Page 7 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

But what about one more night?

It became an obsession. If he had one more night with her surely it would burn out—whatever this fascination was?

And so he’d said it. Yesterday. After a meeting he’d asked her to stay behind and he’d asked her bluntly, ‘Do you want one more night?’

She’d looked at him, cheeks going pink. Suddenly the veneer of serenity was slipping and Ajax had felt something victorious move through him.

She still wanted him.

‘I...’ She’d hesitated. ‘I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.’

‘I think it’s the only way we can move on.’

It was definitely the only way he could move on.

‘You think one night is all it’ll take?’ she’d asked.

No.But he ignored the assertion. That was the lust talking. No woman had ever held his interest for longer than one or two nights.

He’d nodded. ‘Absolutely.’

There had been a long moment, as if she was battling some inner demon, but then she’d said, ‘Okay. When and where?’

Ajax liked that about her. Straight up. As she’d said, she didn’t play games. And so she’d come up to his apartment last night.

Ajax had planned on them having dinner, but as soon as the elevator doors had closed behind her any attempt to be civilised had disintegrated. They’d been naked in seconds.

They hadn’t eaten dinner until midnight—a surprisingly companionable interlude, with Erin dressed in one of his shirts, sitting on opposite sides of the kitchen island, picking at chicken salad and drinking wine.

It had been so unlike anything he’d ever indulged in with a woman he’d found it disconcerting. It had reminded him uncomfortably of the past, and how different it had been with his wife—a woman he’d committed to in the most permanent sense, in spite of the fact that he’d had no feelings for her.

Yet suddenly Ajax had found himself comparing the two experiences and wondering what it might be like to actually like a woman enough to want to spend more time with her...have a relationship.

A sound came from behind Ajax on the bed. He tensed against the inevitable surge of blood. Of awareness. So much for hoping one more night would douse the fire... He feared it had only made it worse. Even more reason, though, to do what he had to now. To say what he had to.

Because one thing was certain after last night: this woman was a danger to him. To everything he believed and had built up.

He wasn’t in the market for a relationship and never had been. It wasn’t in his DNA and never would be. Not after what had happened. If there ever had been a moment when he might have been persuaded, it had died a long time ago.

He steeled himself and turned around. Erin was up on one elbow, looking deliciously sleepy and well-loved. She had pulled the sheet up to her chest. Ajax lamented it while at the same time welcoming it. He didn’t need the distraction. She’d distracted him enough.

‘Morning,’ she said, and her voice was husky enough to almost make him change his mind.Almost.

But he was stronger than that. He had to be. He had a duty to his business and he had to transcend personal temptations.

Ajax had had his chance to make a personal life work and it had ended in tragedy. There would be no morepersonalfor him, and it had been a mistake to allow Erin Murphy under his guard again.

If anything, last night just proved that he should have listened to his gut the first time round. The fact that the woman was making him even think of personal temptations and reminding him of what he’d lost was all the proof he needed. She was exposing his weakness and he could not afford to be weak.

Ajax said, ‘We need to talk.’

CHAPTER ONE

Twenty-one months later, Manhattan

ERINSTOODBYthe cot, watching her one-year-old daughter finally—mercifully—fall into sleep, legs and arms splayed as if fighting to the very end. The small room was bathed in dim undulating lights that threw various shapes of unicorns, dogs, rabbits and birds across the ceiling, chasing each other on a loop.

Erin smiled as she looked at her. She was a sturdy, feisty little thing and she didn’t resemble Erin at all. She was all her father. Dark skin...dark curly hair. The only thing she’d taken from Erin were her hazel eyes.

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