Even billionaires need a break. Between his father’s death and trying to discover his step-brother’s next scheme to seize control of their company, Jonathan Windthorpe is looking for some peace at the famous Tautara Estate. But he isn’t going to get it.

There’s no question that Robyn Mackenzie is a beautiful distraction. Jon knows all too well just how good she looks-and feels and tastes…. And just how good she is at breaking his heart. Whatever she wants, he isn’t going to give it to her.

Robyn didn’t fly to the middle of nowhere to revisit the past. In fact, she came to Tautara to ensure her future. All that is standing in her way from achieving everything she’s always wanted is Jon and the billionaire’s proxy….

Jonathan Windthorpe looked up as the blades of a helicopter whirled into the distance. Aerial sightseers, he hoped, and not hikers who might want to stop on their journey. He was enjoying the uncharacteristic solitude of his self-imposed sabbatical. In particular, he was for once able to enjoy not being constantly on edge and wondering what on earth Bradley was planning next. Not this time. No, this time he knew exactly what his avaricious step-brother was up to and he planned to stop it.

Since Jon’s father’s death a couple of months ago, the competition between them had ramped up on so many levels it left Jon wondering whether the continued fight was worth it. At his lowest point he’d even considered whether it was past time for him to step aside and let Bradley assume full control of WindCorp Industries.

But then he’d caught wind of Bradley’s latest scheme. Bradley’s divide and conquer tactics at the South Island plant had already seen the decimation of one small town, forcing the bulk of the working population to seek jobs further afield. Jon wasn’t prepared to see that happen again. Duty to his family’s firm and its employees sat firmly on his shoulders and in his heart. He wasn’t a quitter, not by any standard.

The sun was bright in the early summer sky and a growl from the pit of his belly told him it was time to head back to the cabin and prepare some lunch. He packed up his gear and gathered it together with the trout he’d caught for his evening meal.

But as he approached the cabin, a frisson of caution licked across the back of his neck. Movement on the front deck sent every muscle in his body into full alert. Movement he instantly identified as Robyn Mackenzie. No wonder his instincts had forewarned him. His body was intimately attuned to hers, a fact that had made the last six months working with her on the executive floor sheer torture.

His eyes raked over her. She stood tall and slim at the railing. The pale pink top she wore offset her ivory complexion. She’d ruthlessly pulled her lush, golden brown hair in a ponytail, unwittingly exposing the smooth planes of her uncharacteristically pale face with its high cheekbones to perfection. If she’d arrived by chopper it was no wonder she was pale. She loathed flying.

She was the last person he expected-or wanted-to see, though the lower half of his body called him a liar. As he got closer he met her cool, blue-eyed stare head on.

Without waiting for her response, Jon stomped past her and pushed open the door to the cabin. But even as he did so, the enticing fragrance she wore wrapped around him with the familiarity of a lover’s caress and teased his senses. Every cell in his body clenched, determined not to fall prey to her proximity.

Or at least just like the woman he’d thought she was. The first day he’d met his then-secretary, their attraction to one another had been instant. Their inevitable reaction, incendiary. But he hadn’t counted on her motivation for their affair, made painfully clear the instant Bradley had dangled a promise of promotion in front of her pretty little up-turned nose, and she’d thrown Jon over just like that. And he hadn’t appreciated being taken for a ride

But despite the pain she’d inflicted, he couldn’t help but wonder…did she scorch Bradley’s sheets now too? Jon’s step-brother had a habit of working “intimately” with his female staff-something Jon himself had avoided until Robyn came along. And Bradley constantly dropped none-too-subtle hints that there was more than a purely professional relationship between them.

On the other hand, perhaps Robyn was still holding out for that promotion, having learned from him that bedding the boss wouldn’t instantly further her career. The thought soured Jon’s mouth and carved an ache in his chest.

He leaned his fishing rod against the side of the cabin and toed off his boots before going inside, leaving her to stand alone out on the deck. He’d be damned if he’d invite her in. It was churlish, he knew, but he gave the door a nudge with the back of his heel anyway so it would swing shut behind him.

Twin spots of color lit her cheeks. Good, he’d gotten under her skin. A lick of satisfaction beat back some of the resentment he felt that she’d interrupted his holiday with work. And it had to be work. They’d long past being anything else.

Robyn stiffened her spine. She hadn’t exactly expected him to welcome her with open arms but outright hostility was uncharacteristic, even for him.

“No. Nor did you wait for our sheets to get cold before sidling up to Bradley.” He made a frustrated gesture with his hand. “Whatever, it’s in the past. I’ll ask you one last time. Why are you here?”

Robyn chewed her lower lip a moment before deciding to cut straight to it. It was quite clear that Jonathan wasn’t in a mood to beat around the bush. She almost smiled at the pun, ironic considering the density of native growth surrounding the cabin. They were a far cry from his top-floor corner office in the city.

“No, I know. But since the meeting has been called, and since you’re scheduled to be out of the office for the next three weeks, I’ve been sent to get your proxy.” Robyn fought to quell the quiver of apprehension that rippled through her. His step-brother had sent her to get the proxy one way or another. Her promotion depended on it. Would Jon suspect what Bradley was up to?

Robyn put her briefcase on the native-wood kitchen table and flipped the catches. She sorted through her papers and extracted the sheet he’d requested. “Here you are. I think you’ll find everything in order.”

Jon rinsed his hands and dried them off before taking the proffered agenda. He skimmed the listed items. Yes, everything was in order. And that was the precisely the problem. He smelled a rat. A Bradley-sized rat. Clearly the other man couldn’t wait to strike. Jon hadn’t even been out of the office a week.

Jon studied her frank, blue-eyed stare to see if she was hiding anything. It appeared as if she was telling the truth, but something still didn’t sit right.

“Look, the meeting’s scheduled. All of the executives have been notified and have signaled their attendance. All you need to do is sign the proxy.” Robyn made one last push, fighting to keep her tone as conciliatory as possible. “Really, Jon. When did you become so paranoid?”

“Oh, let me think about that.” Jon tapped his filleting knife against the fish. “Ah, yes. About when you expected me to sign over my voting power to a man we both know would do anything to nay-say what I believe in, no doubt for a decision affecting the company I run, without even knowing what he really has on his agenda. Go back to the office, Robyn, and tell your lover that you failed. I’m not signing anything.”

“Not what? Your lover?” Jon made a derisive sound. “You forget-I know how you work. Tell me, do you ever get tired of always having an eye to the main chance?”

Robyn bit back the words that crowded in her throat. She couldn’t refute Jon’s allegation, not without alienating him even further. And if that happened, he’d never sign the proxy that would assure her promotion.

But no matter what Jon thought, Bradley was not, nor ever would be, her lover. She had absolutely no trouble controlling herself around him.

Jon, however, was another story completely. From the first time they’d met she’d felt an unequivocal pull, a tingle of electricity connecting them both-a tingle she felt even now no matter how hard she fought to ignore it.

