Spice It Up - an erotic novella (5 page)

But was she going to agree to help him? Or was that strange look she’d given him as she’d bolted for the door a kind of goodbye? All of a sudden he needed to know, and if he called her and she didn’t pick up then he’d have all the answers he needed.

He looked through the papers on the table. Where the hell was that scrap of paper Danielle had given him, with her details? He’d been in a hurry when they’d got back, had to dump his stuff, get changed and get straight down to Pinchos. What the hell had he done with it?

It wasn’t in the kitchen, not amongst the pile of envelopes on the table by the door. Which, considering he was normally pretty organised, was strange. Right, they’d been in a hurry, what had he done? He retraced his steps from the front door, through the lounge to the kitchen where he’d dropped some papers and his jacket. Then the bedroom. He stood at the door, looked at the neatly made bed which, if he’d done what every impulse in his body had demanded, would have been crumpled and mussed-up with a naked Eloisa in the centre.

He shook his head to get rid of the image, which was already making him feel horny again. He’d dumped his case, got changed … It was there. A tatty strip of torn-off paper on his bedside cabinet which he must have tossed to one side before he’d dropped his cases and headed out. He stared at the string of numbers, the name written in Danielle’s firm handwriting. So what did he say if he texted her? He walked back into the lounge and sat down, poured another glass of wine, and knew she had to say yes, because if she didn’t he wouldn’t see her again. Leant forward and picked up his mobile, and just as his hand closed around it, it buzzed with an incoming text. Ellie.

Chapter Five

‘I told him you’d shut the place down, the editor.’

‘And he was happy?’

‘Nope.’ She shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her jeans and tried not to look like a naughty schoolgirl, which was what she felt like. Playing truant. ‘He rang up Pinchos to check, and got the message on your answerphone, then told me I had 24 hours to come up with something else to fill the slot.’

It might have taken a long time to decide what to do about her review, but that had been nothing compared to the time it took to get ready to meet him. Who’d have thought it could take a girl so long to opt for jeans and a sweater? Well, she’d gone through her whole wardrobe first. Suit? Too business-like, makes you look prissy. Dress? Too sexy, looks like you fancy him. Skirt? Way, but way too short, looks like you’re trying to finish what you started yesterday and get him into bed. Shirt? Too much cleavage, makes you look like you’re trying to remind him of the towel. Jeans? Looks like you don’t care. But you don’t. You do not care what you look like when you meet him. So why the make-up? It was too late to smear it off, which would only have left her looking like a panda in a snowstorm, and it was too late to straighten her hair so that she looked in control of the situation. So, it was the natural look. Which at least would be original, a novelty for him. The pretty as porcelain Danielle didn’t look like she did
au naturel
, nor did the Spanish
mamá
or whatever she was who had tipped a pitcher of ice cubes down the back of her neck. She shivered; that was one drenching she wasn’t about to forget in a hurry. Sometimes English reserve had its benefits, though sometimes Ellie wished she could just jump in feet first and forget the consequences.

‘You OK?’ He was studying her as though he cared, which he clearly didn’t. He couldn’t, because they’d only just met and he was off to Spain any second now, and she had an irate ex-boyfriend to think about, which was far more important than the tingle that seemed to have started up in her bra, making it suddenly feel far too tight.

‘Sure.’

‘You’re not regretting saying you’d meet me here? I mean, I know the whole boyfriend thing left a nasty taste about this place.’

‘And your tapas left a nastier one.’ She grinned to try and show him she didn’t mean it. ‘I wouldn’t have sent a text to say I was coming if I hadn’t meant it.’ The text had been an impulse after getting into bed and then tossing and turning like she needed a workout. Well, she had needed a workout, a between the sheets type, to get rid of all the frustrations that his careless fingers had built up under the bath towel.

‘Come in, let me show you the plans and see what you think.’

‘I can’t help with plans, I’m not a –’

‘I just want your opinion, that’s all.’

‘Look, it’s more complicated than you think.’ Fighting his fingers because she wasn’t sure she wanted a quick fling was only part of the story; hiding the rest of the reason wasn’t fair. Though she hadn’t done much fighting from what she could remember, which should make her blush but it didn’t. It just set up a pulsing in her pussy which she was doing her best to ignore.

‘We’ll work it out.’ He smiled, all confident and assured, and she knew she had to tell him. Not that she’d been hiding anything, exactly; she just hadn’t been able to spit the whole story out.

