The Chatsfield Short Romances 6-10

Revenge in Room 426

Michelle Conder

Strangers in the Sauna

Caitlin Crews

The Bodyguard in her Room

Sophie Pembroke

Doctor at The Chatsfield

Carol Marinelli

The Secret in Room 823

Dani Collins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Revenge in Room 426

About the Author

Blurb

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Strangers in the Sauna

About the Author

Blurb

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

The Bodyguard in her Room

About the Author

Blurb

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Doctor at The Chatsfield

About the Author

Blurb

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

The Secret in Room 823

About the Author

Blurb

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Copyright

Revenge in Room 426

Michelle Conder

Step behind the hotel room doors of the Chatsfield, London…

Journalist Chloe Tyler has a plan:

1 Use the press junket for Liam Hunter’s latest movie to get revenge. She shares a past with this movie star and his betrayal left her broken-hearted and a total laughing stock.

2 She’ll use him, seduce him and once he’s begging? Cut him loose.

But Chloe is playing a dangerous game and soon a pretend seduction becomes all too real! Suddenly the world’s best laid plan for revenge might just be the one thing standing in the way of Chloe’s happiness!

Chapter One

It was him!

No, no, it wasn’t… damn, yes it was. And he looked… Chloe Tyler flattened herself against the brickwork at the Chatsfield London hotel and tried not to stare. Which was a bit like those lab experiments where small children were told not to touch a plate full of cookies or something equally tempting, because Liam Hunter was born to be stared at.

He always had been. The most popular boy in high school, probably the most popular boy in kindergarten as well, he was, at twenty three, now the most popular star to grace the silver screen. Privileged. Wealthy. Spoilt. Chloe pulled a face. Basically the opposite of her. The poor, dorky exchange student who had gone to America looking for adventure and come away with egg on her face. Like every other girl in senior high she had fallen head over heels in love with him. Then she’d got to know him when she’d started tutoring him in English and not only did she think him the best looking guy she had ever seen but the nicest as well.

Boy, did he relieve her of that misapprehension very spectacularly. And very publicly.

His horrible prank had been the most humiliating experience of her life and he’d even posted the video of it on YouTube where it had gone viral. God, even her father had seen it.

Making sure to keep well out of his line of vision Chloe was unable to tear her eyes away from his long, muscular frame as he strolled along the red carpet and greeted what seemed like thousands of screaming fans and paparazzi. It had been five years since the nightmare of prom night. Five years since she had seen Liam Hunter – aka rat loser extraordinaire – in the flesh and unfortunately he looked better than ever. Larger. Leaner. His tawny brown hair, worn long now, sat just above shoulder length in an artful array of thick layers. His broad shoulders were encased in a navy blue shirt open over his trademark white t-shirt, and aged denims road low on his lean hips and muscular thighs, ending in worn workman boots.

Ha. The man – for that was what he was now – had never done a day’s hard labour in his life. He was the Golden Boy who could do no wrong, except that he had a snake’s personality and he thought nothing of hurting others. Of hurting her. And her fall had been that much steeper because he’d done it after making her feel so special. So wonderful. So beautiful.

Yeah, right. That should have been her first clue that something was up. If there was one thing Chloe wasn’t it was beautiful. Oh, she had some pluses – she had creamy skin that despite her red hair hardly freckled and blue eyes with long dark lashes and an okay smile. Unfortunately she had red hair - really red hair - that had a tendency to frizz when it was humid and her nose was a little on the prominent side, made worse, in her opinion, by her too wide mouth. Added to that she also had size eleven paddles on the end of her legs and was as tall as a giraffe.

As far as Chloe was concerned, the only women who fared well from being tall were supermodels and basketball players. Of which she was neither.

Suddenly dizzy she realised that she was holding her breath and released it in a rush. Painful memories of Liam’s cruel joke buzzed into her head like darting mosquitos around a bag of blood and she pushed them away, reminding herself that she was here to do a job whether she liked it or not.

A job that had landed on her desk yesterday afternoon when Globe magazine’s flighty entertainment journalist had decided to take off to follow a singing career. With her boss left in the lurch Chloe had eagerly jumped into the fray to take over Candy’s next assignment.

God.

She released a long slow breath. If only she’d asked who Candy’s interview subject was before she’d said yes.

Refusing to continue to dwell on what she couldn’t change Chloe slowly peeled herself away from the wall and walked with leaden feet past the still amped crowd – no doubt waiting for the other star of the movie to arrive, the divine Bethany Lord.

Flashing her press card at the uniformed doorman, Chloe barely noticed the grand staircase or the elegant clientele of London’s premiere hotel as she hurried down a maze of wide corridors and pulled up short at the end of a long line of journalists.

The man in front of her turned and smiled by way of a greeting and Chloe noticed that he wore glasses. She used to wear glasses before she’d had laser surgery on her eyes. Liam had called her Specs during their tutoring sessions and she’d loved it. Loved him. Chloe groaned and covered it with a cough behind her hand.

A friend had told her that if she went on exchange to the USA, the Americans would find her exotic and that she’d be Miss Popular within minutes of arriving.

In fact the opposite had happened.

Chloe’s social awkwardness and tendency to take everyone literally had shone out like a warning beacon and she’d been an outsider the whole time. Well, maybe not the whole time. She’d been accepted by the ‘in’ crowd for about two weeks towards the end. But that hadn’t been real. That had been set up to lull her into a situation that wasn’t unlike the way ranchers corralled unsuspecting brumbies into hidden yards and then yelled ‘gotcha’. Only the kids at West Preston High hadn’t yelled gotcha because they’d been too busy laughing.

When she had returned to England her aunt had told her that the best revenge was to live well and Chloe had done that. She’d put the events of her past behind her and focused on her career. Focused on creating a steady, comfortable life for herself. And she’d succeeded. She was happy. Or she would be when she got this horrendous interview out of the way.

Suddenly an electric ripple ran down the line of waiting journalists. ‘He’s here,’ the journalist in front of her announced unnecessarily. Chloe glanced at him wryly. She’d already guessed they weren’t all a-twitter over the cleaning lady.

***

A fantasy she had constructed on the Tube journey came back to her. A fantasy about how she would walk into Liam Hunter’s room and he would be so bowled over by her new look and compelling sophistication that he would fall to his knees and beg her forgiveness and ask her to go out with him for real, only to have her frown down at him as if he was slime on a rock and say ‘whatever for?’ or some such put down of equal merit.

Of course she’d immediately discounted the idea. She did not want Liam Hunter to find her attractive. Now or ever. She was here because if she hadn’t shown up she’d be most likely sacked from the dream job she’d landed six month ago.

So why the short skirt and fitted blouse?

‘Don’t be nervous, love,’ the man in front said reassuringly, pulling her attention away from her skirt that was not short by today’s standards and her professional, not fitted, blouse. ‘I hear Liam Hunter is one of the good guys.’

So many responses to that statement played on the edges of Chloe’s lips but in the end she just smiled weakly. The Golden Boy’s reputation continued to soar and frankly she didn’t know how he did it.