Dressed in casual jeans and a well-washed T-shirt, his dark hair wind-tousled, he was a million miles away from the Queen Street sharp dresser she knew so well. Come to think of it, she’d only ever seen him in a suit-or naked.

Her insides somersaulted at that thought and her mind flooded with images of him over her, under her-inside her. She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat. Tried desperately to control the swell of need that surged through her.

She’d allowed emotion to rule her head once and she’d paid the price. Sleeping with the head of WindCorp had done nothing for her career. It had only set her up for failure-and Mackenzies didn’t fail. Hadn’t she had that drummed into her often enough during her childhood? And even in adulthood. She remembered the look of disdainful disappointment on her parents' faces when they’d found out she was dating her boss…. You’ll never be anything more than a secretary now, Robyn. He’ll want to keep you right where you are, as his beck-and-call girl, and the other executives will think you’re a joke, if not worse. And they’d be right.

She’d learned they were right-emotional need did not overcome necessity. And it was necessary in order to climb the corporate ladder. To be a success. To be someone if she was ever to garner her family’s respect. They’d quietly put down her ambitions for years, not understanding for a moment that she was cut from a different cloth to them. Both her parents were academics-highly regarded internationally in their fields. When she’d shown no such bent they’d quietly resigned themselves to what they’d seen as her mediocrity.

But she was damn good at what she did and she knew she could do better, be better. Bradley had offered her the chance to be the person her parents could be proud of, and she’d grabbed at it with both hands. So she’d had to surrender to his condition that she break things off with Jon, as painful as it had been. This was her life, her future, her chance to be the very person she wanted to be.

But as she stood with Jon’s back to her, she could see her promotion sliding from her future with the speed of light. Somehow she had to convince him to sign the proxy. But how?

“What is it between you two that you find it so difficult to work together? You grew up together didn’t you? Can’t you just pick up the phone and sort this out with him?”

The way he said the word “break” raised a flag of unexpected concern. She was suddenly struck by the tiredness around his deep-set gray eyes. He’d lost weight in the past couple of months-since his father’s death on the golf course from a massive heart attack. They said Jon himself had done CPR on his father until the ambulance crew had arrived. But it hadn’t been enough.

Having fought so hard and then losing had to take a toll. That failure combined with the shock of losing a man everyone had thought invincible had obviously been difficult. Whatever their personal differences, there had been deep-seated mutual respect between father and son. Jon had to miss him.

The muscles in his arm bunched beneath her hand, the warmth of his skin and the crisp hair on his forearm making her fingertips prickle with awareness. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw his gray eyes darken, his pupils dilate….

Jon pulled away from the sizzling sensuality of her touch, cursing himself that she could still affect him like that. Hadn’t he learned his lesson with her the first time? You don’t mix business with pleasure. It was a sure-fire way to disaster.

“Of course I’m okay. I’m on a long overdue holiday, and frankly, you’ve overstayed your welcome. I assume you’ve arranged transport back to Tautara?”

“Well, actually, no. I haven’t. I thought we’d talk, you’d sign the proxy, and then I could call up the chopper again to come and get me.”

“And what did you expect you’d use? Your cell phone?” His short laugh lacked humor. “Look around you, Robyn. It may have escaped your attention, but we’re miles from anywhere. There’s no signal here. No reception. Tautara provides a satellite phone for use in extreme circumstances only. Still, given your loyalty to your job, it’d be worth it, wouldn’t it?”

“You’re a lot of things, Robyn. Beautiful, sexy, good with your hands…” He gave her a once-over that set her teeth on edge-yet still had the ability to send fire through her veins. “But I know you’re not stupid. Forget the proxy. I’m not signing it.”

Robyn watched in silence as he poured a sesame and ginger dressing in a large shallow dish and added honey, soy sauce and garlic and deftly mixed it with lime juice and brown sugar.

“I never thought of you as a gourmet cook,” she finally managed, as he added a dash of hickory barbeque sauce and some sweet chilli sauce before mixing the marinade and layering the fish fillets, skin side up, in the dish.

“You never thought of me as anything but a fast track to a corner office, now, did you?” Jon’s voice was pitched low, but there was no mistaking the anger behind his words.

Jon put up one hand to halt whatever she was going to say. “Please. Don’t insult me by trying to say you loved me. We both know that when Bradley offered you the position as his Executive Assistant you broke things off between us. Clearly I wasn’t going to give you what you wanted. Pity was, I thought what you wanted was me.”

An all-too-familiar chill struck deep in Robyn’s heart. She couldn’t refute his accusations. Bradley had made the end of her affair with Jon a condition of her position, citing a conflict of interest between her role as his EA and her relationship with Jon. At the time she’d thought it was what she’d wanted. That she’d be able to walk away from their relationship-from his bed-and remain heart-whole and focused on business. In the male-oriented climate of WindCorp, she knew if she was going to get anywhere she’d have to play by their rules.

Her parents had always played by the rules. She knew by their example what dedication and sacrifice could bring, and she was prepared to do it. She had loved Jon. Loved him and lost him-all for the sake of a promotion she still hadn’t received.

“I’ll call for your ride.” Jon put the dish he’d prepared in the refrigerator, cleverly hidden behind integrated Rimu wood-faced cabinetry.

“I will have the authority with my promotion to Junior Director of Operations.” It was company policy to let junior directors have responsibility for proxies where practicable. Jon’s father had felt it important to give his junior executives a taste of the duty they’d be expected to perform if they reached upper management in the firm.

“No, what’s right for WindCorp.” Which was in more jeopardy than Jon knew. But maybe, just maybe, she’d have a chance to head Bradley off, but only if she got the promotion-and if Jon would give her his proxy. If she was right about what Bradley had planned, she knew without a doubt that Jon would vote against his proposal. But she couldn’t divulge her concerns to Jon, not without breaching the confidentiality clause in her contract. So the only way to keep her job and save the company was to vote for him. She could do that for him. For the company.

“Please, Jon.” Robyn waved the sheet of paper redundantly in the air, frustration making her want to stamp her feet. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. If she straight out told Jon her suspicions, she’d lose her job. But if he didn’t agree to sign the proxy over to her, everything he and WindCorp stood for were lost. She had to try one more time. “What can I do to convince you to sign this?”

“To convince me?” His voice was as deadly as fine honed steel. “Is that what Bradley told you to do? Convince me? You forget, Robyn. I’ve tasted your charms, and yes, while they’re many and deliciously varied, they’re old hat now. Besides, I’ve made it a habit, since my father foisted Bradley into my life, not to take his leavings even if he’s quite happy to take mine.”

Robyn gasped in shock. She’d heard a few insults in her time, but this really took the cake. Fury swelled within her until she could barely see straight.

“Now just a minute,” she demanded, as Jon walked past her into the spacious and well appointed sitting room. “I resent your implication that I’d sleep with you to get the proxy signed. You know things have been precarious since your father’s death. With you now incommunicado as well, everyone’s getting restless.”