‘Hang on.’ She put a hand on his arm to stop him marching over to the table like he was obviously about to, taking her with him. ‘I want to, but I’m not sure I can just work with you. If Mark finds out he’ll –’

He shrugged. ‘I’m not afraid of this Mark, whoever he is. Come on.’

‘Will you just stop and bloody listen for a minute? You should be afraid. Look, when I came here with him, Mark went into anaphylactic shock.’

‘Ana –?’

‘Anaphylactic, it’s like an allergic reaction? Peanuts can set it off, and shellfish. He couldn’t breathe, was panicking, it was horrible.’ It had been. The man she loved had looked like he was going to die. Because she had still loved him then, or been pretty damn close. He’d been gasping for air and she’d been sure that any second now the breath he took was going to be his last. A little shudder ran through her. She’d been watching him die, except he hadn’t. ‘Someone called an ambulance and he was lucky; they recognised what it was immediately and gave him an adrenalin shot. He was rushed off to hospital, but pretty stable by the time they got there. Apparently it was a fairly mild reaction. They kept him in overnight for observation and sent me home. I was getting my stuff ready the next morning to go and collect him when I got the text.’

‘Text? He was –’

‘Mark had decided that we were over. His near-death experience had shown him he was wasting his life, he said.’ The shit. “Wasting his life”. With those words, he’d discounted every second they’d spent together as wasted. Consigned every touch, every kiss, every hug to the bin. Along with the shags, which, OK, hadn’t always been earth-shattering but they’d more than scratched the itch. What was it he’d said about her being crazy hot in bed but a bit too crazy hot in the head to make it work between them for ever? ‘He said he was starting again, seeing one of the nurses.’ Someone nice and practical who could soothe his stresses away instead of wind him up.

‘That’s not complicated.’ He stroked a lock of hair back from her face, tucked it behind her ear, and she didn’t know whether to pull away or ask for more. ‘He’s wasted your time, not his own. He’s not worth worrying about any more.’

‘I’m not worrying about him.’ She jerked her head away from the gentle fingers, which were more than slightly disturbing. She felt like she was sitting on some weird scales and he kept shifting the balance. ‘He said he’s going to sue you. If he finds I’m helping you, well, I don’t know, he’ll think you’re – you’re perverting the course of justice or something. You’re not, are you?’

He laughed then, and she was tempted to join in, though God knows why. ‘All our ingredients are listed on the menu. If he is allergic to one of them then it is sad, but how is that my problem? I’m not perverting anything.’ The grin widened. ‘Although I’d quite like to.’

Perverting was a word she shouldn’t have used. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the new string of dirty thoughts, and what he’d just said. ‘He didn’t know he was allergic to anything.’

‘And that’s my fault? Let him think what he wants. If he sues, he sues. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. Come on, help me.’

‘But –’

‘But nothing. He’s over, gone.’ He waved a hand in dismissal. ‘He might be stupid enough to let you escape, but I –’

She wasn’t sure what he was about to say next, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. But he stopped short and met her gaze. Then shrugged and held his hand out. Inviting her to do who knew what. But it was OK, she had been daft. Lucas was right, whatever Mark was planning shouldn’t stand in the way of her helping, or doing anything else that was on offer.

Lucas tried not to stare at her lips, but it was hard given the way she was chattering away, and it was better than staring at her boobs, he supposed. She finally seemed to accept that being sued wasn’t a worry and had followed him across the now closed tapas bar to the plans he’d laid out on the bar.

He stood next to her, and resisted the urge to put his hand on her waist.

‘Hey, they’re good. I like having this wider counter, and these stools. It’s like a proper pincho bar.’

‘It
is
a proper pincho bar.’ He tried to sound offended but she just laughed so that the ringlets of hair jiggled on the top of her head and threatened to cascade down and hide her long, slim, kissable neck.

‘So, what about there?’ She spun round and waved one hand, so that it hit his chest. His automatic reaction was to grab hold. ‘No.’ She pulled free and waved a finger at him like some schoolmistress, the type he really wouldn’t mind telling him off.

‘No what?’

‘Don’t you come over all innocent with me. I know exactly what you’re up to.’

‘Do you?’

She blushed, a light tinge of pink along her high cheekbones, and she looked just like she had when her towel had dropped to the floor yesterday. So, yeah, maybe she did know. ‘OK, you talk. I’ll listen and try not to touch.’

‘Are you going to have stools along there, so people can sit along the back wall as well as at the counter?’

