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All the time she had been ripping up at him he’d stood there looking at her in that disturbing way. When she finally stopped talking he placed a finger against her lips just to make sure he was not interrupted. ‘You are really, truly perfect! Hell, I so want to take you to bed right now.’
The raw driven declaration, barely more than a husky whisper, made her catch her breath, the air between them shimmering with suppressed sexual tension. She could only stand there, her eyes wide as he moved his finger down her cheek, the light touch, barely there, making her shiver with delicious sensation.
Her eyes had half closed in drugged pleasure when from somewhere a sliver of sanity shattered the sensual haze.
What the hell are you doing, Chloe?
‘Does that line really work for you?’ She was pretty sure it did, and she’d have been yet another of the women who’d fallen for it if it hadn’t been for that one word...perfect! He still saw her as the woman with the perfect body he remembered from eighteen months ago.
The ugly reality would surely have him running for the hills.
‘It isn’t a line.’ His heavy-lidded eyes moved in a slow approving sweep from the top of her glossy head to her feet in kitten-heeled slingbacks. ‘You look fantastic.’
‘Yes, I know.’ But looks, she reminded herself, were cruelly deceptive. Even if she had been tempted to accept the offer he was making, she knew that it wasn’t about her; it was only the perfect body that he wanted.
The body that no longer existed.
Loss was something she didn’t normally allow herself to feel but it slammed through her now.
‘I’d forgotten how direct you were. It’s really refreshing,’ he said.
The memory of how direct she’d been brought a flush to her face. If she ever regained the sort of confidence she’d once had, then it wouldn’t be with a man like Nik Latsis. It would be with a man who could see beyond her scars, and who would want her for the woman she really was.
‘Ah, well, I’m so glad to have refreshed you, and speaking of which, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to refresh my glass. I’m not interested—is that direct enough for you?’
‘I’d be devastated if I believed you,’ he returned with a level look.
‘Believe me, you are the last man in the world I would be interested in!’ Interested, no, she was fascinated...but equally she recognised it was an unhealthy ‘moth to the flame’ sort of fascination. One that would only lead to her being burnt up, and not in a good way.
‘Never mind, Nik. If I was interested you’d be the first man to know...or maybe the second,’ Lucy Cavendish corrected. ‘My dentist has the loveliest eyes.’ Her smile deepened as she looked at Chloe. ‘So have you.’
Chloe’s face burned with embarrassed heat.
Just how long had the model been standing there listening to them? And yet she didn’t seem even a jot put out by what she’d heard... Maybe because she had heard it all before? Chloe speculated. Maybe she was fine with sharing her man? Or even...? None of my business, she told herself, swiftly closing down this lurid avenue of speculation.
‘Dinner is served and I’m starving,’ Lucy drawled, then, turning to Chloe, she added, ‘I loved your blog, by the way. If you want to know any of the dirty details on this one, I’m the girl to come to.’ She gave her a conspiratorial wink before leading Nik away.
