Hollywood Hills Collection. Lynne Marshall

else that mattered.

      He felt her hand on his chest, felt it brush over one nipple, felt another surge of blood to his groin. He breathed her name and that was the last coherent thought he had. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pinning him to her. She pushed her hips against his and his resistance crumbled.

      She tilted her hips and fitted him to her. He heard his own guttural moan as he thrust into her, filling her, claiming her for his own. He couldn’t hold back, he couldn’t resist, and when he heard her call his name it pushed him further.

      There was nothing gentle in their lovemaking. It was fuelled by pure desire. Desperate, all-consuming desire.

      He thrust into her again. Up and down he moved, faster and faster, harder and stronger, and she met each thrust. She arched her back and held him close with her legs, opening herself to him, offering herself to him.

      He buried himself deep inside her and when he felt her shudder and come undone he came with her. They climaxed together and when they were completely spent he gathered her to him, holding her close, reluctant to let her go as he savoured this next moment, as they lay in each other’s arms, slick with sweat and breathing hard.

      She had blown his mind. She was bold and confident. This was the Abi who had been hiding, the one he had known was in there somewhere, the one who had been swamped by trauma and stress. He was finally piecing her together. Bit by bit he was getting to know her and he knew now he could bring her back, resurrect her, restore her. All she needed was love, a connection, someone to nourish her. He could be that man.

      He wanted to be that man.

      * * *

      Abi woke to the smell of fresh coffee. She had slept well, without nightmares. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept soundly all night. Actually, she could. It had been last week when she’d fallen asleep in Damien’s arms. She’d had two good nights’ sleep in the past six months since Mark had died and both of those nights she had spent with Damien.

      He was standing by her bed, holding a mug of hot coffee. She could get used to waking up like this.

      ‘Good morning,’ he said, as he put the coffee beside her bed and kissed her.

      She could definitely get used to this.

      ‘Good morning.’ She smiled.

      ‘Do you mind if I have a shower here? I need to collect Summer from Irma and George and it will save me some time if I don’t have to go and come back.’

      ‘Of course. There are fresh towels in the bathroom cupboard,’ she replied. She rolled lazily over onto her stomach and watched as he disappeared into the bathroom.

      He showered and returned bare-chested with one of her fluffy white towels wrapped around his waist. He dropped the towel and grinned when her eyes went straight to his groin. He was certainly impressive, lacking nothing she needed in that department, and she was disappointed to know there was no time to take advantage of his attributes.

      ‘Another time, my lady,’ he said, as he bent to pick up his trousers.

      Like her when she had slept at his house, he only had yesterday’s clothes to wear but there was not the same sense of shame for a man to put on yesterday’s clothes. Without the jacket and bow tie his suit became just a pair of trousers and a shirt, and once he got to work and put a white coat over the top no one would be any the wiser.

      She was happy to lie in bed and watch him get ready. It felt comfortable, easy; it didn’t feel as if they’d only spent one night together but before they could talk about what happened next he was gone. Off to collect Summer and get on with his day, and Abi had no idea what he was thinking.

      * * *

      A fortnight went past in the blink of an eye. It was amazing how quickly time flew when every minute was filled. Between work and spending time with Damien and Summer, Abi had never been as busy, exhausted or happy.

      Nikki’s operation had gone well and Dylan had been discharged following his skin-graft surgery. She was pleased with the results of Nikki’s op, even though it was early days. Her face was still swollen but Abi could already see the improvement made by the repaired bone structure. Nikki had some hip pain from where they had taken the bone graft but that was to be expected and Abi felt confident that everything had gone according to plan.

      Damien’s attentions were also helping to restore her confidence. Spending time with him was helping to make her whole again and she was feeling more positive than she had in a long time. She could see light at the end of the dark tunnel now, thanks to Damien.

      They spent the weekends together, with Summer as their chaperone. Abi played tour guide but when Summer went to bed they got their adult time. Life was good and the sex was amazing but there had been no discussion about where they were headed. Damien hadn’t raised the topic and Abi wasn’t about to instigate it. She didn’t want to formalise their liaison, afraid of jeopardising her happiness. Every relationship she’d ever had had ended badly, and she was superstitious and fearful enough not to want to have that discussion. She didn’t want to legitimise what they had for fear that something would go wrong. She didn’t want to be the one to cause the bubble to burst. She didn’t want to risk ruining the fairytale she had only just started to believe could exist.

      She desperately wanted to give her heart away, she wanted to find someone who might want to look after it, but she was terrified of the consequences. She was terrified that she would end up with a bruised and damaged heart and that some tragedy would befall Damien. It was better to keep things uncomplicated. It was better to just keep quiet.

      But despite her reservations she was looking forward to another weekend. Their weekdays were hectic, between their work commitments, taking care of Jonty, her appointments with her psychologist and Damien’s hands-on role as single dad to Summer, it didn’t leave them with much time for romance and Abi had already learned to hold out for Friday night. She was enjoying having someone to share her time with, someone to spend weekends with, and she smiled to herself as she and Jonty walked up to Damien’s front door.

      But the smile was quickly wiped from her face when her knock was answered not by Damien but by a woman. A rather striking, glamorous woman dressed in skinny jeans, sky-high stilettos and a figure-hugging top with a plunging neckline that revealed plenty of cleavage between gravity-defying breasts. Who the hell was she?

      ‘Can I help you?’ the woman asked as she struck a pose in the doorway, jutting one hip forward as she flicked shiny, sleek hair over her shoulder.

      Abi glanced around, thinking she’d perhaps knocked on a neighbour’s door by mistake, but this was definitely Damien’s house.

      ‘If you’re going door to door, selling something, I’m not interested,’ the woman said, as Abi stood mute, trying to work out what was going on.

      The door was starting to close as Abi regained her senses. ‘No, I’m here to see Damien.’

      ‘And you are?’

      ‘I’m Abi, I work with him.’ Why had she said that? She wasn’t here in a work capacity. She was here because she and Damien had made plans to take Summer out for pizza. And why was anything she did any of this woman’s business? But she was too stunned to think of a better retort.

      ‘He’s in the shower,’ the woman said, as she continued to stand in the doorway. She made no attempt to get out of the way and Abi was certain she was about to shut the door in her face. She certainly didn’t appear about to invite her in.

      Abi could see Damien over the woman’s shoulder. He was dressed in jeans and a shirt but the buttons were open and his feet were bare. He looked half-dressed. His hair was damp from the shower and he was buttoning his shirt as he came towards her, glancing anxiously from her to the woman and back again. He looked surprised to see her, almost as if he’d forgotten about their arrangement, and from the expression on his face she was certain he hadn’t been expecting her. But she couldn’t blame him. This woman would certainly be more than enough to distract most men. But that