Chapter 18

He was, quite frankly, obscene. Matthew McConaughey in ‘Magic Mike’ had nothing on this specimen. Towering above her, his hair still plastered to his head in damp tendrils, he looked like he’d stepped straight out of a steamy fantasy. Barefoot, his sculpted calves disappeared into a towel precariously wrapped around his waist, a towel that seemed to fight a losing battle against gravity with every movement. Elodie’s heart hammered against her ribs, a primal mix of fear and… something else entirely. She scrambled to her feet, adrenaline masking the ache in her elbow. ‘Who the hell are you?’ she demanded, her voice surprisingly steady despite the tremor in her limbs. He chuckled, a low rumble. ‘The question, darling,’ he drawled, his voice as smooth as a Macallan whisky, ‘is who are you?’ ‘This is my house,’ she spat, the words sharp and defensive. ‘You are trespassing.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘The title deed in my safe says different, sweetheart.’ He reached behind him, the towel slippin