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In histogether in a darkened room, so close to one another that you couldn’t have put a cushion between the that threatened to disturb hisit impossible to erase the distasteful memory from his head

He made himself look at Alex By active choice, he had only seen him a handful of times over the years and it struck hihtweight but to souely unruly, just the sort to ride his battered motorbike around the world Just the sort to be on Heather’s wavelength A free spirit His tension ratcheted up a notch and a sense of purpose crystallised inside him like a block of ice

‘Yes,’ Leo agreed, uns a situation’ He turned to Heather and forced hi a little jealous’

Lover? Wasn’t ex-lover adescription of their current status? She looked at him in total bewilderment Jealous? She would have beensentih she had somehow been transported to a parallel universe

‘But—but—’ she sta slowly towards her She glanced across to Alex, who seemed as perplexed as she was, and then back to Leo

So she had confided all in his brother Leo caught that exchanged glance, and at once read the situation as it really was She had been pouring her heart out to Alex The jealous rage that had swept over him had been e, while frustrating—because he could have spared hily soothing For once he didn’tabout a situation

‘A lover’s tiff,’ he threw at his brother while ood Better than he would have iht, which was odd, considering he had spent three days building up a strong case for talking to her without the interference of e to pin him down

He felt hi hie of hot arousal It was her proxi fullness of her half-opened mouth

Unable to resist, he lowered his head and took her ainst her lips ‘Was it because of me?’

‘Leo, no…’ Heather pushed hi so hard and he was an i hands in his and repeated his softly spoken question, deave an ie of pure, primitive triumph

Heather couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes, but she could sense his satisfaction at her rily She forgot that Alex was still in the roo, and he was doing it now For what? To prove that he could? He didn’t love her and he didn’t want her, butsomeone else He was a man who had becoh-octane, hugely successful financial acumen had won him an army of yes men, and his ludicrously powerful sex appeal had enabled hi in his direction So now that same desire to control would doubtless dictate that she pine for him

She glared up at his arrogantly s face and stamped down on her body’s weak, auto as she wrenched herself away from him

‘I fell for you, Leo,’ she told hi her voice low, controlled and steady ‘And, sure, right now I’ for you for the rest of my life I’ve already cried over one failed relationship’

‘Don’t even think of putting me in the same bracket as your ex! I’ve already told you that the man was a creep!’

‘We were too young e married, and he eak Since when are you any different?’

‘I’ high on the notion that she had been crying over hi unhappy—but being unhappy on his behalf was a hell of a lot better than flinging herself into someone else’s arms as a method of recovery ‘I don’t play the field when I know that there’s a wo my bed warm for me’

‘You’re a one-wo back at hi her arive a woht that you can get the for you ‘Course, that gets boring after a while, but when you walk away you can always re’