Before Keira could decline his invitation she was in his arms and he was guiding her expertly through the throng of dancers.
‘Is it too late to refuse?’ she asked him caustically, and his mouth twitched in a fleeting smile.
‘Would you have?’ His blue eyes gazed down at her and Keira almost missed her step. Eden Cassidy, of course, took her falter in his stride.
‘For the record, yes. I would.’
‘Then it’s fortunate I didn’t wait for your crushing rejection.’
His arm around her waist moved her imperceptibly closer to him and his hand was now resting on her bare back, fingertips nestling in the indentation of her spine. Keira’s senses focused on his touch, felt the warmth that flared into full-blown fire. Her whole body grew hot and she knew high colour flooded her face.
The band chose that moment to change tempo and lapsed into a bracket of popular romantic ballads. As the mellow notes flowed about them Keira’s perfidious soul seemed to be as one with his, and suddenly the intimacy of it made her knees want to fold beneath her.
Her breasts tingled where they brushed rhythmically against his hard chest, her nipples straining against the thin material of her bodice, her stomach muscles contracting as his thighs touched hers.
Eden Cassidy was an expert dancer and Keira’s feet followed his lead as though they had been dancing together for years. In a previous life perhaps they had, as some believed.
Her eyes settled on her hand resting on his broad suit-clad shoulder, her skin pale against the dark material, and she realised that should she move that hand mere millimetres she would feel the taut muscles in his neck, that she would be free to caress the strands of dark hair resting on his nape.
She tore her gaze away, concentrating feverishly on the innocuous knot of his tie. But then her mind’s eye conjured up the movement of his strong hands adroitly folding that so very masculine accessory and her breathing became even more ragged. And her recalcitrant senses careered way out of control.
Of their own volition her grey eyes rose to the jut of his firm chin, to settle on his mouth. His lips were thin, the controlled line suggesting he rarely laughed, and the faint shadowy hollows beneath his high cheekbones made Keira wonder if he might sometimes neglect his health in pursuit of his business commitments.
At that moment he sidestepped her to avoid another couple, the instinctive movement drawing her impossibly closer to him, and her blood seemed to bolt through her veins with runaway recklessness. Her complete nervous system went on imperilled alert. Keira knew she couldn’t have been more aware of him had they been naked, and she went cold and then hot again within the space of a split-second.
‘You know, I haven’t danced in years.’ Eden Cassidy’s prosaic words ricocheted into Keira’s lascivious thoughts, scattering them abruptly, and her eyes rose instantaneously to meet his in surprise.
The corners of his mouth lifted in a genuine smile, creating still more havoc with Keira’s quivering nervous system, and the deep resonant sound of his soft laugh played over her with a million tiny titillations of her nerve endings.
The resulting clefts that bracketed his mouth changed his harsh features dramatically, and as he lifted his head his blue eyes sparkled beneath the light of the chandelier, making him inconceivably more heart-stoppingly attractive.
‘Does your sceptical look mean you don’t believe me, Mrs Strong?’ That devastating smile still played around his mouth. ‘On my honour, it’s quite true. I never seem to find the time. Do you suppose Daniel’s right in repeatedly insisting I’m too wedded to my work?’
‘Only you can answer that,’ Keira replied as evenly as she could with her heartbeats still bouncing erratically in her breast. ‘But I should imagine Cassidy-Ford Publishing is a full-time job.’
“It is that. But I have very competent staff and I do delegate. As I’m sure you do, Mrs Strong.’
Keira glanced at him from beneath her lashes. Could he be fishing for information about the running of the magazine? Was he aware that Dianna filled less than her position on
‘Yes, I do delegate, but, as the editor, Dianna handles most of the work assignments. We all work very well as a team,’ she finished weakly, part of her wishing her editor hadn’t put her in such a position.
‘So where do you see
‘Going?’ she repeated in surprise. ‘In exactly the direction it has been, I would have thought. And I don’t mean standing still. The magazine constantly flexes with the needs of its readers. While it’s so successful, why alter the format-or the staff?’ she added quickly, recalling the supposition caused by the appearance of the time-and-motion study man Daniel had reminded her about.
Eden’s eyes had narrowed on her. ‘You think that’s what I plan on doing?’
Keira shrugged. ‘I have no idea, although there have been a few rumours,’ she said carefully. ‘But I feel I should repeat what I said. Why interfere with a successful enterprise? Our staff work well together and I wouldn’t want to see that changed in any way.’
‘Loyal, too,’ he said quietly and grimaced. ‘Is there no end to your virtues, Mrs Strong?’
‘What…what do you mean?’ Keira swallowed nervously, feeling the timbre of the conversation shift just fractionally, giving it that heady sense of danger once again.
‘Obviously competent at her job. Loyal to her staff. As well as being-how did Daniel describe you?-a woman who’s as fantastic as she looks.’
Keira flushed. ‘I take pride in doing my job well,’ she began haughtily, highly embarrassed by the turn of the dialogue.
‘Oh, I know you do, Mrs Strong. My-’ he paused
and raised one dark brow ‘-snoops weren’t wrong about that.’
Their eyes met, held. Cool steel-blue and steady smoky grey. Keira’s were the first to fall.
‘I guess I should apologise for that.’ She fought to keep her voice dispassionately normal. ‘But I was provoked, wouldn’t you say?’
‘What happened to your husband?’ he asked quietly, and his change of subject and the concern in his tone tore down Keira’s defences.
‘He was killed in a car accident,’ she replied flatly.
‘It must have been difficult for you.’
‘Yes. I…’ Keira sighed. ‘Dennis and I were separated at the time. We had been for a couple of years. But it was still a terrible shock.’
They danced in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Keira tried to bring Dennis’s face into focus but his boyish features blurred in the process. Dennis had been handsome, but weak. So totally different from the man whose strong arms held her in his grasp. With flawless timing Keira’s body reminded her of the rock-hard wall of Eden’s chest, his long legs, and… There was, she admitted resignedly, no contest.
But what was she doing making a comparison anyway? she asked herself angrily. It wasn’t as though she had ever been interested in replacing Dennis. And if she had been, there was no way she would consider a man as high-powered, as prominently profiled as Eden Cassidy. She’d have to be insane. Wouldn’t she?
Keira pulled her wayward thoughts to a jarring halt. A man like Eden Cassidy would have no interest in an average-looking nobody like her.
She glanced up at him again and the look in his blue eyes that split-second before he masked his thoughts belied her speculation. She knew in that revealing moment that she did hold some interest for him.
Keira swallowed quickly, her mind trying to rein in her galloping senses. Interested he may be but she’d lay bets his concern wasn’t altruistic, but brutally obvious.
Eden Cassidy, head of the prestigious and prosperous Cassidy-Ford Publishing and Keira Strong, assistant editor and virtual employee. One of thousands. Keira could almost laugh. It sounded like a fairy-tale. And she’d given up believing in them a long time ago. Nor was she even vaguely interested in indulging in a sordid affair with a wealthy libertine.
She had to get away from him. Where was Daniel? Her eyes ran over the crowd around them and only then did she notice even more speculative looks slid furtively their way. And she could imagine just what they were all thinking of her now. First the nephew, now the uncle. She must be providing a banquet of food for gossipy thoughts. She’d have to excuse herself.
At that moment she spotted Daniel through a break in the crowd. He was craning his neck above the dancers and, catching sight of Keira and his uncle, he began to make his way towards them.
