by Jane Linfoot
‘You did, just now, in case you’ve forgotten. I told you, it was wonderful.’ She shot him a smile. When she wrinkled her nose like that, she had dimples in her cheeks.
He resisted the ridiculous thought that he’d like to put his finger in them. ‘You know that’s not what I mean, so tell me when.’
Her smile faded as she knitted her brow. ‘Okay, you win, I can’t remember the last time someone cooked for me.’
‘There you go.’ He rounded on her. ‘This isn’t good. Just because you paint things pink, and cover things in flowers and bows, doesn’t make it all okay, you know?’
From the way her face darkened, she wasn’t happy with that remark.
She sat bolt upright, obviously fired up. ‘Well, you’re one to talk. Look at you. You don’t have a home at all, and just when it looks like you might be going to get one, you say you don’t want it. If we’re making judgements, and pointing fingers, what’s that all about then?’
He winced slightly at the onslaught. She wasn’t pulling any punches then, and right now it felt like she’d got him on the ropes, but bowing out wasn’t his way.
‘Not everyone who loses a home reacts in the same way. We don’t all turn into rabid cushion fetishists, who festoon our lives with bunting, and prop cut out letters spelling “love” on the dado rails.’ He quipped back. As things had panned out, letting Astrid keep the house in Hampstead, and their place in France too, had seemed like the least he could do, given that their marriage had failed because of him. He didn’t want anything to do with those places anyway. They would only have been a constant reminder of what he’d broken.
Xander watched Izzy’s eyes fly open, and she stared at him, as if she couldn’t quite believe what he’d said. Maybe he’d been too scathing, but hell, she had to appreciate that sprigs and pastels weren’t the universal “fix all” solution she thought they were. A bit of pretty wouldn’t scratch the surface of his own issues. For some people the problems ran a lot deeper. This house was loaded with painful memories of a different kind, which were agonising to revisit. At least the renovations had wiped the slate clean in some ways. They might be clinical, but in some ways clinical was like a breath of fresh air. Before, when it was full of his mum’s things, the sense of the tragedy of the past had been so oppressive he couldn’t bear to be here at all. He took a long breath, and braced himself for Izzy’s return attack, but instead of the anticipated wrath, he watched as the scorching scowl sank from her brow. She was suddenly pale, except for a crimson smudge on each cheek.
‘Sorry, I didn’t think, I should have known better…’ She gave an apologetic shuffle, and rearranged her feet. ‘We all have baggage to deal with, I should have been more sensitive to yours.’
Xander wasn’t quite sure what baggage exactly she was referring to, but he sensed that somewhere along the line, she’d rumbled him. But he didn’t care half as much as he should have done, because strangely, he had an idea he’d rumbled her too.
This might be the perfect opportunity to dip out, force the conversation to an end, before she decided to dig further.
‘I think it’s time someone brought you another beer.’
As he stood up and stretched, he couldn’t help noticing that her gaze had locked onto his abs, and her expression had gone all soft and gooey. And he couldn’t help noticing he liked that.
31
Thursday Evening, 12th June
LUCE & DIDA
At Luce’s flat
Sex on the beach or a rainy summer in Matlock
‘Hey, everything okay up here?’
Luce tiptoed into her living room, to find Dida pouring over her laptop.
Dida smiled. ‘Yes, Ruby’s been great. She dropped off really quickly, once she’d talked about ponies for half an hour. And I knew Aidie’s parents wouldn’t mind staying home with the kids, if I did beef stroganoff for tea. So did the wedding dress delivery go okay?’
‘It was great in the end.’ Luce wrinkled her nose and poured herself a coffee from the jug on the tray. In theory she didn’t like weddings, but she had to admire the Beeston’s total dedication. ‘Steffie loved the dress, it fitted – thankfully, because I really might have jumped out of the window if it hadn’t – and it was awesome to see the cake and the bridesmaids dresses, and her mum’s outfit, and the shoes, and the serviettes, and the place settings, and the chair bows. Oh, and Steffie even read me her vows too.’ Luce suspected her raised eyebrows might give away that it had all been a little bit over the top, but what the hell. ‘So thanks for looking after Ruby whilst I was out.’
