His eyes met hers and she couldn’t look away.
Then the lift doors opened. Aspen snuck another quick glance over her shoulder but the man she had spotted wasn’t there. She let out a relieved breath. After their last acrimonious argument Chad had kept to his own part of the world and she to hers.
Still, she stabbed repeatedly at the penthouse button and only realised how questionable her behaviour looked when she noticed Cruz’s bemused expression and realised he hadn’t swiped his security tag across the electronic panel.
His eyebrows rose and Aspen’s gaze dropped to the space between their feet, her heart beating too fast. Seeing the man who might or might not have been her ex-husband had been terrible timing. Just when she’d begun to think maybe her night with Cruz would be all right it was as if the powers that be had sent her a message to take care.
To remind her that being in a man’s control was when a woman was at her most vulnerable.
As the lift ascended Cruz pushed away from the mirror-panelled wall and invaded her space, startling her out of her dark reverie when he placed his warm hands either side of her waist.
‘Okay, talk to me. You’re as nervous as a pony facing the bridle for the first time. The same as you were last night.’
Aspen gave a low laugh at his analogy and jumped when his thumbs stroked her hip bones through the dress. She couldn’t tell him she thought she’d just seen Chad. That would raise a whole host of questions that she did not want to answer. And what if she was wrong? Then she’d just look stupid. Or paranoid.
‘I’m fine.’
‘You’re shaking.’
Was she?
He gave her a look. ‘Is it the deal? Because—’
‘It’s not the deal. Actually I’d forgotten all about that again.’
Her answer seemed to please him but she didn’t have time to consider his satisfied—‘Good.’—because the lift doors opened.
When he’d released her he placed his hand on the small of her back as he ushered her through to the living room. The housekeeper had been and the room was cast with shadows by the floor lamps that had been switched on for their convenience.
‘Do you want a drink?’
‘Yes, please.’
She’d said that too loudly and his eyes narrowed.
‘Of...?’
Aspen forced a smile. ‘Gin and tonic.’ She winced. She hated gin and tonic.
She wandered over to the wall to study one of the paintings she’d admired the evening before but never taken the time to look at. An overhead light outlined it perfectly and she gasped.
‘That’s a Renoir.’
‘I know.’
He was right behind her and she heard the tinkle of ice as he handed her the drink she didn’t want.
‘You’re not having one?’
‘No.’ He perched on the arm of a nearby sofa, watching her. ‘Something wrong with it?’
‘What?’
He motioned patiently towards the highball in her hand. ‘Your drink?’
‘No. It’s fine. At least, I’m sure it’s fine.’ It was all about maintaining control. If she did that she could get through this. ‘Look, maybe we should just...start.’
‘Start?’
Aspen could have kicked herself, and she moved towards a side table so she could let out a discreet breath and put the drink down. She knew he hadn’t taken his eyes off her and she told herself that he wanted her. She’d felt how aroused he had been last night, and again in the stable that day. He had felt huge!
So why had he stopped? Was he struggling to maintain an erection with her as Chad had done? She shuddered. On those occasions Chad had been particularly vile.
Cruz tilted his head and looked as if he was about to say something, and then he changed his mind. Instead he uncurled his large frame and came towards her until he practically loomed over her. Then he reached for her hair.
She didn’t mean to do it, of course, but she flinched and his hand stilled. ‘I’m just going to take your hair down.’
She stared at his chest and tried to slow her heartbeat.
‘Is that okay?’
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
‘Turn around.’
It took all of her willpower to give him that modicum of control, but when she did turn around he stroked her shoulders.
‘You have a beautiful back. Lean and supple. Strong.’
He kneaded the bunched muscles either side of her neck and her involuntary sigh of pleasure filled the quiet room.