Her words hadn’t so much as ruffled him. If anything the look of boredom on his face told her in no uncertain terms that she was pitching at windmills. Failure settled on her shoulders with the weight of a leaden cloak.

“Yes.” More finished than he knew. But there was no point in trying to appeal to his philanthropic nature. He’d made his position patently clear.

Robyn watched in frustration as Jon picked up the bulky sat phone from the sideboard lining the living room wall and made the call that would see to the end of her dreams for promotion and saving the company. She let the deep rumble of Jon’s voice wash over her, not paying any attention to his words-until the timbre changed.

“You’re stuck here.” He dropped down into the long sofa behind him and sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. “Why did you have to come today of all days?” he muttered, more to himself than to Robyn.

Jon cracked a sardonic smile. Even knowing there was no humor behind it her heart skittered in her chest. She’d always been helpless in the face of his smile and the way his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.

“Seems there’s a hush-hush visit to Tautara by some overseas president and his wife for their wedding anniversary. Turns out she read about the lodge in a magazine and arranged it as a surprise. Great timing, huh? For the duration of their stay, only aircraft engaged in the security detail are permitted to fly in the area. Orders from the Diplomatic Protection Service.” He rubbed his hand across his face again in a weary gesture. “It gets worse. The visit is expected to last two to three days.”

“Two to three days!” Robyn couldn’t hold back her alarm. “But that’s ridiculous. I can’t put my life on hold for that long. I need to be back at work tomorrow. Surely there’s some way…”

He made it sound like he’d rather have all his teeth pulled. And Robyn had to agree. There was still too much unfinished business between them-too much animosity.

She thought briefly of the correspondence she’d seen flying across Bradley’s desk in the past couple of weeks. Of the figures he’d requested she pull up and the projections she’d reported on.

She’d have to be blind and stupid not to have worked out what Bradley had planned. Jonathan would be vehemently opposed to it. She’d even brought several of the papers with her to study tonight while wrapped in the luxury that Tautara Estate boasted before setting off for her flight to the office early tomorrow.

Whatever Bradley’s intentions, he was her boss and she had to remain within the boundaries set by her confidentiality clause. It wasn’t her place to question-not yet anyway-but to see to it that her work was carried out with the utmost efficiency. And yet, she still struggled with wanting to do what was best for WindCorp-without compromising herself or her role within the company. It was a damnably fine line to tread.

If only she could get Jon to sign the proxy over to her. Bradley hadn’t been specific in his instructions that it was to be signed over to him, although his implication had been clear. But she could wing it as long as he thought the power had been assigned to him. He’d likely not even want to see it before the meeting. Then she could use the proxy to head off Bradley before he destroyed the company.

But if she didn’t get Jon to sign the wretched paper, Bradley had made it clear she’d be without a job. If that happened she’d have to bear her parents’ disapproval once again.

She was firmly stuck between a rock and a hard place, not to mention being stuck here now with Jon. The irony of her situation wasn’t lost on her. Robyn sighed and sat in the chair opposite Jon.

Jon watched as she perched on the edge of the chair, tension visible in every line of her delectable body. The worn denim of her jeans stretched across her thighs like a second skin, the designer top clinging to the soft roundness of her breasts like a lover’s caress. Like his caress. He fisted his hands in an attempt to rid himself of the tingling in his fingers-of the long ago sensation of the silken texture of her skin.

This was impossible. There was no way he could be in the close confines of the cabin and not be driven mad with the need to touch her, to coax murmurs of pleasure from the smooth column of her throat. To swallow her moans of delight as he stroked her, cupped her breasts and teased her nipples into tight buds of desire.

He got up and made for the front door, determined to increase the distance between them before he did something stupid. Like kiss her. His appetite for lunch had long since diminished, but his appetite for Robyn… That was something else entirely.

“Look, you’re not the only one who isn’t happy about this situation. If you’d left a general power of attorney before escaping to this…this wilderness, I wouldn’t have had to come hunting you for your proxy in the first place.”

She was stunning when she was mad, he’d give her that. The flush of color in her face, the flare of challenge in her blue eyes-even her defensive posture-every bit of her was beautiful and dangerously appealing. Jon barked out a laugh.

“This is hardly the wilderness. And my position on a general power of attorney and the proxy is clear. There’s no one I trust enough at WindCorp at present to represent my interest, so my interest remains with me.”

An hour later Jon returned from his walk clearer in his head than when he’d left and full of new determination to get through the next few days as easily as possible. As he entered the cabin he listened for Robyn, but heard nothing but the blissful silence that had drawn him here in the first place. He cast his gaze around the room, his eyes settling on Robyn’s supine figure on the couch.

Her lashes lay in dark crescents on pale cheeks and her lips parted slightly on each outward breath. Something hot and hard fisted in Jon’s gut as he drank in the sight of her laying there. Vulnerable. Open. He’d loved to watch her like this after they’d made love. When she’d collapsed into sleep in the aftermath of their passion. He’d trace the wings of her dark brows, follow the line of her long, straight nose and let his gaze rest upon her wide, full lips. Just as he was doing now.

Jon spun on his heel and headed back outside. There must be another hill that needed climbing. If not, the next three days would be sheer hell.

Robyn’s eyes flew open as she was woken by the slam of a door. She bolted upright and scrubbed at her eyes, forcing them to focus on her surroundings. She checked her watch. Good grief, she’d been asleep for nearly four hours. Jonathan must be back, she realized.

She pushed up from the couch and wandered through to the kitchen. Her briefcase, which she’d left on the table earlier, had been tucked away against the wall.

A sudden panicked thought occurred to her: had she remembered to lock it when she’d put the proxy back inside? The documents that hinted at Bradley’s plan were in there. A swift check confirmed her case was secure and a small sigh of relief escaped her lips. Being here with Jon had rattled her so much she couldn’t even be certain she had followed security procedures properly.

The scent of ginger and smoked hickory wafted through the open kitchen window. Should she go outside to where Jon was obviously barbequing the trout or stay in here and avoid confrontation for at least a few more minutes?

Avoidance had never been her style. Robyn pushed open the back door of the cabin and stepped into a hard wall of male strength. Instantly she put her hands up in an attempt to regain her balance.

Strong hands gripped her upper arms, steadying her. Strong hands that sent spears of electricity sizzling through her veins. Instead of pulling away, Robyn felt herself being drawn inexorably toward him. Toward the strong plane of his chest, against the hardness of his abdomen, within the cradle of his hips.

She couldn’t help herself-she flexed her hips against him, felt the undeniable evidence of his arousal. Her breath hitched in her throat and she tilted her face up to his. His eyes darkened to the color of charcoal and narrowed. Tension spiraled through her body leaving licks of flame in its path. His mouth lowered toward hers.

The touch of his lips was familiar yet foreign at the same time. It had been so long since she’d encountered this level of intimacy with Jon-and she’d missed it. Missed him. So very, very much. But he’d changed.