The line inched ever closer and Chloe’s breakfast churned alarmingly in her stomach. Nerves. Dammit all.

‘Well, good luck,’ the man in front doffed his cap at her and Chloe fiddled with the strap of her shoulder bag as she realised she was next.

She should be thinking about her questions. Thinking about how she could shorten five minutes to two. Thinking about how she could show Liam Hunter how over that whole experience she was. Instead she stood in front of the glossy cream door separating the two of them and thought about the past. It was so clear in her mind she might as well have been standing outside the prom in the awful purple dress she had bought with the last of her savings and which had rubbed under her armpits. Once again she could feel the warmth of that summer night on her skin. Hear the cicadas as she walked into the dance hall where the covers band played loud and true. Worse, she could still see the sweetness of Liam Hunter’s smile and smell his wonderful male scent as he’d leaned forward and kissed her. Kissed her for the first time.

Chloe’s hands started to shake as the rest of the memories came crashing in. The excitement of turning up at his best friend’s house for the privileged after party for all the rich kids in town. The confused moment when she’d walked into the main room to find it lit by what seemed like a hundred candles. The soft music playing from an unseen stereo. And the large banner on the back wall. ‘Chloe Tyler, will you marry me?’ She still remembered with cringe-worthy clarity that moment of complete exhilaration that the boy she had fallen in love with loved her in return. It was only afterwards that she’d thought of the absurdity of the proposal. At the time she’d been buzzing from equal parts wine and happiness and she’d thrown her arms around Liam Hunter’s neck and declared her love for him for all to see.

That was when the main lights had come on and everyone had fallen about the room laughing. Oh, she remembered the laughing but even if she hadn’t the video had captured every stunningly awful moment. It had also captured the look on Liam Hunter’s face.

Pity.

He’d looked at her as if she was the most pitiful creature in the whole world. And after the video of her total humiliation they’d titled ‘a social experiment’ came out on YouTube everyone had agreed with him. Including Chloe.

God, the only thing missing from that horrible night had been the pig’s blood. It had been an out and out prank and she’d been the gullible fool who had – for one brief, thrilling moment – fallen for it.

At the time Liam had tried to blame his friends but Chloe didn’t believe him. One of the girls who felt sorry for her had told her the whole story and… dammit, she didn’t want to keep thinking about it. She wasn’t a frizzy-haired social misfit anymore. She’d grown up and she was a budding career woman in charge of her own destiny.

‘Next.’ A beautiful woman who looked like an LA supermodel but had whip-like authority in her voice that said she could lay you out cold with her little finger stood waiting impatiently in the open doorway.

A budding career woman who was about to throw up all over the plush Axminster carpet between them. Chloe couldn’t go in there. She just couldn’t. No way. No how. No–

Of course you can go in there, she admonished herself sharply, and you will.

Yes, good.

Chloe patted the sides of her head to make sure her sleek bun was still in place and smiled at Miss LA before raising her chin and sailing past her into the room.

A budding career woman who already had a reputation for being polished and professional under pressure and Liam Hunter was still the rich, spoilt – most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

Chloe’s heartbeat boomed like a drum inside her head as she stared at her nemesis slouched in a bucket chair. His long jean-clad legs stretched out in front of him and seemed to take up half the spacious room; his broad shoulders and wide chest took up the other half. A hot flush crept up Chloe’s neck and she fought to draw what little oxygen was in the room deep into her lungs.

Thankfully he wasn’t looking at her; his head bent over his mobile phone so that the caramel-coloured shoulder length hair that had made every woman swoon in the cinema the night before at the private press screening fell artfully forward, hiding his chiselled jaw. She wondered if Miss LA in the sleek black suit had tousled it into place just so for him.

Her eyes drifted to the enormous poster pinned to the wall between the two chairs. It was of Liam and Bethany Lord standing side by side in all their medieval glory. Bethany in her suit of armour and Liam with his black fur cape billowing out behind him and his shiny silver sword crossed over the opposite shoulder; a fierce scowl on his face that said he could conquer the world – with his bare hands if need be. The words ‘The Most Wanted Man’ were emblazoned across the bottom of the poster followed by his name. An unnecessary addition if ever there was one. Liam Hunter’s charisma and powerful presence made him that alone – his handsome face and lean muscular body just finished off the package. And the film, a moving epic about war and loyalty and love had been phenomenally good. As had Liam Hunter as the heroic star.

‘Liam, this is Candy Lane from Globe magazine.’ Miss LA’s voice pulled his head up, a genial smile already curving the edges of his lips in that sexy, confident manner she had grown to hate. Realising that her magazine had forgotten to inform his staff of the change in interviewer Chloe was about to correct her when the woman tapped a sharp fingernail against her laptop. ‘Your five minutes starts now, Ms Lane.’ And I suggest you don’t waste it by gawking at the star, she might as well have added.

Chloe glanced toward Liam who was still smiling at her and she realised that for all her pep-talking she was just as captivated by him as ever.

Then she realised something else. He didn’t recognise her.

Wait. What?

Chloe’s stomach clenched in disbelief. At the very least she had expected that he might be uncomfortable with her in the room and she only just realised how much she had been looking forward to that. For him not to recognise her after the way he had kissed her so tenderly at the prom, after the way he had humiliated her, was completely shocking to her. Completely, appallingly shocking. A well of hurt and rage so deep it was more like an ocean rose up inside her. Had she really been so forgettable back then? And worse, was she still?

As much as she hated to admit it, Liam made her feel invisible all over again which raised the old insecurities she thought she’d put well behind her. God, had she ever disliked anyone more?

Chapter Two

Still reeling from having Chloe Tyler walk into the interview room, Liam hoped that he really was as good an actor as the critics proclaimed and that none of his surprise showed on his face.

He’d thought that perhaps his mind had been playing tricks on him earlier when he’d caught a glimpse of her outside the hotel. It had seemed too coincidental that the only person he’d intended to look up during his brief visit to London would come to him. But here she was. And she looked exactly the same.

Oh, she definitely looked more polished and was much better dressed than the last time he’d seen her in high school, but she was still all big blue eyes, fiery red hair and creamy skin. He’d always had a hankering to run his hands over her skin and that last night – prom night – he’d nearly given into it.

He’d kissed her just before entering his friend’s post-prom party and been blown away by how sweet she was. He’d kissed a stack of girls by the time he got to senior high but none had made his heart beat faster like Chloe Tyler had. Not that he would have admitted as much back then. Back then, when his friends had dared him to get the ‘nerdiest’ girl in the school to fall in love with him.

Not that Liam had ever seen her that way. It might have been completely illogical but he’d got to know her while she tutored him and he’d liked her. Not enough to ever consider dating her. His image had meant too much to him back then, especially with his father breathing down his neck about his university placement letters. The last thing he’d needed was to have his father accuse him of choosing an unsuitable girl to date. And his friends would have laughed; which Liam knew he would not have had the maturity to handle back then.

