The Best Kept Secrets...: The Secret Affair

He pulled off his mask and she fought back a jolt of desire when she looked into his face. How could any man get more handsome in a year’s time? Yes, she’d seen him a couple of times since their break-up, but she had avoided getting this close to him. He appeared to have gotten an inch or so taller, his frame was even more muscular and his looks were twice as gorgeous.

“I have given it some thought,” he said, leaning back against a railing.

“Evidently, not enough,” she countered, not liking how her gaze, with a mind of its own, was traveling over him. He was wearing a dark suit, and he looked like a male model getting ready for a photo shoot—immaculate with nothing out of place.

“Evidently, you’ve forgotten one major thing about me,” she said.

“What? Just how stubborn you are?” he asked, smiling, as if trying to make light of her anger, which irritated her even more.

“That, too, but also that once I make up my mind about something, that’s it. And I made up my mind that my life can sail a lot more calmly without you.” She watched his expression to see if her words had any effect, but she couldn’t tell if they had.

He studied her in silence before saying, “Sorry you feel that way, Jillian. But I intend to prove you wrong.”

She lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”

“Over the next fourteen days I intend to prove that your life can’t sail more calmly without me. In fact, I intend to show you that you don’t even like calm. You need turbulence, furor and even a little mayhem.”

She shook her head. “If you believe that then you truly don’t know me at all.”

“I know you. I also know the real reason you broke things off with me. Why didn’t you tell me what you thought you saw in my apartment the night of my birthday party?”

She wondered how he’d found out about that. It really didn’t matter at this point. “It’s not what I thought I saw, Aidan. It’s what I saw. A woman giving you a lap dance, which you seemed to enjoy, before she began stripping off her clothes.” Saying it made the memory flash in her mind and roused her anger that much more.

“She was a paid entertainer, Jillian. All the ladies there that night were. Several of my frat brothers thought I’d been living a boring and dull life and decided to add some excitement into it. I admit they might have gone a little overboard.”

“And you enjoyed every minute of it.”

He shrugged. “I had a few drinks and—”

“You don’t know what all you did, do you?”

He frowned. “I remember fine. Other than the lap dance and her strip act...and a couple other women stripping...nothing else happened.”

“Wasn’t that enough?” she asked, irritated that he thought several naked women on display in his apartment were of little significance. “And why didn’t you tell me about the party? You led me to believe you’d done just as you said you were going to do—watch TV and go to bed.”

He released a deep breath. “Okay, I admit I should have told you and I was wrong for not doing so. But I was angry with you. It was my birthday and I wanted to spend it with you. I felt you could have sacrificed a little that weekend to be with me. I hadn’t known you changed your mind and flew to Portland.”

He paused a moment and then continued, “I realized after we’d broken up just how unpleasant my attitude had been and I do apologize for that. I was getting frustrated with the secrecy surrounding our affair, with my work and how little time I could get off to fly to New Orleans to spend with you.”

As far as Jillian was concerned, his attitude had been more than unpleasant; it had become downright unacceptable. He wasn’t the only one who’d been frustrated with their situation. She had, too, which was the reason she had decided to confess all to Pam.

“Now that you’re finished with medical school, there’s no reason to keep our secret any longer anyway,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.

She frowned. “And I see no reason to reveal it. Ever,” she said. “Especially in light of one very important fact.”

“And what fact is that?”

“The fact that we aren’t together and we won’t ever be together again.”

* * *

If she figured that then she was wrong.

They would be together again. He was counting on it. It was the reason he’d come on the cruise. The one thing she had not said was that she no longer loved him. And as long as she had feelings for him then he could accomplish anything. At this point, even if she claimed she didn’t love him, he would have to prove her wrong because he believed she loved him just as much as he loved her. Their relationship was just going through a few hiccups, which he felt they could resolve.

“If you truly believe that then you have nothing to worry about,” he said.

She frowned. “Meaning what?”

“Meaning my presence on this ship shouldn’t bother you.”

She lifted her chin. “It won’t unless you become a nuisance.”

A smile spread across his face. “Nuisance? I think not. But I do intend to win you back, like I said. Then we can move on with our lives. I see marriage and babies in our future.”

She laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding. Didn’t you hear what I said? We won’t be getting back together, so we don’t have a future.”

“And you’re willing to throw away the last three years?”

“What I’ve done is make it easy for you.”

He lifted a brow. “To do what?”

“Go back to your womanizing ways. You seemed to be enjoying yourself so much at your birthday party I wouldn’t think of denying you the opportunity.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I gave up my so-called womanizing ways when I fell in love with you.”

“Could have fooled me with your lap dancer and all those strippers waiting their turn.”

“Like I said, I didn’t invite them.”

“But you could have asked them to leave.”

He shrugged. “Yes, I could have. But you’re going to have to learn to trust me, Jillian. I can see where my attitude leading up to that night might have been less than desirable, but at no time have I betrayed you with another woman. Do you intend to punish me forever for one night of a little fun?”

“I’m not punishing you, Aidan. I’m not doing anything to you. I didn’t invite you on this cruise. You took it upon yourself to...”

Her words trailed off and she gazed at him suspiciously before saying, “Paige and I were supposed to go on this cruise together and she had to back out when she had a conflict, which is why I came alone. Please tell me you had nothing to do with that.”

He’d known she would eventually figure things out but he had hoped it wouldn’t be this soon. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”

She was back in his face again. “You told Paige about us? Now she knows I was duped by a womanizer.”

Her lips were mere inches from his again. Evidently, she’d forgotten his earlier warning. “I am not a womanizer, and I didn’t tell her anything about us. She figured things out on her own. Ivy told Paige about the lap dance and Paige told me. And I appreciate her doing so.”

From Jill’s expression he could tell that although he might appreciate it, she didn’t. “I am so upset with you right now, Aidan. You are—”

Suddenly he pulled her into his arms. “You were warned.”

Then he captured her mouth with his.

* * *

Push him away. Push him away. Push him away, a voice inside of Jillian’s head chanted.

But her body would not obey. Instead of pushing him away, she leaned in closer, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Had it been a year since she had enjoyed this? A year since she’d had the taste of his tongue inside her mouth? Doing all those crazy things in every nook and cranny? Making liquid heat she’d held at bay shoot straight to the area between her legs?

How could any woman deal with a master kisser like him? She would admit that during the past year she had gone to bed dreaming of this but the real thing surpassed any dream she’d ever had.

The sound of voices made them pull apart. She drew in a deep breath, turning her back to him so she could lick her lips without him seeing her do so. That had been one hell of a kiss. Her lips were still electrified.

She turned back around and caught him tracing his tongue across his own lips. Her stomach clenched. “I think you have it all wrong, Aidan,” she managed to say.

“After that kiss, I’d say I got it all right.”

“Think whatever you like,” she said, walking away.

“Hey, where’re you going? The Madrid Room is this way.”

She stopped and turned. “I’ll order room service.”

Jillian continued walking, feeling the heat of his gaze on her back.

* * *

Aidan watched her walk away, appreciating the sway of her hips. He drew in a deep breath. He loved the woman. If there was any doubt in her mind of that—which there seemed to be—he would wipe it out.

Turning, he headed toward his own cabin, thinking room service sounded pretty good. Besides, he had shocked Jillian’s senses enough for today. Tomorrow he planned to lay it on even thicker. She had warned him not to be a nuisance. He smiled at the thought. He wouldn’t be a nuisance, just totally effective.

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