But that time was past.
He was never one to blindly follow anyone’s lead, and now he felt the fool for listening to her and talking himself into believing she was right about it being the best for both of them. All that chatter went out the window when he looked at her face-to-face. And to think he’d wasted four perfectly good nights, tossing and turning, with nothing but memories of her, when he could have been between her delicious thighs making memories.
Aidan grinned, pleased with his decision and logic and the fact that all it took was a kiss and the spark was there again. The veil had lifted. Little Miss Ice Princess couldn’t fool him. Hell, she could barely fool herself. She had a tell, and it was written all over her face in every hot, angry look she shot his way.
I don’t even like you like that.
Those words, though, caused Aidan to pause in his walk back to the van. She said she didn’t like him, and yet she yielded to him and kissed him with a passion like none he’d ever experienced. Aidan licked his lips. She didn’t like him? Most of the time she probably wanted to throttle him, and the rest of the time he was sure she wanted to have sex with him. So what was it now? Was what she was feeling closer to pain or pleasure? She might call it something closer to pain, but that pain was passion, and he knew it. Aidan shook his head and ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he made his way back to the van, rare niggles of doubt gnawing at him that he desperately wanted to sweep away. Dammit, if he wasn’t right about her feelings, then he was the pompous jerk she’d pegged him to be.
Aidan made it back to the van and looked at the monitors, seeing her wipe the corners of her mouth, then hit him once again with one of those scorn-filled glares. It was a perfect shot right to the center of his gut.
He grinned.
“Damn!” Dave said. “Did you get a look at that? Talk about looks killing. What the hell’s gotten into her now? No wonder the other dude bailed. Can you blame him? She may be gorgeous, but, hell, a look like that could freeze a man’s dick off.”
Aidan should cut the guys off. Their talk was unprofessional, bordering on inappropriate, but who was he to talk in that moment when he couldn’t quite keep a straight face? All he wanted to do was smile, and he was having trouble keeping down a roaring erection. He stared at the screen. That look was everything he never knew he wanted—heat, passion, a warning, and an invitation all rolled into one. It said so much without saying a thing. In her dark, fire-filled gaze he saw himself and knew he was caught. He also knew that somehow he’d find his way back to her, back into her arms and into her bed, before the night was over.
Aidan’s brows drew together as he watched Prescott once again smoothly sidle up to Eva, easing his hands into hers. The camera zoomed in as if they really needed yet another close-up for their short segment. Aidan’s chest felt tight as he barked into the control panel’s intercom so his voice would be heard over the crew’s headsets. “I think we have enough,” he growled out. “We can make sure the next location is ready. Tell the talent we’re cutting this short.”
“Huh? What do you mean cutting it short?” Lou’s voice came out as a loud, sharp rap over his headset.
“I think we’ve gotten all we need here. No need to stay for the finale and hang on their every word. The segment is short. Why draw this out? We can head to the next location and have the car bring them along.”
He was met with silence, and in that silence, Aidan could feel Lou’s questioning reproach.
Finally she spoke up. “Come on, Aidan. You know it’s best to have more footage than less. We’re in the third hour here. With her social media numbers, the viewers will clamor for more—web extras and all that. They sure as hell won’t be tuning in for yet another mommy makeover. Besides, you never know what may transpire without us watching. And the laws of reality TV say that if something will happen, it will probably be when we’re not watching, so we have to keep watching all the time. Besides, she’s got a nice chemistry going with this guy. The viewers will love him.”
That comment drew him up short. Of course the viewers would, but did she really have chemistry with him? Aidan stared at the monitor. With Eva it was hard to tell. And Lou was right, something could happen when they weren’t looking, but as tense as he was, he wasn’t in the mood to watch.
He ran his hand through his hair again. Dammit, he seriously needed to get some perspective on this thing. It was bound to bite him in the ass in the long run if he didn’t play it right. He looked at the screen again, watched as Eva leaned ever so slightly toward Prescott, not a lot but enough to show she was interested and not being off-putting. It was just enough to give him the go-ahead signal, so he now extracted his hand from hers and let it smoothly trail up to slip around her shoulder.
“Fine. We’ll split the crew. You don’t need all of us, and you can handle things here without me. I’m going to check in with Mitch here at the restaurant,” he said, speaking of the first grip. Still, there was a bit of a long-drawn-out silence, and he was about to take off his headset and leave when Lou’s voice came back over.
“Okay. I’ll see you there.”
“Great. I’ll make sure everything is at the ready.” He tried to bring a bit more easiness to his voice. This wasn’t that deep. It’s not like he was in a war zone or out on a jungle trek. This was an easy piece, but though it was light, it was important to Louisa and the rest of the crew. He couldn’t let his personal shit get in the way of her or anyone else’s job. “And thanks for being on top of things,” he said by way of a sign-off before removing his earphones and getting some much-needed distance between him and Eva.
Well, distance for now. As for later, he made no promises.
* * *
After the opera finished, Eva could barely make it through the dinner with Prescott she was so preoccupied with Aidan’s surprise, out-of-the blue, sneak attack.