There was an edge to him now she hadn’t felt before. As he claimed her lips, a shudder drove through her. A cry of longing tore from her throat, only to be absorbed by him as he plundered her mouth.

Her hands fisted in the cotton of his T-shirt, holding him to her as if she never wanted to let him go. And she didn’t. She’d made the worst mistake of her life when she’d told him they were over. They were far from over.

Jon’s hands lessened their iron grip on her upper arms and slid gently to her shoulders, cupping them. For a second he pulled her closer, his fingers burning through the thin silk of her top. Robyn pressed against him, aligning her body along his, absorbing his heat, his desire-answering it with her own.

Jon pushed her from him. His body instantly regretted his decision, but his mind told him he was right to break the web that had suddenly and so irrevocably bound them together again. The evidence of what he’d seen in her briefcase was irrefutable proof she worked hand in hand with his step-brother. Lust was one thing. Betrayal quite another.

“What part of ‘no’ is so hard for you to understand, Robyn? Oh, I’ll give you points for the element of surprise. If you were trying to prove a point, you have well and truly proven it.”

She reeled back from him as if he’d slapped her. Deep inside of him something cracked and the shaft of pain that crossed her face mirrored his own. But within seconds it was as if he’d said nothing-her face was composed in its usual smooth serene lines.

“Well, I suppose that’s putting it bluntly,” Robyn answered, but the betraying wobble in her voice belied the cool, collected exterior she projected.

“No, seriously. Don’t worry. I should have expected it. I’ve put us in an untenable position by coming here and invading your peace and quiet. Really, I should have just watched where I was going.”

She bent to the kitchen table and smoothed an imaginary speck of dust from its surface. Jon watched-biting down so hard his jaw ached. His pulse still drummed a crazy beat in his veins. He muttered a vehement curse and went outside to retrieve the fish from the barbeque hot plate before it turned to charcoal.

His hand shook as he scooped the fillets into a dish and for a moment he stood there, willing his body back under control. Clearly six months separation had done nothing to ease the rampant need he had for the touch and the taste of Robyn Mackenzie. The one woman, above all others, he shouldn’t love.

They completed their meal in silence. He barely tasted the delicate flavor of the trout or the crisp fruit flavors of the Pinot Gris he poured to have with their food. Instead his senses were still clouded with the feel of Robyn in his arms, of the taste of her on his tongue.

He could have sworn her passion was genuine, that it hadn’t been some trumped up scheme to woo him into signing that blasted proxy. But she’d so swiftly become aloof straight afterwards, even while he’d struggled to bring himself back under control, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was comparing him to Bradley-and the thought stung far deeper than he wanted to admit.

The mere notion that his step-brother had kissed her the way he’d kissed her. Had touched the welcoming curves of her body, tasted her sweetness, given her pleasure. It was enough to drive a man crazy. His instincts, his very pride, demanded he stamp out any memory of his step-brother from her mind and her body. To leave the imprint of the pleasure he and he alone could bring her.

But Jon hadn’t reached his place in the world by being driven by physical need. He reminded himself of what he’d seen in Robyn’s briefcase when he’d shifted it from the kitchen table and it had flung open, sending papers cascading to the floor. Reminded himself of the damning figures neatly detailed in her handwritten notes that confirmed his suspicions about why his step-brother had called this special meeting in his absence. Of the confirmation of Robyn’s duplicity in the whole deal.

When they’d completed dinner, Robyn offered to clean up and Jon disappeared into the master bedroom. The sat phone was missing from the coffee table where she’d left it yesterday, and from the quiet rumble of his voice behind the bedroom door she assumed he was busy making some calls. Who to and what for she didn’t know, but something niggled at the back of her mind.

He’d said the phone was primarily for use in emergency situations and he’d been adamant about his privacy here. So who had he found it so important to talk to this evening, and why?

She spent the rest of the evening checking the contents of the well-stocked bookcase in an alcove off the sitting room. But even though she found several of her favorite authors’ latest releases, she couldn’t settle to anything. Her own company had never bothered her before, but here, in such close proximity with the man who had the ability to send her blood pressure soaring sky high with little more than a look, she found it difficult to keep her mind occupied.

As opposed to sleeping naked? She wondered if that was for her benefit, or his. “Thanks, that’ll be great. Do you mind if I rinse a couple of things out so I can be fresh tomorrow?”

He was so damned polite and frozen it was like talking to an android. If she hadn’t been left so shaken by their earlier encounter she’d almost be tempted to try and rattle him again. Anything, even his anger, was better than this courteous stranger.

Robyn took her time in the bathroom, rinsing out her bra and panties and spreading them on the top rail of the shower stall. Jon had even put out a toothbrush and travel-sized toothpaste for her. No doubt all part of the accoutrements provided by Tautara Estate, but she appreciated the gesture. She completed her ablutions and smoothed the oversized T-shirt over the tops of her thighs as she went back through to the sitting room.

He’d been busy here, too. He’d covered the couch with a crisp, clean white sheet and a light throw rug. A pillow lay against the armrest.

No doubt bright and early, if the unfashionably early hour they were going to bed was any indication. What a change from a few months ago when an early night would have meant anything but sleep.

Robyn lay down on the couch and pulled the blanket over her. The couch had been so comfortable earlier, but now it was as if she’d made her bed on a sack of coal, and she tossed and turned.

She couldn’t be mad that Jon hadn’t offered her his bed, but it rankled somewhat that he hadn’t. The expanse of the super-king-sized mattress that she’d glimpsed at in the master bedroom of the cabin on her way to use the bathroom had screamed comfort and luxury. A far cry from a light blanket wrapped around her here on the couch.

She touched her fingertips to her lips, reliving the kiss they’d shared earlier. The kiss that had reignited the constant craving she’d thought she’d finally managed to get under control. She dragged her fingers down her throat, across her chest in an attempt to ease the yearning inside, but it was Jon’s touch she ached for.

As if his sleepless night hadn’t been bad enough, Jon stared at the reminder that Robyn wore no underwear. The flimsy white pieces of lace and sheer fabric hung above the shower stall with all the subtlety of a matador’s cape to a bull. He snatched them down and tossed them on top of a laundry hamper. He certainly didn’t need their provocation while having his shower this morning. Just the thought of Robyn asleep on the couch in the next room was quite enough.

The morning sun was already warming the cabin and Jon kept the shower setting cool as he stepped under the spray. It would need to be cool anyway after the dreams that had tortured him and ensured he’d spent more of the night awake than in slumber.

Two more days at most, he consoled himself. Two more days to endure her under his roof-tormenting him with her unique scent and the graceful curves of her body. Driving him crazy with the memory of that kiss they’d shared last night.

He bent his head and let the water pound the back of his neck and his shoulders. What on earth had driven him to kiss her like that? Sure, she’d walked into him. Big deal. People bumped into one another all the time.

