Singapore Fling

by Alexia Adams

  She turned and his breath evaporated in his lungs. The dress had no back, and the folds of the skirt were so low he could see the dimples at the base of her spine. Dinner had better be quick. And private.

  Lalita took his hand and led him along a path away from the beach, up the hill to a bamboo hut set right into the jungle. They climbed the stairs and as they gained the top, she kicked off her sandals. The floor was strewn with red and white flower petals, candles in glass vases provided the illumination. In the centre of the room a table was set up, low to the floor, two massive pillows on either side.

  Lalita glided over to it, melting onto one of the cushions. As she wriggled to get comfortable, the slit in the skirt of the dress opened, revealing her entire leg. Jeremy kicked off his shoes and sat on the opposite pillow.

  A waiter appeared a minute later with a bottle of wine and two silver dome-covered plates. Placing one before each of them, he then whisked away the covers. Jeremy stared down at his plate. Three large oysters sat on the half shell, embedded in ice. He glanced over to Lalita’s plate to find three ripe figs, cut in half, drizzled with honey. His discomfort increased. Aphrodisiacs. Just what he needed to maintain control.

  Lalita laughed. “I guess this happens when you visit a resort that specializes in honeymoons.”

  “How did you find this place? Been here on honeymoon?” Jeremy tossed back an oyster while he waited for her reply.

  “No, I’ve always come alone before. I read about it in a magazine. Aside from honeymoons, Steve has a program where you can spend a day or two helping the local community—work at the school or help dig a well, that kind of thing. It’s completely different from what I normally do and you know what they say about a change being as good as a rest…” She finished with a shrug.

  She picked up a half fig with her fingers, pulling the juicy flesh away from the skin with her teeth. Eyes closed, a trickle of juice and honey perched on the edge of her lips, threatening to run down her chin. Her tongue darted out, catching the drip before it could escape. Jeremy grabbed for his glass of ice water.

  “You have to try one of these,” Lalita said, opening her eyes.

  She sat up on her knees and leaned across the table, holding out a half fig for him. Putting her hand on his shoulder to keep herself from toppling over, she put the fruit to his lips. Jeremy gazed into her eyes, now dark brown with passion. He took the fig from her hand and kissed her wrist instead. His lips pressed against her throbbing pulse.

  The hand on his shoulder tightened its grip. He licked the sweet fruit juice and honey from her finger tips before releasing her. She sank back on her cushion, her face flushed, her breathing unsteady.

  He no longer cared how long dinner took. This was foreplay.

  “Tell me one thing about Lalita Evans that it will take me years to learn on my own,” he said.

  Lalita shook her head as if trying to restart her brain.

  “Um … after I fire someone, I go home and cry,” she replied after a lengthy pause. Her voice was husky, unsteady.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, even if I don’t like the person and have good reasons for terminating their employment. Within my first year as DAO, I had to sack the entire staff at the Hong Kong office, there was so much corruption. I wept a lot that year.”

  “Interesting, but that doesn’t count. That’s work-related. Remember, I said nothing to do with Evans International. Tell me something personal.”

  Lalita lounged on her pillow, ignoring the rest of the figs.

  “Don’t you think you’ve discovered enough personal things about me in the past few days?”

  Jeremy watched as she withdrew into herself. The austere businesswoman struggled to emerge.

  “No go, Lalita. We are about to become lovers, maybe more.” The last two words came out unbidden. He waited for her reaction, but she seemed not to have heard. Or was ignoring the implication.

  “You’ve ruined every other man for me,” she said on a rush, as if the confession was pulled from her soul by force.

  That implication he was not going to ignore. “Go on,” he encouraged, his voice a husky whisper. This conversation was rocking his world almost as much as watching her eat the fruit earlier.

  “In the past five years, whenever another man has kissed me, your face has come up in my mind. The comparisons have not been favourable for the other man. I tried to convince myself that I loved Damian, that we could be a good match. But when he wanted our relationship to become physical, I couldn’t do it. I kept thinking about you and that night in your car. There was no hope after that, I had to break it off because it wasn’t fair on him.”

