he would be well enough to talk to anyone, let alone the predatory Lone Wolfe. But what possible business could connect two such disparate men?
‘I could give him a message if you like,’ she managed, her attempt at cool confidence sadly marred by the sudden realisation that Aidan was between her and the door.
If she wanted to get inside she would have to go past him, she told herself. The idea made her uneasy, uncomfortably aware of the heavy shadows cast by the trees, the silence of the night and the recollection of the fact that Gary’s room was at the back of the house, well out of earshot.
‘If you just tell me what you want to say.’
For a long moment Aidan considered. ‘No.’ He shook his dark head decisively. ‘It’s between the two of us. ‘I’ll find him later. Tell him I was looking for him.’
‘Is that it?’ India questioned, receiving another of those slanted, mocking glances that aggravated the already edgy way she was feeling.
‘Were you looking for something more?’
‘Not on your life!’
She was disconcerted to realise just how close he had come to her, suddenly only inches away from her.
‘A pity.’ It was a low, seductive murmur, one that drew her attention against her will. Drew it and held it as if she were hypnotised. ‘Because I was just thinking that I couldn’t let you go without a kiss for old times’ sake.’
‘For—!’ India spluttered, a sense of panic gripping her round the throat, choking off her words as his head came even nearer, lowering to blot out the light of the moon.
He was so near that she could hear the sound of his breathing, catch the tang of some exclusive cologne. Her heart lurched into a wild, uneven rhythm that made her blood pound in her ears, and she was sure he must hear the accelerated beat of her heart.
‘Don’t you dare!’
Her voice was high and sharp, and it stilled that ominous movement, his head coming to a sudden halt.
‘Don’t you dare...’
It was less successful this time. A betraying quiver that she couldn’t quite suppress deprived her words of the force she had aimed for.
A wicked smile curved his lips, revealing perfect white teeth.
‘Oh, I dare,’ he drawled softly. ‘The question is, do you? You see, I wouldn’t be content with just a peck on the cheek and a breathless thank-you such as you gave your so-kind Jim.’
‘But you...’
‘I what?’ Aidan murmured when she struggled to find words to fling at him.
The trouble was that with that dark head so very close, with his lips curved into that deceptive softness, all she could think of was how it had once been. She could recall so vividly how it had felt to run her hands through the dark silk of his hair, to have that beautiful mouth against her own...
To her horror she found that she had actually raised her head, tilting it slightly, her lips parting as if to receive his kiss.
‘I what, sweetheart?’ Aidan repeated on a very different note, one so smokily sensual that it seemed to have the power to draw her soul from her body and straight into his ruthless hands. ‘I rejected you, cast you off—is that it?’
She couldn’t find any response. Her tongue seemed frozen and stiff inside her mouth.
‘Ah, but you’re forgetting one thing, my darling India. I may have walked away from the thought of tying myself down, but I could never refuse the invitation offered by that glorious body of yours. I was always unable to resist the temptation you offered, and, after twelve months, the hunger you arouse is stronger than ever.’
‘Invitation!’ India exploded, her head coming up sharply, green eyes blazing in rejection of his blunt declaration. ‘Offer! I’m not inviting anything! And, believe me, I have nothing whatsoever to offer you ever again! If you think otherwise, then you have most definitely totally misread the signals.’
‘Perhaps.’ His tone implied that he very much doubted it. ‘But, India, sweetheart—’
‘And I am not your sweetheart, or anything else! How you can possibly even begin to imagine that after the way you treated me I would want anything at all to do with you, I just don’t know. But...’
Drawing a deep breath, she snatched at the one thing she hoped would convince him once and for all.
‘Get it through your thick skull that I am not available! As you saw, I’m with Jim now.’
Dear Jim. He wouldn’t mind his name being taken in vain in this way. He would probably even enjoy the thought of being linked with her, in fantasy if not in reality. At least she could rely on him to back her up if her story was challenged.
‘He’s the only man in my life; the only one I want.’
If he argued, she thought, her breathing fast and uneven, if he so much as questioned her declaration or asked for proof she didn’t know what she would do. That last outburst seemed to have used up all her remaining strength, and she didn’t feel she had anything in reserve with which to fight him.
But Aidan’s unexpected reaction seemed to blast apart the last scrap of solid ground beneath her feet, destroying the shreds of her composure as it did so.
‘OK,’ he said casually, shrugging those broad shoulders in a gesture of supreme indifference. ‘If that’s how you want it.’
It was how little he cared that really hurt. India found herself frozen to the spot, unable to do anything more than watch as he turned and strolled away, heading for the car that was parked at the side of the house, almost invisible in the shadows.
If he had ever felt anything for her, however little, then surely he would have shown some reaction? Surely his face would have betrayed a hint of disappointment, or anger, or at the very least jealousy? Or was she being all sorts of a fool even to hope?
But even the realisation that Aidan felt nothing at all couldn’t stop her heart from jolting painfully in her chest, seeming to lurch almost into her throat, when he suddenly paused and turned back to her.
‘Tell your father I was here,’ he said, and his voice had returned to the ominously dark intonation that had so worried her earlier. ‘And that we have important things to discuss.’
‘What—?’ India began, but her feeble attempt at speech was brushed aside, falling to the ground like splintered glass as it came up against the hard, unyielding mask of his face.
‘Just tell him I’ll be back. And if he’s wise he’ll be here to see me.’
In spite of the heat of the evening, the words sent a shiver like the trail of icy water down India’s spine. There could be no mistaking the menace behind them—a threat made all the worse by the fact that she had no idea what was involved.
‘But what...?’
But Aidan had gone. And as the dark, sleek car disappeared down the drive,