‘In Spain we stand.’

She smelled fresh: delicate, floral scent mingled with something he couldn’t pin down. Something light and good.

‘In England we like to sit, though. High stools would be good, and then another bar and stools along the front. A lot of people like to sit down and get served; it’s about the food, not the socialising, for them, and if you don’t cater for them you’ll lose a lot of potential customers. And you’ll still have lots of room for people to stand in between.’

‘I just need to –’ He’d promised himself he wouldn’t, but he couldn’t resist. He bent forward, covered the few inches that separated his mouth from that slim neck, let himself kiss her gently, tease downwards until he reached the dip at the base. The sigh that came from her shot straight down to his groin. She tilted her head away, let him taste her, smell her, tease her with his teeth. And her whimper sent a rush of blood down to his already hard cock. He reached out, put his hands on her bum and pulled her close so that she could feel the length of him.

‘Stop it, people can see, walking past.’

‘I don’t care.’ He sucked on her neck and she pushed her hips harder against him, even though her hands were on his chest, half pushing him away.

‘I do.’

‘Really?’ He slipped one hand between her buttocks, stroked a firm finger between her legs. ‘You’re so hot down there, hot and wet.’

She groaned, opened her thighs slightly, letting him press harder against her covered pussy, and rocked her pelvis against his throbbing cock.

He ran his mouth over her neck, then blew gently down so that she shivered.

‘Shit, don’t do that.’

‘You like it.’ The way she responded to his every touch was turning him on even more than he thought possible; any second now and he’d be coming if he wasn’t careful. He gritted his teeth, fought for control.

‘Too much.’ Her fingers wound into his hair, which didn’t help one bit.

‘You want me to stop?’ Getting harder by the second.

‘Not really.’

He picked her up in one easy motion and put her on the counter, straight on top of the plans that he’d been up all night working on. ‘That’s what I like to hear.’

‘Cocky bastard.’ Her fingers were still tangling in his hair, sending a fizz of need down his spine.

‘Keep doing that and I won’t be able to. Eloisa?’ Her fingers stilled, and she rested her forehead against his. Waiting. ‘You do know I have to go back to Barcelona when this is done. I have responsibilities, my parents need me, the bar …’

‘I know.’ Her tone was light, but he heard the tightness that lingered in the background. ‘This is just for now, right?’

‘Just now.’ But it shouldn’t be. He didn’t want to take her just once, twice, enjoy the moment. He knew that it would only leave him wanting more. ‘Shall we finish this then go back to mine?’ He shouldn’t say it, but he couldn’t not.

‘Sounds good.’ She planted the smallest of kisses on his lips.

‘Eloisa, I –’

‘Shh. Don’t you think you should get me down from here? I’m squashing your pretty pictures.’ Putting his hands back on her waist made the ache in his balls worse. He didn’t want to let go. She stood for a moment, her hands around his neck, then slipped them down until they rested on his chest and pushed him gently away.

Much as he’d like to, he couldn’t take her here on the counter.

The rap on the door made them both start. Danielle, hands on her hips and a smile on her face, was peering through the window.

‘Hi, Lukey.’ She grinned and was inside the second he unlocked the door, giving him a passing kiss on the cheek. ‘I’m Dani. I gather he told you about the car? Sorry about that.’

She didn’t look too sorry, she just looked pleased with herself, and he didn’t know whether to be cross about the interruption, to worry about how long she’d been standing there, or to cringe at the way she mangled his name in her own sweet way.

‘You two seem to be getting on well.’ So, she had been there for more than a second or two. ‘Wow, are these the plans? Look, I’m sorry to break things up if you’re busy, but I need you to come and see this guy who’s got some paintings that are just brill.’ The woman was a whirlwind, pregnant or not. ‘They’d look so good in here.’

‘You don’t know how it’s going to look.’

‘They’ll look good anyway.’

‘It can wait, Danielle.’ He put his hands in his pockets and shifted uncomfortably, wishing his rock-hard erection would melt away, which was unlikely when Ellie stood watching them with an amused, and definitely dirty, grin on her face.

‘Oh no, he’s got this exhibition and if we don’t get in quick … Come on, Lukey, lock this place up. You can come too if you like.’

Ellie shook her head and he wished he could too. He needed a cold shower or a good, hard, sweat-breaking shag. Not a frustrating hour of looking at pictures with an escort in attendance.

‘Take the plans, mark on what you think we need to change, and meet me for dinner?’