Chapter 19

IT WAS like a bolt of electric energy charging into the room. Kathryn felt as though she'd been zapped off the chair she'd been sitting on, her body lifting onto her feet, straightening up, instinctively meeting the force of the man head on, while staring at him in wide-eyed shock.

This was Mitch Tyler? A barrister?

She'd always thought of barristers as rather lofty and effete academics in fusty wigs, full of their own self-importance. Yet here she was, faced with a dynamic entity who literally bristled with masculinity, so much so her knees felt weak. And her heart was fluttering.

Tall, dark and handsome, but not like Ric Donato. Not like Ric at all. Any woman would call her boss drop-dead gorgeous, but this man didn't come out of any romantic mould. Power was the only word that came to Kathryn's dazed mind. He had a strong square jaw, very firmly delineated mouth, a sharp triangular shaped nose, straight black brows, and beneath them, stunning blue eyes that burned straight into Kathryn's like twin lasers, totally transfixing her.

She stared at him and he stared right back at her. Kathryn couldn't gather wits enough to say a word. The mutual stare went on so long, she began to wonder if he doubted her identity, though surely his clerk would have told him she was waiting in here where he'd told her to wait.

Mitch was thinking Ric must be mad. He had this woman right under his nose and he ran off with someone else?

She was like Tinkerbell…magic…a pixie face with those wonderful green eyes and the gamine hairstyle, like a flyaway cap of burnished copper, a lovely pouty mouth that was made for kissing, an hourglass figure poured into a curve-hugging green suit, the skirt delectably short enough to show off long, shapely legs…how could Ric be immune to such gut-tugging femininity? Mitch was struggling to remember this was a professional visit.

'Mr Tyler…?'

Her voice sounded husky, uncertain…and incredibly sexy.

'Mitch,' he said forcefully, deciding Kathryn Ledger was not his client and he didn't have to keep a professional distance. She was here on Ric's behalf. And Lara Chappel's. He propelled himself forward, offering his hand. 'Good to meet you, Kathryn.' Lovely name. Rolled off his tongue as though he'd been saying it for centuries.

'Mitch,' she repeated, looking at him wonderingly as her hand slipped into his.

The top of her head only came up to his chin so her face was tilted up. There were sparkly gold specks around the rim of her green irises like an explosion of fireworks. Her mouth was still slightly parted from having spoken his name and Mitch had to fight the urge to bend down and taste it. Her hand was soft, dainty, and he hung onto it because it was the only touch he could sensibly allow himself at this point. They'd barely met.

'No trouble coming here?' he asked, pushing his mind to get back on track—the whole purpose of her presence in his office.

'No. Thank you for the escorts.' A swift little smile. 'They certainly made me feel safe.'

'Good!' He smiled back, feeling a wild joy in having protected this woman. And he'd go on protecting her, whatever it took. 'You've brought the photo?'

'Yes. In my bag.'

She nodded to a many-zippered beige handbag resting by the chair she'd been sitting on. Mitch reluctantly released her hand, freeing her to get the critical photo for him. Losing the physical link made him realise how possessive he was feeling toward Kathryn Ledger—amazingly so. He couldn't recall any other woman ever having such an impact on him.

He watched her lift the bag onto his desk as he mentally examined the primitive instincts she stirred. Control was second nature to him. Only once in his life had he completely lost it, wanting to beat Jenny's rapist to a pulp, and he might well have done so if he hadn't been forcibly restrained.

Control the anger and channel the energy into more effective strategies, Patrick had advised. But this…what he was feeling now with Kathryn Ledger…was completely outside Mitch's experience and he couldn't find any control mechanisms for it. His entire body seemed to be buzzing with excitement.

Her left hand moved to open a zipper on the bag. It was like a punch in the heart, seeing the ring on her third finger. A ring with a flashy solitaire diamond. An engagement ring!

She was taken.

Another man had already claimed her as his.

Anger smashed through the shock. It wasn't right. It couldn't be right.

He'd fight to… No!

Mitch shook his head clear of the crazy surge of testosterone, enforcing reason. Kathryn Ledger had willingly given herself to someone else.

Someone she obviously wanted to marry. Her choice was made. And, of course, Ric had respected it. She wasn't available to him any more than she was available to Mitch.

Checkmate!

He had to back off.

Never mind that it felt wrong.

She had come to him for help. Nothing more. He had to get his mind focused on the job and forget everything else.

Kathryn was trying desperately to get herself together. It didn't help that her hand was still tingling from Mitch Tyler's touch, that her legs felt shaky, and she could barely concentrate on opening her bag and extracting the telling photograph. She felt as though she'd been knocked completely out of kilter.

