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would succeed ' where others had failed was quite brisk,' she concluded
bluntly.
Kate flinched. 'Oh.'
Rae instantly reached out a hand. 'Me and my big mouth! But you hurt a lot
of people, Kate, and the business you're in isn't the kindest. The best thing
you can do is forget it. That's all in the past now, anyway. The point is, I
have a bad feeling about this.'
This was no time for Kate to admit that she felt the same. She had to be
confident. 'I'll be all right. I'm not his type. And as you well know, I'm not
about to put myself into a dangerous situation. I have to do this, Rae. I really
don't think I have any choice.' She fell silent, feeling that sense of fatalism
quite distinctly. A dull headache had started up, and she rubbed at it, trying
to ease it.
Rae watched her thoughtfully. 'Headache?'
Kate sighed. 'I didn't sleep too well.'
'It's more than that. I know the signs, Kate. You look drawn. What's wrong?'
Unable to repress a shiver, Kate looked up. 'It's nothing, really, just some
bad dreams. A reaction to stress. Everyone has them,' she insisted, as if
trying to convince herself rather than her friend.
'Does everyone look like you do after them? Do you want to talk about it?'
Rae offered. 'Doesn't it seem a bit odd to you that you should get them now?
Perhaps something triggered it off? The only thing that's happened lately is
Aidan Crawford's eruption on to the scene. Could there be a
connection?'Kate's nerves rioted. 'Of course, but it would only be due to
stress. A guilty conscience at work. So please can we forget it?' she begged,
wanting the distressing conversation to end. It was bad enough having the
dreams without dissecting them too. 'What I really wanted to know was if
you'd be a witness.'
Rae seemed about to protest the change of subject, then let it pass with a
defeated shrug of her shoulders. 'I'd never speak to you again if you hadn't
asked me. We've been through a lot together, and I won't desert you now.
Even if I think you are crazy,' she added drily.
Later, when Rae had gone, Kate sagged with relief. That was one hurdle
over. The most difficult was yet to come. With a sigh she reached for a
folder of letters and buried herself in work. There was a great deal to be
done, loose ends tidied up, before she could leave the running of the agency
in Rae's capable hands. It would mean that for a while, at least, she wouldn't
have to think.
At five to one, Rae popped her head around the door, her expression bland.
'There's a Mr Crawford to see you.'
Over at the filing cabinet, the nerves in Kate's stomach lurched and twisted
themselves into a knot. 'Thank you, Rae,' she returned levelly, and would
have asked for a few minutes to compose herself, only her assistant stepped
neatly aside to allow Aidan Crawford into the room.
She had thought she was prepared to meet him, had regained her control
after last night's startling revelation. But the second he walked into the room,
she knew she was wrong. Even as her heart started a crazy beat, she was
telling herself he was just a man, and she knew how to handle them. Stay
cool and distant, that was all it would take. But it didn't work out that way.
Hands closing on the cold metal of the drawer, her knowledgeable eye took
in the fact that the grey suit he wore today was by Armani, no less. It fitted
his long- legged, leanly muscular physique to perfection, and she was
suddenly tossed into the stormy seas of her newly awakened senses.
She had never experienced anything like it. The impact was electric, as if
someone had plugged the room into' the mains. Her skin prickled. It seemed
as if every inch of her was aware of every inch of him. Such intense physical
attraction was uncharted territory for Kate. It frightened even as it
exhilarated. She knew that, even if the room had been crowded, her
sensitised radar would have picked up his presence. It was uncanny, as if she
had been programmed to respond to just this one man. She recalled that kiss
vividly, and her lips tingled. Deep inside her, something throbbed into life.
Unable to move, she couldn't take her eyes off him. In thrall, she knew how
it felt to be a rabbit caught by the headlights of a car.
A sardonic smile hovered about his mouth as he crossed the room towards
her, purpose in every stride. Dulled as her reactions were, she realised what
he intended to do and weakly put out a hand to ward him off. It proved to be
a fatal mistake, for he captured her hand neatly and used it to pull her
towards him so that he could press on her lips the kiss she had wanted to
avoid.
Her reaction was instantaneous. She went up like dry tinder. She seemed to
have no bones, and her blood turned thick and hot in her veins. Heavy
eyelids closed over dazed eyes. Helplessly her lips parted at the touch of his,
their sensitive skin aching to respond, only there was no time. The merest
brush of his lips over hers, and then he was lifting his head again, leaving her
blinking bewilderedly up at him.
'Darling,' he greeted smoothly. Kate's colour fluctuated wildly. She heard
Rae's sharp intake of breath before she shut the door on them.
She was set free immediately. He moved away from her, back rigid with
rejection, leaving her in no doubt, should she have wondered, that his
actions were purely for show. While she had been overwhelmed by the
sensations going through her. Dear God, he only had to touch her and she
was like putty in his-hands! It had been last night all over again, only much
more intense. She could hardly credit her own complete loss of self.
But at least he hadn't guessed. Though she had done nothing to help herself,
her secret was still safe. Hating herself for feeling an attraction that was so
one-sided, she slammed the file drawer closed with a clatter.
'Why did you do that?' she demanded angrily, not a little of that anger
directed at herself. How close she had come to betraying herself!
Resting on a corner of her desk, he studied her curiously. A strange light
glittered in his eyes. 'Just setting the scene,' he murmured drily.
A shiver ran down her spine as she saw that light. He couldn't have guessed.
There hadn't been time. She looked at him, swallowing hard, but whatever
she had thought she had seen was gone. She crossed her arms. 'Well, you
don't have to bother for Rae's benefit. She knows exactly why I'm marrying
you. So I'd rather you kept your hands to yourself. 1 don't want to be
touched, and I certainly don't want to be kissed!' Liar! her senses accused.
Her body was so vitally aware of him that her breasts actually ached. Like a
schoolgirl with a crush, she wanted more, not less. It was like a fever! Kate
stiffened her spine. Everyone knew how hotly a fever burned, but, if you
starved it, it would die down. That was what she had to do. She was crazy to
feel anything for this man, and it would be insanity to allow him to find out
that she did!
He looked grimly amused. 'I know that well enough without your telling
me,' he declared harshly. 'The way you freeze off a man speaks for itself. But
brace yourself, my sweet Kate. Perhaps your friend didn't expect me to kiss
you, but plenty of other people will. We know this marriage is a business
deal, but everyone else has to believe it's real. To do that we'll have to hide
our mutual ' aversion and pretend we love each other. For that, I'll kiss you
when and where I have to, and I'll expect you to respond.'
Kate was glad her hands were hidden because the way they started to
tremble would have been telling. The pictures he conjured up sent flames
licking her skin. She felt like a punch-drunk boxer. After years of celibacy,
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