Looking back, he’d been going through a bit of an identity crisis thanks to his old man’s rock-solid expectation that he would follow him and his grandfather into the law. His grandfather had started the firm way back when and neither man had stopped waxing lyrical about whether Hunter and Hunter would soon become Hunter, Hunter and Hunter or Hunter and Sons.

Liam had wanted to act but the one time he’d broached the idea with his father he’d laughed and told him that only gays and girls went into the arts. With the school year drawing to a close and his university acceptance letter laying heavily on his mind he’d been looking for a distraction and his juvenile behaviour had wound up hurting the only person who seemed to value him for who he really was and not who he would one day become. The only person he had ever shared his acting dreams with other than his father and who hadn’t laughed in his face.

And here she was. In the flesh. In the very cool and reserved flesh. Not that he could blame her. He owed her one hell of an apology.

But what was with the name change? Had she really changed it or was Candy Lane a type of pseudonym? He knew plenty of actors who had distorted their name to make it sound better.

Or worse, was she married and Candy was a cute moniker her husband called her? He cast a quick glance at her left hand but she was gripping her iPad in such a way that he couldn’t see her ring finger. But he could see her long legs and he’d always wondered if they had been as shapely as her delicate ankles had suggested.

Yes, the answer to that question was a resounding yes, and a sudden picture of how those slender legs would look wrapped tightly around his hips as he thrust deep inside her shot into his head.

Liam shifted in his seat as a raft of raw lust caught him unawares and brought him up short. Where the hell had that come from? Okay, he might have thought she was a nice girl once, and perhaps he still remembered the heat behind their first kiss, but that was a whole solar system away from this kind of thinking. He didn’t want to have sex with Chloe Tyler, he wanted to apologise and atone for his unintentional, but cruel, actions in the past. He wanted to show her that he had grown up since then and that seeing the pain on her lovely face had been the start of that process.

The start of him working out who he really was so that when the YouTube video his friends had secretly put together had gone viral and casting agents had called in the thousands he’d been able to take advantage of his new, unexpected, notoriety and start the career he’d always wanted. That he’d inadvertently stood on Chloe Tyler to get it made him feel like an A grade asshole. Had she forgotten all about the teenage prank? Of did she still hate him as much as she had that night?

A five-minute interview with his PA wandering about was hardly the time for him to ease his guilty conscience and find out. But at least her turning up like this meant that he no longer had to try and find her while he was in town and he knew he couldn’t let her leave without arranging a time to catch up.

‘Take a seat,’ he offered amiably, indicating the vacant chair opposite his.

***

Liam’s delicious voice rumbled out of him rich and dark and sent shivers all over her… and that was the very last thought Chloe was going to have about him that didn’t include the words ‘rat’ or ‘loser’.

Stiffening her spine, she marched towards the empty seat opposite his and positioned her iPad on her lap, tapping at it to bring her pre-prepared questions up on the screen.

The word on the street was that Liam and Bethany Lord had been more than just co-stars on set. Chloe didn’t care about that. She liked to think of herself as more a hard-hitting journalist than a sensation seeker and would never stoop to report on such tawdry topic material. And Liam could sleep with half the women in Hollywood and she didn’t care a fig.

So, he hadn’t recognised her. So what? Deep down she was glad he hadn’t. Now she could relax. Treat him like an anonymous interview subject. Treat him just like any other stranger she had come across in her work. Treat him as if he meant nothing more to her than a piece of lint she might pluck off her jacket, and God help her if she had a knife handy she’d stick it right through him.

‘So, Mr Hunter,’ she began with supercilious sweetness. ‘Congratulations on the movie. It was quite a story.’

Liam’s grin was slow and kicked up the edges of his lips and Chloe ignored it completely. ‘I’m not sure from that comment if you liked the film or not, Ms… Lane, was it?’

Not wanting to outright lie, Chloe moistened her lips and pushed on. ‘You’ve never done a period piece before. Is this ah, something we will see more of in the future?’

Liam shrugged. ‘If I’m offered them and the scripts are good.’

‘Right.’ She stared hard at her iPad and read the next lame question. ‘Did you enjoy making this film?’

‘I did.’

‘What made you choose it?’ And do you really not recognise me as the girl you kissed so sweetly at senior prom and then humiliated so spectacularly afterwards?

He shrugged easily. ‘The script. The director. The physicality of the movie.’

No, he did not and even though she told herself not to get angry her blood sang with it.

‘Right,’ she said again, not caring a wit about his answers. ‘And the physicality of the film is important, is it?’

He tilted his head a little at her asinine question and looked like he was about to say something before changing his mind. ‘Sometimes. I’m a physical guy, I guess. But I would say that’s less important than the storyline.’

‘Oh yes, the storyline.’ She sniffed. ‘Hardly ground-breaking stuff though was it? I mean, don’t you think it reinforces the old male/female paradigms?’

Chloe was hoping to score a point with that one but he gave her another trademark smile. ‘Depends which paradigm you’re talking about?’

Oh, he knew which one, damn him, and he looked like he was enjoying her grilling rather than being annoyed by it. ‘Well you rescue the heroine from the bad guys and save the day. Tell me, was it a stretch to play the hero?’ Considering it’s not part of your genetic makeup?

Chloe heard a muffled cough from Miss LA behind her and wondered for a horrible moment if she had said that last bit out loud. It was one thing to want to insult him and quite another to do it while she was on the clock.

‘I don’t think there’s any character that isn’t without his faults. Even a hero, at times.’ His eyes seemed to bore into hers and then he smiled. ‘And for a while in the film Bethany’s character thought I was the bad guy and she kicked my butt. Something you might have enjoyed.’

Not half as much as she would have if it had been real. ‘True, but then you once again ended up on top.’

His smile was lethally charismatic and Chloe couldn’t have looked away to save herself. ‘I don’t think she was too unhappy about that.’

What female would be?

‘In real life or in the movie?’ Chloe could have groaned as the crass question left her lips. So much for modelling herself on Veronica Guerin. But now that it was out there she had little choice but to lift her chin and wear it.

She noticed his thick, dark lashes come down over his mesmerising green eyes and thought that, if anything, the question had seemed to score a hit of some sort. Go her.

***

Chloe’s pointy little question about his co-star made Liam frown and usually he wouldn’t even bother responding to one of that nature. Romances between actors sold magazines. He knew it and so did the actresses he worked with but it didn’t mean they had to add fodder to it.

For some reason Chloe’s question bothered him and he realised with a flash of insight that it was because he didn’t want her to think poorly of him. He didn’t want her thinking he was just a pretty face who couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag, as his father did. He also didn’t want her thinking that he was some sort of player who couldn’t keep it in his pants.

Since starting in this business he’d had more offers from women than stars in the sky and he could count on one hand – okay, maybe two– the number of times he’d given into those. The fact was his career meant more to him than a quick bout of sexual release with women who would spread their legs for most any movie star they came across. ‘That’s like asking me if I really put my sword through the antagonist’s heart,’ he countered.

But Chloe was no longer the mouse she had been in high school. ‘Hardly.’ She stared him down and he wondered if she still wore those cute round glasses she used to. ‘Stabbing is illegal. Kissing isn’t.’

