Michelle Conder – Socialite's Gamble (страница 7)
Feeling as if her mind was a filing cabinet she was riffling through for just the right way to put him off she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt his fleshy fingers dig into her hipbones, his body trapping hers against the cold metal railing.
‘Mr Ellery!’ She put her hands up between them. ‘I’m seeing someone.’
His eyes narrowed but he didn’t move back. ‘Who?’
She glanced desperately towards the main casino doors, hoping like hell someone would come through them and rescue her when he cursed violently, the glow of the fake volcano’s erupting flames throwing horrible reddish streaks across his overly tanned features.
‘Don’t tell me it’s Kelly.’
It took Cara a moment to realise he wasn’t referring to another woman but
‘Kelly’s a woman hater. Mark my words. He’ll break your tender heart, darlin’, and bury it along with every other woman’s in Australia.’
Considering she had no intention of giving Aidan Kelly the time of day after this horrible evening was over she wasn’t at all concerned about her heart—tender or otherwise.
Unbidden, a picture of Aidan Kelly’s handsome face came into her mind. When she’d first locked eyes with him at the airport she’d felt as if her heart had stopped beating. As if the ground had moved beneath her feet. Which of course it had because her shoe had been broken, but to her tragically romantic way of thinking he had looked like Prince Charming himself.
He wasn’t. She’d known that as soon as he’d growled at her, but it hadn’t stopped her from wanting to go out with him. To do more than that, she reluctantly admitted. She had looked at him with the same stars in her eyes that the stewardess had but he had only thought the worst of her and had ignored her ever since. Well, not exactly ignored her. She’d caught him watching her from time to time during the game and it had made her immediately aware of her body in a way that was uncomfortably hot.
And speaking of uncomfortable it was time to stop Martin Ellery’s fingers from digging into her waist as if he had a right to have them there. Pressing down on his arms she forced her lips into a smile. ‘Look, Mr Ellery—’
‘Hope I’m not interrupting anything.’
At the sound of Aidan Kelly’s lazy drawl, Martin Ellery released her and shoved her to the side. Cara sighed with relief.
‘Well, look who’s come to call,’ Ellery sneered. ‘Lover boy himself.’
Cara made a small strangled noise in the back of her throat she hoped neither man heard. The last thing she needed was for Aidan Kelly to find out what she had let Martin Ellery believe.
And what was it about this man that brought out the worst in her? Or was there a blue moon tonight? Was she going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight?
‘You’re the one with the moves, old man.’
Cara shivered. The cooler winds brought on by the earlier monsoon had nothing on Aidan Kelly.
‘What do you want, Kelly?’ Ellery demanded.
‘Fresh air,’ Aidan said, casually strolling closer. ‘Seems I might be in the wrong place.’
‘That’s because the bar’s closed,’ the older man sneered.
‘Doesn’t look that way to me.’
Ellery’s eyes narrowed. ‘I have to say it was a surprise to see you here tonight.’
Aidan propped himself against the polished balustrading, his lazy gaze taking in the sparkling spectacle of the Strip below. ‘Was it?’
The air fairly vibrated with tension but Aidan Kelly, Cara noted, was better at hiding it than his opponent.
Ellery widened his stance. ‘You’ve bitten off more than you can chew taking me on, son.’
With just the barest turn of his head, Aidan’s eyes had the arrogant Martin Ellery pinned to the spot like a wrestler on a gym mat. ‘Don’t ever call me “son” again,’ he warned quietly.
‘Oh, stop with the intimidation tactics,’ Ellery blustered. ‘Better men than you have tried to best me before and they’ve all failed.’
Aidan smiled, more a baring of his teeth. ‘I think you’re being a bit paranoid, old man. I came here to play poker. Like you.’
Ellery scoffed. ‘Well, enjoy your winning streak. It won’t last.’
‘They never do,’ Aidan drawled as if he felt sorry for the fact.
Cara swallowed. He was a formidable adversary and instinctively she knew that to go up against him would be dangerous. Not that she was intending to if she could avoid it. She hated conflict, much preferring to pull a pillow over her head and hide than have an out-and-out stoush with someone.
Cowardly of her, perhaps, but between the desire to find out how his beautiful mouth would feel on hers and the urge to run for her life, Cara would choose the latter any time. Because, she suspected, if she ever did kiss Aidan Kelly, she’d come out of the experience changed for ever.
Oh, but now that her mind had wandered down that particular track it was hard to pull it back. She wondered what he would do if she asked him to just stand still while she kissed him and then forget it had ever happened.
As if reading her thoughts, Aidan cut his gaze to hers and then let it drop to her lips. They tingled and she felt the strongest urge to part them.
Suddenly she felt very much like the meat in an overcooked sandwich as she stood between the two men.
‘Maybe it would be best if we all returned indoors,’ she said, knowing it was her job to dispel the sudden hostility that emanated between them.
Unfortunately neither one of them paid her any attention.
‘You’re out of your depth, boy. Just like your father.’
Cara felt the bite in the air and sucked in a quick breath. She had no idea what the trouble was between the two men but Martin Ellery had just raised the bar if the sudden tension in the man behind her was anything to go by.
Slowly turning around Cara half expected Aidan to have a knife at the ready but instead he smiled benignly at the man who had clearly tried to insult him. Watching him she wondered if she’d imagined the tension she had, moments ago, felt pulsing out of him. Perhaps it had just been her own.
‘Gentlemen—’
‘You want to be careful, Kelly.’ Ellery surprised her by putting his hand back on her waist. ‘You might lose more than you bargained for.’
Oh, no. Cara stiffened in mortification at the thought of what Ellery was about to reveal.
‘Stop worrying so much, Martin,’ Aidan said amiably. ‘You’re starting to sound paranoid.’
Ellery’s hand shook slightly before it tightened on her and Cara did a quick sidestep. If they wanted to butt heads with each other, they didn’t need her around to watch.
Before she could make her escape, though, Ellery blocked her way. ‘See you at the table, Kelly.’
‘I look forward to it,’ Aidan drawled.
Ellery glared at him on his way past and completely ignored Cara, leaving her standing on the balcony in a pool of coloured lights with a man who threw off enough testosterone to power the Strip for a year at least.
‘So, that was interesting?’ she murmured in an attempt to fill the awkward silence.
‘Only if you like dirty old men.’
‘I don’t know what the problem is between you, but … maybe you should go easy on Mr Ellery,’ Cara felt compelled to say softly. ‘I think he’s really scared of you.’
Aidan Kelly didn’t move a muscle. ‘He should be.’
‘
Try as she might Cara couldn’t stop her eyes from taking him in. With his sleeves rolled to his elbows and his formidable shoulders he was possibly the most virile man she had ever seen outside of an action movie. ‘Well, that depends on your definition of old.’ She smiled to try and lighten the atmosphere. ‘But as a general rule I would say not.’
‘Then stay away from Ellery. He’s poison.’
She paused. The late-night breeze teased the hair at her temples and in the distance the rattle of New York–New York’s roller-coaster and requisite screams from the passengers could be heard. She felt flushed even though the night was still cool and her hands had definitely turned clammy.
‘Thanks for the warning,’ she said as brightly as she could. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me I’d better get back.’
Except for some reason she didn’t move.
‘What did Ellery want?’ Aidan asked suddenly.
Cara shook her head. ‘Nothing.’