  Surprise battled with satisfaction at her confession. His heart fibrillated again. He should really see a cardiologist when he got back to the UK.

  “Why did you run away five years ago?”

  “It was something you said.”

  “Something I said? I don’t recall talking at all. I wasn’t kidding when I told you at Jessica’s engagement party that that night is permanently seared into my brain, never to be forgotten.”

  “You said, ‘You taste like heaven, Lalita Evans.’ When you used my full name it reminded me of who I was supposed to be. And all the other guys before. The ones that wanted to get to my father or wanted me for my money.”

  “Trust me, Lalita. I was not thinking of your father, or your money at the time. I wasn’t thinking at all. You, and you alone, have the ability to banish all rational thought from my brain. With you, I can only feel, and I like what I feel.”

  She searched his face. The little pucker of skin between her brows smoothing as she appeared to believe his statement.

  “Your turn,” she said at last. “Tell me one thing about Jeremy Lakewood that would take me years to find out.”

  She picked up another fig, giving it the same treatment as the previous one, except she didn’t close her eyes this time. She kept her gaze fixed on him. He took another sip of his water, his overheated brain trying to think of some reply.

  “I love karaoke. I have secret pop star fantasies.”

  Lalita laughed and he relaxed again.

  “You tell me that now? After we’ve left the karaoke capital of the universe? Besides, I don’t think that’s fair. I told you something very personal. Your karaoke weakness doesn’t count.”

  Candlelight flickered on her gorgeous face. The distant lilt of a haunting melody coming from the bar area made the whole scene feel like a dream. He didn’t want to mar it with the harsh realities of his childhood. She looked at him expectantly and as she’d bared her soul, he felt he could do no less. He hauled in a deep breath.

  “I’ve been arrested.” His eyes met hers, waiting for her reaction.

  He got a sensuous smile. “I knew beneath all that suave sophistication beat the heart of a bad boy. Told you I had a habit of falling for the wild ones. What did you get arrested for?”

  His next breath came easier. “Vandalism. After a drunk driver killed my father, I smashed up his house and car. I was arrested, but as my mum paid for the damages, the charges were dropped. I swore I wouldn’t cost my mother another penny. I’ve held some sort of job ever since.”

  “What happened to the drunk driver?”

  “He got three years in prison, served less than eighteen months. Meanwhile, my family got a life sentence.” Some days he could barely remember his father. He hoped his dad would be proud of him, even though the rest of the evening would quite possibly put his mother’s future at risk again. But there was no way he could deny himself the night with Lalita.

  “I am sorry for your loss, Jeremy. I can’t imagine losing a parent, even now when I seem to have an over-abundance of them.” A smile lifted her lips just before she slid the final fig between then.

  It lightened his own heart to hear she was starting to see the bright side of her recent discovery. He had his own issues that would be complicated by an affair with her, but he thrust those aside.

 
Tonight, it was just the two of them.

  Chapter 10

  The barefoot waiter appeared again, accompanied by a boy this time. Their feet crushed the flower petals strewn about the floor, releasing a delicate perfume that filled Lalita’s head. She tingled with each glance from Jeremy. His gaze lingered on her exposed cleavage and her breasts ached for his touch. Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. If there was ever a time for yoga breathing it was now, before she detonated.

  She sipped her wine, lounging on her cushion, as the boy took away her empty plate. The waiter placed the next course before her. Staring across the top of her wine glass at Jeremy she recalled his earlier words. He’d said something about being more than a lover. What did he mean?

  Five minutes after the waiter took their empty plates away, Lalita couldn’t remember what she’d eaten. Her focus was entirely on Jeremy. His smile skidded across her skin.

  “Finished?” Her voice came out as a whisper.

  “I’ve not even begun. Shall we retire to a more private location?”

