by Debbie Flint
Sadie looked at her feet. Mac continued. ‘He’s here, in town. Don’t you see, that means he’s really serious about this? Whatever he is, as a businessman he sees things through. Don’t miss out – don’t miss out on the offer just because it wasn’t with me.’
‘Oh,’ she said.
‘It’s not your fault everything changed. Your part of the contract could still go ahead. If you want it to. You’ll just be in business with Peter Galloway and Tremain, not me.’
‘Oh.’
‘Is that it? Just “oh”?’
‘I thought you were going to say …’ her eyes searched his, azure-blue, with dark, dark pupils, and for a moment – a fleeting moment – she got caught up in his gaze. ‘Oh, I don’t know what I thought,’ she said at last.
He was silent for a moment, and then took her hand. ‘You thought I was going to say “now we’re not in business any more, let’s have mad passionate sex. Just for one night”? Didn’t you?’
‘Mac!’
‘I’m joking! I was … I was trying to make you laugh.’
‘Huh. Some joke.’
They stood for a while longer, with Mac still holding her hand. Sadie’s body and mind couldn’t get a certain image out of her head – one from a moment that seemed a million miles away, on a yacht somewhere in the Mediterranean. Mac seemed to sense it.
‘I’d better go,’ he said at last. ‘I need a drink. Hot chocolate with stroodles … or maybe a Baileys.’ He smiled. Sadie flushed at the memories he evoked and spoke quickly to stop him noticing.
‘I’d offer you one but I only have this other bottle of Red Frish – and that doesn’t seem like such a good idea considering who created it.’
‘Yes, Simon’s filled me in about Peter’s little brainchild.’
‘You spoke to Simon?’
‘Yes, I got a phone call the second I left the beach. No signal in the hut. He wasn’t impressed at how long I was incommunicado.’
‘It doesn’t appear as though much impresses Simon!’ Sadie joked.
‘Well, you did,’ Mac said. A silent wave of knowing passed between them again. Mac let go of Sadie’s hand and picked up the Red Frish.
‘Simon’s been busy,’ he said. ‘He discovered some interesting information from some of the staff here – people who also do shifts at the water plant. The word is out that Peter’s been beavering away late into the night at the plant, working on this little brainchild of his. But Bill never gave it any importance.’
‘Of course, his own little effort at getting one up on his father. It’s not as nice. I tried some earlier but didn’t finish it. Don’t know where he’s going with it, but it needs careful testing.’
‘Oh?’ asked Mac.
‘Well, from what I can tell, it acts slightly differently from regular Frish if my visit to the bathroom earlier is anything to go by.’
Mac looked surprised.
‘Ooops, sorry. Too much information,’ she said.
‘Actually, not enough. Tell me more. That’s the other reason I came to see you. To discuss what I saw at Bill’s office.’
‘What did you see?’ she asked.
‘First tell me about how this water works.’
‘Well, I can’t say much more, but I’ve asked one of the guys in the lab here to liaise directly with my uni friends and compare testing results so I might have more news soon.’
Mac took a little taste of the water in the bottle as Sadie continued. ‘But it’s a good job I only drank half a bottle of the stuff with my senna tablet. You know, to help …’ Sadie waved her hand around. Mac looked quizzical. ‘You know, like … it’s for constipation. Felt like I’d taken two instead of just the one.’
‘Interesting,’ said Mac. ‘And slightly disturbing.’
‘Too much with the sharing again?’
‘Little bit,’ he said, smiling. ‘And not in the least bit of a turn on.’
Sadie shrugged and smiled. ‘It wasn’t supposed to be.’
‘I know,’ Mac replied, warmly. ‘And I’m learning it’s just the matter-of-fact way your brain works. It’s who you are. It’s good, who you are, Sadie. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.’
Sadie’s breath caught in her throat and she swallowed hard. ‘Glad my geeky brain came in useful for something,’ she said with a half-smile.
‘Sadie,’ he said, crossing to her once more and touching her arm, ‘You’re not a geek. You’re only half a geek.’
She couldn’t help but laugh, glad of the tension breaker. ‘What’s the other half then?’
‘Mother? Super-hot lover? Successful businesswoman?’ he said.
Sadie didn’t know where to put her face. She squeezed his hand.
‘Hardly successful businesswoman. Seems I’m not that lucky, after all.’
‘You make your own luck. Remember?’
So the gloves were off. Not only off, but in the process of being sent to long-term storage. Mac was playing nice guy.
‘It’s that knowledge of yours, Sadie. That super-brain. Time to use it.’
‘I thought I had been. Fat lot of good it’s ever done me.’
Mac put his finger under her chin and raised her face towards his. ‘So what if you had to leave the research lab when you had the kids. Some of those ex-colleagues of yours will be green with envy when you get the commission for this. You’ll have done it all on your own. You just have to play along a little longer, that’s all.’
‘Like a game.’
‘Exactly.’
Another game. Sadie sighed. ‘Is that what all this is to you? A game?’ She turned away slightly.
‘That’s not what I meant.’
