Love notes Read Online Free Page A

tell me. I’ll do anything
to help. I owe you that much, at least.”
    And a lot more besides, Erika
could have added but she didn’t want to sound churlish when his
offer had been so genuinely made.
    “Thanks but I can handle it. You
have no idea how accustomed I am to standing on my own two feet
these days.”
    “I don’t doubt it.” His eyes
bore into her, searching out her secrets and no doubt reading them
all. “If you remember, there was always a telepathy between us. I
can read your mind – even now – so don’t try hiding anything from
me.”
    Erika took a step back so she
could twist and pull on her coat, relieved to break the connection
for a moment. Aiden reached out to help her, his fingers brushing
her neck as he did so, and all her nerves came together beneath his
fingertips to send thrills into her core.
    For five years, she’d convinced
herself that she was incapable of feeling anything but exhaustion,
yet here she was, with long-dead emotions flooding in and
reawakening every inch of her. She held her breath until her
heartbeat returned to normal.
    “If you can read my mind, you’ll
have worked out that I’m not the trusting, naïve girl I was five
years ago.” Her internal chaos sharpened her reply but Aiden was
undeterred.
    “You were never a girl to me –
only a very desirable woman.” He raised his eyebrows provocatively.
“And if it’s of any interest, those feelings haven’t entirely
disappeared.”
    Erika quickly turned away, not
daring to let Aiden see the reaction this idea had provoked. She
fought against the memories but found that, having unlocked them
already, her mind now plundered them. It didn’t help that he was
standing so close and looking so gorgeous. The smell of his cologne
and the warmth coming off his body tipped her over the edge and her
mind spiralled into the most deliciously indecent thoughts she’d
had in too long.
    “Give up, Aiden,” she warned as
she pulled herself together, determined not to show how much he’d
affected her. “The damage goes too deep for there ever to be
anything between us. Know when you’re beaten and give in.”
    Aiden’s lips twitched as if
suppressing a smile. “OK. Why don’t we chalk up Round One to you?”
he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Although I
suggest we continue this discussion in the car. The longer we stand
here, the more chance there is of Marty finding us.”
    Not even Erika could disagree
with this and followed him out to the car park where a black 4x4
stood, splattered with mud and looking like it had been abandoned
there by thieves.
    “Glad you’re going all out to
impress me,” she said, starting to laugh in spite of herself. “I’m
used to something a little more luxurious these days – or, at
least, clean.”
    “Like I said, no one will expect
to see you in a muddy car in the wilds of Yorkshire.”
    His smile broadened and his
shoulders lost some of their tension. Erika wondered briefly
whether he might have been anxious about meeting her again but
dismissed the thought immediately.
    Men like Aiden Thirstan didn’t
go to pieces at the prospect of seeing their ex five years down the
line.
    “I was on site yesterday,” he
explained. “We’re building a factory complex in east London. But,
when I heard you’d arrived in England, I grabbed a bag and headed
north.”
    As if to confirm this, Erika saw
the back seat was loaded with files and blueprints, with a yellow
hard hat perched on top.
    “I’m flattered you were in such
a rush to see me.”
    “Hardly a rush. I’ve waited five
years for the privilege.”
    Without giving her chance to
reply, he started the car and reversed out of the space, wrapping
his arm around the back of Erika’s seat when he looked behind
him.
    “Where are we going?” she
asked.
    “Past Harrogate and into the
Dales. Shouldn’t be many people out walking today.”
    “It only takes one person with a
camera.”
    Aiden gave her another of