Aerin was a little stung by his choice of words. Here she was thinking he was as swept away by their kiss as she was and yet it had been nothing more than a performance on his part? She stepped away from him and went back to her seat, clipping her seat belt on with a definitive snap. ‘It was...okay, I guess.’
There was a beat or two of silence.
Drake resumed his seat beside her and took one of her hands in his. ‘Hey, that was a little insensitive of me. I’m sorry.’ He stroked his fingers across the back of her hand in a touch so light it was almost ticklish. ‘The thing is...’ he hesitated for another beat, his gaze meeting hers ‘...I was enjoying it a little too much.’
‘You were?’
His expression was rueful. ‘You couldn’t tell?’
Aerin could feel warmth spreading over her cheeks and another even warmer sensation flowing to her core. ‘I’m glad the kiss wasn’t a one-way affair.’
His mouth tilted in a smile. ‘It certainly wasn’t.’
Aerin lifted her hand and traced over the jagged scar on his left eyebrow, then she stroked the same finger down the crooked slope of his nose. ‘Did it hurt?’ Her voice came out soft and a little breathless, for touching him sent a wave of longing through her that shocked her in its intensity.
‘Like hell.’
She stroked his nose again. ‘You didn’t consider having surgery to straighten it?’
‘No.’
‘How did the other guy fare?’
Drake’s mouth twisted and he took her hand again, his thumb resuming its gentle stroking on the back of her hand. ‘I was seriously outclassed. He was bigger, meaner, stronger and fought dirty. I didn’t stand a chance.’
Aerin frowned at the thought of such an ugly fight. ‘You were lucky you weren’t killed.’
Something flashed in his gaze and his mouth twisted even further. ‘Yes, I was. Very lucky.’
CHAPTER FOUR
DRAKEWASGLADthe flight was a short one because sitting so close to Aerin after kissing her had stirred his senses into overdrive. Hot flickers of lust still tingled through his body and all he could think of was kissing her again. He relived every moment of her lips beneath his, the softness of her, the sweetness, the exotic taste that set fire to his blood.
You’re the first man to kiss her...
He tried not to think too deeply about that but how could he not? Aerin had waited until now to be kissed—by him. Why? Because he was familiar to her and not a total stranger? Because she felt the current of sensual energy that had first pulsed between them in his office the other day? But getting too close and personal was not good for either of them. This weekend was a charade, not a fling in the real sense. He could not allow himself to get close to her or anyone. But somehow she had teased out of him more about himself than he had told anyone—even the counsellor he was forced to see when he was a teenager.
Drake was all too aware of the danger of catching feelings, which was why he only ever dated women for short periods. And while a weekend hanging out with Aerin was hardly a long time, it was still full of emotional potholes. He already had a relationship of sorts with her, which had been strictly platonic until the moment his mouth touched hers.
Something had changed in that moment. A change he’d felt ripple through his entire body as if it were being reprogrammed. It might have been Aerin’s first kiss but in a strange way it had felt like that for him too. The soft shy press of her lips against his had sent fireworks through his blood. The sweet and yet exciting taste of her igniting a ferocious desire in him like an addict reacting to a forbidden drug. One taste had made him greedy for more.
But he wasnotgoing to have more.
Drake was a man who knew how to control himself. He had worked long and hard at regulating his emotions, having seen first-hand how dangerous it was when others chose not to. He bore the physical scars of showdowns with his father as a young teenager. His feeble attempts to protect his mother and sister had done nothing in the end, only left him with scars and deep emotional wounds and a nagging sense of failure. He had failed to protect his mother and sister. He had loved and yet lost them.
He wouldnotlove again.
‘You’re finally here!’ Bella, one of Aerin’s school friends, greeted them in the foyer of the stately home they had hired for the weekend. ‘And you must be Drake. I can’t tell you how excited we all are to finally meet you.’
Aerin was conscious of the warm band of Drake’s arm around her waist. And conscious of the speculative and excited gazes of her friends. Bella, Julia, Suzy and Chantal were each arm in arm with their own partners and it only reinforced her conviction that using Drake as a stand-in date was the right thing to do. She could not have borne the weekend sans partner. Her friends were all so happy in their relationships and as this was their last reunion before Julia moved to Australia, it was even more important everything was perfect. But...there was a big part of her that felt uneasy about the game she was playing. The kiss between her and Drake on the private jet he had arranged had stirred sensations in her that troubled her. Not because the kiss wasn’t perfect—it was, in every way. But he wasn’t after the things she was after and this thing between them was only a charade.
Aerin painted a blissfully happy smile on her face—not all that hard to do after that kiss. Her lips had only just stopped tingling, but the rest of her body had not. It was quietly thrumming away as if a potent drug had been injected into her veins. Drake’s slightest touch sent her senses spinning and standing so close to him made her ache to get even closer.
‘Thank you,’ Drake said in his deep baritone. ‘It’s great to meet you all too.’
After all the hugs and air kisses and handshakes and introductions were out of the way, Aerin went with Drake to their room in order to get ready for dinner.
‘Here we go,’ Drake said, opening the door to their suite, which was quite a way from the other guests. ‘The Blue Room.’