The man was incorrigible, and she now knew she needed to find some way to deal with the problem that was Aidan Walker once and for good. During her dinner with Prescott, Aidan had played his laid-back observation game and hadn’t said a word to her directly. She was starting to get his deal and understand his style of working, at least in mixed company, and at least with her. It was brood from a distance, while giving all his directives to Louisa or to one of the other crew members on staff. He spent an inordinate amount of time talking into his headset or looking at the monitor and had barely spared her a glance. It was ridiculous, and it was driving her mad, which she thought might be his ultimate objective. Well, it wouldn’t work. His clear and obvious avoidance of her, though it made it that much harder for her to concentrate on the work at hand, made her that much more determined to put all she had into doing a good job and putting on a hell of a show. This ordeal for the cameras would not be in vain—not if she could help it. She’d come out on top and have her reputation and her life back. Her name as well as the Ward name and company would stand for comebacks.
Over a light meal of after-opera tapas and drinks in what she was sure would have normally been a romantic eatery, given the right circumstance and company, she and Prescott played their parts well. Though sadly, now that they were one on one—minus the crew—he was doing the ultimate date dull-down trick of going on about his net worth, how most women were concerned with his bank account, and what he could do for them if they wanted to reciprocate in kind. Whatever the hell that meant, and honestly Eva wasn’t sure she had the energy or the interest to even unpack what she was afraid it meant.
She was trying her hardest not to go there, but with all his talk about money and figures, she was getting the distinct feeling he considered a night out a down payment for sex. She fought not to fidget in her seat and really focus on what he was saying. Thankfully, he shifted gears and now asked her about what she did.
“My job is really not all that exciting. Mostly looking for ways to make popular people even more popular. Or putting out fires in the media made by those popular people or some unthinking compan
y bigwig.”
Prescott flashed a smile that, upon critical study, Eva could honestly say was charming. She leaned in a bit closer, hoping to feel a connection and at least get a fizzle of a spark that would tell her he could be the one that she could at least come to an arrangement with, if not a full-on romantic connection. He really was a nice guy, nice enough if she gave the “reciprocate” comment a pass. It was kind of amazing that he was still single. “So putting out fires. Is that what you’re doing here now on this date?”
She pulled back and gave him a teasing look. “Are you implying there’s some sort of spark?”
He shook his head, took a long pull from his drink as he adjusted his tie and gave her a deep gaze, then leaned back and licked his lips as if he were imaging how she would taste. Eva felt her lips tighten in response. She bet that look probably worked on lots of women. “Honestly, up until this moment not so much. But now you have me intrigued. It was that hint of fire during your on-air tirade that got me to apply for the show. Though I will say you weren’t at your best. But it’s okay. I like a little fire in my women.” Eva’s brows went up as Prescott leaned in close to her ear. “Always that much more fun when I break them.”
And bingo. The reason he was still single was revealed.
Eva wrenched back in her chair, crossed her legs and arms, and gave him a hard stare as she tilted her head. What the ever-loving hell? And then, as if by some invisible force, she looked past him to the camera that was set up in the back corner of the restaurant before bringing her gaze back to Prescott. “Women, you say? Isn’t that interesting? Well, I’m glad you have more than one who will go along with your foolishness. Because this one is not a horse or any other such animal that needs to be tamed or, God forbid, broken. That sounds quite,” she tilted her head before taking a sip of her cocktail, “harsh.”
Prescott’s brows drew together in a somehow not all that surprising flash of anger as he shifted in his seat. But he took another long swig from his drink and then looked back at her with a slightly calculated smile. “Hey, I was only kidding around. Just joking, you know? No need to get your panties in a bunch because you bring out the beast in a man. Besides, one woman’s broken is another’s blessed.”
Eva coughed, the drink going down the wrong way. She looked over at Prescott, staring with a way too smug and confidant expression for a man who had just delivered such a line. Eva laughed. “Did you practice that?”
His brows drew together again. “What are you talking about?”
“Because I can’t believe that crap rolled off your tongue, and you really say such things to a woman on the first date?” She looked around, taking in the lighting and the crew, catching a glimpse of Aidan in the shadows. He probably got a real kick out of this. She shook her head. “And on camera, no less.”
“Maybe you’re being uptight. Have you ever stopped to think you might need to loosen up a bit? There are things I see in you, hidden depths that I know I could bring out in you.” His comment, though made off the cuff, suggested too many shades of Kevin wannabe and hit Eva where she was already hurting.
She nodded and stood. “Thanks for a mostly lovely evening. Good thing it’s on the station and you won’t need to worry about how bunched my panties happen to be, and I won’t have to worry about owing you any reciprocation for the bill. And for the record, I’m fine just as I am and definitely don’t need a man like you to bring out any hidden depths. And side note, just because there was a popular book that eluded shades of bondage, not every woman fantasizes about being broken. It’s called fiction for a reason. I’d suggest getting a new line. Good night.”
