mild panic coursed through her veins, visible in the dilation of her eyes as she gazed at him.
     
    His eyes darkened and became almost black, 'little fool,' he growled gently. 'You look at me as if you are struggling with fear. What manner of man do you imagine I am?'
     
    'I don't know,' she was forced to own, aware that it was nothing less than the truth. Of all the details she had been made aware of, few had given a hint of his character.
     
    'Come,' Alejandro directed, releasing her chin. 'We'll go down to the kitchen and find something to eat.' He bent down and brushed his lips against her own with the lightness of a butterfly's wing. 'In a few days you will become accustomed to having me around.'
     
    Somehow she doubted it. Yet she accepted that she had no choice but to try.
     
    In the kitchen he retrieved cooked chicken from the refrigerator, divided it into portions, and placed several on a platter to heat in the microwave. Then he prepared a wholesome salad with a deftness Elise found surprising. Within a matter of minutes there was food on the table.
     
    'Please,' she protested as Alejandro began filling her plate. 'That's too much.'
     
    'Eat what you can,' he bade easily, employing his cutlery to divide her food into bite-sized segments which she could manage with a fork.
     
    There was a studied intimacy in his actions, a familiarity she tried desperately to recognise, yet she could recall nothing that gave a hint of the many meals they must have shared together.
     
    'Why the slight frown?'
     
    'Did we socialise much?' she ventured, quickly qualifying the question. 'Both your homes are large.'
     
    'It is all too easy to gather a coterie of acquaintances who are active on the social circuit,' he answered. 'Unless you become selective, it is possible to spend three nights out of every seven at one dinner party or another.' His eyes assumed a teasing warmth. 'Since our marriage, I have chosen to entertain only when necessary, and much prefer dining a deux with my beautiful wife.'
     
    Yet a man of his calibre would be in demand, his friends many and varied. Her position as his social hostess seemed a foregone conclusion.
     
    'Why not eat?' he suggested quietly. ‘The chicken will become cold.'
     
    It looked appetising and, aware of her own hunger, she picked up her fork and speared some chicken, then salad, repeating the action until she felt replete.
     
    'Some fruit?'
     
    She selected an apple, its white flesh crisp and tangy, and when she'd consumed it she sat back in her chair.
     
    'Iced water?' Alejandro queried, and she shook her head in silent negation. 'Why not go upstairs and rest?' he prompted gently. 'I'll take care of the dishes, then join you.'
     
    'Your solicitude is overwhelming,' Elise said quickly, alarmed at his intention. 'But hardly necessary, when you must have calls to make, people you should contact.'
     
    His gaze was remarkably steady, and a faint smile lifted the edge of his mouth. 'And you prefer to be alone,' he drawled.
     
    'Yes,' Elise answered honestly, and glimpsed a degree of humour lurking in the depths of his eyes. Because you scare the hell out of me, she added silently. Every defence mechanism I possess screams out a warning of one kind or another, yet I'm unable to fathom why.
     
    It was a relief to reach the sanctuary of the bedroom, and she selected a magazine, then sank back against the pillows.
     
    She dozed, and when she woke there was a note, scripted in black ink, signed by her inimitable husband, informing her that he was in the study. It took only minutes to freshen up and go downstairs, and Alejandro glanced up from a sheaf of papers he was examining as she entered the study, a slow, teasing smile curving the edges of his mouth. 'You look rested,' he commented musingly, and her heart tripped its beat, accelerated for a few seconds, then settled into a steady pattern.
     
    His smile was lazy, extending to the depths of his eyes, and he rose to his feet