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Jonas didn’t appear in the least annoyed by being asked to justify his actions. ‘They stay with the company wherever possible. This is about turning a company around, changing bad management into good. If everything goes well, everyone wins. When I have to break one up, we do our best to find alternative employment within our group. Does that meet with your approval, Aimi?’ he queried sardonically, and Aimi nodded, smiling wryly.
‘Of course. If I sounded disapproving, it’s because not everyone in your line of work has a conscience,’ she returned calmly. ‘I apologise if I was rude.’
His lips twitched and now the gleam was well and truly back in his eyes. ‘There’s no need. You were only saying what many others think. However, it’s good to know there’s something about me you find attractive.’
Now that had her eyes flying to his, her lips parting on a tiny gasp of surprise. The bold challenge, right in front of his family, knocked her off balance, as did the sardonic amusement glittering in those blue orbs that dared her to respond. However, Aimi was not given to running away. Taking a breath, she moistened her lips, and her senses rocked when she saw his eyes follow the movement. Then his gaze lifted, and for a vital second the irony was gone and she could see heat there. Scorching. Elemental. Of course, as soon as he saw she had seen, his lips twitched, and she knew she had been played by a master. Which gave her all the more reason to reply.
‘Are you fishing for compliments, Jonas?’ she taunted with gentle mockery, and laughter erupted around her.
‘Sounds like it to me,’ James Carmichael interjected. ‘That has to be a first!’
Everyone started teasing him, which he took with remarkable fortitude, an attitude which she did find attractive—amongst other things. She had always liked a man with a sense of humour and the ability to laugh at himself. Yet that changed nothing. She was not interested in whatever games he had in mind. Sitting back in her seat, she withdrew from the fray and concentrated on drinking her coffee.
The gentle ribbing continued for some time, until Jonas changed the subject. ‘How many are coming to the barbecue this time?’ she heard him ask his mother, but the answer was lost, as she took the opportunity to regroup her thoughts.
Aimi recognised that she was dangerously close to getting caught up in the miasma of the senses that was sexual desire, and she found that unsettling. From the moment she had vowed to change her life, no man had registered on her radar. In the beginning she had been too haunted by what had happened to feel anything but, as the healing process had gone on, she had turned the radar off deliberately. She hadn’t wanted to be attracted to anyone, to find happiness in a loving relationship, for it deepened her sense of guilt to feel so alive. So well had she done the job that she had thought her defences were impermeable, but a few moments in Jonas’s presence had destroyed that belief. Even now it went on. Unseen, Jonas called to her and the whole of her being responded. It was so strong, even the hairs on her skin stood to attention. The sheer intensity of it was staggering.
She didn’t want to feel it, didn’t want to be so aware of him, but her body wasn’t obeying the rules. All she could do was try to block it out as best she could. Once the weekend was over, that would be the end of it.
She tuned back in to the conversation in time to hear Paula announce that she and her husband were going for a walk around the lake if anyone was interested in joining them.
‘I could do with a walk,’ she said, jumping at the chance, and looked at Nick. ‘Will you join us?’
‘Paula will only nag me if I don’t,’ he pretended to grumble as he stood up, and his sister poked her tongue out at him.
Aimi braced herself to hear Jonas declare his intention to join the group, but it didn’t happen and she let out a tiny breath of relief. Though she forced herself not to look round, she could feel one pair of eyes on her back as they walked away.
It was marginally cooler down by the water and she and Nick strolled along, side by side, enjoying each other’s company, following the other couple. Eventually Paula and her husband disappeared around a bend, leaving her and Nick alone momentarily.
‘It’s much better here,’ Aimi declared, thankful for some respite from the heat—the tangible one and that given out by a pair of fathomless blue eyes.
‘Jonas and I used to play on the lake when we were kids. We built a raft and would pretend we were shipwrecked sailors. Of course, we weren’t allowed to do it until we could swim. Jonas had different interests then,’ he added somewhat pointedly, making her look at him.
‘What do you mean?’ she couldn’t help but ask, and Nick rolled his eyes.
