“Holy God, I’m hot just listening to that story,” Megan shrieks as she takes a strand of my hair and wraps it in the curling iron. For years I’ve been Megan’s guinea pig. “I’ve never had a man talk that dirty to me. Scrap that, I’ve never had a man be that dirty to me.”
“That was the PG version,” I mutter, flinching as she scalds my ear. “The unedited version is a lot raunchier. No wonder he invested in an isolation partition in his car.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Like how passengers are separated from drivers in taxis?”
“Exactly like that,” I say. “Except this one is soundproof.”
She stops mid curl. “It sounds like it’s built for murder. You know he basically had you in a cage?”
“A woman starved of sex caged in with a guy she wants sex from.” I grimace. “I’m extremely proud of my restraint.”
I yelp as she pulls my hair back.
“There.” She places a mirror in front of me. “Sexy. Mr. Fuck-me Kane doesn’t stand a chance.”
It’s not bad. The curls bounce loosely over my shoulder. I nod approvingly.
Her lips twitch. “You have to admit, it’s pretty hot that he’s your boss.”
“No.” I frown. “This could ruin my career before it’s even started.”
She waves the curlers dismissively. “Stop being so serious, Elly. Enjoy the attention! Besides, it might actually help your career.”
I snort. “I’m not climbing Mr. Fuck-me Kane to climb the ladder.”
She rests the hot tong on my shoulder.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry. But you want to sleep with him, don’t you?”
“That’s irrelevant.” I shrug. “That’s the issue, I’m not programmed to handle just sleeping with him. I can’t just be a fling then see him in the office and pretend everything is okay.”
“He’ll move on if you don’t act,” she warns me, fixing some final breakaway strands. “Guys like that don’t hang around.”
“Well then he didn’t like me that much.” My chin tilts in defiance although I know deep down, I would be gutted if he gave up our game of cat and mouse.
“What if it’s been so long it’s closed over downstairs?”
I give her a withering look. “It’s not a wound. It’s a dry patch,” I reply defensively. “I went on a date with that chef a few months back. And the sexy cyclist before that.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t get past first base with either,” Megan points out.
“I have no solution. I want Mr. Fuck-me Kane but I can’t sleep with him. And I can’t sleep with anyone else because I want him.” I sigh. “Any word from Damo?” Damo had gone silent on Megan the past few days.
“No.” She tuts. “A week ago, his responses were real time. Now? Tumbleweed. I’ve got texting anxiety. I’m doing irrational things like restarting my phone and Wi-Fi. Just in case it’s the phone. I stalk when he is last online. Then when he is online, I start typing in case he sees that I’m online and thinks that I’m stalking him. Which I am.”
“Forget him, Megan,” I say firmly.
Her eyes go wide. “But I need to know why. Why, why, why? Ghosting is a form of torture they should use on inmates.”
I bite my lip. “You’ll never know why. Let’s look at some new profiles tonight. You once told me to get back in the saddle, remember? The stud farm in London is huge.”
She giggles. “Enough bucking bronco innuendos. I get the point.”
“Let’s focus on your exhibition,” I say excitedly. “This is amazing. I’m so proud of you.”
Tooting council is putting on an exhibition for local artists and Megan has managed to get a small stand at it.
“It’s in a library,” she scoffs. “It’s not exactly the Tate Modern or MoMA.”
“So? It’s still your first ever exhibition!”
She can’t contain a smile. “Yeah, it’s cool.”
Downstairs the fire alarm goes off.
She looks at me in the mirror. “Takeaway again?”
“I think we’ll have to eat it in our bedrooms.” I groan. “Let’s order something then look at some house porn of where we could be eating dinner.”
***
Tristan doesn’t talk to me for the rest of the week, even during the second meeting with Maria Garcia. The woman still makes me uneasy. What with Maria Garcia giving me the chills and Tristan Kane giving me hot flushes, I’m starting to wonder if this is what menopause will be like.
In fact, he was so professional on the second trip that I suspected the previous car journey was a dirty dream I had mistaken for reality. Instead, I’m treated with the polite detachment that a junior lawyer would receive from a partner.
Perhaps he realised he had made a mistake. Did he regret propositioning me? Or had he already moved on to the next conquest, like Megan said? Has the cat found a new mouse?
The guy is a mind-fuck.
So tonight, in an attempt to revive my dire love life, I have joined millions of lonely and/or horny Londoners in the online dating minefield. Megan said that there was no need to spread myself across all the dating apps; eighty percent of entries are the same.
This evening is a date with Chris, twenty-eight, from Yorkshire. According to his profile he spent two years teaching English in China before moving into coding and is now a senior developer at Nexus.
Yes, the same Nexus Group that Tristan Kane’s friend Danny Walker owns, but that’s irrelevant.