But it had been a big deal. No sooner had her hands flown to his chest than his heart had begun a crazy tattoo and his pulse had leapt up several beats. Heat had flooded his body, heat and an insidious longing to take what was on offer. For a split second he’d forgotten where her loyalties lay and he’d succumbed to the need to assuage a hunger that had simmered beneath the surface of the civilized veneer he presented to the rest of the world.

Jon cursed long and low as he snapped the shower off and grabbed a thick fluffy towel from the rail. He briskly rubbed himself dry then draped the towel around his hips and grabbed his shaving gear.

“You’re a bloody fool,” he told his reflection in the mirror, but the clear gray-eyed stare that met his gaze told him he was so much more than that.

That he was still attracted to Robyn was undeniable. What he was going to do about it, well, that was something else entirely. He couldn’t act on it, although it would be the ultimate twist in the link between Robyn and Bradley. Perhaps even the ultimate revenge on them both.

A hollow ache started in his chest. He wasn’t about revenge. Not now. Sure, justice would come-but all in good time. Right now his priority was WindCorp.

The papers in Robyn’s briefcase last night had confirmed his suspicions about his dear step-brother’s secret agenda and justified his decision to plant a spy in Bradley’s department. The call he’d made to his informant last night had merely backed everything up. His decision to “hide” away had been spot on. It had flushed the rats right out the drain pipe. And one of them was sleeping on his couch.

A gentle knock made Jon whip around. He drew in a hiss of pain as a sharp sting of steel bit into his jaw. He yanked open the door then grabbed a tissue to stem the trickle of blood from where he’d nicked himself.

Robyn tried to avert her eyes as she stepped into the bathroom but she couldn’t tear her gaze from the broad expanse of his chest, or from the tiny droplet of moisture that trickled down his ridged abdomen and toward the edge of his towel.

“I’m done in here. You can shower if you want.” Jon’s voice was flat, emotionless. A far cry from the man who’d kissed her senseless last night.

His cold stare made her all too aware of the fact that she wore his T-shirt and nothing else. Beneath the soft cotton she felt her nipples tauten and peak. The stain of mortification burned her cheeks as his gaze dropped enough to let her know her reaction hadn’t gone unnoticed. She saw the instant his eyes darkened, a certain sign he wasn’t as immune to her as he’d steeled himself to be.

She waited for the sense of satisfaction that should come from knowing she could still affect him like this but instead only felt the pull of her womb as her insides wound tight on the sudden swell of desire that rode through her body. She hated being hostage to her body’s weakness. And it was weakness as far as Jon was concerned. He’d made his position perfectly clear last night and she’d sweep streets before she’d beg for his attention again.

The instant he left the bathroom, Robyn closed the door firmly and leaned her flushed cheek against the cool wood of the door. A ragged breath shuddered through her chest. She couldn’t wait to get out of here and back to the city-away from the constant reminder of what she could have had if only she hadn’t been so driven.

In the dark hours of the night she’d had plenty of time to think about her choice to terminate her relationship with Jon as well as to consider the promotion she’d hinged all her hopes for the future on. A niggle of doubt had begun to creep in. What if Bradley didn’t offer her the junior executive position he’d promised? Would she then have thrown everything away for nothing?

Suddenly it seemed all the more urgent that she get back to the office. Here she had too much time to think-to worry. And she wasn’t sure if she was ready to face the truth about her feelings for Jonathan Windthorpe. If she did that, something told her she wouldn’t like what she saw.

She must have been up before dawn, Jon decided as he entered the kitchen. She’d cleared away all evidence of her bed in the sitting room, and by the aroma coming from the compact wall oven, she’d already grilled bacon and made scrambled eggs for breakfast. His favorite.

Something warm and familiar flooded his veins, something he’d ruthlessly quashed when she’d broken off their relationship to take up her role as Bradley’s right hand.

What was she up to? Playing house? Trying to recapture the closeness they’d once shared-perhaps even with a view to rekindling the love he’d thought she’d reciprocated? Instantly he eschewed the idea, as much as he wished it could be true. If he knew Robyn at all anymore, it was more likely that she was trying to soften him up to get him to sign that blasted proxy. He smiled, a wry curl of his lips totally lacking in humor. Well, she could try.

He poured himself a coffee and leaned back against the kitchen counter, sipping the fragrant brew. A glance outside showed the weather had deteriorated. A leftover of spring’s inclement chill caught in the air and a steady drizzle had begun to fall. Well, it wouldn’t matter to him what the weather did, he’d be in his waders enjoying the river. Robyn could amuse herself for the day-no doubt by working through those papers in her case.

Jon grimaced. The coffee suddenly soured on his tongue. He could have borne her ambition had it not been so heavily laced with disloyalty at the same time.

A movement at the door made him look up. Robyn stood there, looking uneasy. Guilty conscience perhaps? She must have taken the shortest shower on record, he thought. His coffee hadn’t even begun to cool in his cup. Her hair, usually straightened and sleek, had begun to curl in a cloud around her face, making her appear softer, more vulnerable. As if he could give in to impulse-forget the chasm of suspicion that yawned between them, and simply step forward, tangle his fingers in those soft brown curls and drag her to him before slanting his lips against hers to plunder her unadorned mouth.

Something of his thoughts must have reflected on his face because he heard the skip in her breathing as she made eye contact with him and he saw the sudden widening of her eyes and the faint flush of color that spread across her cheeks.

Jon slammed the shutters down on his wayward thoughts. He needed to stay in control, especially if he was going to expose Bradley and his crooked assistant for exactly what they were.

“You haven’t started breakfast,” Robyn commented unsteadily as she moved to the oven, sliding out the dishes that had been warming and placing them onto the table.

“It was no bother.” Robyn dished up a generous portion of bacon and egg onto his plate and slid a dish with buttered toast on it toward him. “Toast?”

The civility with which they had breakfast stood in stark contrast to the dinner they’d shared the night before. As with last night, Robyn got up straight after eating to clear the table.

“So,” Jon leaned back in his chair, determined to provoke something from her that wasn’t this guarded form of homemaking. “Are you this domesticated with Bradley?”

“No, he doesn’t. And I don’t. I told you. Bradley and I aren’t that way together. I’m his Executive Assistant. That’s all.”

Did she protest too much? Jon wondered. He wished he could savor the hot flare of satisfaction that bloomed inside him at her denial of a relationship with Bradley. But how could he believe her when his ears had been poisoned by Bradley’s insinuations-by the not-so-veiled hints at how much he enjoyed “working” with Robyn?

“Don’t, please,” she begged. “Don’t sully what we had together. It’s not like that between Bradley and I. Why won’t you believe me?” Robyn argued back, her heart heavy. Was Jon’s opinion of her really so low?

“Believe you? I want to believe you. But can you honestly tell me you wouldn’t do just about anything to get that promotion you’re so determined on getting in Bradley’s department?”

Jon pressed on. “You can’t tell me that this entire trip is based on your loyalty to my dear step-brother. I know how terrified you are of flying and I also know it would take a heck of a lot to get you to do what you did yesterday. How can you expect me to believe there’s no more to your visit than dedication to your job?”

