I undress and put on a robe, then wipe my face free of the stage makeup. I’m so excited I could burst. My whole body is pulsing with a barely contained magic that feels like a potent drug in my system.
Where is Aidan?
I glimpsed him after the final curtain. I want to see him, desperately. I want to share the uncontainable excitement with him.
Only him.
Someone knocks and opens the door. It’s one of the production assistants, Jules. Smiling at me she sets an armful of flowers on the floor by the mirror.
“They’ve been coming in since the intermission,” she tells me.
“Wow!” I pick up a bouquet and inhale. “It feels so…” I search for a word. “Surreal.”
“I can imagine,” she tells me. “You were phenomenal.”
My eyes mist. “Thanks.”
The door opens again, and this time, my heart almost bursts at the sight of Aidan.
“Liz.” He doesn’t even see Jules by the door. He makes straight for me, a steely determination in his stride that makes me weak in the knees.
“Aidan.”
He pulls me into his arms. “God, you are magic.”
So close to him, everything else disappears, except for him, me, us.
“You think so?”
“Am I blind, and deaf? Of course I think so.”
I can feel his heart beating in his chest, each thud is like a drumbeat directing me to surrender everything to him. “I was nervous.”
“You had no reason to be.” His eyes are shining. “There is no critic in the world who won’t be singing your praises after tonight.”
“And yours,” I whisper. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I think you could have.”
“I imagined how it would feel,” I close my eyes and breathe. “It’s more than I thought it could be.”
Aidan laughs. “Believe me, Liz. This is just the beginning.” His arms tighten around me. “They loved you.”
And I love you.
I don’t say the words out loud. “And you?”
He chuckles. “You said you would blow me away. You did. More than you know.”
He’s so close I can barely breathe. His lips are curved in a small smile, his eyes roam my face. Desire roars like a tornado inside me.
“Kiss me.”
At first, I’m not aware that I said the words out loud, but then his eyes darken, and his hands slide down to clasp my waist. Through the silk of my robe, it feels as if he’s touching my bare skin. My breath catches. One moment, I’m looking up at him, and the next, his mouth seizes mine with a hunger that verges on desperation.
Oh, Aidan.
My whole body ignites. His tongue delves deep into my mouth, tasting, each stroke like a new lick of flame, setting my body on exquisite, beautiful fire.