by Nina Croft
The others all rose one by one. “I have to take the kids to school,” Sarah said.
“And you can drop me off in the High Street.” Jean collected all the mugs and put them in the sink, and a minute later Josh was alone.
The place was a complete and utter madhouse.
The house was more like a rescue center for stray humans and chickens than a civilized home. He had the urge to…tidy everything up, to ask them what they were doing—no doubt freeloading off his far too generous wife.
He thought about getting up and getting a coffee, but instead sat tracing patterns on the scrubbed wooden table with one finger. A sense of peace filled him—unexpected, but there was something about this house, despite the chaos, that was restful. Maybe it was all the sleeping animals, a lullaby of gentle snores.
He’d been restless for a long time; he hadn’t noticed as it crept up on him. Not unhappy exactly—he’d been too busy to be unhappy, but plagued by a nagging sense of futility. What was all the hard work for? He’d come so far, overcome his crappy background, but for what?
In the six weeks since that damn cruise ship had gone down, he’d examined his life from every angle, trying to come up with answers for how he wanted to move forward. It was strange, but the accident had changed him more than he would have thought possible. Coming face-to-face with death would do that. Recuperating at Vito’s villa on Sicily, he’d had a lot of time to think, but he had failed to come up with any solutions.
He’d thought all he wanted was sex. But last night he’d had sex…and now he wanted more sex. Had woken that morning with a raging hard-on, and he was fed up with jerking off in the shower.
He knew what he didn’t want—he didn’t want to be responsible for anyone else. That was never going to change. But did it mean he had to go through life alone? Wasn’t that the way he liked things?
Since he was seventeen, he’d pushed everyone away, isolated himself. But Logan and Vito had become true friends. Logan actually lived not far from here—he’d recognized the road as he drove up this morning.
The dogs all jumped up and hurled themselves at the door, dragging him from his thoughts.
Whatever else, she wasn’t trying to impress him. Lexi stood in the doorway, wearing faded jeans torn at the knee and a pale pink camisole top that looked like she might have slept in it. And nothing underneath—which meant he could see her nipples pressed against the soft cotton. He wished he hadn’t noticed that.
Her feet were bare, and her hair looked like it hadn’t been combed, a wild tangle of dark red curls. Smothering a yawn with one hand, she stroked the dogs with the other, and then she eyed him warily as she shuffled across the kitchen toward the coffee machine on the other side. With her back to him, she poured a cup and then stood staring out of the window as she sipped the coffee.
He waited for her to turn, but he didn’t speak. She was so small, tiny, almost fragile. She hadn’t felt fragile last night. He had a flashback to the feel of her arms around him, holding him tight. The taste of her. And with that thought, he had another surge of inconvenient blood to his groin.
Don’t go there.
“You have a chicken,” he said as she finally turned around. The words sounded almost like an accusation.
She blinked as though trying to make sense of his words. “That’s Prudence.” She waved a hand at the chicken by the fireplace. “But I have four. They’re rescue chickens.”
“What the hell is a rescue chicken?”
“They’re ex-battery hens. From a battery farm. There’s this organization that frees them, but then they need new homes. Did you know, chickens are actually very intelligent? They can recognize up to a hundred individuals.”
He shook his head as if it was beyond his comprehension.
“And they lay eggs.” She shrugged. “I like chickens.”
“And who the hell were all those people?”
“They live there.” She gave another little lift of her shoulders. “It’s a big house. There’s plenty of room.”
She sank onto the seat opposite him. As she took a deep breath, he caught a fleeting glimpse of vulnerability in her face before she blanked out her expression. “I’ll give you more money if you keep to the original deal.”
His muscles tightened. She thought she could pay him off? “Do you think your money can buy everything?”
Her arched brows drew together. “It bought you the first time,” she pointed out in a reasonable tone that had anger sizzling along his nerves.