“But I am dedicated to my job and to WindCorp. Jon, give me your proxy. Let me prove to you I can do what’s best for the company,” she implored.

“You never asked me to stay.” Her voice dipped so low he could barely hear her. “What’s happened to you Jon? I never thought that what happened with me and Bradley could turn you into someone so angry and bitter.” Tears filled her eyes and emotion choked her throat.

“Bitter? I’m not bitter-not anymore. But I don’t appreciate being taken for a fool. Tell me, Robyn. Does your heart race when Bradley stands this close to you?”

Jon moved so quickly he took her completely by surprise. He loomed over her, the heat of his body radiating out to consume and ignite her.

Robyn felt her nipple tighten into an almost painful bud of desire. Need flooded her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Need-and something else. Something not as physical. Something that begged for Jon to want this attraction between them to be more than just another way to get back at his brother.

He stroked his nail across the hardened nub that pressed against the thin fabric of her top and she gasped at the pleasure-pain of the jolt of sensation that speared through her at his touch.

Jon bent his face to hers, his lips bare millimeters from Robyn’s. “And do you cry his name out when you come? Or are you thinking of me?”

Robyn took a step back and nursed her stinging palm. God, she’d slapped him. She’d never slapped anyone in her life before. But she’d never been this angry before, nor this frustrated.

“How dare you!” Robyn finally managed through lips that could barely move. “I’m not standing for this. Not anymore. I’ve tried to be civil-I’ve tried to be professional. But you keep dragging up the past. Let it go, Jon, or one day you’re going to wake up a very lonely and cynical old man. I’m out of here. You can drive yourself crazy all you like with your stupid allusions on your own.”

She spun on her heel and stumbled through to the sitting room and quickly pulled on the hiking boots she’d worn yesterday. Damn him for getting to her like that.

“Back to Tautara, where else?” She tied the laces and marched to the front door. “I’m sure as hell not staying here with you.”

“Yes, I did. But your apology means nothing to me, Jon. Just like I clearly mean nothing to you anymore. I came here to help you, dammit! But you’re too stubborn and too bitter to need anybody, aren’t you?” Her voice broke on her words, their finality punctuated by the solid slam of the front door closing behind her.

Jon rubbed his cheek. Man, she packed a wallop. And he’d deserved it. He’d goaded her mercilessly and he’d had no excuse other than pathetic jealousy. The thought of his step-brother touching Robyn the way Jon had, tasting her-it had driven him temporarily insane.

A slither of shame slid uncomfortably down his spine. He owed her an apology. A big one. And he had to go after her. What if she strayed off the track, or worse, hurt herself? No one would know.

He checked around the immediate perimeter of the cabin and there was no trace of Robyn. He’d hoped to find her sitting on the edge of the front porch steps, waiting for him to be reasonable. But that wasn’t Robyn’s style. She was way more self-sufficient than that, and she was mad enough to walk all the way back to Tautara as she’d said. Niggling concern for her condition made him edgy. She wasn’t dressed for the trek back to the main part of the estate and it had turned chilly. Sure the trails were marked, but without food and water or even a rain jacket, she’d be struggling before too long.

She had a thirty minute head start on him but he knew he could shorten her lead. His decision made, he stuffed a small backpack with energy bars and a couple of water bottles. He hitched on the pack and hit the ground off the front deck at a run. Hopefully he’d catch up to her before she got too far and maybe she wouldn’t still be so angry with him. And if she was, well, he’d duck this time.

The drizzle had intensified to a steady rain and the track was slippery in places. Jon cursed as he slid for the third time. He’d seriously believed he’d have caught up to her by now but she’d been in such a rage it must have propelled her along the trail at a faster rate than he’d given her credit for.

In the distance he could hear the roar of the river. The crossing wasn’t overly deep, but it could be tricky for anyone who was attempting it for the first time, let alone doing it on their own.

Concern for Robyn’s safety spurred him along the pathway and he broke through to the clearing just as she reached the middle of the river.

Water foamed and bubbled up to her thighs and he watched with his heart in his mouth as she wavered slightly before regaining her balance.

And that step was her undoing. Before his horrified gaze she slipped on an unstable rock and pitched into the chilled mountain water. He saw her hit the water with a frightened cry.

The sheer cold shock of the water knocked the breath out of Robyn’s chest as she foundered on the hard uneven surface of the river bed. How the water could still be so freezing cold defied belief. She struggled to keep her head above water while she tried to gain a foothold, anything to get some purchase on the slippery rocks and get upright again.

Strong hands suddenly hooked under her arms and lifted her clear, holding her steady as her feet found some stability in the raging water.

A shiver rocked through her. Strange, the rain actually felt warmer than the river coursing around her legs, and Jon’s hands were even warmer.

She wanted to argue with him, to tell him where he could stick his cabin, but the lure of a hot shower spoke volumes to her frozen skin and chattering teeth.

They completed the journey back to the cabin at a surprisingly quick pace. She wasn’t sure if it was Jon’s intention to keep her moving to warm her up, or whether he was simply eager to get out of the weather. It was depressing to realize how little distance she’d actually traveled in her attempt to strike out for Tautara on her own. At the rate she’d been going, even if she’d made it safely across the water, she’d have been lucky to get to the lodge by evening.

She was so lost in her thoughts, she never noticed the broken branch across the path until her foot caught in it, pitching headlong toward Jon’s back. He spun around even as she cried out and arrested her fall, pulling her hard against his body. She relished the sensation of warmth and comfort as his broad hand spread across her back.

“Hot tub?” Robyn didn’t remember seeing a tub in the bathroom. While the fittings had been undeniably luxurious they hadn’t extended to a tub.

It was the longest five minutes of her life. The constant drum of the rain through the dense foliage, the slipperiness of the path and the tiredness that assailed her all conspired to make her feet drag and her head swim. By the time the cabin came into view it was all she could do to ascend the steps to the deck.

“Here, you look shattered.” Jon hooked an arm around her waist and led her around to the side of the cabin. He propped her against the wall. “Stay there while I take the cover off.”

Robyn knew she should move, do something-anything-to get the soaking wet clothing away from her body and to remove the boots that had begun to chafe during their trek back, but everything was too much effort. Get a grip on yourself, she silently chastised, and forced herself to bend down to attempt to undo her laces. Her fingers were stiff and uncooperative. Long strong fingers gently brushed her hands away and Jon eased the stubborn laces loose on her boots and slid the wet leather from her feet. Her socks and jeans were swift to follow, then her top. The silk would never be the same again, she realized with a woeful thought as he peeled the fabric from her upper torso.

She drew in a sharp breath as the heated water stung her skin, then closed her eyes and relaxed her head back against the cushioned headrest on the side of the tub. A swish in the water made her look up.

A new kind of heat drew suddenly from her inner depths to bloom across her skin. Jon stood before her in the water. Like her, he’d stripped off his wet clothes, but unlike her, he’d removed his underwear. Which left him totally naked.