We’ve arranged to meet in the top bar at the Regency Hotel, an exclusive restaurant in London Bridge near the Nexus HQ. Apparently, the Nexus staff get discounts. It better be ninety per cent off. I checked the drink prices before I came out, and they are freaking hideous.
London Bridge is bustling with Thursday night drinkers already in weekend mode. I wrestle my way through the crowds until I’m inside the hotel.
Fortunately, Chris resembles his profile picture. I meet him at the entrance, and we travel up in the elevator, exchanging nervous niceties.
In the mirror, I catch him checking out my butt. I’m wearing a blue top that Megan says makes my eyes pop. It cuts too low at the back, and I’m starting to feel self-conscious.
“Thanks for meeting me here, Elly,” he says as we are seated at a table by the host. Chris seems nice but I already have zero sexual interest. ‘My work project means I’m leaving the office really late these days. But you’ll like it. It’s got great cocktails.”
“It’s lovely.” I look around the plush bar. Oh, there’s a button Press for Champagne on the table! ‘That’s cool that you get a discount.”
He nods. “It’s because the Nexus CEO Danny Walker is friends with the owner of the Lexington Group. They own this place.”
I flinch. Jack Mathews, another guy who witnessed #linenclosetgate.
Chris runs a hand through his hair. ‘I have to admit, Elly, I’m rusty at this. I split up with someone, and this is my first online date.”
A sense of relief floods me. “Me too!”
He nods. “Have you just been through a break-up?”
“Uh, no.” I falter, feeling stupid. “I’m just…rusty.”
We order cocktails, discussing in unnecessary depth the ingredients of each in an attempt to drum up chat. The conversation is pleasant, if a little stilted. I find myself subtly looking at my phone to check the time.
Chris tells me he is into cricket. I tell him I watched it once and gave up when I realised it would be going for another five hours.
He laughs. “That’s what my ex-girlfriend used to say. She couldn’t stand it when I sat indoors until a cricket game was over.” It’s the only time his eyes light up.
We both look down at our drinks as the conversation dries again.
“Your profile said you work for Madison Legal?” he asks.
I nod proudly. “I just started about a month ago at their headquarters on Fleet Street. I’m on their two-year trainee contract.”
“Fleet Street,’ he repeats like it’s the only thing he heard in the sentence. ‘I used to go out around there after work. My ex worked there.”
“Really?’ I ask, my smile faltering. That’s a few times he has mentioned his ex-girlfriend.
“Do you know Fleet Street gets its name from an underground river—the River Fleet?” he explains. ‘She told me that.”
“Who did?’ I ask, confused.
“My ex-girlfriend, Mai,” he replies.
Ah, we are still on the subject of the ex. “Were you together long?”
He looks distant for a moment. “Six years.”
“Quite a while.” I gulp. “When did you split up?”
He looks pained. “Three months ago.”
“Oh, that’s a pity,” I reply, wondering where I’m going with this. Where are these cocktails?
He shrugs. “These things happen. In the end, we found we just weren’t compatible. She wanted to get married, and I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong—she was lovely. I’m just not ready for the next step.”
“Plenty of time for all that,” I offer, wondering how I managed to turn my first date in ages into a counselling session.
I’d prefer to talk to myself. What’s the polite minimum number of drinks these days? He bought the first round so it would be rude not to buy him one back…two should be enough, right?
Chris’s eyes flicker with interest at something behind me. “Bossman is here,” he murmurs.
“What?” I turn and am hit by smouldering blue-grey eyes, unapologetically hungry with lust and maybe something close to anger, blazing at mine.
Tristan
Her eyes nearly pop out of her head. I stare back at her then my gaze drops to roam up and down her body.
Who is this idiot with her?
The idiot waves in our direction.
“Is this guy trying to antagonise me?” I bark at Jack and Danny. “Why the fuck is he waving at me? Is this Elly’s idea of a wind-up?”
Danny chuckles. “He’s not waving at you. He’s a developer at Nexus. He’s waving at me.”
Danny gives a salute back, and the guy beams.
Elly looks distraught, like a deer in headlights.
Serves you right for dating someone else, I think bitterly.
“She’s stunning,” Danny murmurs. “He’s a lucky guy.”
I glare at him as my temperature rises. ‘He’s not fucking lucky.”
“I don’t think she’s wearing a bra,” Jack observes.
My hands tighten around the glass. “I can see that, Jack,” I snap. “Keep your lecherous eyes off her.”
“My hotels have the best linen closets, you know,” he says. “Maybe Elly and her date could try them out.”
My jaw tightens. I’m not in the mood for their banter.
“Do you know his name?” I ask Danny in a steely voice.