‘That’s exactly how it sounded. And I don’t play games, Mac. Not any more.’
Mac took a deep breath. He turned her to face him, and she fought back the tears once again. Feeling his hands on her arms, the heat from his body only inches away, she felt the pangs of longing begin to course through her body.
All that stood between them was a plush robe and a million miles of misunderstanding.
‘Sadie, listen to me.’ He looked at her in earnest now. The blue eyes searching her own green ones, sincere, genuine.
Just like he’d stood with Alexis not two hours before.
Sadie felt like she was going to kiss him – or kill him. She just couldn’t decide which right now. She cleared her throat. Listen to him? She could at least do that much.
‘Yes?’ She tried to make her voice impassive. To make her heart impenetrable.
‘Sadie, you deserve happiness. I thought for a brief moment that it might be through me – through our deal. A deal I wanted, too. But I’ve realised something – and it’s something big for me – that I just want you to be happy. If I’m honest, that’s the main reason I was working so hard – being so hands on – to try to make this deal work.’
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘So you think I should still go for it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Peter did call. But I wasn’t going to do it, Mac. It felt like I was betraying you.’
‘No more than I betrayed you, by putting my principles before my …’ Then he stopped.
‘What?’
‘Nothing.’
‘You were going to say …?’ she asked.
‘Nothing. Forget it, Sadie.’ Mac walked away from the window and looked dolefully at her half-packed luggage. ‘Nope, it looks like fate has other plans after all. God knows you deserve a bit of luck. If you do this thing now, maybe some of your heart’s desires will come true. But it might be a one-off chance. So do what you think is right. Do it, Sadie. The opportunity may never happen again.’
‘Do it?’
‘Yes.�
�
‘Do what I think is right?’
‘Yes,’ he said.
So she took two steps towards him reached up and kissed him. Hard.
Mac acted surprised at first, but then he kissed her back. Hard.
Sadie’s arms flew round his neck, as her lips touched his and he responded by taking her up into his arms and lifting her bottom in the air. Sadie wrapped her legs around him as the kisses intensified and he backed her against the wall, still held high in his arms.
Just like last time. Only so, so different.
This time she knew she loved him.
Don’t say it, Sadie, don’t say it
His tongue was exploring her mouth and her lips, kissing her cheeks and jaw and neck. Her hands were in his hair. Sadie felt a level of intensity she’d only glimpsed on the Nomad in Monaco. This time, there was history. She knew the man. She knew his soul. She knew his heart. She knew … that he was only doing this because they were no longer in business together. Hang on a minute.
Abruptly she stopped, and looked at him.
He made a face. ‘What?’
‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have started something I can’t finish.’
‘What the … hang on a minute, Sadie, what happened?’
‘You wouldn’t be kissing me back if the deal was still on, would you? Answer me that.’ He paused. ‘Tell me, Mac?’
‘If the deal was still on, no I wouldn’t be kissing you back. And you wouldn’t be kissing me in the first place. If the deal was still on we’d be downstairs celebrating.’
‘Well then, put me down, because I’m not going to be one of your disposables.’
Mac raised an eyebrow.
‘Yes, I know what you call your women. Derek and Graham were a little too free with their conversation after dinner the other night.’
‘You’d never be one of my disposables. If anything, Ms Turner, that’s exactly how you made me feel!’ He was still holding her in mid-air, her legs still around his waist, his arousal still obvious for her to feel. The air thickened and he looked at her mouth as he spoke, his face only inches from hers. ‘One night only – your words – remember?’
‘Yeh, well, maybe. But that doesn’t mean we should have a repeat performance.’
Neither of them spoke.
‘It doesn’t?’ he whispered, as their pulses throbbed in time, as did their breathing – getting heavier – and a deep ache began to connect their very cores.
‘No, I’m afraid it doesn’t,’ she said, with a tinge of sadness, resolute.
So he set her down upon the bed, gently enough to remind her how strong he was, but just rough enough that her robe separated slightly. Oh-ohh!
Sadie made no move to close it. She followed his eyes as he cast a glance downwards, despite himself, and unconsciously licked his lips. Then Mac looked at her face, a look that Sadie knew meant just one thing. Do what you think is right, Sadie, his words resounded in her ears. And in that moment, she couldn’t stop the words coming out of her mouth.
‘Hypothetically though …’ she said.
‘Yes?’ he asked, dropping to his knees in front of her. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and she could see the pulse throbbing in his neck.
‘Hypothetically, if you did … if we did … well, say there had been a second night.’
‘Yes?’
‘Tell me what … what would have happened?’
‘Only if you tell me how it began first.’
Sadie’s heart felt like it was in a vice. Battling with her body, which badly needed Mac’s. Right now. The deal was over. And soon they would be gone. One more night. One night only. Second time around.
She took a deep breath, exhaling out all the ‘Sadie’ angst and emotion she’d built up inside. Then inhaled a huge lungful of ‘Samantha’. She focused for a second then felt a smile creeping across her face. Maybe this bit was going to be easier than she thought. Because if she gave herself to him now she joined the ranks of his disposables – meaningless, nothingness sex. Then it would be easier to say goodbye.
