The Hotel Magnate's Demand. Jennifer Rae

heart beat steady but hard. She’d pegged him. He was scared. Scared that he actually wanted to take little lollipop Amy home, get her naked and kiss her entire body. And that he’d enjoy it. And he’d want to do it again and again.

      But he wasn’t going to do that. Not with her. She was too close. She wasn’t someone he wanted to hurt. And hurt her he would, if he let himself go there.

      ‘The only thing I’m scared of is that this lot are going to get kicked out if they get any drunker.’

      He looked behind him at the group of old friends. Laughing so hard they were falling off their stools. Passing shots of tequila around, talking louder. and getting more animated with every drink. Fun. That was what they were. Fun, easy and carefree. And Luke wanted a little bit of that. He’d just gone through the toughest year of his life and he was back here in Sydney for this. Fun. Not Amy. Not relationships. Tequila. Laughs. Old friends.

      He swiped two shots off the table and handed one to Amy.

      ‘We may as well join them, Lollipop.’ He swept the liquid into his mouth and enjoyed the burn as it travelled down his throat. Get drunk. That was what he was going to do tonight. Then he’d be able to forget and relax and maybe live a little.

      What he wasn’t going to do was his little sister’s best friend. He planned on staying right away from that little wasps’ nest, because he sure wasn’t ready to get stung again.

CHAPTER THREE

      THE HOT TEQUILA warmed Amy’s already hot blood. She watched Luke as he necked another shot. What the hell was she doing? Flirting was something she did. With everyone she met. She’d always done it. She’d realised from a young age that she often got what she wanted with a little bit of sugar rather than salt.

      From a young age she’d also realised that her flirting could sometimes land her in trouble, so she’d taken great care to tone it down in the past eight years. She only flirted outrageously with people she knew well—like Dave the barman, who happened to be one of her little brother’s mates. But she shouldn’t have flirted so outrageously with Luke. Could she make it any more obvious how she felt about him?

      Amy sidled in next to Willa on the red velvet banquette. More partygoers had arrived and the room was filling with hot bodies. Inside her chest the usual thrill of excitement thumped. But tonight there was something else in there. Caution. An unmissable beat.

      Calm the hell down. But it was hard to tell her heart to do that with Luke sitting right opposite her, with his big hard body and his come-to-bed eyes that had just locked with hers so hard she’d thought she’d never prise them loose.

      ‘What the hell happened? That was a pretty heated conversation.’

      Amy glanced at Luke as Willa spoke. A couple of vodka sodas and her friend’s whispering hiss echoed like a train in the desert.

      ‘Shh.’ Amy moved a little closer so she could hiss herself into Willa’s ear. ‘Your brother hasn’t changed at all. He still thinks you and I are two little girls who can’t take care of ourselves.’

      ‘What did he say?’

      He’d said she was still making men do stupid things. As soon as he’d said it she been able to tell he regretted it. She knew he hadn’t meant it as it had come out. She couldn’t remember how many times he’d told her over and over that night that it wasn’t her fault. That just because she’d been friendly it hadn’t given that loser the right to expect anything from her or to do…what he did.

      Amy pushed down the swooping, then glanced at Luke. His eyes met hers and her stomach settled. He hadn’t meant that. He’d rushed straight over to her to tell her he hadn’t meant that. But what if he was right? Maybe she was flirting a little too fiercely. Amy hitched at her shirt. Maybe she was exposing too much skin.

      No. No! Stop! she scolded herself. What had happened hadn’t been her fault. The way she dressed and the way she spoke to people had nothing to do with what had happened. It had been his fault. This shouldn’t ever have been her problem, her hang-up.

      Amy shook herself physically. When she’d come home from Weeping Reef her mother and father and even her little brother had wrapped her up in their little cocoon of a family and helped her recover. That was when she’d met Laurie. Sweet, nice Laurie. Who’d loved her. Who’d made her feel whole again.

      She’d hadn’t thought about what had happened in years. It had only been in the last six months, since her old friends from Weeping Reef had come back into her life and their stories had been rehashed, that she’d thought about it again. But she was strong. She was tough. She wasn’t going to let the memories of one bad night make her into a victim.

      ‘Ames? Was he awful?’

      ‘No, not at all.’ Amy shook her head and turned back to her friend. ‘Sometimes I’m just too sensitive. And besides, I think I’m still in a little bit of shock that he’s even here. You should have warned me!’

      ‘I’m sorry about that, Ames. It happened so suddenly. And anyway, there’s no need to be embarrassed. You had a crush on him years ago. He probably doesn’t even remember anything about it…or…anything else. And he wouldn’t even care. You know Luke—keep the peace, stay cool, never let anyone know what you think.’

      ‘Yeah…’

      That had been Luke eight years ago. She’d fallen over herself back then to get him to notice her. That night with that horrible guest had been all about trying to make Luke jealous. She’d been trying for months to get him to notice her but he hadn’t. All Luke had wanted to do was work and haul her into his office to tell her off every time she bent a staple.

      The old Luke would never have apologised. The old Luke would have said nothing. He’d have let her walk away. She knew his theory—not my monkeys, not my circus.

      But tonight he hadn’t let her walk away. He was different. He looked different. Older. Harder. Stronger. Sexier. Amy bit her bottom lip as she sneaked another glance at him. That same strong jaw—only now wider. That same thick dark hair—shorter, but still with a hint of wave. His skin wasn’t as tanned, and he’d put on weight, but she could tell that underneath that suit he was all muscle.

      He had taken off his jacket now and was laughing at something Brodie said as he rolled up his sleeves. His large forearms strained against the fabric and heat settled in Amy’s core. Her skin tingled. Even after eight years she still found him attractive. She still wanted him more than any other man she’d ever wanted. Even Laurie.

      A flush of heat passed across Amy’s forehead and am ache rushed to the back of her neck. She’d never forgotten Laurie’s tears at the airport when she’d left Melbourne. But she’d had to go. She hadn’t been in love with him any more. She’d known she was breaking his heart by leaving, but she hadn’t been able to keep on lying and saying everything was fine. She hadn’t wanted to be with him any more. She’d been healed. She’d needed to move on.

      But now, as she looked at Luke, she wondered if she really had.

      The night wore on, as many of their nights together did. Full of laughter and stories that started with, ‘Do you remember that one time…?’

      Normally Amy would be at the centre. Her stories the loudest and most animated, with just a hint of exaggeration to make everyone laugh. But tonight Luke’s presence made her retreat a little. She worried about what he thought. She couldn’t help it. Even after all this time and eight birthdays she still wanted him to like her.

      ‘So what else have you been up to, Amy? Besides work? Cause that’s all you seem to do, according to these guys.’

      Luke was looking much more relaxed after an hour of so of drinking and swapping insults with Scott and Brodie. He’d edged