Danny thinks for a second. “Nope. And by the look on your face, I’m not sure I’d tell you if I did. I don’t want to be an accessory to murder.”
I jerk to my feet, lifting my coat and Scotch. “Get up. It’s time for you to become acquainted with your employee.”
“What?’ Danny looks at me dubiously. “You want me to crash their date?”
I stand over them impatiently. “That’s exactly what I want you to do.”
Jack laughs loudly. “Oh, man, I’m definitely coming along to see this.”
Danny cocks a brow but makes no attempt to get up. “And what exactly is your plan here? Do I tell him it’s against company policy to date Elly?”
“He’s waving over here like a simpleton. He’s gagging for your attention. The friendly CEO of Nexus is going to take an interest in the welfare of his employees. Get up,” I bark.
Jack jumps to his feet. “I’m game!”
Danny sighs heavily but hoists himself to his feet. “You owe me big time for this, Kane.”
Her date watches us approach like all his Christmases have come at once. “Mr. Walker?” he calls out disbelievingly as if Danny might be an apparition.
“Hi,” Danny says in his smooth baritone. “Tim, isn’t it?”
“Chris!” he says. Chris looks apologetically at Danny for not being Tim.
My eyes lock with a shocked Elly. Chris’s and Elly’s cheeks glow a similar shade of red.
“Chris, of course, it is. How stupid of me.” Danny clears his throat.
Chris puffs his chest out.
“Mind if we join you?” Danny asks.
“We’d love that!” Chris leaps a foot in his chair. “Please, Mr. Walker, sit.” He makes exaggerated hand gestures to the empty seat beside him. “Elly, you don’t mind, do you? Just for a drink?” he asks as an afterthought.
Her mouth falls open. “Actually, I,” her soft voice trails off as I lift a chair from the nearby table and plant it down right beside her.
We take a seat. Danny beside Chris, to Chris’s delight, and me beside Elly, to her dismay. Jack is sandwiched between us.
“Isn’t this cosy?” Danny comments dryly as five people squeeze into a table for two.
‘We’re on a date,” Elly chokes out in a hoarse voice, giving Chris a dark look.
“Sorry, Elly,” Chris says excitedly. “I’ll make it up to you on the second date.”
Second date? Elly and I both narrow our eyes on him.
“Hello, Elly,” I say softly, my leg brushing against hers under the table. She jolts like a current of electricity has flown from me to her. “Meet Danny and Jack.”
“Hi, Danny and Jack,” she says in a strangled voice.
Jack’s eyes dance. “Lovely to meet you, Elly.”
Chris looks between Elly and me and frowns. “Do you two know each other?”
“He’s the owner of Madison Legal,” Elly rasps as my leg touches her bare leg again. This time she doesn’t move it away and her warm skin stays firmly pressed against mine.
“Oh my God.” It’s my turn for Chris to fawn over me. “You own Madison Legal? Oh my, what a privilege to meet you, Mr. Kane.”
“That’s right.” I grunt. Now fuck off, Chris.
“Well, isn’t this fun!” Jack roars. “Both of you on a date, and your bosses join. It’s a small world, isn’t it?”
“Tiny,” Elly says. “London is starting to feel like a Welsh village.”
“Can I just say, you two make a lovely couple.” Jack has a permanent grin plastered over his face.
I glare at him. “They don’t know each other.”
“They’ll get to know each other,” Jack counters, trying to contain himself. “Elly, you look beautiful. Doesn’t she, Chris? You’re the luckiest guy in the room.”
A sound erupts from my throat.
Beside me, I feel Elly shift in her seat. She jabs the champagne button repeatedly. “This thing isn’t working,” she mutters. “I need express delivery.”
“Every time you press it, you’re ordering another glass.” I chuckle, leaning closer to her. “That’s the tenth you’ve ordered.”
Her eyes widen in panic. “Are you serious?”
“No.” I give her a private grin. “I’m kidding.”
She exhales hard.
Danny throws me a lifeline and launches into a conversation with Chris about his current project. Jack leans in, pretending to be interested in Chris’s project when really, I know he’s eavesdropping on mine.
“Your date is an idiot,” I say in a low voice, although I don’t care if the idiot hears. “If I was on a date with you, you would have my undivided attention.”
She lets out a little snort.
The champagne arrives, and Elly takes a large gulp.
My arm rests on the top of her chair. If she leans back my arm will be around her shoulders. At this angle, the others can’t see it. Her idiot date is too invested in lapping up every word Danny says.
“You look breathtaking, Elly,” I murmur. My fingers lightly stroke her shoulder. She tenses but doesn’t move away. “Are you happy to see me?”
“You’re unbelievable,” she whispers, angrily. “You actually have the audacity to gate-crash my date? What exactly is Paddy Irishman’s, Paddy Scotsman’s and Paddy Englishman’s plan here?
