The Law of Attraction (11 page)

“I’m sure you will.” Alec balled his napkin and stacked their empty plates. He got up and carried them over to the desk. With his back to Ed, he checked his watch and said, “We should hit the hay. We need to be in Mackenzie’s office for nine thirty.”

The time for confidences was clearly over. Disappointment nagged at the edges of Ed’s consciousness as he sat on the edge of the bed and put his shoes back on. He sighed, telling himself he was stupid for hoping for anything to happen. It was better this way. Less complicated. But he couldn’t tamp down the feeling of wistfulness, of a chance missed. Maybe in some parallel universe there was an Ed who’d managed to break past Alec’s reserve, but in this one, Alec’s walls had come back up. “Goodnight, Alec.”

Alec glanced up from checking his phone. “Night, Ed. Sleep well.”

Back in his room, Ed took off his trousers and hung them up, then unbuttoned his shirt before heading into the bathroom for a piss. When he’d finished, he went to the sink to brush his teeth and jumped out of his skin with a yelp. “Oh Jesus,
fuck
!”

He stared in horror, his heart pounding.

An enormous spider stared back. It looked as if it was staring, anyway, with all eight of its evil little eyes.

Ed hadn’t been kidding when he told Alec about his phobia. The idea of spending the night anywhere near this monster was intolerable. He picked up a glass and tiptoed closer. Maybe if he could trap it, he could put it out of the window or something. He knew it was stupid, but he didn’t like killing them. It wasn’t their fault he loathed the bloody things.

Ed paused, ready to pounce. He was sure it was watching him. He moved the glass closer, slowly edging it over the spider. God, it was so huge he wasn’t sure he could catch it under the glass without squashing its hairy legs.

Ed lowered the glass, slowly, imperceptibly, trying to keep his breathing calm and even and to not freak out. He was almost there. Just another couple of inches and he’d have it….

But then the spider moved, rushing towards Ed with intent. Ed yelled and smashed the glass down, trying to catch it. The glass shattered against the porcelain of the sink and exploded, sending shards everywhere. In a panic, Ed stumbled back and then howled with pain as he stood on a shard of glass, driving it into his foot.

“Fucking bastard spider!” he yelled. “You evil fucker!”

Ed retreated to the bedroom, slamming the bathroom door shut, and sat on the bed to check out the damage. He winced when he saw the piece of glass still sticking out of his foot. It wasn’t huge, but it hurt and his foot was oozing blood. Gritting his teeth, he pulled it out carefully, then wadded up a tissue and pressed it against the cut to try to stop the bleeding.

God, he still needed to brush his teeth and get ready for bed, and fucking glass was everywhere—plus the spider was still in his bathroom. Ed’s phone was sitting on the table by the bed. Before he had time to think better of it, he texted Alec.

SOS. Spider attack. Help me!

It was only after Ed pressed Send that he realised he could have called the front desk and got them to send someone up to sort out the mess and deal with the spider while they were at it.

But Alec replied immediately.
Are you serious?

Deadly. It’s trying to kill me. Please come.

He hoped Alec would see the funny side.

When he heard the knock on the door, Ed hobbled to open it.

“What the hell’s going on in here?” Alec looked Ed up and down. Ed had forgotten he was only wearing boxers and a shirt that was open at the front until Alec’s gaze raked over him. Alec was still fully dressed, with his shoes now back on.

“There’s a spider.” Ed gestured towards the bathroom with the bloody tissue he was still clutching in his hand. “I tried to catch it, but I broke a glass, and then I cut my foot.”

“You’re a disaster.”

Ed didn’t try to deny it. Instead he limped pitifully back to his bed and sat on the edge with his foot pulled up into his lap. “At least it’s not a pale carpet.”

Alec knelt down. His hands were gentle as he probed the bloody sole of Ed’s foot and located the cut on his heel. “It’s not too bad. Feet bleed a lot, especially if you’re running around. Lie down and elevate it. Keep pressure on it too. I’ve got a first aid kit in my case. I’ll go and get it. I assume you don’t have one?”

Ed shook his head. “I’m not that organised.”

He followed Alec’s instructions, lying down and propping his foot up on his opposite knee. He clamped the wad of tissues Alec had left him with over the cut, and cursed the universe, all spiders, and his own clumsiness.

