London Lace, #2 (8 page)

How is it he could read her better than she knew herself sometimes?

He spoke again. “Did you look around the back seat of the car? Did you notice how many times I’ve tried to reach you in the last 14 hours? Do you know how long Albert waited outside your flat?”

She didn’t actually.

“If you doubt that I care. If you want to take
The Sun
’s reputable word over mine, then you are free to ask Albert to turn around and take you home and I will promise I won’t bother you anymore.”

He was playing a risky card, and asking her to lay hers on the table. He said he wasn’t a gambling man, but he was taking a chance and betting it all now.

“So there’s nothing between you and her?”

“Nothing that concerns us.”

“That’s not a good enough answer and you know it.”

He laughed then, and Eliza hadn’t realized how much tension she’d been holding during this last part of the conversation. Her body relaxed slightly now, and she smiled, though Todd couldn’t see that, of course.

He said, “The possibility that you might decide never to see me again, that our last contact might be over the phone, the idea that
I might never hold you again
…” His voice turned low husky with those words and he waited a moment before continuing in a more neutral tone. 

“… All this makes those particular details arbitrary and irrelevant. I will tell you anything you want to know when you arrive. For now, rest assured, the only lips I’ve tasted, penetrated, and dreamed about are yours.”

She closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat. She was imagining his lips tasting hers, penetrating…

“Eliza? Are you still there?”

She cleared her throat, opened her eyes. “Yes, yes. I’m here.”

“Have I said enough to get you here?

“You said once you were a lucky man. Well, I guess you’ve got your second chance.”

“Brilliant.”

And regardless of the arbitrary details, Eliza wanted a second chance, too.

Todd added, “Now you rest up on the drive because I plan to keep you very, very busy when you arrive.”

For the moment, Eliza didn’t mind that she was out of her depth and most likely doomed to drown. She got comfortable in the back seat, fingered the velvety rosebuds lying next to her, and imagined she was touching Todd’s lips, and then other parts of his beautiful body, particularly the smooth curve of skin he always kept wrapped in silk.

(end of preview sample)

London Lace #3 is available now.