But she was right. However much he might hate it, it had been her money that had started his business. Without it, he would have been successful eventually, but it would have taken him a lot longer. That hadn’t been why he’d taken the money, it had been for something else entirely. Something he’d considered vitally important at the time. It had turned out not to matter. He could have given the money back then. But he hadn’t, so maybe he deserved her comment. But it didn’t make him like the situation anymore.
“I don’t need your money.”
She sighed and rubbed a finger between her eyes, as though she had a headache. “I was afraid of that. But we can’t get an annulment.”
“Did you arrange that?”
Something flashed in her eyes, and his anger ratcheted a notch. “Did I deliberately set out to seduce you so you couldn’t get an annulment?” She shook her head. “No. You don’t know me very well, but that isn’t something I would do.”
But he’d seen that telltale flash of guilt in her eyes, and now her skin colored slightly. He was a goddamn idiot, taken in by a pretty face and a lush little body.
“Then we’ll get a divorce.”
“I’ll contest it, and it will take more than the six months I’ve asked for. Why not accept it, and then afterward we can get the divorce and you’ll be free of me.” She gave him that sweet smile, the one that did weird things to his insides and made him want to be a better person. And he hardened himself to the reaction.
“Come on, Josh. It’s the only sensible option.”
Thing was—he hated being manipulated. And he had a feeling she was doing just that.
“No, there’s another option. How about you agree to the quickie divorce my lawyer is drawing up right now, or I pay a visit to Grandmamma and tell her about out little arrangement?”
He didn’t wait for her to reply—the look of horror in her eyes was answer enough. And suddenly he felt like a complete piece of shit. But she thought she could play him, and he hated that.
He pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. “Call me and let me know your decision.”
Fifteen minutes later, he was sitting at the table in Logan’s much smarter kitchen—all black and silver and immaculately clean and organized, and not a chicken in sight.
“How’s it going?” Logan asked.
He shrugged. “I fucked things up big time.”
Logan raised an eyebrow.
“You could say I fucked and I fucked up.”
“You slept with your wife?”
“We didn’t actually sleep.” What would it be like to sleep wrapped around all that softness?
“You had sex with the woman you were going to get an annulment from?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought she wasn’t your type.”
“She isn’t.”
Logan rubbed a hand along his jawline. “I suppose after five years that probably wouldn’t make much of a difference.”
“I think she played me. She said no to the annulment.”
“And then seduced you to make sure?”
“Maybe.” Actually he was pretty sure they’d seduced each other.
Logan was grinning. “Poor Josh. Taken advantage of by a woman.”
“Now she wants us to stay married for six months, then she’ll give me a quiet, quickie divorce.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Shit yeah. I want to be free. I want more sex, and I don’t mean married sex.” He ran a hand th
rough his hair. “She scares me. She’s, like, totally crazy and disorganized and scattered as hell, and she has all these hangers-on—animals and people. She has a chicken in her kitchen—not a dead one like normal people, but a real live fucking chicken. It even has a name. And it doesn’t like me. And she has this family, and they’re all assholes, and she needs looking after. Seriously. And I don’t do that shit. She is everything I do not want. So from now on, no more sex with my fucking wife.”
Logan’s lips twitched.
“Don’t fucking laugh at me. I’m in trouble. I haven’t felt this horny since I was fourteen. I need this fixed and soon.”
“What else?”
“I sort of threatened to tell her asshole relatives that she wasn’t really married.”
“Wrong move.”
“Definitely.” Especially as there was no way he’d do it. He hated making empty threats.
Logan thought for a moment. “Is she a bad person?”
“No, she’s…nice.”
“Then go talk to her. You’d be amazed by how much talking can achieve. Find out why she needs to stay married, and maybe you can sort something out between you.”
Yeah, talk to her.
But no touching.
He’d phone. How much trouble could he get into on the phone?
Chapter Six
Lexi wasn’t sure what she’d expected from Josh’s business, but this wasn’t it. Maybe some sleazy back office where he…did what?