Jon settled onto the bench seat and welcomed the heated water as it lapped over his skin. Every instinct in his body demanded he draw Robyn into his arms, to comfort her, to warm her. She’d scared the living daylights out of him when she’d fallen into the river, and her lethargy as they’d neared the cabin was even more frightening. That fall had made him face facts. He still loved her. Deeply. And he needed to find out if she still felt the same way about him.

“You never asked me to stay.” Her words echoed in his mind. Had the long-standing rivalry between him and his step-brother clouded his reason? Could he have fought for Robyn? The answer to both was an unrelenting “yes.” He’d allowed his family bitterness to stand in the way of reason. He had to separate what he felt for Robyn from the business

“A bit sore,” she answered, tipping her head back again and closing her eyes. “My feet and calves in particular. Next time I go hiking I’ll make sure I train first.”

“Here,” he said, reaching for one of her feet under the water and pulling it to sit on the top of his thigh, “let me massage your feet for you. It’ll hurt at first, but you’ll feel better in the long run.”

Jon began a deep rhythmic stroke along the underside of her foot, massaging up to her ankles and then back down again to the tips of her toes before starting over again.

Through the water he could see the dusky pink tips of her nipples straining against the sheer fabric of her flesh-colored bra and he recognized the stain of color that gently spread up her chest and to her throat as the mark of desire. Despite their differences, she still wanted him. Probably about as much as he wanted her. A glimmer of hope glowed to life deep in his chest.

Jon stroked higher up her leg, working into Robyn’s calf muscles. Her foot flexed in his lap, brushing against the evidence of his desire. Her eyes flew open. Instead of shock he could only see the answering echo of his need for her. He pressed his hard flesh against the softness of her instep and saw her pupils dilate even further, her lips part on a breath. He reached for her other foot, still maintaining eye contact, and mirrored the attention he’d paid to the aching muscles of her other leg.

Jon stopped massaging her leg and reached forward to pull her into his arms, hope swelling into anticipation when she made no protest. She settled astride his lap-her shielded core only centimeters from his arousal.

“Like this?” she breathed softly into his ear before licking at his lobe then trailed a series of tiny bites down the column of his neck.

“Yes,” he groaned as he nuzzled the hollow between her neck and her shoulder, forcing himself to hold back the tide of need that threatened to swamp them both.

She reached behind her and unsnapped her bra, sending it sailing through the air to land ignominiously on the deck then slid off him long enough to slip off the scrap of fabric that was her panties. Naked, she shimmied back onto his lap. Jon gripped her hips to position her at the tip of his shaft. His ears filled with the addictive sigh of satisfaction that eased from her throat as he slowly lowered her onto his length. He settled deep inside of her, relishing the sensation of her clamping against him, feeling a sense of rightness in his world that had been missing for six long months.

And she had missed him-in more ways than merely the physical. Knowing he’d suspected her and Bradley of being lovers had been a painful blow. There’d only ever been one Windthorpe man for her and it had always been Jonathan-no matter what he thought. Letting him go had been one of the toughest decisions of her life. But she could no more pull away from him at this moment than she could stop breathing.

His hands held her hips firmly, halting her movement. Determined not to ease up she squeezed her inner muscles against him, urging him to do what they both needed to ease the conflagration building inside. She tilted her pelvis ever so slightly so her sensitive nub rubbed against his pubic bone. Instantly a spiral of pleasure sent spasms through her body, making her clench him with an intimacy that only lovers shared. It was his tipping point. He instantly let go of her hips and allowed her body the movement she desperately craved-allowed her the pleasure she knew belonged to them both.

His broad hands slid up to her rib cage, his thumbs caressing the sensitive underside of her breasts then scraping up and over her nipples in tandem, teasing the taut points into an ache that went soul deep.

She increased momentum, desperate now to find release-desperate to draw from him the culmination of the longing she’d suppressed for far too long.

Her climax hit her hard and fast and her voice rang out as pleasure soared within her. Jon’s body stiffened beneath hers and she felt his hips thrust against her as he scaled the peak with her.

She collapsed against him, letting her body melt into his. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, or was it his? Even the ragged breaths they drew were synchronized.

Robyn lifted herself off his body on legs that barely seemed capable of supporting her. Jon swung his legs over the side of the tub and, as he had before, scooped her into his arms.

She didn’t feel cold anymore, and even the constant rain outside the sheltered deck could not diminish the light that shone within her now.

Jon pushed open the French doors leading to the bedroom and laid her almost reverently on the bed. He disappeared for a moment, returning from the bathroom with two large fluffy towels, proceeding to dry her with one. Not to be outdone, Robyn grabbed the other towel and dried him as he hovered over her body, one hand stroking the coiled strength of his shoulders and his upper arms, while the other dragged the towel across the parts of him she could reach.

He grabbed the towel from her hands and hooked it loosely around her wrists, stretching her arms up over her head-leaving her prone to his look, his touch, his mouth.

He settled his body between her legs and when he lowered his mouth to her breasts Robyn knew it didn’t matter where she was anymore. As long as she was with Jonathan, she’d come home.

Dawn crept across the now clear sky, but Jon was oblivious to its beauty. In his arms was a woman he silently acknowledged he irrevocably loved. Yet, he had loved her before and that hadn’t been enough for her. Had any of that changed?

The papers in her briefcase still bore mute testimony to her duplicity. As much as he wanted to keep his relationship with Robyn separate from the machinations of the company, could he trust her? The test would be in what she decided to do. She said she’d come here to help him. So now, would she choose Bradley, or him?

It was full light by the time Robyn stirred. His body leapt to life as she stretched languorously beside him but instead of urging her to full wakefulness he pushed himself out of bed before he succumbed to her charms again. It was hopeless. He wanted her as much now as he’d wanted her the many times they’d made love during the night.

He could not allow himself to be drugged by his addiction to her again. Before he could reveal his true feelings to her, he had to know exactly where she stood. In his life or out of it.

By the time he disconnected the call he couldn’t decide if it was precisely the news he needed, or if it was an unwelcome coercion to carve the truth from Robyn. Eventually, he forced himself back to the bedroom.

She lay in the tumble of sheets that were still redolent with the scent of their lovemaking. Each crease was a silent witness to their hunger for one another. Each fold was a testament to the passion that demanded acknowledgement.

Jon took a moment to steel himself for what was to come. Took a moment to savor, however fleetingly, what they’d shared. He leaned forward to lightly touch her shoulder. Her skin was like satin-he would never grow tired of the texture or the exquisite sensation that touching her brought him. A piece of him wanted to forget all about the phone call, to sink back into the bed and into the welcoming warmth of her body. But he knew he couldn’t ignore the call or the damning information she’d inadvertently brought to him.

“Robyn,” he pulled away from her touch, “Luc Tanner just called. The presidential visit has come to an early end. They flew out about an hour ago.”

He watched Robyn carefully-saw the play of emotion across her features. It was time to push for his answer. To push for the truth he dared believe might be his for the taking.