‘No, it’s not,’ he murmured. He found his eyes drawn to her throat as she swallowed. Hell, his eyes were drawn to every part of her and he really needed to get some control over his libido. He didn’t really want Chloe Tyler in that way, did he?

‘Bethany Lord and I were acting,’ he assured her. ‘If you thought the chemistry between us looked real then we did our jobs well.’ Which was the truth. Bethany had been great to work with but there had been nothing even slightly romantic between them.

Intrigued about what Chloe might say next Liam was disappointed when his PA interrupted again.

‘Time’s up, Ms Lane.’

***

And thank heavens for that. Now she could get the hell out of there and maybe go and order a gin and tonic from the main bar off the hotel foyer. Maybe she’d order three. And maybe she’d ask the bartender to hold the tonic on the first two.

‘Thank you, Mr Hunter.’ She stuck her hand out automatically and then wished she hadn’t because Liam took it and the warmth of his strong grip engulfed her.

Once again her heartbeat sped up and she couldn’t tear her eyes from their joined hands, his palm warm and slightly rough against her own. A tingling sensation shot along her nerve endings and caused a shiver to snake down her spine. Unfortunately he saw it. And his slow grin said that he took it for what it was. Pure sexual awareness.

When she tried to surreptitiously pull her hand free Liam gripped it tighter. ‘I’m having a party in my room later on tonight. Come.’

He ran the pad of his thumb across the back of her hand and the meaning behind his touch couldn’t have been clearer. To say that it shocked her would be a gross understatement.

Was it possible that Liam Hunter was attracted to her?

No. Not her per se – but possibly to this new version of her. He was interested in the well-groomed woman with the red lipstick and, okay, the short flirty skirt. He didn’t want the dorky country girl she suddenly realised that she still was deep down inside. The girl who preferred hot chocolate to coffee and still wore fluffy animal slippers in the privacy of her own home. The girl who still struggled with her hair on a daily basis and who wasn’t quite as over the boy she had fallen in love with as she would like to think she was.

The boy who was now a man and who was asking her to come to his room to have sex with him, if she was not mistaken, as if he was ordering a burger at a drive thru. And no doubt she would mean just as much to him afterwards.

Chloe wasn’t sure what disgusted her the most. The fact that he didn’t recognise her, the fact that he was gazing at her with the confidence of a natural born lothario, or the fact that she was so tempted to say yes she could feel the word burning on the tip of her tongue.

And maybe she should, she thought with a spurt of defiance; her earlier fantasy to show him what he had missed out on returning in a rush. Maybe she should go to his stupid party and completely embarrass him when she announced who she really was. That would wipe that lazy, confident expression from his privileged and way too handsome face. He’d probably be appalled that he’d come onto Chloe Tyler – Queen of the Dorks – and it would serve him right.

‘Come on… Candy? It will be the perfect opportunity for us to talk.’

Talk? With that hot, melting look in his eyes and the way he said the name Candy – as if he was already thinking about treating her like a sweet. Oh, yes, he wanted to do a lot more than talk, and for the life of her Chloe couldn’t control the rush of pleasure that throbbed deep inside her body. Couldn’t control the unbidden desire to have him kiss her all over.

This was the look she had always wanted to see in his eyes, had imagined that she had seen on prom night, and even though she told herself he was a rat who played women any way that he wanted to, her ego loved the attention. Loved that he found the new her attractive.

‘Put Ms Lane’s name on the guest list, Noelle.’ His gaze didn’t waver from hers as he issued his instructions to Miss LA, and Chloe nearly gasped at his arrogance.

Then without thinking too much she let her middle finger graze the inside of his wrist, enjoying the heady sensation of power that came over her when his pupils expanded and his nostrils flared. Oh yes, she could already imagine the sense of revenge she would feel when she brought Mr I’m-too-sexy-for-my-own-skin Hunter down a peg or two.

She forced a simpering smile to her lips. ‘What’s your room number?’

The overhead halogen lighting made his green eyes glow like precious jewels. ‘Four two six. Nine pm. Don’t be late.’

Chapter Three

Don’t be late.

Arrogant jock. She had a good mind not to turn up and she fumed as she stalked back towards the hotel entrance, only slowing her pace as she noticed people starting to glance at her sideways. It wasn’t as if the hounds of hell were really after her. Just her own oversized insecurities and a deep desire for validation.

But how was she really going to pull this off? For a start she had nothing to wear that could be considered remotely alluring. She pictured the contents of her mostly work-related wardrobe. This skirt was the shortest and cutest thing she owned. The rest was made up mostly of tailored suits or jeans. Would jeans be enough to hold his interest?

Only if they’re so tight they leave nothing to the imagination.

Her lips twisted in disgust. What was she thinking? She’d been carried away by a moment of high fantasy and now… now reality had returned with a thump. A thump that told her she was still just as attracted to him as she ever was and that he was just as big a rat as he ever was. How, during their weekly tutoring sessions she’d managed to convince herself otherwise was still impossible to comprehend. ‘You always see the best in people, Chlo,’ her father used to say when she was a child. He’d said it as if it was a virtue but Chloe wasn’t so sure. Wasn’t that how she’d been blindsided by Liam’s mean trick in the first place?

And now you’re going to put yourself in Liam Hunter’s clutches again? Why not throw yourself under a bus while you’re at it, her brain counselled, it might be quicker.

No. She shook her head as she stopped in front of an exquisite boutique that looked like it would max out a black Amex card if she just walked through the door. No, if she went through with this crazy idea she had two things in her favour. Liam didn’t know who she was and her heart wasn’t involved in the slightest.

Noticing a beautiful pale pink halter-style gown in amongst the couture handbags, perfume and jewellery, Chloe found herself inside the boutique and fingering the exquisitely silky fabric. The dress was cinched in at the waist and then looked like it fell to the floor. Pity she didn’t have her colour swatch given to her by her aunt with the approved colours for her. Not that she’d ever have the confidence to wear a dress like that. She was way too tall.

‘It will be perfect with your hair and skin. Not to mention your height.’

Turning, Chloe expected to see some deferential shop assistant about to do a hard sell on her, when she found herself face to face with current London ‘It’ girl and wild child of the Chatsfield clan – Cara Chatsfield.

‘You’re Cara Chatsfield,’ Chloe almost stammered with her shock. ‘Sorry, that was truly gauche of me.’

Cara laughed, her voice light and musical. ‘Not at all. It’s nice to stand next to someone taller than me for a change. That dress can either be dressed up or down depending on the shoes you choose.’

Chloe glanced at her Audrey Hepburnesque black ballet flats.

‘Probably not those.’ Cara laughed. ‘Go on, try it on.’

Chloe glanced at the dress dubiously. ‘I think I’m too tall.’

‘Nonsense. It’s made for a tall girl,’ Cara said. ‘And that colour will bring out the strawberry tones in your hair. Is that natural by the way?’

‘Yes.’

‘Now I’m truly jealous. Go on. The designer is fabulous.’