What did a security company do? She’d presumed it was something like a private investigator, and he spent his time trailing unfaithful husbands and wives, or acting as a bouncer at clubs.
Perhaps she was wrong. Anyway, whatever he did, it was clearly lucrative.
His offices were in a tower block on one of the new business estates on the Isle of Dogs—a big glass and chrome tower, and according to the plaque on the wall, Slater Security took up the first three floors, plus the basement.
Maybe she should have dressed up. She was still wearing her oldest “comfort” jeans, which she’d pulled on that morning, but at least she’d added shoes and a bra—she had noticed him staring at her nipples earlier. And she’d combed her hair, pulling it into a tight ponytail.
He’d told her to call, but really, this was better face-to-face. Wasn’t it? She took a deep breath and pushed through the revolving doors, then stood for a moment in the marble-floored reception area. A stainless steel counter ran along the far wall, with a handsome young man in a suit behind it. She wandered across and peered over.
“I’d like to see Joshua Slater, please.” Actually, that wasn’t strictly true. She needed to see him. She didn’t really believe he would go visit her grandmother, at least, not without talking to her again. He had obviously come to the conclusion she’d seduced him on purpose. And that had pissed him off.
“Do you have an appointment?”
Sometimes being small and cute helped. She gave him a smile. “Could you tell him Lexi is here?”
His eyes widened a little, but he picked up the phone. “Of course. Just one moment.”
He spoke quietly into the phone, and then he put it down a moment later. “He’s in the gym. Down one floor. Take the elevator and someone will meet you.”
She took the elevator down a floor. When the doors opened, a woman was waiting. “Lexi?”
She nodded.
“I’m Sally, Josh’s PA. Would you come with me and I’ll take you to him?”
The woman was tall, blonde, sleek, and sophisticated in a charcoal gray business suit. Everything Lexi wasn’t. This whole thing was making her insecurities rise to the surface, and she hated that. As she hesitated, Sally glanced back over her shoulder and then slowed down so Lexi walked beside her. “You’re Josh’s wife?” she asked.
Lexi wasn’t sure what to say to that one. No was probably the correct answer, though maybe now she did qualify for the title. Anyway, she had no alternative to offer, so she nodded.
“Sorry, I meant not to ask, but I couldn’t resist.” Sally gave a quick grin. “Then again, it’s my duty. I’m going to get a lot of questions, and I want to be prepared.”
“Questions?”
“Well, we really thought he’d invented you to keep us all at a distance. But here you are. Everyone is going to want to know everything. ”
“They are?”
“Oh yeah.”
She was processing the information about keeping his distance. Perhaps he didn’t like to combine business with pleasure. “How long have you worked for him?”
“Four years.”
“And is Josh a good boss?”
“The best. Here we are.” She came to a halt in front of a door. “He’ll be finished soon. You can go in and wait if you like.”
“What’s he—”
But Sally was already gone.
Lexi hesitated for a moment, then turned the handle and pushed open the door. She blinked a couple of times as she took in the scene. The room was square, with white walls, no furniture, and one mirrored wall. Two men were fighting, doing some sort of kung-fuey thing. She recognized Josh and stood for a minute in the doorway, watching him.
He was dressed in black drawstring pants and nothing else.
Holy crap. He’s hot.
The pants hung low on his hips, revealing a stomach ridged with muscle and a broad chest with a light sprinkling of golden hair. His shoulders were broad, and he moved with the lethal grace of a big cat.
He whirled around and kicked out, hitting the other guy in the chest, which brought him face-to-face with Lexi. He went motionless, one leg still in the air, eyes locked on her small figure. The other man took advantage of his distraction and swept Josh’s legs out from under him. Josh crashed to the floor.
He lay there staring at the ceiling, and Lexi took a hesitant step into the room.