‘Well before she settled down Ruby showed me every single one of Ollie’s postcards, and gave me detailed descriptions of where he’s been travelling.’ Dida stirred the sugar into her coffee, and bit into a chocolate brownie. ‘So I was right about the geography part.’
‘Did you see that latest email from him?’ Luce tried to make the question casual.
Dida pushed a crumb into her mouth. ‘With the bikini babes?’
‘Talk about bloody sex on the beach.’ That came out as a whole lot more of a wail than she’d planned. The truth was, every time she thought about Ollie shagging someone else, it was sending her head to crazy places. She’d hoped that saying it out loud, rubbishing it even, might make it less of a biggie. She took a large bite of her own brownie, and let the sugar and cocoa pulse around her body. Anyone who thought eating chocolate didn’t bring you instant comfort had it totally wrong.
‘Or maybe not…’ Dida’s reply was level. She reached for another brownie, then tapped it thoughtfully on her plate. ‘Maybe he’s just trying to make you react.’
‘What?’ Luce supressed a grimace.
‘As for the sex thing, I wouldn’t worry. He’ll be back before long. But you might need to send him a sign of some kind.’
That was exactly the reassurance Luce was desperate to hear, except Luce had no idea how Dida could sound so certain.
Luce gave a long sigh. ‘Sex on the beach in Thailand, or a rainy summer in Matlock – I know which I’d choose if I was him.’ It was a no brainer as far as Luce could see. Thailand won every time she chewed it around in her head.
‘And I know too, and it wouldn’t be Thailand…’ Dida gave a low laugh and sent Luce a sympathetic smile. ‘But you definitely need to drop him an email. Something casual, to remind him you haven’t forgotten him. You could tell him about Ruby and her current obsession with falabellas. I think Ollie would like that.’
Luce gave Dida a grateful grin. ‘I might just do that.’ She would need to screw up every bit of her courage, but she was getting a lot more practice at that lately. ‘So how about you. Have you sorted out how you’re going to play this cycling holiday?’
Dida gave an eye roll. ‘You know me. I’ll handle it poolside, while downing huge quantities of Prosecco.’ She gave a low laugh. ‘And doing affirmations to make sure Vintage Cinema Club gets approval on that damned business loan.’
Luce laughed too, and crossed her fingers very tightly for the same end. Luce could definitely benefit from taking a life lesson or two from Dida.
32
Even Later, Thursday Evening, 12th June
IZZY & XANDER
The Pink House
The thought of cool beer
‘Hey…’ Xander turned on Izzy, as she followed him through to the kitchen. ‘You’re supposed to be sitting down whilst I get the beers.’
‘Just thought I’d stretch my legs.’ She’d had to move. ‘I’m not used to doing the couch potato thing.’
As he crossed to get the beers, she wandered over to lean against the island unit, resting one bare foot on top of the other. She’d come through without her shoes, and the limestone floor was smooth and cool under the soles of her feet. She shivered as she saw his T-shirt ride up again and his jeans tighten, as he bent to reach into the fridge. Still as devastating as ever, from a distance. Just too explosive close up. And definitely out of bounds.
He’d ke
pt his distance meticulously right through this evening, just as he’d assured her he would. Even though she’d been silently aching for him to close the space between them, there was something incredibly delicious about spending hours together, watching random TV, with a guy who was essentially a stranger. And damn it if she’d spent the length of three films wishing he would go back on his word, and jump her on the sofa.
He straightened to standing, holding two green bottles between the fingers of one hand, and clunked them onto the worktop. Even his elbows looked amazing. How was it possible for one person to be so mind-blowingly attractive in every area? She heard two clinks as the bottle tops flew off. He turned and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, scrubbed his fingers through his hair.
‘One cool beer coming up.’ He appeared to be assessing her, through half closed lashes, as he sauntered in her direction.
She felt her mouth water, not at the thought of cool beer, but as his scent reached her before he did. Whatever he smelled of, it turned her knees to jelly every time.