‘That was before he discovered girls. Tall ones, short ones. Blondes and brunettes. All of them beautiful, and all of them madly infatuated with the handsome devil. He’s never had to fight for a woman in his life. They take one look at him and, wham, they topple into his arms like ninepins! It’s all too easy. He’ll never settle down. Why would he, when he can have any woman he wants?’
Aimi had known the moment she had seen Jonas that he would be a hit with the ladies. She shivered inwardly as she thought again about the instant reaction she had experienced. ‘No wonder you call him a Lothario!’
Nick laughed. ‘He doesn’t treat women badly. On the contrary, he’s generous to a fault. He just never gives anything of himself. It’s all purely physical. He’s my brother, and I wouldn’t wish him harm, but he could do with falling hard for someone, just to learn a lesson.’
‘Not everyone wants to settle down,’ she ventured, knowing that such a situation was not on the cards for her. Once she had envisioned herself with a husband and children, but that dream had vanished a long time ago.
Nick came to a halt and, when he turned to her, she could see the frustration he was experiencing. ‘Of course not. It isn’t that. Jonas has lived a charmed life. Everything has come easy to him. He needs a reality check. Basically, he needs to know he’s human like the rest of us.’
‘You mean he needs to suffer,’ she proposed, smiling just a little, and Nick grinned, an action that heightened the resemblance between the two brothers.
‘Sounds awful, doesn’t it? It’s going to take someone pretty remarkable to do it, that’s for sure.’
Aimi sighed as they began to walk on. ‘I’m not sure you should be telling me all this,’ she remarked uncomfortably, but Nick shook his head.
‘On the contrary, you’re the one who most needs to know,’ he declared, bringing her head round in complete surprise.
‘I don’t see why,’ she refuted, wondering what he could mean.
Nick tutted in a rather parental fashion. ‘Of course you do, so just you remember what I told you when the pressure gets turned up.’
She glanced round at him curiously. ‘Whatever do you mean?’
This time Nick favoured her with an old-fashioned look. ‘Aimi, you’re a beautiful green-eyed blonde, and Jonas isn’t blind. Be careful.’
Aimi was both alarmed that he should realise what his brother was doing, and warmed that he cared enough to warn her. Yet he need not have worried. ‘I’m afraid your brother will be wasting his time. I have no intention of being his entertainment for the weekend. Thank you for caring, though.’
‘I wouldn’t want to see you hurt,’ he told her, and she smiled wryly.
‘I won’t be, because I don’t plan to get involved with him,’ she added reassuringly.
‘I’m sure that’s what most of his conquests said,’ he countered with a grimace and Aimi stopped walking and looked at him.
‘Please don’t worry about me; I’m going to be fine. I’ve known men like your brother before, and I’m immune to them.’ It was almost true. Jonas, however, was a different kettle of fish, and he had taken her by surprise. He wouldn’t do so again.
Nick studied her face, and what he saw there convinced him he could relax. Maybe she was right, and she was immune. She certainly had defences like he had never seen. ‘I’ll say no more, then,’ was all he said, and they continued on their way.
CHAPTER TWO
IN HER bedroom later that evening, Aimi pushed the windows wide to gather in what breeze there was, but the warmth already trapped inside her room made her feel hot and sticky all over again. Kicking off her shoes, she reached up and removed the pins that held her hair in place and the blonde locks tumbled in waves over her neck and cheeks. It felt good to let it loose, but tomorrow it would go back up again, reinforcing the look she had worked hard to maintain over the years.
In the mirror she could see the natural waves of her hair softening her features, making her look vibrantly young and alluring—carefree almost. It sent out a message that jarred on her nerves. She wasn’t that person any more. Would never allow herself to be her again. It was part of her self-imposed penance.
Turning away from her reflection, she walked into the bathroom to take a cooling shower. Feeling marginally better, she dried herself on a fluffy towel and slipped into a thigh-length silk nightie. Turning off the light, she stretched out on top of the bed. However, it proved impossible to sleep, and not just because of the heat. Alone in the humid darkness, time passed slowly and her thoughts inevitably travelled back to that moment when she had first seen Jonas. She could visualise the sheer power and magnetism of him. Just thinking about it set her nerves tingling.