When Alec came back, he examined Ed’s cut again. “It’s just about stopped bleeding, but I think we need to give it a bit longer to clot before I dress it. You stay there. I’m going to check out the damage in the bathroom.”

“Be careful,” Ed said. “That spider is evil.”

“I think I can handle it.” Alec went into the bathroom. “Bloody hell.” His voice echoed through to the bedroom. “What a mess. Where was the spider?”

“In the sink,” Ed called. Then he added, “Please don’t kill it.”

“Seriously?” Alec sounded incredulous.

“I don’t like killing them,” Ed admitted in a small voice.

“Okay,” Alec said, then, “
wow
. That is big.” There was silence for a moment, and then Alec muttered, “Come on, you bugger.” His voice rose a little. “No. Don’t you dare go up my sleeve—Gotcha!”

Alec emerged triumphant, his hands clasped in front of him. “I’ve got it.”

Ed shuddered. “Where are you going to put it?”

“Oh, yes. Good point. Can you open the window?”

Ed got up and tiptoed across the room, trying not to put his heel down on the carpet. He slid up the sash window, and then stood aside and watched, half-admiring, half-horrified, as Alec reached out onto the sill and opened his hands so that the spider could scuttle away. As soon as Alec’s hands were back inside, Ed slammed the window shut.

“Thank you.” He grinned at Alec. “My knight in shining armour.”

“Go and lie back down before you start bleeding again.”

Alec called the front desk and asked them to send someone to clean up the glass. Then he sat on Ed’s bed and started rifling through his first aid kit. First he cleaned the cut carefully with antiseptic wipes that stung like a bitch. Ed bit his lip to stop himself from hissing, but he couldn’t help flinching when Alec dabbed at it for a second time.

“Sorry,” Alec glanced up at him, one hand holding Ed’s foot firmly so that he couldn’t jerk it away. “But you don’t want to get an infection and have your foot drop off.”

Ed snorted. “Did you ever consider an alternative career in medicine? Because your bedside manner is really quite special.”

Alec laughed as he went back to cleaning the cut, and the sound made warmth spread in Ed’s belly. He wanted to hear that more.

There was a knock at the door. Alec got up to let in the poor sod whose job it was to clean up after Ed.

“I’m so sorry,” Ed heard him say. “My friend had a little run-in with a spider.”

Ed cringed, glad he couldn’t see around the corner in the L-shaped room to the bathroom door.

Alec returned and sat down again, pulling Ed’s foot into his lap as the sound of a vacuum cleaner started up in the bathroom. “Let’s get a plaster on you, so you can walk around your room without leaving a trail of gore behind you.”

It crossed Ed’s mind that he could easily be doing this himself. But Alec seemed to be enjoying playing doctor, and Ed wasn’t complaining. Alec took his time selecting a dressing, and as he smoothed it onto Ed’s foot, Ed flinched again.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“No. It tickled.”

Alec smiled. “Ah.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Ed’s foot still in Alec’s lap, and Alec’s hand resting lightly on Ed’s ankle.

“I’m all finished” came a female voice with a strong Scottish accent from around the corner.

“Oh, cool. Hang on a sec,” Ed called, trying to sit up so he could go and give the poor woman a tip for clearing up his mess.

But Alec beat him to it, already reaching into his pocket as he stood. “Thank you,” Alec said smoothly. “Sorry to have troubled you so late.”

“Och, its nae bother, sir. Thank you. Have a good evenin’.”

The door clicked shut and they were alone again.

Alec came back into view, but he stopped at the foot of the bed, his hands in his pockets as his gaze raked over Ed where he lay sprawled on top of the covers.

“If I leave you to it, will you survive till morning?” he asked, lips curving. A dimple Ed had never noticed before pressed into his cheek.

Ed’s heart skipped a little faster. “I don’t know. It’s a tough call. What if the spider has a family? Like a spider mafia. They might come looking for me.”

“I think we’ll have to take that chance.” Alec approached the bed and started packing up his first aid kit.

Ed wanted to reach out, touch his hand and ask him to stay. But he didn’t want to ruin this new atmosphere of levity between them by risking rejection, and they both needed sleep. They had a job to do tomorrow. “Thank you,” he said quietly instead.

“You’re welcome.” Alec’s smile was soft and made Ed’s heart thump hopefully. “You can text me again if you get attacked by any more marauding spiders.”