‘There you go…’
Her eyes were a lot lower than his collar bone now she’d taken off her shoes, and her stomach gave a tiny lurch as her gaze locked onto the indentation at the base of his throat. He held out a bottle, gently grazing it across her bare arm as he handed it to her.
She jumped at the chill. ‘Hey.’
He didn’t reply, just raised one eyebrow, pursing his lips around his own bottle as he took a swig, and when his eyes finally met hers they were dark and guarded. She followed his gaze downwards, to where it honed in on her nipples, pebbling, and erect, with the shock of the cold bottle on her arm. Nothing to do with her skin tingling all over because of the hot guy alert. Honestly. As his gaze moved up, in the split second it met her own again, she saw his eyes had blurred, and she couldn’t stop the trace of a smile. Then she felt her lips part as she drew in a deep breath, and stayed perfectly still, waiting, aching.
Slowly, slowly, his face moved towards her. Then just before his mouth met hers, he ducked out, slipped sideways, brushed his cheekbone against hers. No other contact. Just that. She heard a low groan from her own throat. He pulled backwards to look at her, and as she slowly raised her eyes to meet his, she could hear the thump of a heartbeat, but she wasn’t sure whose. As she raised an unsteady hand to check where he’d touched her face, she saw the lines of his face change, then her insides turned to hot syrup, as she took in a disarming smile.
She felt the lightest brush of his lips on hers, the faintest tease of his tongue, then he pulled away. She shuddered. A ripple of white hot desire snaked through her.
For a moment he rested a steadying hand on her arm. Then, as if he was deliberately holding his body away from hers, he reached behind her head. Made tiny tugs on single pieces of her hair, before he cupped her head with his hands, and raked his fingers through the tangle of her waves. As his tongue made contact with the base of her neck, she wound her fingers under his shirt, but lightly he lifted her hand away, and placed it back by her side.
‘No touching. Not yet.’ His words were a grating whisper.
One tug, and he was pulling her head backwards, tracing a finger over her lips. ‘Every time I kiss you, you run, so maybe we’ll try without.’
So he thought he’d been kissing her, not the other way around, even though she’d…That thought came to a crashing halt as one bold hand slid up under her skirt, and slipped between her thighs. As she parted her legs, his fingers were already inside her pants, fluttering against her clit. Now was not the best time to decide this was a bad idea, not when he was doing what he was doing. She pushed onto his hand, moved with him, felt the mounting need surging through her. Spreading her arms sideways, she grasped hold of the edge of the granite work-surface, to hold herself, and stop her wobbling legs from collapsing, half closing her eyes to shut out the blur of the cabinets. It was so long since she’d done this, yet it was going so fast, as if he’d inadvertently released some kind of crazy chain reaction deep inside her, and there was nothing she could do about it, except enjoy it. Could it be any more embarrassing, to be on the verge of coming, with a guy she didn’t know, in a kitchen…Then suddenly she didn’t even care any more, as her whole body exploded and imploded all at the same time. Talk about rainbows, firework fountains, crystal mazes, falling off mountains. And that was no measly excuse for a mountain…that was a Himalayan peak. As she slid down onto the pale cream stone floor, she came face to face with Xander’s jeans, and looked up to catch a view of an erection pushing against denim that reminded her she’d left him hanging.
A second later he was beside her, propping his back against the island unit, crossing his legs, casually, in front of him.
His eyes had a kind of impressed gleam she hadn’t counted on, given the one sided nature of the pleasure. He dangled a bottle in her direction. ‘Beer? For the intermission?’
She shot him a shy, sideways glance, and as she stretched out her hand to take the beer, he did that smile again. She twisted a strand of hair around her finger, and smiled back, as she struggled to steady her breathing again.
‘Thanks. And thanks for…you know. It was epic, in a Himalayan mountain kind of a way.’
That put a kind of satisfied smirk on his face. ‘I take it you’re pleased you came, then?’ She wasn’t quite sure which arrival he was talking about, but whatever, it was a big fat yes to both.
She pushed him a grin. ‘I hope you don’t think I do that every time someone gives me a beer.’
His smile broadened. ‘I’d like to see what happens when you drink it.’