‘Damn!’ she exclaimed in exasperation, shooting up into a sitting position. ‘Stop it, Aimi!’ Yet for once her brain refused to obey. It played over the look in his eyes when their gazes had locked, and once again heat swept over her with such stunning force that her stomach muscles clenched in reaction.
That had her scrambling off the bed and padding to the window to draw in deep gulps of warm air. Yet it didn’t help. The memories were too powerful. Too stunning. When she closed her eyes, she could almost feel the brush of his gaze on her lips as her tongue sought to moisten them, and she groaned helplessly.
‘For heaven’s sake, Aimi, get a grip!’ she muttered to herself. ‘You’re not going to do this! So what if the man oozes sex appeal? You cannot allow yourself to be drawn into the flames. He’s a playboy. All he wants is a body in his bed, and that isn’t going to be you!’
Aimi dragged a hand through her damp hair and sighed. Lord, it was hot! Even the water in the shower had been tepid. She longed to feel something cool against her skin and, with sudden insight, knew just where she could find it. Moments later, she had slipped on her silk robe over her nightie and was padding barefoot down the stairs, the robe flying out in her wake like the wings of an exotic bird. Her destination was the large modern kitchen, and she was relieved to find she had it to herself when she passed through the door, closing it behind her. There was no need to turn on the light, for the moonlight gave the room a silvery glow.
It took a few minutes of quietly searching through drawers and cupboards before she found what she was looking for—a napkin, which she took to the counter beside the larder-style combined refrigerator and freezer. There was a delicious blast of coldness when she opened the freezer door, seeking out the bag of ice cubes. Taking a handful, she wrapped them in the napkin, closed the freezer and sat down at the table, sighing with pleasure as she drew the ice-filled napkin over her skin.
They were moments of pure bliss and she almost purred as she wondered why she hadn’t thought of this before. Propping her feet on another chair, she hummed to herself as she lazily cooled herself down. Which was why she was miles away when the abrupt sound of someone tapping on the window made her almost jump out of her skin.
Her head shot round and, to her complete surprise, she saw Jonas standing outside the kitchen door.
‘Oh, my God!’ she gasped faintly, suddenly aware of the picture she must make, sexily draped over two chairs and wearing next to nothing. Her instinct was to rush off, but he was gesticulating to the door, clearly wanting to come in. There was nothing else she could do but put a brave face on it and comply. With a grimace of dismay, she set her napkin of ice down and padded over to the door to let him in, holding her robe together with one hand.
‘Thanks,’ he said, the moment he was inside, locking the door again. ‘I thought I was going to have to sleep on the lawn,’ he added with wry humour, which faded when he turned and looked at her standing in the moonlight, seeing her state of dishabille properly for the first time.
‘Now that’s a sight I don’t see every day!’ he breathed seductively and with obvious pleasure, whereupon Aimi hastily tied the belt of her robe and folded her arms as his blue eyes roved over her, causing her body to respond in a way he would easily recognise. She was as mortified as it was possible to be to have been caught this way. When he finally looked her in the eye again, there was a wicked gleam in the blue depths and a sensual curve to his lips. ‘Were you expecting me? I hope so—you definitely have my attention,’ he queried in a voice that vibrated along her nerves like the purr of a contented cat.
‘Naturally, you would think that!’ she shot back instantly, finding it incredibly hard to keep her composure. She felt unusually edgy and ill at ease. ‘It was hot, so I came down for some ice. I didn’t expect anyone to be about at this time of night. What were you doing out there?’
Jonas drew a hand through his hair, ruffling it rakishly, and she had to stifle a groan as the way he looked registered on her senses. She wondered if it was a calculated move or pure happenstance. Whatever, the effect was the same.
‘Like you, trying to cool down after a hotter than expected evening,’ he responded with more than a dash of irony. ‘I went down to the pool soon after you went off for your walk, and fell asleep. I was trying the doors and windows, and that was when I saw you, draped across the chairs, wearing that provocative bit of nothing.’
‘You should be thankful I was here; otherwise you would have had to stay outside,’ she told him with all the firmness she could muster. ‘And my clothes are perfectly respectable,’ she added for good measure, which drew a rakish laugh from Jonas.