‘So you want me to remind you of our second night? Our “hypothetical” second night? You mean you’ve forgotten already? Tut tut.’ She teased.
He nodded, and rose up on his knees, getting slightly nearer. His pupils were turning black with desire.
‘Jog my memory,’ he said, and gently rubbed her knee with his thumb.
Game on, Sadie thought.
‘Let me see if I can,’ she said, and she slid to the edge of the bed. ‘First you surprised me by turning up unannounced when I’d just taken a shower. And as I was sitting on the bed, you slowly reached for my robe.’
Mac slowly put both hands on her robe.
‘And then you pulled it back.’ Her eyes met his in a knowing moment of no return.
‘Like this?’ he asked, drawing her robe back to reveal her thighs, stopping just short of revealing her completely.
‘Almost.’
‘You mean …’ He breathed deeply. ‘Like this …’ And he kept looking into her eyes as he gradually drew back the edges of her gown the extra crucial inches.
‘Yes, just like that,’ she whispered, and nodded, urging him on and laying back onto her elbows.
His eyes left hers and looked slowly down her body to where she lay, completely exposed. He breathed deeply, closing his eyes and moistening his lips ever so slightly.
‘Did I touch you?’
‘No – no you didn’t.’
‘Fortunately.’
‘Unfortunately.’
‘Would you have liked me to?’ he asked.
‘I’ve not stopped wanting you to touch me.’
‘And I’ve not stopped wanting to.’
With that, Sadie sat up and took his face in her hands. He kneeled up higher to face her, and looked intently at her mouth. They were up close again, and the electricity was starting to spark between them once more.
Undeniable, indefinable, unavoidable.
She kissed him on the nose. Then the eyes. Then the cheek. She dwelt on the side of his face where, without the benefit of stubble, his scars were more visible, and she kissed those too. Sadie felt a tear prickle and blinked it away. If this was going to be goodbye, this would be a proper send-off. One he’d remember. And one she’d never forget.
Then she continued kissing. By the time she got to the corners of his mouth, he was parting his lips ever so slightly, and closing his eyes.
He wants me. We’re really going to do this.
She lay a delicate butterfly kiss right at the very edges of his mouth, and he turned his face slightly so that their lips met. Neither of them moved. They just stayed there, breathing each other in, and feeling the passion stirring their bodies to life. He ran his tongue across his own lips, fluttering onto hers as he did so. She moaned ever so slightly.
‘Mac.’
‘Sadie.’ And he climbed onto the bed with her and took her into his arms – powerful, longing, and full of desire – and his kiss had never been more deep, intent, and meaningful. They pulled each other close, and finished the kiss with a long embrace, holding each other as the seconds ticked by, neither wanting to move.
‘You were quite the dominant one, I can tell you,’ she said at last.
‘Oh?’
‘On our second night.’
‘Oh.’
‘I thought you were going to make me do something we’d regret!’ she said.
‘What?’
‘You really want me to remind you?’
‘I really, really do.’
‘Well, see if this helps.’ And with that, she lay back on her elbows once more. ‘I was here, like this and you were there.’
‘Down here?’ he said, and moved o
ff the bed to kneel on the floor once again.
‘Yes, right there.’ She moved so that her legs were either side of him. Despite the fact that this would undoubtedly change everything, again, the feeling of doing what she shouldn’t be doing, considering everything that had happened – that he’d made happen – just heightened the excitement of the moment. She felt herself getting wet and ready for him once more, and his arousal was also obvious, but she closed her robe across herself, just covering up once again.
‘And then what? What happened then? What did we do?’ he begged.
‘You want me to tell you this, why?’
‘I like it when you tell me.’
‘Well, then hold my robe open.’ Parting her legs, the edges of her gown drew apart, tantalisingly slowly this time, until inch by inch, she revealed herself to him once more. He drew a sharp breath.
‘You know the rest.’
Then Sadie gave herself up to the moment, and lay back fully on the bed. Mac moved closer. She could feel his hot breath getting nearer her body, and when she looked up his mouth was only inches from her mound.
She knew what she was getting herself into but she was powerless to resist.
‘Yes. And now, you. You tell me. What did we do?’
‘I think I would have done this,’ he said, lowering his face until it was an inch away from her. ‘Then this,’ and he opened his mouth and exhaled slowly, onto her sensitive skin. She groaned. ‘And then,’ he said, breathing around her in a small circle, ‘And then I think I would have done this.’
He opened his mouth as wide as it would go, so his lips covered her, then his tongue came out flat and he licked her, all the way up.
Sadie let out a long, low moan.
Then barely touching her, he flicked his tongue again from the very bottom to the very top of her, inserting a tiny bit further in, just as he reached the top. Then he breathed out heavily – hot, tantalising, teasing. She writhed a little beneath him. Sliding his tongue into her crevice at the very top, he slid it inwards, deep into the wet slickness, stopping just over her most sensitive nub. He paused and Sadie could feel the pangs of passion shooting up and down her body.