As was the price tag most likely but Chloe did as the famous model bid, wondering if perhaps she’d stepped down a rabbit hole or something. Or perhaps she was just asleep in her bed and this was all just a weird dream.

Wishful thinking, she thought somewhat miserably.

But when she appeared with the dress on Chloe had to admit that it was dazzling.

‘What did I tell you?’

Cara stood beside her in the full-length mirror wearing a very daring and very short electric blue strapless dress with gladiator sandals. The outfit should have looked garish. It only looked fabulous.

‘Are you going to wear it somewhere special?’ Cara asked.

Chloe hesitated and then thought what the hell; everything about this day felt surreal anyway. ‘Liam Hunter’s party tonight.’

‘Oooh my.’ Cara’s eyes twinkled with devilment. ‘He will keel over when he sees you in that. Are you dating him?’

‘No.’

There must have been something in her tone because Cara placed a manicured hand on her arm. ‘There’s a story there. Why don’t you tell it to me over at the salon where you can have your hair and makeup done as well.’

‘Hair and makeup?’

‘Sara, be a love and put both outfits on my account.’

‘You can’t possibly pay for my dress,’ Chloe spluttered.

‘Yes I can, my father owns the hotel.’ Cara grinned mischievously and Chloe wondered if anyone could resist her when she did that. ‘Come on. Say yes, I’m in dire need of cheering up right now. What was your name by the way?’

‘Chloe, but–’

‘Great.’

Linking her arm through Chloe’s, Cara had herded her out of the boutique and across the wide hall into a discrete-looking salon before she had a chance to blink, let alone object. She’d leave a cheque for the dress at reception later, she decided.

Still… ‘I should warn you that I’m a journalist,’ Chloe pulled a face, her innate sense of right and wrong coming to the fore. ‘Not that I would ever repeat anything you said to me outside of a formal interview.’

Cara tilted her head and inspected her. Then she smiled. ‘And now I trust you even more. Charles!’ Cara air kissed a short grey-haired man with a goatee. ‘My friend Chloe here needs you to wave your magic wand and then I’ve decided to go pink.’

Chloe looked at Cara’s white blonde hair. ‘Pink?’

Cara shrugged. ‘It’s about the only colour I haven’t tried. Other than blue…’

Two hours later Chloe felt completely bamboozled as she stared at her reflection in the salon mirror. She had spent a lot of time learning how to play up her looks since her disastrous high school days but Charles had done something else. He’d made her beautiful.

Her makeup was elegant and barely there the way she liked it and he’d cut soft layers into her hair that meant that it didn’t bounce around her head when it was down. ‘Wow.’

‘Wow is right.’ Cara came to stand beside her. ‘Now where are you getting changed?’

Chloe blinked. ‘I was going to pop home and–’

‘Ruin your gorgeous hair and makeup. No.’ Cara twisted and turned in front of the mirror and Chloe wished she had a shred of her confidence. ‘You can come to the suite I’ve booked for the night. I’m having a small party myself and we can use the time to perfect your marvellous plan to show Liam Hunter what he missed out on.’

Chloe was still shocked that she’d even confided her story to the stunning model but there was something about her that had gained Chloe’s confidence. Or maybe she had just needed to talk to someone. Get some advice. She wasn’t exactly the vengeful type and what if he laughed at her inexperienced attempts at seduction? Fortunately Cara had given her plenty of ideas and added stiletto heels to her purchases so she could be sure to really leave her mark on Liam Hunter as she used him as a doormat on her way out.

Yet even as she’d told Cara how much she disliked Liam, Chloe could still feel the way his long fingers had felt wrapped around her own. Still see the chiselled perfection of his face, still smell his woodsy male scent. Part of her obviously did like him. Very much. And it had nothing to do with her brain.

Did he really find her attractive now or had it all been in her imagination? And was it pathetic of her to feel just a little thrilled at the prospect?

Chloe swallowed. The more she thought about her marvellous plan for revenge the sicker she felt.

Chapter Four

She wasn’t coming.

Liam paced around his vast hotel living area taking no notice of the lavish furnishings which were currently draped with a throng of party goers he didn’t know. When he’d first made it big in Hollywood he’d soaked up parties like this one. Parties strewn with near naked girls who were more than willing to put out even in a room full of people, and guys who wanted to bask in the glow of his overnight success.

What would they all think if they heard about the horrible prank he’d been a part of five years ago? His father would be ashamed of him if he knew the full extent of it and while Liam hadn’t been personally responsible for the romantic banner pinned to the wall asking Chloe to marry him he’d been responsible for leading her on. He’d been responsible for letting her wrap her arms around his neck and for letting her say she loved him when he could have prevented it. Yes, he’d been dumbfounded by the joke. Dumbfounded that his friends had taken things to that level. But he’d done nothing to stop it and he still hated himself for that more than anything.

His ex-friends had uploaded the secret video straightaway, calling Chloe the plain pony to his sexy stallion. A frown marred Liam’s brow. She might not have been one of those girls who played on her looks but that didn’t make her plain. Not with those striking blue eyes and wavy red hair. That lush mouth that she’d nibble on in between explaining verb conjugations and negative infinitives. The fact that he’d been able to retain half the stuff she was telling him was thanks to that mouth and the amount of time he’d spent watching it.

And she wasn’t coming.

‘Hey, dude, great party.’

Liam studied the public school guy who looked like he’d had too much to drink and whom he didn’t know. Noelle had handed him a guest list at the start of the night but the only name he’d looked for was Chloe’s – aka Candy Lane. Married or a pseudonym? He hadn’t had a minute to himself all afternoon to find out. ‘Thanks, man.’ He nodded. ‘Say, you got the time?’

Preppie swayed on his feet as he pulled his phone from his pocket. ‘Quarter past twelve. Hey man, we should totally do a selfie.’

Liam obliged and pasted a smile on his face. He was learning to manage the fame aspect of his life and he certainly didn’t resent having fans. It was just that the more people who wanted to be around him because he was famous the more disconnected he felt from them.

And now he was ridiculously close to feeling sorry for himself and – there she was. Standing just inside the main doorway looking like a vision. The sight of her made Liam’s entire being rise to full alert. Damn she was pretty.

His eyes skimmed over her curvaceous figure in a pale dress that clung in all the right places. Her hair was loose and rippled down her back like a thick blanket, the overhead lights making it look as if it was on fire.

No, she’d never been plain and if his friends pinned that corny banner up now asking her to marry him everyone in the room would think it was real.

God, he had to apologise for that. But first he had to get rid of his suddenly sweaty palms, get her a drink and just talk to her. Find out why she’d changed her name to something that sounded like it belonged to a pop star and whether she was single.

For some reason that information seemed vitally important as he crossed the room to her before some of the other men checking her out got there first.

Her eyes widened as he approached and he glanced at her ring finger. Bare. That meant she was single because he instinctively knew she wasn’t the type to play games with men. The type who thought loyalty meant dumping someone right after they’d slept with someone else. And he only just realised how sick of that type he was. ‘I’m glad you could make it.’ He grinned. Somehow he felt like a weight had been lifted now that she had arrived.