‘Oh, I’m thankful all right, and there’s nothing wrong with what you’re wearing. You look good in it, and that’s the problem. How the hell am I supposed to sleep now?’ he charged sardonically, eyes gleaming flirtatiously.
Her heart lurched in sudden anxiety because the same thought had occurred to her. ‘You shouldn’t say things like that to a family employee. It’s hardly appropriate,’ she returned swiftly, determined to keep the moral high ground at all costs.
The moonlight made it easy to see the way one of his eyebrows rose mockingly and the sardonic twist of his lips. ‘Drop your arms, Aimi, and we’ll talk about appropriate behaviour,’ he taunted, and Aimi felt heat scorch her cheeks at the knowledge that he had seen her body’s response to him before she could hide it.
She watched speechlessly as he walked to the table and opened up the napkin of ice she had been using. Taking a cube, he rubbed it around his neck as he turned to look at her.
‘That was a caddish thing to say!’ she exclaimed in an attempt to sound outraged, and he laughed unrepentantly.
‘I’m sure my brother just got through telling you I am a cad!’
Aimi immediately came to Nick’s defence. ‘He did no such thing!’
Jonas didn’t look as if he believed her. ‘Really? Remind me to thank him the next time I see him,’ he said mockingly, allowing his gaze to roam over her from head to toe. Propping himself against the edge of the table, he crossed his feet and grinned provocatively. ‘You know, that bit of nothing you’re wearing leaves just enough to the imagination.’
Aimi drew in a ragged breath, knowing she ought to be able to handle the situation, yet finding it hard to remain aloof. This was the heat Nick had been talking about. It was pretty potent, and the sanest thing would be to get out of the kitchen. ‘This is pointless,’ she said shortly. ‘I think we should just go to bed.’
Something wicked flashed in his eyes. ‘Now that’s really cutting to the chase!’ he drawled sardonically, and she kicked herself for choosing her words badly.
‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ she corrected hardily.
‘However tempting the prospect might be, hmm?’ he murmured softly and in the quiet of the night the words echoed like thunder, sending shockwaves through her system.
‘You have some nerve!’ she gasped faintly, and Jonas laughed seductively.
‘I think you should go to bed, Aimi, before the need to know undermines your resolve,’ he advised.
To say she was unsettled would be an understatement, and it made her respond in a way she never would have otherwise. ‘What resolve?’ she queried rashly, and Jonas shook his head and sighed.
‘You know already. I’m talking of your resolve to have nothing to do with me,’ he answered softly. ‘That was the conclusion you came to during your walk, wasn’t it?’
‘God, you’re arrogant! My resolve to have nothing to do with men like you was made years ago, not this evening,’ she declared scornfully, and he looked amused.
‘Men like me?’
Her eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down, doing her best to make it obvious she found him wanting in every department. ‘Men who think they can have everything and everyone they want, just by asking. I have nothing but contempt for you.’ It wasn’t strictly true, but she was fighting a rearguard action here.
‘If that is the case, why do you respond to me?’ he asked softly, pulling the rug from under her feet.
Aimi held on by the skin of her teeth. ‘I do not respond to you.’
That produced a soft laugh. ‘I could prove you wrong, but it’s late and we’re both tired. I suggest you go upstairs now. We’ll continue this fascinating conversation tomorrow.’
‘We’ll do nothing of the sort!’ Aimi shot back tautly.
‘By the way, I love your hair like that. You should wear it loose more often. It’s very feminine, very sensual,’ Jonas declared in the next instant, and her hand immediately rose to touch it.
Aimi realised she had forgotten all about it; having him see her with her hair down was like an invasion of privacy. Feeling more vulnerable than she had for many years, Aimi decided she had had enough and that a dignified retreat was in order. However, as she went to walk past him on her way to the door, her foot hit a wet patch on the tiles and slid out from under her. With a gasp of shock, she flailed around for something to hold on to and suddenly found herself caught by a pair of strong hands and hauled in to Jonas’s powerful chest.
‘Easy. I’ve got you,’ he declared into her hair, but she scarcely registered him for her senses, now that she was safe, were being bombarded by the heady male scent of him, combined with the solidity of his powerful chest. It was a sensory overload that had her tipping her head and looking up at him through stunned eyes.
