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triumph but finding no trace.
“I’ll meet you downstairs in half an hour.”
    “If I were you, I wouldn’t
mention it to Marty.”
    Erika knew better than that, but
wondered whether it were wise to completely disappear without
telling someone where she’d gone. She instantly dismissed the idea.
Whatever Aiden Thirstan wanted, she doubted he intended holding her
to ransom.
    Aiden released Erika’s chair so
she could stand up, his eyes never leaving her as she walked
quickly out of the dining room. She almost ran upstairs, desperate
to put some distance between her and Aiden. Only then would she be
able to think straight. Simply being in the same room as Aiden
clouded her reason, let alone her judgement, and she’d need to have
her wits about her if she were going to spend time alone in his
company.
    When she stepped back out onto
the landing outside her room, Erika had a view down into the
hallway where Aiden sat waiting for her. He half slouched on the
sofa, his arms stretched wide across the back, his legs pushed out
in front of him as if he owned the place. Even from upstairs, she
could see him frowning, his jaw set and his foot tapping
impatiently, as if she’d kept him waiting far too long already. It
didn’t make her rush downstairs. Instead, she took a few moments to
watch him unobserved.
    And although she hated to admit
it to herself, she loved what she saw.
    She decided they could keep the
Hollywood stars, and the music industry pretty boys with their
style consultants and cosmetic dentistry. Aiden was more of a man
than all of them put together.
    Tall, strong, athletic and with
a body that still brought blushes to her cheeks when she remembered
the way it had moved across hers. His long legs in well-worn jeans
with a tear across one knee; the heavy boots that added a good inch
to his height; the thick grey sweater that made his shoulders and
chest appear even broader. All effortlessly masculine with an easy
self assurance that stopped the right side of arrogance.
    Erika tried not to picture him
naked but couldn’t help herself. He was the most exciting man she’d
ever been to bed with; a tender, passionate lover, with the power
to take her to the limits of pleasure and then push her body beyond
them.
    Five years ago, they hadn’t been
able to keep their hands off one another, and every minute they’d
been apart had felt like an eternity.
    Something she hadn’t experienced
in too long stirred and it took her a few moments to recognise
it.
    Lust – pure and simple.
    And contained in the
temptingly-moulded shape of Aiden Thirstan.
    Potent, erotic pictures flashed
through her head, kindling a rush of desire that weakened her knees
and forced her to lean against the balustrade for support.
    Aiden chose that moment to look
up. He saw her and unleashed a smile that cracked the protective
shell she’d spent five years building around her heart, tear by
tear. He half raised his hand to beckon her downstairs and Erika
complied on autopilot.
    Aiden registered every detail of
her long legs in skinny jeans, her finely-sculpted face and the
easy, elegant way she moved as she came down toward him. He stood
up to greet her, towering over her and making her feel even more
fragile.
    “Marty’s a fool,” he said. “He
dresses you up to go on stage but you’re incredibly sexy as you
are.”
    “Marty has his own ideas,” she
told him, struggling to focus. Aiden hadn’t made any effort to
disguise his appreciation, the force of it took Erika’s breath away
and she struggled to think rationally. She coughed to shake her
voice into a reply. “Marty thinks sex sells.”
    “What do you think?”
    “It doesn’t matter what I
think.” She fought to keep her tone light. “I have a contract and
I’m Marty’s money-making asset. Mostly it’s a case of doing as I’m
told.”
    Aiden’s face had a curious
stillness about it, as if this information mattered very much to
him. “If you’re in trouble, you need to