The other man turned to look at her, a rueful expression crossing his face. “I should have known there was a reason I got the drop on him.” He was dressed the same as Josh, and a quick glance showed he was pretty gorgeous himself, but somehow her gaze kept straying back to Josh.
Maybe he was hurt. He had recently broken his leg. But he didn’t look in pain. She wasn’t sure what he looked. Was he angry she’d come here?
The other man glanced between the two of them. “I take it you two know each other?”
Josh rolled easily to his feet. He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Pete, this is Lexi. Lexi, this is Pete. Pete, get out.”
He grinned. “Sure thing, sarge.”
She stepped to the side. As he walked passed her, he gave a quick nod. “Mrs. Slater.” He pulled the door shut behind him, leaving her alone in the room with a half-naked Josh. She tried not to stare; really, she did—super hard. And she failed even harder. So she gave in and looked her fill.
They’d had sex last night, but she hadn’t really seen him. Mainly because he’d kept all his clothes on. Which had seemed extra sexy at the time. But nearly-naked Josh was far sexier than clothed Josh. She made another feeble attempt to look away, only to get hooked on his image in the mirror behind him. He had a really great ass and a smooth golden back with a round scar on his left shoulder like a bullet wound.
He also had a tattoo down his left arm, some sort of writing, but she couldn’t see what it said—she’d have to get a lot closer to do that. She edged toward him. His whole body gleamed with a fine sheen of sweat. He hadn’t moved since the other man left, but now he turned and strode to the side of the room, grabbed a towel from the floor, and wiped it across his face and then his chest.
He opened his mouth to speak, but then he closed it again and rubbed the towel over his short hair.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
His eyes widened in surprise at the question. “Yeah.”
“Was that Kung-fu?”
His lips twitched. “Sort of. Mixed martial arts. You want to try?”
“I don’t—” The words were snatched from her mouth as
he moved faster than she could have imagined and hooked a foot around the back of her leg. Then she was falling. She let out a yelp as his hands caught her shoulders and lowered her so she lay on her back. She swallowed, then blinked. “What was that for?”
He released his hold and straightened. “Payback for distracting me.”
“Oh.” She should move, but she lay there staring up at him where he stood, legs parted, feet on either side of her hips. Her skin prickled where he’d touched, and she couldn’t tear her gaze from the bulge at his groin. Was it getting bigger?
It was definitely getting bigger.
Heat curled in her belly, warmth spreading through her limbs. She shifted, and his eyes narrowed, then he spun around and stepped away.
When he turned back to her, his face was expressionless. “I was going to call you later.”
She pushed herself to her feet, brushing herself down. “I’m sorry to disturb you. But your assistant brought me down here. I would have waited.”
He swiped his tongue along his lower lip, and she had a sudden flashback to last night. His mouth between her thighs, his tongue… Heat washed over her, her body suddenly heavy and sensitive and…this was so not the time. They needed to talk. Besides, he’d made it very clear that last night was a one off. And he still believed she’d seduced him on purpose. Ha. As if she’d know how.
Because if I did…
He shrugged. “It’s not a problem.”
They stood in awkward silence for a minute. Was it her imagination or did his gaze stray to her breasts? Then he gave another shrug. “Give me a second and I’ll grab a T-shirt. We can go up to my office and talk.
She wanted to tell him he didn’t need the T-shirt, but somehow managed to keep the words inside.
As he passed her, she caught a whiff of fresh sweat and soap and warm man and almost swooned toward him.
Get a grip, Lexi.
She followed him out the door then waited as he slipped into another room and came out straightaway, a black T-shirt clutched in his fist. He didn’t put the T-shirt on, just carried it as he led the way back toward the elevator. Perhaps she should suggest he wear it, because he was really very distracting without it. She cast a quick sideways peek. He had flat brown nipples with little turfs of golden hair and more golden hair led the way down his belly, disappearing beneath the waistband of his pants. Her mouth went dry, and she swallowed.