How could she have forgotten
that sexy, sexy smile, she asked herself?
There it was again. Warm.
Seductive. Persuasive.
And still with the power to make
every fibre of her body react, even after everything that had
happened. She looked down quickly at her food to hide her
confusion.
“You still haven’t told me why
you’re here,” she reminded him. “What are you running away
from?”
“Nothing. I’m running toward
you.”
“Me?”
“When I heard you’d landed in
Leeds I got straight in my car and came here.”
“Why?”
“Like I said, I didn’t have
chance to tell my side of the story back then. I thought it was
about time.”
Erika swallowed some bacon along
with her anger. “Never heard of email?”
“A little impersonal, don’t you
think? After all we once were to each other.”
“Were…” she echoed. “But not
now. It’s ancient history.”
The firmness in her voice was
intended to draw a line under their brief relationship. In case
Aiden harboured any thoughts of rekindling the ashes, she wanted
him to know that, for her, the flame had been completely
extinguished.
“You sound very definite that
it’s over.” A muscle twitched in his jaw, hinting at
irritation.
“What do you expect? I arrived
at your house to find you naked with another woman’s legs wrapped
round your back. Not even you can explain that away.”
Aiden’s pale, hazel eyes flashed
dangerously. Tiger’s eyes Erika had once called them – almost gold
in parts; missing nothing and giving nothing away. It disturbed her
to realise she could still recall every amber fleck and the long,
dark lashes that framed them so seductively.
“Like I said. You never heard my
side of the story.”
“You’ve had five years to make
your peace.” Erika shrugged. “What’s the sudden urgency?”
“It took me a year to find you
after you’d left. By the time you resurfaced, you had Marty’s
henchmen standing guard. I couldn’t get anywhere near.”
Erika saw his point. After
discovering Aiden in bed with another woman, she’d thrown some
clothes into a rucksack and caught the first plane to America.
Within the year, Marty had discovered her singing in a bar and,
before she knew it, she’d been tied into a contract so tight she
could scarcely breathe most days.
Aiden was overlooking one thing
however and Erika was quick to remind him of it.
“In all that time, I knew
exactly where to find you. Had I wanted to talk to you, I’d have
called.”
“Except you didn’t think there
was anything else to say. Five years ago, you took what you saw at
face value, cleared out your things and left.”
“It wasn’t your face I saw.”
Only your very sexy, taut arse, she could have added.
She pushed away her plate,
making ready to leave. Aiden was too quick for again however, and
hooked his foot around her chair leg so she couldn’t push it back
from the table.
“Things aren’t quite that black
and white,” he went on. “That’s why I need to talk to you. To
explain. To ask you to forgive me.”
Erika had no option but to sit
still and look at him. In her rush to hate Aiden Thirstan she’d
forgotten how ridiculously handsome he was. He wore his dark hair
shorter now than five years ago but it suited him that way, and he
had a tan from a recent trip abroad. His pale eyes shone
brilliantly above sharp cheekbones and he had the suggestion of a
beard across his jaw, adding contours to his face and making him
look as though he’d just tumbled out of a warm bed.
God he was sexy.
Even now, after spending years
building defences around herself and rendering herself immune,
Erika could still see exactly what had first attracted her to him
and kept her close for five intense months. She shivered as if to
shake herself free of the idea.
“When do you want to talk to
me?” she asked instead, deciding that she may as well get it over
with. “Today? This morning?”
“Why not now?” Aiden appeared
surprised that she’d given in so easily but seized the opportunity.
“Although not at the hotel.”
“I can’t leave. If I’m seen
outside…”
“No one will recognise you,”
Aiden promised. “They’ll expect to see you on a red carpet wearing
a designer gown, not in jeans and boots striding across the
moor.”
On balance, Erika decided she
was probably safer talking to Aiden in the open air rather than in
his hotel suite. At least the fans’ reactions were predictable.
Added to which, the thought of escaping into the countryside and
being anonymous, if only for a couple of hours, proved too
seductive.
The only downside was that Erika
would need to spend those two hours in the company of Aiden
Thirstan and wondered whether it was worth the trade off. She
decided it was.
“I’ll need my coat,” she told
him, searching his face for a look of 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 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 his
devastating smiles. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there to look after
you.”
Erika decided this was exactly
what she was afraid of.
Erika’s legs failed her close to
the top of the hill and she stopped to catch her breath, bending
double with her hands on her knees as she gasped for air. “Wait,”
she wheezed, the word barely audible. “I can’t keep up.”
Aiden managed to hear her above
the roar of the wind and turned back, holding out his hand to her.
“Here. I’ll pull you the rest of the way.”
As she didn’t have the strength
to argue, let alone walk the last hundred yards, Erika took his
hand and allowed Aiden’s long, easy stride to propel her the few
remaining steps. She collapsed onto a rock, relieved to be sitting
down and yet completely enraptured by the glorious view out across
the rugged Yorkshire landscape.
Her heart quickened. She’d
forgotten how much she’d once loved this part of the world and how
happy she’d been there. Every chance she’d had, she’d escaped from
her music studies in York to walk miles across the moors, or
explore the remote villages, finding peace and musical inspiration
in the isolation and craggy beauty.