Jonas met that look and, though his eyes gleamed hotly, his mouth curved with wry humour. ‘I think what you’re thinking right now is highly inappropriate for a family employee,’ he declared ironically, pushing her upright but not letting her go.
Dismay washed over her as she realised just how totally she had betrayed herself in that one gesture. What she wanted to do was run away from those knowing eyes, but what she did was tilt her chin at a belligerent angle. ‘Keep your hands to yourself,’ she commanded bitingly, shrugging him off, and walked away. It was hard not to hurry to the door, but she managed it and went out without a backward glance.
Out in the hall, breathing raggedly, she stared at the closed door. She had just made a complete fool of herself. To find herself experiencing an unwanted attraction to the man was one thing. To let him see it, quite another. Something about him just kept getting through her defences, and she didn’t like it. Not one little bit.
Aimi berated herself all the way up to her bedroom, where she spent a restless hour trying to sleep. Before sleep finally claimed her, however, she had promised herself that she would keep well away from Jonas for the remainder of the weekend. It shouldn’t be hard to do, as she was here to do research. She doubted very much if he was the type to spend much time in a library. A harem, maybe, but not a place full of musty books!
One thing was certain—no matter what he thought, she was absolutely not going to be the next notch on his bedpost! She had worked too hard for too long to achieve this level of peace with herself to surrender it now.
The new day dawned as hot and humid as the last. Though she had managed to get some sleep, Aimi didn’t feel the least bit rested, for Jonas had invaded her dreams, haunting them with tantalising possibilities. It seemed as if, waking or sleeping, she was being pulled by her senses into dangerous waters, and the current was incredibly strong. The man was too attractive for his own good, and it didn’t help to remember how he had broken through her defences with incredible ease.
As she took yet another lukewarm shower, she considered the situation a little more logically. What had really happened, after all? She had discovered she was powerfully attracted to a man and that he was attracted to her. That didn’t mean she was going to fall into his arms! Jonas might be an extremely attractive man, but she had known a lot of attractive men before and been able to resist them! But since that awful day she hadn’t looked at a man with interest and, with a strength of purpose she hadn’t been aware she’d possessed, she had simply shut down those feelings and emotions. So Jonas was going to be out of luck. She had come here to work, and that was all.
Taking comfort from that thought, she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. Choosing what to wear wasn’t a problem; she had packed only the bare essentials. Two skirts and a few blouses. Nick had told her to include a swimsuit, which she had done, but she did not expect to wear it. Today she chose her cream pencil skirt and a pale blue short-sleeved silk blouse. She slipped her feet into comfortable shoes and swept her hair back into its pleat with the ease of long practice. Smoothing the material of her skirt over her hips, she examined the view in the mirror. She looked cool, efficient and out of reach—just the way she liked it.
She was twitching her skirt into place when there was a knock on the door.
It was Nick, and he smiled as he stood in the doorway of her room. ‘Good morning, Aimi. You’re looking amazingly cool,’ he greeted her, and her eyes crinkled as she laughed wryly.
‘I don’t feel it, I assure you,’ she observed lightly, reaching up to sort out the collar of his polo shirt, which had gone awry.
‘Well, just looking at you makes me feel cooler,’ he returned charmingly, and she sighed, shaking her head.
‘Nick, Nick, you’re almost as bad as your brother! You must have gone to the same charm school,’ she declared, grinning at him, totally unaware of anyone approaching.
‘Morning, Nick,’ Jonas greeted his brother and, when Aimi gave a start of surprise and glanced round, he nodded to her, lips curving into a provocative smile as he ran his gaze over her like a caress. ‘I like the skirt, Aimi, but, all things considered, I prefer what you were wearing last night,’ he said with a soft laugh before walking on.
She stepped back from Nick, feeling her cheeks grow warm. His remark, innocent-sounding as it was to anyone else, immediately brought back memories of what had occurred in the kitchen last night.
Nick frowned at his brother’s retreating back. ‘Hey, what did that mean?’ he called out after him.
Jonas didn’t miss a stride as he threw his answer back over his shoulder. ‘You’d have to ask Aimi,’ he advised, and jogged down the stairs.