  Her throat was so tight, she couldn’t have replied if she wanted to. She stood and waited for him. He got to his feet slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. Picking up her shoes, she carried them as they strolled hand in hand to the villa. Tension coiled in the pit of her stomach.

  Jeremy opened the villa door and gestured for Lalita to precede him. The gentle hum of the air conditioning joined forces with the lapping of the waves on the beach. Someone had lit a myriad of candles in hurricane glasses and their light danced around the room.

  Jeremy shut the door. The click of the latch echoed the shattering of Lalita’s self-control. Her heart pounded in her chest, her skin over-heated under his gaze.

  He leaned against the door, his eyes following her every move.

  “Well, that was enjoyable—” she said.

  Before she’d completed the sentence, Jeremy strode across the room and wrapped her in his arms.

  “It’s time we took enjoyable to the next level.” He kissed her, his lips soft and gentle.

  She melted. Five years of anticipation, three weeks of pent up frustration and she couldn’t even make it through the first kiss. She tried to focus, tried to gather her scattered wits. It was too late. Jeremy’s mouth and hands were working their magic.

  The years evaporated in the heat. She was once again a junior executive, intoxicated at her sister’s engagement party, in the backseat of some charmer’s car.

  “Lalita,” Jeremy whispered. He drew in a ragged breath. “I desire you, like I’ve never desired another woman in my life. But unless you want me, unless you want this to happen, it won’t. I’ll stop right now and go to my room, leave you alone.”

  He dropped his hands and stepped back. His chest heaved, his pupils dilated.

  She sucked in a deep breath, raised her head and held his gaze. “I want this, Jeremy. I want you. I have never wanted anything more in my life.”

  “Then kiss me. Show me you want me,” he demanded.

  It was all the encouragement she needed. Stepping forward, she put one hand on his chest and the other on the back of his head. She pulled his mouth down to hers and kissed him with all the passion she could muster. It must have been enough because Jeremy kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

  And quite possibly, for them, tomorrow was all they had.

  ***

  An hour later, Lalita raised her head from Jeremy’s chest. She traced random patterns in his smattering of chest hair with her index finger.

  “That was worth waiting five years for, but I’d much rather have had five years of it.”

  “Told you: next level enjoyment.” Jeremy’s smugness might once have irritated her. Considering what she’d just experienced, he was fully justified in his arrogance.

  “I can understand the five-year absence. I take responsibility for that. I was overwhelmed by what I felt for you—the passion that exploded between us. What I don’t understand is why we waited the past three weeks.”

  He un-plastered a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. “Your father said he’d sack me for improper conduct and blacken my name if I seduced you and got in your bed.”

  Lalita sat, pulling the sheet up to her chest. “What! John said that? Why would he say something like that?” The sudden intrusion of her father into the discussion shattered the blissful feeling that had taken over on a cellular level.

  “He knows about our previous encounter. I think that’s why he sent you to Asia. Before we left for this business trip, he warned me against getting involved with you.”

  She fumed, like smoke coming from her ears angry. Her father had a nerve, especially after what she’d recently learned. That was an argument she’d have with her father, however. She wasn’t going to waste her last few hours with Jeremy discussing her over-protective parent. Time was precious.

  “Well, that explains the red dress my mother sent me in Manila. If my father knew of our previous encounter, then my mother would know as well. She must have sent the dress hoping to nudge us toward the bedroom. With Jane and Jessica successfully matched, she thinks it’s my turn.”

  “Then at least your mother is in our corner.”

  “I wish you would have told me earlier about what my father said. There is a simple solution to his ultimatum.”

  “What’s that?” Jeremy’s hands began to explore again.

  “He said you weren’t to seduce me and climb into my bed, right?”

  “Something like that,” Jeremy murmured. He pulled Lalita down on top of him and nibbled her ear.

  “If you had told me, I could have seduced you and climbed into your bed. For a Director of Marketing, you should have been able to work around the subtle nuances in his directive.”

