Especially blood donations for children. Did Alistair have children? If he did, she pitied them and their mother. She got the impression he only cared about himself.

She poured a large glass of wine and carried it with her through the lounge and into the bedroom. Staring at the word 'blood', she wondered why both men had been so jumpy about it.

Alistair had hidden it better than Erik, but the vibe had still been there. Neither of them wanted anyone asking about it.

Would Erik have really talked about it if she'd gone out to dinner with him?

She placed the glass of wine down beside the bath and put the plug into the hole. Running the water, she stripped off and sat on the edge of the bath. She held her hand under the water, letting it run over her fingers and shifting them so it created a soothing patter against her skin. She stared at the contract.

He'd said that he'd tell her all about it and she believed him. He'd looked so desperate to make things up to her and that look he'd given her when she'd walked away with Simon, it was as though she'd broken his heart by refusing his offer.

And that feeling in the stairwell.

What was that? It wasn't just the usual involuntary shudder. She'd felt something, sensed something.

She'd been drawn to looking up at the door. She'd wanted to go back to the roof and to Erik.

She shut the taps off when the bath was full and threw some bath salts in. Placing the contract down on

the closed toilet seat, she gave it one last look and then turned away. She slid into the hot water, moaning as it instantly eased her muscles. It felt so good, almost as good as Erik's hands had felt in the lift. It had been no harmless massage. The way he'd touched her had been so sensual, electrifying. When he'd pulled her shirt open and smoothed it, caressing her bare flesh, she'd felt as though they had plummeted to their deaths at the bottom of the lift shaft and been whisked off to heaven.

She sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on the echo of his fingers against her skin and wishing he was here with her, naked in the tub. What she wouldn't give to have that happen.

Picking her wine up, she took a long sip and leaned her head back into the bath pillow behind her. She sighed and smiled as she thought about him.

What was he doing right now? Was he having dinner with someone else?

Erik stared up at the sign above the restaurant. The Ivy. It was a perfect choice. An obvious one, too.

All the better for him though.

He walked in and ignored the woman at the front desk when he spotted his quarry. He headed straight for them. They looked up as he approached. A dark expression wiped the smile off their face.

A restaurant, and a busy one like The Ivy, was a perfect place for an altercation with his brother.

Beautifully public. There was no way on Earth that Alistair would dare attack him in front of all these people.

He stormed towards him, ignoring the look the blonde woman sitting opposite his brother gave him.

Stopping in front of Alistair, he stared hard into his eyes. His narrowed.

"Keep away from her." Erik's voice was a deadly whisper.

Alistair smirked.

His date looked a little upset.

"Dear brother, I don't understand what you mean. It was purely business talk." Alistair continued to smile. He leaned back into his chair, casually draping an arm over the back of it.

Erik could see in Alistair's eyes how flustered he was. They hid nothing. There was anger and violence in their yellowing depths. He told himself that Alistair wouldn't dare change in front of all these people. The anger wasn't about the accusation, or interruption, it was because he was dragging this into the public eye. The paparazzi were outside, lining the windows. There was no doubt that their argument would get a mention in tomorrow's papers.

"It's no use lying to me, Alistair. I can smell it all over you." Erik hardened his look.

Alistair stood, straightened and gave him a look of pure arrogance. The whole room was staring now.

Hushed.

They were probably panting for a fight to break out, but Erik wasn't going to let it get that far. He was tired of his brother's attempts to rule him. It was time that Alistair realised that he wasn't just younger than himself, he was weaker too.

"You took the company from me," Alistair snarled.

"I didn't." Erik straightened to his full height. He was only a couple of inches taller than Alistair but it was enough to show dominance over him. "It was mother's to give on her death. I don't even want the bloody company, but I'm damned if you're going to take everything from me."

Alistair grinned. "Oh, but I will."

Erik didn't like the snide tone of Alistair's voice and the glint in his eyes. Erik stepped towards him, glaring down at him.

"You touch her," he whispered in a low, threatening tone. "You lay one finger on her ... and I'll kill you."

