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arm. She straightened her spine and took a deep breath, pulling her emotions inward, locking them down. For the next hour she needed to make like a turtle pulling into its shell. The hall full of seated wedding guests felt like a living, breathing entity, and she had to walk into its heart. This was a small wedding? How many people were going to be at the reception tonight?
    The line moved forward. Ryan was waiting. She exhaled, slowly, keeping an iron grip on herself. Even so, taking his arm shot lightning to her core. Suddenly, she wasn’t worried about the guests. Withdrawing into her shell wasn’t going to help if the man beside her set her on fire from the inside out.
     
     
    As Ryan held Crystal’s arm and waited for their turn to walk down the aisle, he marveled at her calm. Her self-possession made him want to shake her up a little, go searching for the laughing, carefree girl he’d met ten years ago. She was there; she had to be. People didn’t change that much.
    Mark reached the front of the ballroom and Ryan watched the next pair begin walking. The bridesmaids were dressed in black, but their conservative dresses were different from Crystal’s elaborate gown. Crystal had been pretty at eighteen, but now she was stunning and the dress showcased her mature curves. He’d never forgotten her perfect breasts—full, round and heavy, a revelation he hadn’t had the sense or experience to appreciate at twenty-two. Her hair was piled on top of her head in elegant loops and twists, tempting him to sink his fingers into the inky mass and pull it down across her shoulders. Her tattoo tantalized him, a bright splash of color.
    His heart sank.
    He’d buried his desire for her, but it was still there. Crystal, the self-proclaimed sex psychic, was nothing like the sweet Crissy in his memory, but he found her even more fascinating. She stood out from the crowd like an exotic flower, yet she seemed perfectly comfortable. The women in his life dressed appropriately for every occasion, with every outfit and accessory deliberately designed to match, complement and blend in to the crowd. Crystal dressed to attract attention. Was that why he couldn’t keep his eyes off her?
    Or was it the fact she was ignoring him? He wasn’t used to getting the cold shoulder from women. In fact, he was used to having his pick of the room. He suspected his dates admired his stock portfolio more than his good looks and charm but that didn’t bother him. After all, he enjoyed making money more than he enjoyed dating.
    He knew he worked too much, but he had a gift for finding fledgling enterprises that only needed an infusion of cash to reach astronomical success. Initially, he’d used the money in his trust fund to finance his adventures, but it had been years since he’d had to touch any of his own capital. He was rich from interest now, with two houses in California, one in the mountains and one on the coast. He knew he was considered a catch, but he had no desire to settle down. He dated to satisfy the demands of his social station and his body, but he had never felt the urge to pursue a particular woman, not when his lust for the chase was satisfied with work.
    Life was better lived when the only risks he took involved money, but it wasn’t money that had awakened him in a rock-hard sweat last night. It wasn’t work that had sent him reeling to the sink for a glass of water to rinse the taste of innocence from his tongue. It was Crystal, this Crystal, the one he couldn’t keep his eyes off of, the one who acted like she couldn’t see him. Pure, raw lust rocked through him.
    Crystal suddenly stumbled atop her high heels and he steadied her by pulling her tight into his side. The softness of her body struck a chord of memory deep inside him. The faint smell of musk rose from her skin, and he breathed it in. She smelled warm, like good leather and mink coats, and he pressed closer.
    “You’re next,” the wedding planner warned