So, there he had it. The truth. The absolute, irrefutable proof their lovemaking had meant nothing to her. He meant nothing to her. Pain warred with the anger that flared inside him as fast and furious as petrol on a bonfire.

Robyn remained silent in the bed. The bed in which he’d bared his heart and soul to her. The bed in which they’d shared such intimacies that would forever go unspoken.

She hadn’t even given staying with him a thought, Jon acknowledged with a hollow pain in the region of his heart as he gathered a belt, a pair of jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt and threw them on the bed.

“Here, your clothes will still be soaked. Use these and get dressed. The chopper will be at the landing site in forty-five minutes.”

Robyn stood outside the meeting room waiting for the executives to filter in. It had been two long and lonely days since she’d returned from Tautara. She’d felt numb from the moment she’d left Jon’s cabin, even more so when she’d opened her briefcase on her return to Auckland and found the proxy on the top of the papers she’d stored in there. Signed over to her.

It made her sick to realize that Jon had obviously read the information in her case, and yet he’d still given her the proxy. She had to admit that the documents made her look as if she was complicit in Bradley’s scheme. And yet Jon had still given her the ultimate gift in trust.

Trust she’d thrown back in his face when she’d chosen to leave. Pain carved a sharp line through her body. But she couldn’t have stayed. Staying would have meant she’d be giving up her promotion, giving up the chance to make something of her life. She had dinner planned with her parents tonight to celebrate. Already she felt as if she’d earned the right to bask in their pride.

She thought back to his request to stay with him at Tautara. It was a test. A test she’d failed. Six months ago, a promotion was what she thought she’d wanted and she’d been so blinded by ambition she hadn’t grasped the one thing she wanted above all else. Jon.

But she could try to make it up to him. She could ensure that Bradley’s plans would not come to fruition. She already had a strong idea of which way the voting would sway, and Jon’s proxy would be the decider.

WindCorp had always prided itself on being focused on providing “for New Zealanders, by New Zealanders.” Bradley’s discussions with several overseas parties regarding outsourcing all of their manufacturing showed his clear intention to cease operations in New Zealand. The loss of jobs would be massive. And without manufacturing, Jon would have very little input left in the company. But with her promotion she could stop all of that.

Robyn ticked the last attendee off her checklist and followed him into the meeting room. The meeting was called to order and progressed through the agenda at an efficient rate.

Her ears buzzed as her credentials were lauded, as her undeniable loyalty to WindCorp was expounded. She continued nervously taking the minutes, as one by one the board voted and…she had it! They’d voted to give her the promotion! Finally she had the right to ensure that WindCorp could continue with the charter Jonathan’s father had always seen for the company.

Bradley took the floor. She had to admit, he was convincing. As he showed charts and projected budgets for the company she could see some of the executive slowly swing in his favor. When the vote was called she was shocked to see just how convincing he’d been. The final deciding vote now rested with the proxy trembling in her hand.

“There’s one. On behalf of Jonathan Windthorpe-” Robyn paused and took a steadying breath. “-signed over to me. And I vote against,” she enunciated as firmly as she could.

The complacent smile on Bradley’s face froze and twisted until his expression turned positively feral. Robyn ducked her head and stared fixedly at the table. A sudden commotion at the door made her life her gaze.

With Jon’s presence the proxy was null and void. He voted for himself and unequivocally quashed Bradley’s push to move manufacturing offshore. Bradley’s face contorted in anger, but he remained silent for the rest of the meeting.

Robyn went back to her office and sorted through the mail on her desk. She was relieved that while hope for their love had been irretrievably stomped into submission by her actions, hope for WindCorp still thrived.

Movement at the door to her office caught her attention and her heart stopped. Had Jon come to talk to her? The flutter of hope slammed to a halt. It was Bradley.

He wasted no time in getting to the point, his voice laced with vitriol. “I hope your foray into the bush with Jonathan was worth it, because that’s about as close as you’ll ever get to management in WindCorp again. You can forget about your promotion. It’s clear you breeched the terms of your employment. Why else would Jon have turned up today? You’re fired. I want you to clear your desk and be out of here by the end of the day.”

Robyn’s throat closed on her words of denial. Of course Jon had found out from her-or at least from the notes in her briefcase. While she hadn’t told him in so many words, she was still responsible for him finding out. And she was glad. Suddenly the promotion she’d have given anything for meant nothing to her anymore. Not if it meant she had to do the kinds of things Bradley wanted for WindCorp. Not if it meant destroying the lives of hundreds of employees and their families, not to mention the livelihoods of the towns in which they lived.

She drew herself up to her full height and met him eye to eye. “I don’t deny he found out from me. It wasn’t deliberate but I’m prepared to take responsibility for my actions. Given the same opportunity I would do it again. And don’t worry about trying to fire me. I quit. I wouldn’t work for you anymore for all the money in the world.”

“Well said, Robyn. But I believe my dear step-brother has it wrong. It’s you who’ll be leaving, Bradley, not Robyn. Your underhanded action in bringing today’s meeting to order is in direct breach of your conditions of employment. The executives have called for your resignation.”

Jon closed the door to Robyn’s office firmly behind Bradley’s retreating back. He wouldn’t give up without a fight and Jon had no doubt there’d be a massive legal battle around the corner, but right now he didn’t care. All that mattered was the woman who stood before him. The woman who’d proved her loyalty to him, and to WindCorp, by voting his proxy today.

“We need to talk,” he said, crossing over to her desk. “I’m sorry you had to go through that today, but it was necessary to be able to show the board just how underhanded he could be. I’d never have had their agreement to remove his powers if it hadn’t played out the way it did.” He dragged at the tie at his neck and flicked open the top button of his shirt.

“I used a person I thought was using me. I was blind as far as you were concerned. Blind and stupid. I thought you would vote with Bradley. I misjudged you terribly and I’m sorry for that too,” he said softly. “Tell me, if you could still have that promotion, would you take it?”

“I understand,” he sighed, “but there’s a massive hole in that department now and it needs a committed leader to shape its future. I know, with guidance, you can be that person.”

“Forgive you, Jon? I’m just so glad that you can forgive me. I should have stayed with you at Tautara. It was wrong of me to put my ambitions ahead of my heart. Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson.”

Jon stepped around the desk and pulled her into his arms. It felt so very right. And when he spoke, she knew she’d made the right choice.

“Robyn, the past week has proven to me how much I love you. How much it would destroy me to live without you. Will you marry me? Will you stand by me and help me run WindCorp to be the best of what we both want?”

In that single word he gave her the answer her heart craved. The answer she needed to turn her back on the expectations of her family and embrace the one truth she held most dear.

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The accident that had taken Belinda's memory had provided Luc with the perfect means for revenge. His beautiful bride had no recollection of fleeing her groom on their wedding day…or the real reason behind their union. All she recalled was the unbridled passion they still shared-and the steely-eyed mogul planned to take full advantage of it.