Alistair still grinned. If anything, it got wider.

"Who said anything about layingfingers on her?" he said.

Erik growled quietly. He knew all about Alistair's sordid sexual deviancy. It was perverse, changing on women halfway through having sex with them.

"You're a sick bastard, Alistair. Keep away from her. I mean it." He steeled his jaw, frowning at his brother.

Alistair's grin became a sly smile, his head cocking slightly to one side.

"Give me the company," he said, his sweetly spoken words not covering the contempt in his eyes.

"Give me the house," Erik retorted.

"No," Alistair said flatly and then paused. His look turned thoughtful and then became dark. "You know she only gave it to you because she wanted to spite father. It's your fault she hated him so much."

Erik growled, louder this time. Alistair flinched slightly under the threat, but recovered quickly. If Alistair wanted to air the family's dirty laundry in public, then Erik was going to make sure that he came out on top. He was tired of bowing to Alistair, choosing the easy way out. It was time his brother knew the truth.

"No, Alistair," he said and took a step away from him. His whole body tensed. His voice lowered, trembling with his anger as he thought about what their mother had gone through. "It was you. It was always you. It was because you were so much like him and she saw him in you. The whole ugly truth. The sex, the lies and the violence. She saw it and it made her see it in father when she'd been blinded by love before. You made her hate him. You're the reason they're both dead!"

He turned and walked out the door, not giving Alistair the opportunity to think of a comeback. His heart thundered with adrenaline, so much that he was shaking. He stared unseeingly at the pavement, ignoring the click of the paparazzi cameras. Trying to rein in his feelings, he fought the desire to give himself over to them. He couldn't change, not here and not when he was feeling like this. Surrendering to the anger was the start. It would bring him that one step closer to being like Alistair and his father, and he didn't want that.

He growled, letting it rumble through him and soothe him as it drew out all his pent up feelings of aggression and hatred.

Getting into his car, he turned the music on loud and started the engine. He revved it, listening to it roar and feeling the vibrations running through his body. Slamming his foot down on the accelerator, he wheel spun out of the parking space and shot down the road.

A long drive and he'd be back to his normal self again.

Tomorrow he'd go running. It always helped clear his head and gave him a better perspective on things.

Tonight, he'd dream of her.

Chapter 7.

Kim breathed steadily as she jogged around Hyde Park. It was another gloriously sunny day. Not one cloud marred the sapphire sky. She smiled to herself and adjusted her headphones on her ears when they showed a hint of slipping off.

Last night had been just what she needed-a little alone time to think about everything that had happened over the past few days. She'd soaked in the tub for almost an hour before foraging in the refrigerator for something to eat and finding a cheesy romance movie to watch. Of course, she'd thought about Erik all the way through it, imagining he was the lead and she was the woman.

She couldn't get her mind off him. All night she'd dreamt of him. It was different this time. She'd just been laid beside him and he'd been softly stroking her skin, pressing gentle kisses against it and being close to her. It was a nice change, but she wouldn't have said no to something more passionate and frantic. After their moment in the lift, she'd been full the brim with desire and it was just waiting to overflow.

Catching her foot on a bump in the path, she almost fell but recovered herself at the last minute. She took it as a sign that running while not concentrating was probably going to end in disaster and stopped.

Jogging on the spot in the shade of a huge oak tree, she looked around the park at all the people. The sun was certainly bringing them out. There were brightly coloured blankets spotting the grass, usually with a couple lying on them, or a group of friends having a drink and a laugh.

She stopped jogging and stretched.

The dappled sunlight shone off her water bottle as she brought it up and took a long drink. Removing her headphones and stowing them safely in the pocket of her shorts, she squeezed a little water over her face and then wiped it off with the bottom of her spaghetti-strap top.

Looking down at the shade of the tree she was standing under, she saw that not many people were using it as an umbrella and walked over to a wide open space. She sat down and brought her knees up to her chest, staring at the beautiful park and trying not to think about Erik.