She nodded but didn’t catch his eye. Okay, so this wasn’t going to go as easily as he had hoped. ‘Champagne?’ he asked.

‘No thanks.’ She smoothed her hands down her skirt. ‘I’m not really thirsty.’

Liam felt his grin widen. The last time he met a girl who drank because she was thirsty he’d been in grade school.

‘Oh, you mean alcohol.’ She blushed as she realised her gaffe and something inside his chest pulled tight. ‘Um, I probably shouldn’t anyway. I’ve already had some wine.’

Unfortunately that bit of information made his mood instantly darken. ‘So you’ve been out already?’ He knew his voice sounded sharp but he wanted to know where she had been and who with. The bite of jealousy as deep as it was unexpected.

‘No, not really.’ She glanced around and he realised he’d made her nervous. Way to go, Casanova. ‘Great crowd you have here.’

Liam scowled. He couldn’t give a damn about the crowd. If he had his way he’d clear it at once. No doubt that would piss off his PA who had worked her tail off at the last minute to put it together. Right now he didn’t care. He just wanted to be alone with Chloe.

***

Chloe pretended rapt interest in the milling crowd to try and steady her nerves. She still didn’t really have a plan as to when she was going to reveal her big ta-da moment but Cara had proposed that she lead up to it. ‘Flirt with him first. Flatter his ego and flash your amazing cleavage and make him so hot that when you deliver your “not interested” punch line it takes him a moment to register it. Then turn away and swan out the door.’

Easy peasy, Chloe thought. Only when you had paddles for feet swanning wasn’t really something you could do that well – it would be more like clomping – and she wouldn’t know how to flirt if instructions magically lit up above Liam Hunter’s head.

There was also the not so small problem that she found him so incredibly attractive in a black shirt stretched over his torso and denim jeans riding low on his lean hips; the casual slouch in his broad shoulders that had been there even before Hollywood had scooped him up adding to his sex appeal.

He’d always been too cool for school and it made her blush just to think that she could have imagined that someone like him could have ever been interested in someone like her.

‘I didn’t think you were going to turn up.’

Chloe’s eyes cut to his. Was that apprehension she heard in his voice? For a moment she couldn’t think how to respond and then her head said ‘Flirt, flirt’ and she said, ‘Oh, really?’ and ran her hand oh-so-casually through her hair.

‘Yes,’ he said gruffly.

Wondering at the sudden roughness in his voice, Chloe decided it was a lot easier to look at the crowd than at him. ‘Why wouldn’t I? You’re a famous actor.’

‘Is that why you came? Because I’m famous?’

No, she had come because he was horrible and needed to be taught a lesson, but she could see that her attempt to lull him with flattery had fallen way short of the mark. ‘I’m here because you asked me.’

Frustration shone from his green eyes. ‘Tell me about Candy Lane.’

Chloe blinked. Tell him about Candy Lane? ‘Well, she’s a journalist and she lives in London.’ All true. ‘And she went-’

‘I meant what’s behind the name.’

He sounded churlish and Chloe had a moment’s fear that he knew who she was. ‘Do you think I could have a glass of water?’ she croaked. ‘I am quite thirsty come to think of it.’

Liam hesitated and her smile felt frozen as she waited for him to tell her that the jig was up. ‘Of course.’

Chloe felt her shoulders sag as she followed him toward the makeshift bar against the back wall. Lucky she’d never wanted to be a double agent, this whole lying business was far too stressful.

And it was lucky that Liam was interrupted by every person he walked past either with a pat on the back or an attempt to engage him in earnest conversation because it gave Chloe a chance to pull herself together. She was completely out of her depth trying to play some sexy seductress who could handle a man who was so potently, so dangerously, male he made every one of her feminine hormones sit up and beg for his attention.

He turned towards her as she was berating herself for being so affected by him and handed her a highball glass. ‘Sorry about all the interruptions. Maybe we should go somewhere more private.’

Oh, yes, they definitely should.

‘No.’ Chloe cleared the squeak out of her voice and sipped her water. ‘I love parties.’

His gaze was penetrating. ‘Really? You don’t look like you’re enjoying this one. You look like you’re waiting for someone to pounce on you.’

Chloe swallowed and tried to come up with some witty repartee about him pouncing on her when she was jostled from behind. Her hand came up as she tried to stop herself from falling and somehow it managed to mould itself to his hard, muscular chest. She could feel the outline of his powerful pecs and a flat male nipple beneath the fine fabric of his shirt and when she brushed over it she heard his swiftly indrawn breath and felt her own body tremble in response.

The beat of his heart was like a jungle drum beneath her palm, matching her own, and in an instant the world shrank to the tiny space they occupied in the buzzing room. When her eyes rose up to meet his she completely lost her train of thought at the fierce expression she found there. Sexual desire hummed between them and in that instant Chloe knew for sure that Liam Hunter wanted her. The knowledge was heady. Intoxicating.

Who was to say she had to dump him before she’d seduced him anyway?

His hand clamped around her wrist, pressing her palm harder against his body and her brain went into free-fall. She’d never had sex before, but she wanted to. She wanted to know what all the fuss was about. So far she’d never met a man she could trust enough to give her body to. But trust wasn’t an issue between her and Liam Hunter because she already knew he couldn’t be trusted. She also knew that the sex would be phenomenal. There was just something in the way that he moved – the innate grace of a man comfortable in his own skin. Of a man who knew his way around a woman’s body. But could she do it? Have sex with Liam Hunter and walk away? It would no doubt be a bitter blow to his ego if she announced who she was right after. Oh, yes, then he would feel like an idiot. He would know she had used him as he had used her. That–

His chest muscles flexed beneath her hand drawing her eyes back to his. The predatory intent she saw there made her feel like Red Riding Hood facing down Mr Big Bad I’m-about-to-devour-you-in-one-bite Wolf.

Chloe took a gulp of her water. Maybe she was out of her cotton-picking mind to think she could go through with something like this.

Chapter Five

Liam knew if he moved a muscle right then every person in the room would have their phone cameras out snapping pictures of him having sex with Chloe Tyler against the bar. Come to think of it they probably already did have their phone cameras out and he took in a long, fortifying breath and reluctantly dragged Chloe’s palm from his overheated chest.

He knew he’d deluded himself that he’d only invited Chloe to a party to connect with her and to ease his conscience. He wanted to ease a lot more than that and he wanted to do so inside her hot body. And if he wasn’t mistaken she wanted the same thing. He’d always sensed that there was something special about Chloe Tyler and it was all he could do not to kiss that plump lip she kept gnawing on as she gazed up at him with those big innocent blue eyes.

When her fingernail raked across his nipple again he nearly jumped out of his skin for the second time. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t that innocent after all.

His eyes dropped to her magnificent breasts and he almost groaned out loud when he saw that her own nipples were hard little points like his. God he wanted to touch them. Lick them. Suck them. Taste them.