Eva felt a storm raging in her brain as she fought to hold onto what little control she had left. The nerve of that ass! How many men would unjustly and, mind you, unrightfully accuse her of being uptight and then have the gall to act like they had some duty to turn her out sexually. As if!
She was just making her way toward the coat check area when Aidan caught up with her.
“Are you all right?”
She sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
And here comes another one. Another man who thought he knew her so fucking well but only knew what she let him see. Why couldn’t he lay back and leave her alone? She didn’t need him catching her in yet another emotional moment, storming off. “I’m fine. As if you really care. Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re not catching me in another meltdown. I’ve got it perfectly together.”
“Of course you do,” he started. “And I’m not here to catch you in another meltdown. As I told you already, you can trust me.”
She raised a brow. “Really? And we saw earlier at the opera house how good you are with keeping your word.”
Aidan’s brows drew together as he pulled her in with a long stare. His gaze moved from her eyes to her lips, causing her to unconsciously swallow and lick them to quell the sudden dryness.
He laughed, which pulled her up short and made her want to smack the smug look off his face. “As if you are always one hundred percent truthful. Don’t try and play me, Miss Ward. Now, how about we go ahead and film your confessional now.” He looked down toward her hip. “Seeing that you’re all mic’ed, and it’s been a long day.”
The reminder of the mic and the fact that she’d just hinted at their time in the stairwell wasn’t lost on her. She let out a long breath as his gaze went back to hers. This time it was filled with so much heat she felt she would ignite right there in the restaurant’s vestibule. “That way we can get you in a car and home in bed, sooner rather than later.”
Eva’s brows went up at his mention of her bed and the challenge in his stare. Just as she thought, here was another man thinking he could somehow change her life with the magic of what he had between his legs. Unfortunately, though, the heat of his gaze had her nipples hardening, and she wanted desperately to jump him then and there. She frowned and shook her head. “Point me to the camera. The quicker I get this over with, the quicker I can get home.”
Chapter 15
Eva briefly looked down and adjusted the drawstring on her sweatpants, then pulled down her tank top before opening her apartment door.
“You weren’t seen, were you?” she said, blurting out the first words that came to her mind when she saw Aidan in the hallway. Well, to the credit of her impeccable filter, they weren’t the very first words, because if that were true she would have opened the door and said something like, “Get in here and take me now, you sexual beast.” So her query about not being seen was a lot more in line with her mother’s fine upbringing. Score one for her filter!
Aidan raised that brow she was coming to both love and hate and shook his head. “Only by your night doorman. It would seem the paparazzi aspect of your story has moved onto the teen queen cutting it up and showing out at every club in town lately.”
“Thank goodness for that,” Eva said. “If she was my client, I’d have her sit her ass down for a minute or at least learn the power of panties if she insists on taking an upside-down tumble every night. But she’s not, so it’s no problem of mine. Still, why did you go past the doorman? I distinctly told you to go around the back. I gave you the code.”
“You are a bossy one, aren’t you?” he said, his eyes going toward the ceiling. “And here I thought you were good at your job. Don’t you think I’d be calling more attention to myself when I came up on the doorman’s security monitors? A guy who doesn’t live in the building, skulking around and coming through the back entrance? Relax, it’s all cool. I chatted him up a bit. He saw me earlier and the night before. I told him I had more business to attend to with you. We’re now old friends. Oh, and he and his wife are getting tickets to a studio taping of Price Busters.”
Eva felt her lips tighten. Dammit. She hated that he was right. Again. She should have thought about the surveillance cameras at the back entrance, but she was used to fielding situations for others, not for herself. And she definitely wasn’t used to setting up her own clan
destine, late-night trysts. It had her thinking out of her own head.
“So, are you going to let me in so that we can conclude our business, Miss Ward, or shall we talk out here so that your entire floor can be in on it? Again.”
She felt her face flame but covered it by stepping back and shaking her head as she let Aidan enter the apartment.
Eva closed her door and leaned her forehead against it for a moment as the resounding click of the latch went through her. She pushed back off and collided with his hard body. Jumping, she turned around. “What are you doing?”
“I’m standing here. Are you all right?” Eva nodded.
“Now, princess, do you care to voice why you texted me, or should we just skip ahead and take this where it’s inevitably going to end?”
Eva felt her face flame as she pushed past him and headed to the kitchen. She knew that text had been a bad idea, but still she couldn’t stop her thumbs from tapping away across her keyboard. Now here he was, throwing it back up in her face, talking about where they’d inevitably end up. She leaned against her kitchen counter when suddenly the memory of what they had done together on that counter came back to her in a rush. Eva pushed away from it as if burned, wandering over to hang by the living room window instead. “You really are a jerk. I did text you to come here. But to talk.” She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “Now, what the hell was with that kiss today? I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear the other night.”
Aidan swiped his hand through his hair as all the playfulness left his gaze and he let out a frustrated breath. “You know, you’re a piece of work. You could have called me to chew me out, but you’re clearly not ready to be honest with yourself or with me. You know as well as I do that there is something going on here, but you’re not ready to face it, and you’re using me and this continuing argument as an excuse.”
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