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The truth was he had no concrete plans to return to London. He’d left the company in capable hands and had been content to forget about it while living like a recluse in his grandfather’s house. One of the things he’d resolutely refused to think about was his future, because he’d been so busy dwelling on his past. Apart from the fact that his behaviour now seemed remarkably boring and self-indulgent, it occurred to him that if he was going to indulge himself with Maddy, he needed to put an end date into the equation.
‘I still have some recuperation to do but, once winter sets in, I’ll be returning to London.’ For the first time in a long time, the thought didn’t make his stomach tighten with dread. ‘But until then, I don’t see why we can’t continue to enjoy ourselves.’
‘I don’t …’ She stopped, clearly lost for words.
‘We could give each other a great deal of pleasure in that time. Why deny ourselves when there’s no need?’
A small line of concentration formed on her brow. He felt the pulse of heat in his crotch. Damn, she really was adorable. And completely unique. When was the last time he’d had to put this much effort into getting a woman into his bed?
‘What do you say to a no-strings affair? We spend a few weeks exploiting the great sexual chemistry between us and then go our separate ways. And nobody gets hurt.’
Those round green eyes met his. ‘No strings. No promises. Just great sex?’
‘That’s correct.’
Rye felt the punch of his own heartbeat as he waited for her reply. The smile died as he began to feel a little uneasy. Had he ever been this desperate for a woman to say yes?
‘All right,’ she said, as if mulling the idea over in her mind. ‘I think that would be fun.’
‘Great.’
He gripped her waist, hauled her up for a kiss, relief and euphoria lifting the moment of discomfort.
She giggled, then the little line returned to her brow as he set her back on her feet. ‘Can I ask you for one promise, though, Rye?’
His heart sank at the thoughtful tone of voice. Promises were top of his list of things to avoid in a relationship. ‘Sure,’ he said cautiously, hoping like hell whatever she had in mind wasn’t going to be a deal-breaker.
‘Promise me,’ she said gently, ‘we’ll never pretend this is something it’s not.’
The breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding gushed out. ‘You have my word,’ he replied, pleased her promise would be so easy to keep.
‘Good.’ She sent him a tentative smile, the look on her face a tantalising combination of bashful and eager. ‘I could cook you dinner at the cottage tonight,’ she said, the sparkle in her green eyes making his breath catch. ‘And we can discuss terms.’
He chuckled. ‘I’m there.’ Tighte
ning his arms round her waist, he kissed her again. ‘What time do you want me?’ he said, his heart soaring at the prospect of a decent meal in fascinating company after so many months eating convenience food alone.
‘Get there at seven.’ She tapped a fingernail to his chest, her eyes smoky with desire. ‘I’ll let you know when I want you later.’
He laughed at the saucy comment as the blood rushed straight to his groin.
Damn, but it was good to be back in the world of the living at last.
CHAPTER TWELVE
MADDY glared at the gloopy mess in her saucepan and felt the snakes in her stomach tangle themselves into giant knots.
Her béchamel had curdled. How could her béchamel have curdled when she’d made it about a billion times before? She pressed her hand to her stomach and took two careful breaths.
Perhaps because her nerves were stretched so tight they were about to snap.
Why on earth had she invited Rye to dinner? It had seemed like such a great idea at the time.
Her hormones had still been fizzy like a bottle of shaken cola and her confidence soaring into the stratosphere at the knowledge that he still wanted her. When he’d made the offer of a no-strings affair and she’d blithely agreed, the endorphin rush had blinded her to all the possible pitfalls.
No strings, no promises meant no expectations. Which was just what she wanted. Why he should want her so much, she had no idea, but she wasn’t about to look that gift horse in the mouth a second time. When was she ever likely to get an offer like this again? And the chance to dynamite herself out of the rut she’d been in for years?
She could avail herself of Rye King’s superstar abilities in bed and spice up her sadly mundane sex life for the next few weeks and all she had to do was enjoy the ride.