He wanted to tease her sweet mouth until she opened for him and let him take whatever he wanted. Everything, his brain whispered. Yes, he thought, he wanted everything from her and he didn’t care if that had never happened to him before. It was happening now and it felt right. Liam had never ignored his gut instincts except that night he’d completely failed her. He hadn’t meant to hurt her back then but would she believe him and, more importantly, would she forgive him?

I thought you were going to apologise, his conscience reminded him. Show her you’re not a grade A asshole anymore. Show her that you’ve changed.

Yes, good point. Apologise first. ‘We need to talk.’ His voice sounded like it had been coated in gravel and now that he’d given free rein to his feelings he was so hard he wondered if he wouldn’t break the zipper on his jeans. He took her half-drunk glass and dumped it on the bar. ‘Come with me.’

Fortunately she didn’t argue as he grabbed her hand and all but dragged her towards the only room in the suite he could be guaranteed privacy.

Pushing open the door to his bedroom he nearly changed his mind when he saw the romantic setting that confronted him. Softly lit lamps beside the turned down bed. Champagne in a silver ice bucket with two flutes and a large bowl of chocolates beside it. And were those… his eyes narrowed. Shit, Noelle had left condoms on the bedside table. Liam grimaced. His PA wasn’t known for her subtlety and by the tension radiating off the woman beside him she didn’t appreciate it either.

‘Nice touch,’ she said in a voice that could have restored some of the ice caps in the Arctic Circle.

‘This isn’t what it looks like,’ he said, wincing at the lameness of that statement. This was exactly what it looked like and more.

***

Chloe wondered if this romantic scene was really set up with her in mind or whether, from Liam’s earlier comment about wondering if she was going to turn up, he had in fact picked up someone else at the party and intended to bring them in here. The thought was an immediate dampener to her overheated system. ‘Really? What does it look like?’ she asked archly.

He ran a hand through his hair and left it gorgeously rumpled. Chloe walked over to the chocolates and… condoms? ‘Nothing like being prepared,’ she said more determined than ever to go ahead with her original plan.

‘I told my PA that I might bring someone back after the party and she… well, she’s a frustrated event manager and she tends to run with an idea until she gets to the next city.’

Chloe stifled a surprised laugh. She was so not going to find him amusing. ‘I’m sure she’s done this before,’ she said, ‘and she has great taste in chocolates. You should think about giving her a raise.’ She had wanted her voice to sound light and mysterious – as if this whole seduction scene was exactly what she wanted from him – but somehow the words sounded choked and unsure as her nerves once again set in.

‘I’ve never asked her to do anything like this.’ His smile was a little self-mocking. ‘I’ve never thought that I might need champagne or chocolates as props before.’

Of course he wouldn’t need them and they both knew it.

Chloe pressed her feet more firmly into her stilettos and felt them sink further into the plush carpet and tried to imagine it was a certain part of his anatomy. She could hear the faint sounds of partying beyond the closed bedroom door and prayed that no-one would come in and find them together. Being humiliated by Liam Hunter for the second time was not on tonight’s agenda.

Which brought her mind back to what was on tonight’s agenda which had nothing to do with the hot sex that kept replaying inside her head. And maybe now would be the perfect time to reveal who she was and reject him. But somehow the words wouldn’t come and before she could take another breath Liam was directly in front of her.

She was nearly at eye level with him thanks to her heels but he was just so big and broad he still made her feel small. Feminine. She met his gaze at the same time as he took her face between his warm hands and brought his mouth to hers.

Shocked, her heart beating ten to the dozen, Chloe didn’t move, her whole body alive to nothing but Liam Hunter’s sweet, soft kiss.

Before she could lose herself in it he pulled back, his tongue gliding over his lower lip as if savouring the taste of her. Dazed, she let him take her hand and tug her forwards until he was sitting on the great bed with her stood between his spread thighs. They weren’t touching but the chemistry was like a buzzing force field between them and when she looked behind him she saw the line of his broad back in the full length mirror with her hovering before him. Her eyes fell to the back of his head and the broadness of his shoulders until the stroke of his fingers over her knuckles brought her attention back to his face.

‘I wasn’t going to bring any other woman back here. I wasn’t even sure I would bring you back here but I’ve wanted to kiss you since I saw you in the interview room and I couldn’t wait any longer.’

Chloe felt dizzy and wished she had the courage to plunge her fingers into his thick hair and test its weight, its springiness. This close she could smell him and when he inhaled deeply she realised he could scent her as well. The sexual attraction that had betrayed her when she was eighteen seemed to have doubled and her heart fluttered as she tried to block out the emotions urging her to once again throw caution to the wind. And she might have even succeeded if Liam hadn’t placed his large hands either side of her hips. ‘I know we should talk first, Specs, but I feel like I might die if I don’t touch you. If I don’t see you.’

Shockingly, Chloe felt the same way and her sense of self-preservation seemed to get further out of reach the closer she got to him. All she wanted to do was touch him and kiss him and have him do the same to her. Have him… suddenly his words – the name he had called her – permeated her fogged brain. ‘You called me Specs.’

‘Yeah.’ He smoothed his hands down her thighs as if he adored her shape. ‘Whatever happened to those cute glasses you used to wear? If I remember rightly you were legally blind without them.’

Not really hearing him above the roaring of blood in her ears Chloe stared at him completely dumbfounded. ‘You know who I am.’

His eyes narrowed as if he was trying to work out the answer to a complex puzzle. ‘Ah, yeah. Was I not supposed to?’

‘When? When did you figure it out?’ she demanded.

He cocked his head and his brow furrowed in that cute way that made him look like he wouldn’t hurt a fly. ‘The minute I saw you outside the hotel. What’s going on?’ His frown deepened. ‘Were you actually trying to pretend to be someone else?’

‘No,’ she snapped, smacking the palm of her hand against her forehead. How was it that she kept making such a colossal fool of herself in front of this man? ‘Your PA got it wrong not me.’

‘So why didn’t you correct her?’

‘I didn’t see the point. I wasn’t expecting to see you for more than five minutes.’

‘Ah,’ he looked at her with a combination of guilt and wariness. ‘And you weren’t going to tell me.’

‘Why bother?’

Liam’s mouth flattened into a straight line. ‘I have to say I’m struggling to get my head around this.’

His firm gaze swept over her, reminding her that she was still standing between the legs of a guy she was supposed to be rejecting. She was truly pathetic. ‘I have to go. Excuse me.’

Before she could move Liam snagged her wrist. ‘Chloe?’

She shook him off. ‘How could you know it was me? I look completely different now.’

‘No you don’t.’

Chloe stared at him. Was he suggesting she still looked as bad as she used to?

‘Fiery red hair, incredible blue eyes with tiny gold flecks, long legs. Breasts.’

Chloe tried not to feel warmed by his words and scoffed. ‘All girls have breasts.’

‘True, but since moving to Hollywood I’ve learned that not all girls have real breasts.’ Chloe felt her cheeks heat as his eyes dropped to her cleavage. ‘I always thought you had magnificent breasts.'

Appalled by how affected she was by his words, how aroused, she just wanted to run away and hide. Forever this time. She stepped back from him again. ‘Please Liam. I know what you want but I don’t want it.’

