Ivette’s eyes cracked open and she squinted at the ray of light penetrating through the blinds. Odd. She always kept the window blinds shut. Without turning, she reached for her phone and work tablet where she always kept them by the bed stand before she went to bed. She stretched further when she couldn’t reach it and groaned in frustration before sitting up. She groaned again as a blinding pain shot through her head. She winced, running her fingers through her hair. She had taken been taking the medications for the migraines. It shouldn’t hurt so much. Massaging her scalp, she straightened again. The covers pulled down from her chest and she stared down at herself, blinking. What on earth. . . Why. . .where were her clothes? She pulled up the white duvet up to her chin to cover her bare chest and she looked around. Definitely not her room. Judging from the exaggerated décor and the towels lying on the tasteful armchair by the ceiling to th
Aaron leaned against the door frame and though, Ivette didn’t look up from the string of emails she was dispatching, she knew he was watching her. She sighed and pushed back her seat. “What do you want?” He loosened his striped tie, slowly, with those slender fingers she had grown accustomed to overtime and—Ivette averted her gaze, suddenly unable to meet Aaron’s eyes. She couldn’t. Not with her thoughts running wild in directions they shouldn’t. Christ. She could hardly concentrate. She’d had flings before. During the breaks and breakups in her relationship with Aaron, she’d had flings. To take off the edge, to forget. . .or try to--Aaron Maxwell wasn’t a man you moved on from. The harder you tried, the deeper you sink. None had been like this. No man had made her go wild like that stranger had. No man had unraveled her or broken down her walls so mercilessly. Not even Aaron. Ivette didn’t like it one bit. That a stranger’s touch could make her feel this way. That
For the opening night, Ivette picked out a dress from King Corp’s line. A dress that spoke power and elegance. She was the lady of the night in her midnight black dress that swept the red carpet laid out before Battersea Evolution. The plunging neckline was a show stopper and heads turned in her direction as she walked, several eyes dipping to her generous cleavage that even Aaron couldn’t take his eyes off. The skirts billowed around her like dark sea waves and a thigh-high slit parted the storm, exposing Ivette’s long legs in the loveliest fashion. They couldn’t tell where to look. Her bosoms or her legs. “You look stunning, Ivy,” Aaron breathed, taking her outstretched hand and pressing a kiss to her fingertips. The plastered smile on Ivette’s blood-red lips only stretched farther and Ivette ensured the smile reached her eyes. “Likewise,” She cooed, hooking her arm with his as they walked the length of the carpet together. Cameras flashed, and lip-ribboned micropho
By the end of the second night, Ivette decided she would ignore Cian MacGregor, just as much as he’d ignored her and acted like she didn’t fucking exist. She couldn’t stand it. Him. Who did he think he was, treating her like crap? Yes. She had been drunk that night and. . . it was technically a one-night stand by all ramifications, but. . .but nothing! What had she been expecting? She wasn’t even sure what it is she expected to happen, but she was going crazy. She wanted him to look at her again like she was something special. She wanted him to talk to her and tell her she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t get him out of her head, her dreams. She wanted to be with him, alone, in a room. Those treacherous thoughts made her feel like she was on the cusp of insanity. Aaron was her first love. Her only love. Only he should occupy her thoughts—and maybe work too—but where Cian was involved, her brain flew out the window. Aaron didn’t matter. Her engagement was in
It had been a mistake. An irreparable mistake, seeing as he couldn’t get the delightfully shaped lass off his mind. Cian growled, tossing the kerchief Rosalind had handed him for his bloodied nose into the trashcan. Aye. He’d deserved that one. And heavens damn him, the lass punching him, had been the hottest thing he had seen. Her amber eyes had been pure fire and her chest rose and fell as she had stared at him, furious. It had taken all of his might to keep his eyes away from the swell of her breasts. The lass made him feel like a creep. Especially with the hard-on currently forming in his pants as he thought about her full lips. That red lipstick should be banned. That color on her was sinful. Going to Seattle had been a stupid mistake. He should never have listened to his grandfather and his pleas. The old man had told Cian to visit the emerald city, and he just might find love there. His clan, the Gregors, were big on family and litters of chi
"This is the first time you have graced us with your presence, Mr. MacGregor. The first time in six years since you took the world by a storm! You must tell us more about yourself!" Cold sweat broke on Ivette's forehead and her nails dug painfully into her palms as she tried to stifle a shiver. She had hoped the fever would have subsided by morning time but it only got worse. It had been an effort to move from the bed...or even apply her make up. Her muscles were numb and aching and her temperature spiked on an abnormal level. She had been eager to skip the today's event but it was important that she and Aaron sat together on that stage as a couple, and answered the questions as one. She had been surprised when she showed up and her mother and Kerry had fawned over her with concern. She'd taken one look at her father's disdainful stare and known that Aaron hadn't told them about her and Cian. She'd been about leaving when she saw him waiting outside her hote
The aroma of something delicious teased Ivette's nostrils and seduced her from blissful sleep. The sound of movement around her had her opening her eyes. She squinted at the dimly lit room, eyes resting upon the large glass sliding doors that took up the entire wall on her right and overlooked a vast private pool. The soft light of the evening bathed the room with a golden glow and...her eyes darted to the corner of the room where someone stood, watching her. She moved slightly, yawning tiredly. "Ron?" She was still feverish, and her head pounded, but she was warm and the bed underneath her was to die for. It felt like she was lying on fluffy clouds. The figure by the door moved, triggering the motion sensors and Ivette winced at the sudden brightness that flooded the room. "Good to see you're alive, lass." Ivette shot up from the bed and fell back on her back as pain shot through her head and her spine. "Coulda told you that was a terrible idea
Ivette woke up feeling lighter than she had in a long time. Safer. Freer. Last night was hazy but she knew he'd stuck with her, through the fever. She had fallen asleep to his scent, and to his cool hands caressing her cheek, lulling the fever away. Her cheeks heated as she creeped out of the room. She wanted to thank him. Perhaps, she'd been a little too hard on him. Accusing him, punching him that way and insulting him. He could've left, but he didn't. He'd stayed. And it mattered to her more than anything anyone had ever done for her. For she had always looked out for herself. In the direst of situations when she couldn't care for herself, she'd gone through those moments alone. Not because she loved being a loner. But because she couldn't afford to let anyone else see her at her lowest. Her weakest. Somehow, it stayed that way. Because she couldn't show it, no one bothered asking anymore. They assumed she could look after herself, and even if that