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"It's an old, historic town west of Brighton," she explained. "Popular with tourists because of the castle and the antiques shops. You know the sort of place."
"And you have a lead there?"
"Yes. An edition of Ghost Hunter was filmed there. I want to interview anyone who remembers Quentin's visit and I also want to check out a venue the show was filmed at. It's a house that's supposed to be haunted. They did a shoot there about six months ago and when I did some research I found the house is available to rent as a self-catering holiday home. A local caretaker maintains it and it happened to be free this weekend. There weren't any vacancies at the local hotel, so I've…" she glanced over at him then away, "…rented the house for us to stay at."
The way she said it left him in no doubt that she was thinking along the same lines as he was. But her face was flushed. She was embarrassed.
"Right," he replied, stifling a more cheeky response. A weekend away with a sexy woman. What more could a man want?
They gradually edged through the south side of the city, and as they did he encouraged her to fill him in on all she knew about the missing person story and the Ghost Hunter show. Norton had told him everything the day before, but he wanted her take on it. It all sounded a bit dubious to Sebastian. Why was this soundman giving her information, in the first place? He reminded himself it was her case. He wasn't there to investigate. He was there to keep her out of trouble and away from harm. The conversation seemed to relax her somewhat. They'd almost made it out of the thicket and onto the motorway that linked London to the South Coast, when the temperature gauge began to dip into the red.
"Oh, damn." She glared at the needle on the gauge, signaled and pulled over into the next lay-by.
"Leave it to me," he said, wishing he'd insisted they go in his trusty Land Rover. He reached into the back seat, pulled a shirt out of his overnight bag and got out of the car.
"Stand back," he instructed as she joined him. With his hands wrapped in the shirt, he lifted the bonnet then quickly hauled her back with him as a huge cloud of steam escaped.
The car wasn't the only thing overheating. Admiring her from a distance made him keen and warm, closer proximity and his body heat reached levels that endangered the local vegetation. She let out a gasp and looked up at him. Her eyes were like dark chocolate melting and her upturned mouth looked inviting, her lips slightly parted in surprise. A raindrop hit her cheek, making her gently flinch. He wanted to lick it away. With one careful finger, he gently smoothed the drop of rain from her cheek. Her lips parted, exposing the plump inner curve of her lower lip and the tip of her tongue. The look of her was making him hard.
"The car," she breathed, when the engine sizzled and popped behind them.
Sebastian hovered on the precipice, trying to get a grip. The way she was staring at him right then had his blood rushing south. As a result his brain was suffering severe deficit.
"Yes," he murmured, setting her to one side as he turned back to the engine. He carefully removed the radiator cap. "We’re going to need water."
"I've got some Evian in the boot, will that do?"
"That will do just fine." He smiled. She was a city girl, through and through. "We'll have to leave it for a few minutes until it cools down first."
They abandoned the car and sat on the grassy bank at the side of the road. The spot might have been idyllic if it hadn’t been marred by the occasional cars flying by at breakneck speed. Twilight was upon them and the night sky had begun to flicker into life.
Sebastian watched her fingers ruffling through the grass and followed the lines of her body with his gaze. "It shouldn't be too long before we can get started again."
"It's okay." She shrugged, eyeing his body from under her lashes as she replied. "I can ignore the fumes and the less than salubrious surroundings."
"Yes. I can think of better venues for a second date."
"Date?" Her eyebrows lifted, a half smile hovering around her mouth, as if she was confused by his comment. "Oh…I see." Her gaze dropped.
It was the first time either of them had made direct reference to their meeting at the pub since they'd left London. Sebastian chuckled quietly. He probably shouldn't have reminded her about her little faux pas the evening before, but she looked so damn sexy when she got annoyed.
She shuffled uncomfortably, her pale complexion beautifully enhanced by bright flashes of color high on her cheekbones. The tension between them was growing. "You're not going to let me forget that, are you?"
"No, because I don’t want to forget it."
There was such a perturbed look in her eyes it made him want her, badly. "Actually," he added, "it's the third date, if you include the meeting we had with Norton senior."
She glared at him. "Let it go, or I'll send you home and go on alone."
Now that was something he'd love to see her trying to do, but he managed to resist comment. He peered at the traffic for a moment then decided to change his approach. "Tell me, what does a high-flying London journo like you do to chill out?"
The tension in her expression eased somewhat. "You'd probably laugh."
He shrugged, relieved that he'd managed to redirect the conversation. "Go on…what is it, Pilates, float tanks?"
"Not even close."
"I know, you bake cakes for the local church." Ah, she smiled that beautiful smile. It made him feel mellow and content somewhere deep inside—while the challenging look in her eyes brought about an altogether different feeling in a more southerly region