‘Actually, I don’t actually do this at all, not usually.’ It suddenly seemed important to let him know. ‘I mean I don’t make a habit of ending up in crumpled heaps on people’s kitchen floors, with people I don’t know, not on a regular basis. Well hardly at all…well, never, in fact.’
He was laughing at her now. ‘Me neither. But I’m happy to make an exception, for you, just for tonight, okay?’
Somehow that made it better, so she gave a nod. Loving the way his thighs pushed tight against his jeans, she trailed out a finger, daring herself to touch. She traced a finger-nail along his muscle, and felt a curious tingling after-shock through the denim.
‘It’ll be pay-back time any minute.’ She could hardly believe the throaty voice she heard was hers.
This time when she ran her finger along his thigh, the after-shock was juddering.
‘Is that a threat? Or a promise…’
She didn’t have time to get around to answering that. He finished his beer with one tilt of his head, jumped to his feet, and she heard the chink of glass on granite, as he put his bottle down. Then he was holding out his hand, and the next thing she knew she was being pulled towards the snug.
‘Doesn’t anyone think to provide cushions around here?’ He gave a wicked grin, as he peeled off his T-shirt and bundled it up.
Izzy inhaled sharply. Smoothly defined muscles and powerful shoulders, all enhanced by darkly bronzed skin.
‘Nice tan you’ve got there Xander.’
He brushed off the compliment. ‘Perk of the job, location shoot in South America.’ Then he threw himself down and was on his back on the rug, head propped on the makeshift T-shirt pillow.
Bloody hell. Horizontal. She was unsure what he expected next. ‘Now what?’
‘Your call.’
Her eyes followed the trace of hair, from his navel, down the perfect plane of his stomach, and her breathing sped up as she came to the sexy place between his hip bones where it disappeared down below the waistband of his jeans.
‘That makes a change. Usually you’re the one ordering everyone…’ Her words tailed to nothing as her eyes slid to take in the slanting punch of an erection, which was growing as she watched. She swallowed hard.
For a moment she hesitated, not quite knowing what to do with this whole, beautiful man, lying in front of her. Then slowly, she lifted one bare foot, and rested i
t lightly on his thigh. She felt the flex of his muscles beneath her foot, heard him catch his breath. She moved her foot upwards, to his groin, and increased the pressure, feeling the heat of him through the sole of her foot. His low groan told her she was on the right track. She moved her foot around, daring to nudge the swollen bulge of his penis. More teasing nudging. Then another groan as she carefully moved her foot again, to rest along the length of him.
‘Come and sit on me.’ His voice was blurred and grating.
Hang on, wasn’t she supposed to be the one giving the orders here?
‘Now.’
She lowered herself to sit astride him, put her hands on his chest, and got a view straight into his eyes. As she shuffled to find a comfortable position, she felt the heat of him through her knickers and watched dusky shadows of pleasure passing across his face as she shifted.
‘That’s better. Now stay still, and don’t touch.’ He was back to ordering her around and suddenly she didn’t give a damn.
He put his hands on her hips, and shifted her forward. ‘Sorry, if you’d kept that up I’d have come straight away.’ He cleared his throat. ‘As for these buttons on the front of your dress, I’ve been itching to undo these ever since you turned up.’
He smiled as he undid the second button. ‘Flowery bra. Why does that not surprise me?’ He rubbed a thumb lazily across a nipple. ‘Liking the silk by the way.’ He carried on teasing, and just before she was about to die, he whipped down the bra cups.
He let out a shuddering gasp as he revealed her breasts, then stretched up to touch.
Izzy shifted, her brain fuzzy and confused by the pleasure. He dragged her towards him, cupped her breasts between his hands, and drew his tongue across a nipple, before he took it into his mouth. He kept up the torture, rubbing her other nipple, making her breath come in uncertain jerks, as her pelvis ground onto his stomach. Her sudden moan that grew to a gasp came out of nowhere, and felt as if it belonged to someone else. Her knees gripped the sides of his body and, as her eyes closed, her body disintegrated with waves of pleasure. She knew he was watching her every move.