Attraction (Love & War, Part I) by Katrina Liss Page B

and French grandparents. I'm
a real mixture.”
    “I'm pure
Essex, way back, before time began,” he said with a laugh. “My
family are bakers, all apart from me. I'm the non-baking black
sheep. The one they like to sweep under the carpet.”
    “Are you now?
You'll have to tell me all about that black past of yours.”
    “Maybe I will,
some other time. What about boyfriends, had anything serious?”
    “Only one
worth mentioning. I was with Will for eight years.”
    “Really?
That's a long time. So what happened?”
    “I met him at
Uni, he joined the Royal Navy on their graduate officer training
program and we only saw each other every few months. But we simply
grew apart over the years. Nothing actually happened to end it.
We're still friendly, but it wasn't ever, well...you know...?”
    “Exciting?” he
offered.
    She smiled
briefly at him, in a sad kind of way. “I loved him, but mostly
platonically. What about you?”
    “I'm thirty
two. And up until just over a year ago, I was married, to Caroline,
for nearly seven years. We're divorced now. She cheated on me with
an old mate of mine, they're still together,” he said. He wanted to
be as honest and upfront with her as she had been with him.
    “Oh dear. That
must have hurt?”
    “It did. But
we get on okay nowadays. My ex wife and I, not my ex mate...”
    “You still
speak to her?”
    “On and off. I
don't blame her really. She was restless. When we met she wasn't
even eighteen. Just out of school. We were together for a long
time. Ten years. I started talking kids and stuff and she wanted
other things, I guess. A taste of the high life and things Caleb's
obviously providing.”
    “So she's my
age?”
    “Twenty eight
last December.”
    “And there's
been no girlfriend since?”
    “There's been
a couple. Nothing serious. What about you, any guys on your scene
since Will and you split?”
    “Well there is
someone.”
    “Oh...right.”
His stomach dropped in disappointment. He kicked himself for being
an idiot, thinking a little too far ahead too quickly. Of course a
girl like her would have guys interested in her. Be even so, he
hadn't wanted to hear that.
    “So, how long
you been seeing him, this someone?” he asked in as calm a tone as
he could.
    “Not long at
all. I only met him this afternoon,” she smiled cheekily. Her
eyelashes fluttering flirtatiously. “But so far I'm getting very
good vibes.”
    He stared at
her silently, absorbing her words and meaning. He was hooked,
completely ripped out of the water, fucking hooked. It really was
too soon to say for sure, but he had a strong feeling Caroline
might be taking a back seat in his life.
    “You know
what? I'm feeling that too.”
    “Well that's
good to know. But Adrian, I'm concerned about Ashton. It's not nice
sneaking around behind his back. You must feel really bad, as well,
don't you? He's your friend.”
    “No, I don't
feel bad, Nikki. He doesn't have any claim on you. Ash has more
than enough female interest, believe me. But we should keep our
dates quiet, though. He's your client. You need to keep him sweet.
So, not a word, okay?”
    “A complete
blackout, then?”
    “Exactly.”
    “I can manage
that, no problem.”
    “And no more
talking about him. Tomorrow he'll have you all day. I won't get a
look in.”
    “Only in the
work sense. And you can have me all night.”
    Have me all
night?
    “ I'm all for having you.”
    He was almost
beside himself with excitement. His cool was leaving, and fast.
    “ Finished your pizza yet?”
    “Oh yeah. I'm
completely done eating, babe.”
    He stared at
her and she stared back. He leaned forward and took her hand and
brought it up to his mouth, brushing his lips over her
knuckles.
    He stood up
and pulled her to him, closely. His nose and mouth grazed at her
neck, absorbing the traces of the heavy perfume she'd been wearing
earlier. He didn't think anything could possibly smell or taste
sexier.
    “ Oh God,
Adrian...I need to get in there.