Ed chuckled. “Good to know I have backup. Thanks. Night, Alec.”

“Night, Ed.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Alec woke early, feeling unusually refreshed. After he’d left Ed’s room last night, he’d gone straight to bed and slept almost immediately. His head had been full of thoughts of Ed, but they hadn’t kept him awake.

Wide awake with an hour to spare before breakfast, Alec went down to the hotel pool and swam laps until his shoulders burned. Back in his room, he considered going straight down to breakfast, but the urge for Ed’s company had him picking up his phone. It was an urge that had become familiar over the last couple of weeks, and one he usually tried to resist.

Morning. Have you eaten yet?
he sent.

No
, came the reply.

Are you ready to go down for breakfast?

I can be in 5.

I’ll call for you on my way past.

When Alec knocked on the door, Ed opened it quickly. His smile of greeting made Alec’s heart beat harder.

“You survived the spider apocalypse, then?” Alec deadpanned. “Glad to see you made it through the night.”

“Seems that way.” Ed flushed a little, ducking his head so his golden brown fringe flopped into his eyes. He normally used some product to slick it back when he was at work, but this morning it looked as though he was fresh out of the shower and his hair was damp and soft. It made him look younger. “I’m sorry about last night. I feel like a bit of an idiot this morning.”

“You are an idiot,” Alec said.

Ed jerked his head up to meet Alec’s gaze, but when he saw Alec was smiling, he grinned back. “Fuck off.”

“That’s no way to talk to your boss. Let’s go. I’m starving.”

Ed stepped into the corridor and pulled his door shut. He winced as he moved.

Alec frowned. “How’s your foot this morning?”

“A bit sore. I won’t be running any marathons today. But I’ll get by.”

Alec was relieved the meeting went as smoothly as he’d predicted. Their London client, Mr Maxwell, seemed to make a good impression on Mr Mackenzie.

There was a little quibbling over some of the covenants, but Alec had drafted them so tightly that it was easy for Maxwell to concede a couple and let Mackenzie feel he’d won a few points. Maxwell was good at that sort of thing, and when the meeting ended, he and Mackenzie were on good terms.

The whole thing took less time than they’d anticipated. Alec had expected the meeting to drag on into the afternoon, but they were finished by midday. Normally he would have tried to rearrange his flight and travel back to London that afternoon. Staying somewhere to sightsee was an unnecessary luxury he didn’t usually permit himself, but the extra night was already booked and so were the flights for tomorrow. Alec wasn’t going to turn down this unexpected chance to spend some time with Ed away from the office.

He knew it was dangerous. His feelings for Ed had only intensified in the two weeks since they’d had sex—crazy, risky sex that could have lost them their jobs if they’d been caught. The sensible thing to do this afternoon would be to go their separate ways and put some distance between them again for Alec’s sanity. But Alec was tired of resisting. The pull towards Ed was too strong, and he wanted to test it out, to see whether Ed was as powerless to fight it as he was.

In the cab on the way back to their hotel, Alec turned to Ed.

“So”—he spread his hands—“we have the rest of the day free. What do you want to see?”

Ed’s face lit up. “Really? Do we get to be tourists? I thought we’d have more work to do.”

“It can wait till Monday—or at least until Sunday. Katherine’s bound to quiz you about the trip when we get back to the office. She told you to sightsee remember? Katherine’s not a woman you want to disobey.”

Ed chuckled. “You’re probably right. But I have no clue. The only thing I know about Edinburgh is there’s a castle—which I’ve already seen from your window—and lots of hills. What do you suggest?”

“Well, I’m assuming you won’t want to walk too far, so we might be best to avoid the hills. Shame, because Arthur’s Seat is lovely and the views are great from the top.” Ed had been trying to hide his limp, but Alec could tell his foot was hurting. “Although it’s bloody cold, it’s supposed to stay dry all day. So I thought maybe an open-top bus tour?”

“That sounds perfect.”

After going back to their rooms to change, they met in the lobby. Alec got down there first, and when he saw Ed step out of the lift, his breath caught. The only other time he’d seen Ed in jeans was that first night in the club. These jeans were slightly less provocative. Slim legged but not superskinny, they showed off Ed’s lean legs and hips. On top he wore a thick jumper and a Puffa jacket, and he was carrying a scarf and hat. He paused, looking around the lobby before catching sight of Alec.