The Reluctant Duke Read Online Free Page A

do was another matter entirely.
    He relaxed slightly. ‘It’s almost one o’clock. I suggest the two of us go and get some lunch—’
    ‘Together? ‘ Lexie stared at him uncomprehendingly.
    ‘Yes—together,’ Lucan drawled mockingly. ‘Perhaps we can come to some sort of truce while we eat?’
    To say Lexie was stunned by the suggestion would be an understatement. Unless Lucan meant it as an ultimatum rather than a suggestion? An implication that the two of them either come to that truce or he would immediately go ahead with his threat to have her replaced, and in doing so damage the reputation of Premier Personnel?
    Personally, Lexie would be more than happy to go. She had already done what she’d come here to do, and that was to meet Lucan St Claire and have all her preconceived ideas of him confirmed. As well as some unpreconceived ones—namely, he was dangerously attractive.
    Unfortunately, the repercussions for Premier Personnel if that were to happen were less acceptable.
    Something Lexie should definitely have thought about before acting so impulsively in coming anywhere near a single member of the St Claire family!
    Although, Lexie acknowledged grudgingly, she hadn’tfound the blond and handsome Gideon St Claire quite so disagreeable as Lucan.
    Gideon was supposed to share the same reputation for coldness and arrogance as his haughty older brother, and as such Lexie had fully expected him to ignore her altogether during this morning’s meeting. Instead, Gideon had been effortlessly charming to her, and the warm interest in his gaze unmistakable…
    ‘Does it usually take you this long to respond to an invitation to lunch? ‘ Lucan rasped impatiently.
    ‘No, of course not,’ Lexie snapped resentfully, her cheeks heating at the taunting mockery she could see in those coal-black eyes. ‘But it was hardly an invitation, was it?’ she dismissed scathingly. ‘’More like, it’s lunchtime, so let’s eat!’
    Lucan frowned his irritation; did this woman have to argue about everything? ‘I see nothing wrong with that statement,’ he bit out impatiently. ‘It
is
lunchtime, and we both have to eat.’
    ‘But not necessarily together,’ she came back decisively.
    Lucan’s eyes narrowed to dark and dangerous slits. ‘Tell me—is this dislike personal, or do you treat all your employers with the same contempt?’
    Lexie stiffened warily. It was one thing for her to treat Lucan St Claire with the disdain she felt he deserved—quite another for him to become overly curious as to
why
she treated him that way. For him to ever suspect, realise, exactly who she was…
    Lexie shook her head. ‘It isn’t personal, Mr St Claire—’
    ‘Lucan.’
    She blinked up at him. ‘I beg your pardon…?’
    ‘I invited you to call me Lucan, Lexie,’ he drawled ruefully.‘Don’t tell me you have a problem with that, too?’ He frowned again as she continued to stare up at him.
    Of
course
Lexie had a problem with that! The last thing she wanted—positively the last thing—was to be on a firstname basis with any of the arrogant St Claire family! ‘I would prefer to keep our relationship on a completely business footing,’ she said stiffly.
    ‘And calling each other by our first names isn’t doing that?’ he prompted.
    ‘You know it isn’t.’ She frowned. ‘Any more than my having lunch with you is,’ she added coolly.
    Lucan scowled his impatience. ‘I fail to see why not.’
    Lexie eyed him frustratedly. ‘That could be because you’re being deliberately obtuse—’ She broke off abruptly as he gave a wry chuckle.
    A phenomenon that completely changed the austerity of those grimly handsome features, giving warmth to those dark, dark eyes, a softening to the hard rigidity of his cheek and jawline, and revealing an endearing cleft in his left cheek.
    All things that Lexie did not want to be aware of where this particular man was concerned.
    She gave him a reproving look. ‘I fail to see what’s so