My grin widens and for a minute I’m speechless. The woman can put me in my place. “Come on, you have to admire my persistence. My plan is for you to ditch this guy and spend the evening with me. Are you hungry?” My fingers run lazy circles on her exposed neck.
“Stop it!” She glowers at me. “Chris will see.”
I cut her a serious look. “I don’t give a fuck who sees. Well?’ I ask impatiently. “Are you coming with me?”
“No!” she snaps. “Can you choose someone else for your mid-life crisis please?”
Christ, this woman is going for the jugular this evening. My cock twitches under the table.
She turns her attention to the other three, leaving me staring at her with a slack jaw.
“Chris?” she asks, her voice stilted. “Perhaps you could tell me more about cricket.”
Chris looks gutted at the interruption of his verbal sucking of Danny’s cock.
“Chris, you’re neglecting your date. It’s all our fault,” Danny chides while giving me a wicked smile. I preferred him when he wasn’t going out with my sister. He was grumpy and had no banter then.
Chris apologises and starts a mindless conversation that I don’t bother listening to.
My eyes fixate on the brunette beauty sitting agonisingly close to me. Her entire back is exposed and at this angle, I have the perfect view of the curve of her breasts in the silk top. Exactly how I know she wants me to.
“So, this is your hotel, Jack?” I hear her ask.
He grins. “Sure is. If you ever want a complimentary stay, be sure to tell Tristan. Or do you prefer to call him Mr. Kane?” He winks at me.
“That would be amazing!” Chris jumps in, misreading the room for the fiftieth time this evening.
Elly fidgets awkwardly with her champagne flute. “Excuse me,” she mutters. “I’m going to the ladies’.’ She leaps out of her seat and speeds off.
I drain my glass and follow her with zero hints of subtlety. Danny must hire some gormless developers because Chris turns back to Danny and starts a new conversation.
The inside of the unisex bathroom is all dim lights and mirrors. It’s a bar bathroom designed to have sex in, but I’ll restrain myself. At first, she doesn’t notice me standing at the door watching her as she fixes her hair in the mirror.
I clear my throat.
Her mouth briefly opens, then closes again as I take measured steps toward her until I’m standing behind her and staring at her in the mirror.
She freezes. The hand that was half-way to her hair falls limp onto her chest as she watches me with big eyes.
A long moment passes, our eyes locked.
I take a further step forward, pulling her between my open legs until her backside is firm against my cock.
Her lips part as she wordlessly stares at me. In the dark sexy shadows of the bathroom, we are just Elly and Tristan. Nothing else matters except the need to be in her presence, to feel her body against mine.
My hands tighten around her hips as my arousal grows harder against her warm body. All because of her. And all hers.
I slip my fingers ever so gently under the hem of her top at the small of her back. It’s a bold look for her, a plunging top that drops to her lower back. She lets out a ragged breath but doesn’t protest, so I tease my hand further under the hem and slide my hand around her waist until I find her bare stomach.
“I’m glad you’re on a date.” I breathe against her ear. “So you can see how much better it would be with me.”
I press my palm against her stomach, pushing her body flush against mine. Her stomach contracts in shuddery movements.
I smile wickedly at her in the mirror stroking her stomach with my fingers. “Do you want me to go up or down?”
She takes small shallow breaths not reaching the pit of her belly.
My hand slowly travels up just below her breasts. I’m not in a hurry.
She sucks in sharply as my fingers tickle the under curve of her breast, not quite reaching the nipple.
“Down it is, then.” I smirk as I trail a line down her stomach to the hemline of her underwear.
Her eyes tell me she wants my hand to travel south and, hell, I want to, but instead, I gently move her hair to one side, exposing her neck. I’m not going to fuck her in this toilet. When I fuck her, it will be slow, hard, and somewhere private where she can moan my name in her beautiful lilt. My lips dip to her neck, and I lick and kiss her soft skin from the top of her jaw all the way down to her shoulder.
She closes her eyes, rolling her head back to settle on my chest. As my mouth devours her neck, she presses herself against my cock. Damn, I’m going to come in my trousers if she doesn’t stop that.
“Give me a chance.” My eyes lock with hers again in the mirror. “Let me show you how good it could be between us.”
She closes her eyes, pained.
“It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Your career or me,” I continue, almost pleading as I stroke her stomach. “You can have both.”
The bathroom door flies open, making both of us jump. Two girls stop in their tracks when they see us. “Somebody needs to get a room!” the one says loudly to the other.
Elly stiffens and whips my hand out of her top, her face like beetroot. “I have to go,” she stammers.
I call after her hoarsely, “Elly, wait!” but she ignores me, running from the bathroom, leaving me with a throb the size of Mount Everest.