  Jeremy pulled back and caught her eye. “You think you can seduce me?” he challenged.

  “Watch me,” she responded before sliding down his torso.

  “Lalita!”

  ***

  Jeremy woke with a stiff shoulder. He tried to move before realizing that Lalita’s head rested on it. Settling back, he revelled in the feel of her in his arms. Last night had lived up to every one of his fantasies, even exceeded a few. The connection he’d experienced with the woman in his arms had astonished him.

  Usually, after a romantic encounter, he either wanted to get up, have a shower and something to eat, or fall asleep. With Lalita, he hadn’t had any of those thoughts. He wanted to hold her tight and never let her go.

  She shifted her head, her soft breathing indicating she was still asleep. Tomorrow he would be returning to the UK, and Lalita to Singapore. Their relationship was just starting and now they’d be opposite sides of the globe. They’d never discussed any future between them, never talked about emotional attachments. With any other woman it would be his ideal relationship, yet with her…

  She stirred, stretching her limbs, her long legs rubbing against his. He put all thoughts of the future out of mind and rode the waves of pleasure that followed Lalita’s waking.

  ***

  “Want to play one of my favourite games?”

  Lalita got out her phone and held it in her palm. Jeremy did the same. They sat in the Denpasar airport lounge waiting for their flights. Her heart was ready to burst, but she refused to let Jeremy see her pain. He was as charming and casual as ever. The only sign that he’d spent a passion-filled two days with her was the smile that played constantly about his lips.

  “What’s your game?” His voice was deep, intimate. She struggled to keep up her breezy nonchalance.

  “When I say go, power up your phone. The person with the most emails, text messages, and missed calls wins.”

  “What do I get when I win?” Jeremy put his hand over hers and stared into her eyes. Maybe he wasn’t as unaffected as he appeared.

  “What do you want? You’ve had all of me, repeatedly.”

  “And yet it still doesn’t feel like
enough. How about the bet is that the loser has to fly to the winner’s city for another two days of passion?”

  Lalita swallowed. Aside from the twenty-six hours spent on an airplane, it seemed a win-win arrangement. “Agreed. Go.”

  They pressed the power buttons on their phones and watched the indicators rise. She took a deep breath.

  “I have one hundred and twelve emails, eighteen text messages, and forty-two missed calls,” Jeremy said. He scrolled through the missed calls list.

  “I have two hundred emails, sixteen text messages, and thirty-one missed calls. I win.”

  He looked up, his skin puckered between his brows. “Thirty of my missed calls are from your father, as well as half the text messages. The other half are from my secretary saying the CEO is livid and I need to contact the office urgently.”

  Lalita swore. “I have twenty missed calls from my father and a text from Grace saying he’s on the war path. I am to call her before I speak with him.”

  She peeked over at Jeremy as he scrolled through his email messages. This wasn’t how she wanted to leave him. They’d delayed letting the outside world in until the last minute. There was so much left unsaid, she didn’t know where to start.

  He pocketed his phone. “It can all wait until I get back to the UK,” he declared.

  She scanned her messages quickly. “I have a nephew. Jane and Robert’s baby was born this morning at five a.m. Mum and baby are doing well. They’re thinking of calling him Matthew.”

  She sighed. For the first time, she envied her sister’s situation. Lalita had put her career first for so long, it seemed odd to resent it now for impacting her personal life.

  Jeremy squeezed her shoulders. She closed her eyes for a minute, treasuring the last moments of peace. She glanced at her phone. Moment over.

  When she’d invited him to come away with her to Indonesia, she’d thought two days in bed with him would take her mind off her parent situation, relieve the sexual tension, and let her get on with her life. Instead she was dreading his departure even more. The only thing to do was return to her impenetrable cloak of efficient businesswoman and hope the gaping hole in her protective covering, caused by Jeremy’s loving, wouldn’t show too much.