abhorred losing, even someone he’d grown tired of.
‘I’ll take this cab with you,’ she said in a breathy voice. ‘But if you touch me again—even one finger—’
His smiling eyes simmered more. ‘Yes, Eden?’
‘When I meet your brother, I’ll do what I wanted to do from the start.’ Her throat convulsed and she paused to swallow. ‘Tell him exactly what I think.’
Devlin’s penetrating gaze didn’t change. He wasn’t listening. Was it imagination that he’d moved close again?
With her body still burning for him, she bunched a hand by her side.
Damn it, he needed to back off—now!
She grabbed at the only weapon that flew to mind. ‘Devlin, if you try to kiss me again I swear I’ll not only tell your brother he’s a pleasure-seeking brat, a two-bit playboy turned cradle snatcher, but I’ll do it in front of as many cameras as I can. If I’m loud enough, it might even stir up a few paternity suits.’
Devlin’s head kicked back. His dark lashes, clumped with water, blinked twice. ‘You’d purposely bring reporters into their relationship? You’d hurt your sister like that?’
‘You have it wrong. I don’t want to see anyone hurt, least of all my sister.’
Swinging around him, she scooted inside the cab, finally out of the rain. Following, he closed the door with a heavy smack. He grumbled the address to the driver, a friendly man, who chatted about the shocking weather and the monsoon season in India, while she and Devlin each glared out of their respective windows.
She didn’t argue when Devlin settled the fare; rather she marched ahead into the hotel’s opulent soaring foyer. He caught up and when they reached the marble-and-gold-rimmed reception desk, soaked to the bone, she let Devlin do the talking. She was still shaking like a half-formed jelly inside.
Although she was less than proud of herself, thank God her bluff had worked. While she doubted Nathan Stone worried a jot over his bad-boy image, Devlin loathed the press. Couple that dislike with his highly protective streak and threatening Nathan’s interests had seemed the only surefire way to have Devlin back off.
On a basic level, Eden couldn’t cheapen Devlin’s commitment to his brother. She, too, was fiercely protective of those she loved. There wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do to keep Sabrina safe.
At the reception counter, Devlin drove that hand through his slick pitch-black hair as a young woman sped up.
The ponytailed blonde in a crisp olive-green uniform seemed eager to please. ‘How can I help, sir?’
‘Put me through to Nathan Stone’s room.’
Miss Ponytail’s hazel eyes rounded. ‘Are you Devlin Stone?’When he nodded, she handed over a key card. ‘The other Mr Stone asked that I give you access to his penthouse suite.’
Inspecting the card, he muttered a curt thanks and Eden followed his long purposeful strides to the lifts. Riding to the top floor, Devlin broke their suffocating silence.
‘Whatever’s said, you won’t make a scene,’ he announced in a lethal tone.
‘I’ll be as cool as a cucumber,’ she replied, feeling anything but. ‘If they’re married or pregnant—’ she shuddered but accepted the unacceptable ‘—I’ll be nothing but supportive.’
His tone was sardonic. ‘But you’ll be less than thrilled.’
She straightened the drenched line of her dress. ‘I want my sister to be happy. I’m far from convinced Nathan Stone can do that.’
‘You’re condemning him without a trial.’
‘The media have done a thorough job of that already.’
His growl resonated off the mirrored lift walls. ‘The paparazzi dig for sensationalism and if they can’t find any, they make it up. A wealthy young man is a prime target—’ his voice deepened ‘—as you’ve already made clear.’
The lift door whirred open and she walked out ahead of him, lamenting, ‘Oh, the burdens of the rich and famous.’
Devlin might have dematerialised and reappeared, he whipped around and cut her off so quickly. His dark eyes glared down at her, more thunderous than this afternoon’s sky.
‘You’re angry with me for kissing you,’ he said with frightening control. ‘I can’t regret doing it. I won’t deny I want to do it again, but I suspect that’s due more to mindless adrenaline than any charm on your part. But let me assure you, I won’t touch you again. I have my answer, so you can drop the snarky attitude.’
With her blood draining to her toes, she could only utter, ‘Your answer?’
His stormy eyes roamed her face before he yanked loose the knot at his throat and, after a tense moment, stepped aside.
‘You convinced me, okay? I’d always wondered. But, however it happened, whatever lay behind it, I should’ve been fine with you walking away. Case closed.’
The crimson carpet tilted beneath her feet. If he hadn’t already walked on ahead she might’ve grabbed his arm for support. First he’d been charming, then seductive, and now fierce followed by dismissive. This latest reaction suited her fine. Her performance had turned him off. He wouldn’t touch her again, even if he wanted to.
Shoring up her inner strength, she willed the light-headed tingles away and moved forward.
Devlin rang the bell, ripped free his loosened tie, then rapped his knuckles on the wood. With no answer, he swiped his card and pushed in the door. ‘Nate, you here?’
Eden followed him inside.
With the air-con cooler in the suite, she was reminded of her saturated clothing. Her teeth began to chatter as she searched around the sumptuous furnishings, a foreground to elaborate scarlet and beige window dressings.
‘Sabrina. Honey, it’s Eden. Where are you?’
Devlin scanned the room then strode to a polished timber table and swept up a note slanted against a tall vase of lilies. When his hand lowered and his face hardened, Eden hurried over.
‘What is it?’ she prodded. ‘What does it say?’
‘They needed to go out.’ He stuffed his tie in a pocket. ‘They’ll be back by five.’
Eden held onto the table edge. ‘That’s two hours away. What are we supposed to do until then?’
‘Hopefully not kill each other.’
They both must’ve had the same thought—to see if there was any possibility that their siblings might return earlier. She dug out her cell phone as Devlin dived on his. They dialled and, after a few seconds, both rang off.
‘Sabrina’s phone isn’t on,’ she said.
‘Neither is Nate’s.’
‘We