‘Not now that I know who you are, you mean.’ His eyes grew as stony as chipped emeralds. ‘Tell me, what were you going to do, Chloe? Have sex with me as Candy and then bolt.’

‘No.’

‘What then?’

Chloe squared her shoulders. ‘I wasn’t going to have sex with you at all.’

‘Ah.’ Somehow he’d moved so that he was standing in front of her again, his chest inches from her own. ‘Payback then.’

‘It’s no less than you deserve,’ she felt stung into retorting.

‘I know.’ The anger she had felt in him moments ago ebbed away. ‘I was an utter jerk to you back in high school, but I didn’t invite you up here to have sex with you. I invited you here so that I could apologise.’

Chloe scrunched her brow in confusion. ‘So what was all this?’ She waved her hands in the direction of the champagne. The chocolates. The condoms. ‘If you don’t want me then it really was for someone else.’ She knew she sounded accusing but she was so confused by her own rioting emotions that she was struggling to think clearly. ‘This was never for me, it was–’

‘Chloe, I do want you. Hell.’ He grabbed hold of her elbows. ‘Dammit, would you stop trying to get away from me and listen.’

‘No.’ She shook her head violently, determined not to embarrass herself any more with him. ‘I want to go. I don’t want this.’ She forced herself to hold his stare. ‘You. I don’t want you.’

‘I’m sorry, but it was you who stroked my chest before.’

‘It was an accident.’

His look told her he knew that had been no accident. ‘You did it twice.’

‘I have to go.’

Liam tightened his hold on her. ‘Stay.’

Chloe looked at him and knew that years of hurt and humiliation were reflected in her blurry eyes. ‘You had a bet with your friends that you could make me fall in love with you,’ she cried.

‘Yes. And I’m sorry I did that to you.’

His honesty and the sincerity of his apology floored her and it must have shown because he laughed. ‘You weren’t expecting me to confess my part in it?’

No she wasn’t.

‘I admit that I initially invited you out as part of a dare,’ he began slowly, ‘I was… I was messed up at the time but I promise you that I had nothing to do with the proposal or the video. In fact I had my father take it down from the internet as soon as he could.’

Chloe wrapped her arms around her waist. ‘So your friends improvised. Big deal. I’m over it. I’m over you. I’m over your pity.’

‘What pity?’

Chloe really didn’t want to have this conversation but she only had herself to blame because she’d started it. She’d come here on some stupid mission for revenge that she should have known she didn’t have the wherewithal to pull off. ‘The pity I saw in your eyes the moment I threw my arms around your neck and said yes, I’ll marry you.’ She gave a self-deprecating laugh that rang hollowly in the quiet room.

‘That wasn’t pity you saw in my eyes’ Liam said quietly. ‘That was regret over my actions.’

She made a noise in the back of her throat. ‘God, I must be the village idiot. How could I have ever thought…’ She checked herself and shook her head, her hair falling around her face in soft waves. ‘Please forget you even know me and we’ll call this the end of it.’

‘Dammit, Chloe, I do not pity you.’

‘Sure.’

‘I’m serious about seeing you again. In fact I want you to come with me to the premiere of Time Could Wait tomorrow night.’

‘Your movie?’

‘Yes.’

‘The one that will be lined with about a gazillion women all screaming your name and throwing knickers at you.’

‘They don’t tend to do that anymore. And some will be screaming Bethany Lord’s name, but yes. That one.’

Chloe wanted to she realised. Really badly. Which was a very good reason why she shouldn’t. ‘No.’

‘Give me one good reason why not?’

Liam had widened his stance as if he was going into battle and Chloe wished for one brief moment that all that hard male perfection could really be hers. ‘Give me one good reason why I should?’ she countered.

‘I want to see you again and tomorrow I’m busy all day in radio interviews and then I have to fly to Paris for the next leg of the junket.’

She shook her head. ‘And what if someone recognises me from that awful prank?’

‘Then I’ll tell them what a stupid jock I was.’

‘And damage your pristine reputation?’

‘I don’t care about my reputation.’

Chloe knew her scepticism must have shown because Liam ran his hand through his hair in frustration. ‘I don’t. I learned a long time ago that if you valued the opinion of others above your own then you would be unhappy and make everyone else around you miserable as well. Sometimes you have to seize the moment.’

Chloe felt her throat tighten up at the thought. ‘See now I sort of did that once and it didn’t work out so well for me.’

Embarrassed and upset she turned to go and felt Liam’s fingers fix onto her waist from behind, preventing her from leaving.

‘Don’t leave like this, Chloe.’

She stilled. ‘You have a party to attend to.’

‘No, I don’t. I only have you to attend to.’

***

Liam felt Chloe go utterly still and his gaze dropped to where his hands circled her waist. His thumbs were pressed against the pearl like bumps of her lower spine, his fingers spread out over her warm, soft belly. Chloe’s body trembled beneath his hold and it was all Liam could do not to haul her back against him and show her just how much he desired her. But this had to be her decision, not his.

‘Stay.’

His breath stirred the tendrils of hair at the nape of her neck and he couldn’t stop his need to press his mouth to her bare shoulder and bite down gently. She gasped and jerked against him and his hands tightened on her waist to hold her steady.

‘Liam.’

His name was a decadent whisper on her lips and her hips vibrated beneath his touch. God, he wanted her right now. He’d give up almost anything and everything to have her. ‘You know I got a ninety five in English senior year because I remember almost every syllable that came out of your pretty mouth,’ he murmured, laving the space he had bitten with his tongue and breathing in her heady, musky scent.

She turned within the circle of his arms and he let his hands slide around her as she did. Her hands rose to his shoulders and when he saw the naked flame of desire darkening her irises he felt a thrill of victory flood through him. ‘You did?’

Liam gave a husky laugh at her guileless expression. ‘Yes, I did.’ His hands smoothed over her back and he stepped closer to her. ‘I want you Chloe. I want to kiss you and lick you all over and then I want to make you come until you can’t even remember your own name.’

‘I…’ her throat bobbed as she swallowed and he pressed his lips to the pulse point throbbing just beneath her delicate skin. She moaned and gripped his shoulders more firmly and he stroked his lips up her throat and sealed his mouth to hers in a kiss that didn’t even pretend to be tentative.

Immediately her tongue wrapped around his at the same time as her hands forked into his hair, the movement flattening her firm breasts to his chest.

Liam growled low in his throat like a wild animal that had been kept locked in a cage for too long. His mind had already forged past the idea of foreplay and had him opening her legs so he could plunge inside her.

‘Liam.’ She writhed against him as if the same desperate need that was driving him was driving her as well.

Muscles bunched he lifted her, carried her to the bed and laid her down. Her long hair spread out on the cream bedspread like a red flame and Liam came down over the top of her. He balanced his weight on his elbows and their eyes locked together. For a minute he felt slightly unsteady. ‘Are you sure about this, Chloe?’

Her smile was steady and clear and beautiful. ‘Yes. I don’t care about the past or the future just… touch me, Liam. Please. And don’t stop.’

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