For a moment there, she'd even been wondering what it might be like if Mitch Tyler kissed her. Jeremy—her partner for the past year!—had been totally blotted out of her mind. The reason for being here in these legal chambers had been lost, too. It was as though she'd been caught up in some magnetic force-field that shut out everything else but the man holding her hand, and she was still quivering inside from the unbelievably strong tug of his attraction.

Her fingers closed over the photograph and she took a deep breath before turning to hand it to him. It was a relief that his gaze instantly fastened on the image of Lara and Gary Chappel, giving her more time to recover her composure. Better still when he stepped away from her, moving around to the other side of his desk, putting considerable distance between them, enough distance to ease the tightness in her chest.

'Thank you,' he said, flicking a look at her as he gestured to the chair she'd vacated. 'Please sit down again.'

She grabbed her bag off the desk and gratefully retreated even further, settling herself before risking another glance at him. He'd sat down, too, occupying the big leather chair behind his desk, studying the photograph she'd given him, his straight black brows lowered in a frown.

His dark hair was also straight, very thick and cut short in graduated layers to stay neat. He had neat ears, as well, almost no lobes like her own, but curved around the top, not pointy. He wouldn't have been teased about having pixie ears when he was a kid. She couldn't imagine anyone ever teasing Mitch Tyler. One look from those powerful blue eyes…

A convulsive little shiver ran down her spine. He had to be dynamite in a courtroom. She wondered how Ric had come to know him. They looked to be about the same age—mid-thirties—yet she couldn't see how their lives would have touched. As far as she knew, her boss had not gone through university. Maybe somewhere in his years as a photo-journalist he'd sought legal assistance. Whatever…Ric Donato trusted this man and Kathryn could see why he would. In any kind of fight, she'd want Mitch Tyler on her side.

He jackknifed forward, picked up the telephone from his desk, made a call, still frowning as he waited for a response which came within a few moments. 'Patrick, it's Mitch. Have you heard from Ric today?'

The reply must have been negative because he quickly ran on, 'I think he's heading your way. Took Johnny's plane out. If you hear from him would you please let me know?'

Another pause, a grimace, then, 'He left me with a problem and I'd appreciate more instructions. If he calls you, tell him to call me. Okay?'

Phone down. He knew Johnny Ellis, too, Kathryn thought, and all three men were obviously connected to this Patrick whom Mitch had just called.

'Ric didn't tell me where he was going,' she offered.

The laser-sharp eyes bored into hers again. 'He wouldn't. Not in these circumstances. Fill me in on the whole story, Kathryn, as much as you know.'

His gaze alone seemed to be picking at her brain. Kathryn felt constrained to remember every little detail in case it was vitally important.

'You know Ric's business,' she started.

'Brokering photographs to all forms of media around the world,' he rapped out, tapping the one he'd now laid on the desk in front of him. 'This one was e-mailed in?'

'Yes. Taken at the airport. Dated yesterday. We were checking through the computer file this morning…'

'What time was it when Ric saw this?'

'About nine-thirty. Normally we don't deal in shots that might cause people problems. I was about to delete this one when Ric stopped me. He asked me to print it, give him a copy, put five more copies in the office safe and buy the copyright from the photographer so no-one else could print it. He said he didn't care how much it cost…just get it.'

Mitch nodded thoughtfully. 'Did you acquire the copyright?'

'Yes. After Ric left. Which he did as soon as I'd printed out his copy.

He took it with him. I didn't know what he was going to do. He simply said he and Lara Chappel…Lara Seymour…went way back and she wouldn't want that photo published. I felt…' She hesitated, wondering if she should colour the facts with her feelings or not.

'Tell me,' Mitch encouraged.

She sighed. 'All this was out of character. That photo got to him personally. In a big way. It wasn't normal business, if you know what I mean.'

It evoked a wry little smile. 'I guess we all have moments that aren't… normal.'

A flood of heat whooshed up her neck and scorched her cheeks.

Kathryn couldn't remember the last time she had blushed. She was thirty years old, a successful career woman, adept at handling all sorts of people and situations. Yet here was embarrassing proof of how abnormal her reaction was to this man. Was it horribly obvious that he'd put her in such a spin, even her blood temperature was affected?

Stick to the facts, girl, she berated herself. Best to steer right away from feelings, because she was in a high state of confusion about her own.

'It was just past eleven when Ric called me from his car,' she went on briskly. 'He said he was heading back to the office, should be there in ten minutes. He had Lara Chappel with him and he needed my help. He instructed me to tell my secretary I'd be away for a couple of hours at a business meeting with a magazine editor—nothing unusual about that—and meet him in the basement car park with my bag and car keys.'