Page 29 of His Innocent Seduction

‘Not really. My friends were more...adventurous than I was. Most of them would sneak out of the boarding house at night and go meet up with guys. I just... I was more interested in studying.’

‘Really?’

I lift my hand to his chest, covering his heart. ‘Uh huh.’

‘Did you go to uni?’

My eyes link to his, a frown on my face. It feels strange to me that the man I’m sleeping with knows so little about me. It’s not, though. I mean, sure, we’ve fucked a couple of times but it’s not like we’re dating.

‘Yep.’ I nod. ‘That was my focus—I didn’t have time for boys. Between Mum being sick and exams and rotations, I couldn’t fit anything else in.’

‘Rotations?’

‘Medical, at hospital.’

‘You’re a doctor?’

I press my palm flat against his heart. ‘Yes. And one day, a surgeon, like my mother.’ I lift my eyes to his, tracing away from his heart. ‘Your blood is being carried through here, into your brachiocephalic artery.’

He laughs. ‘Proof?’

‘Yep.’

‘So what’s a doctor doing working in an Irish bar?’

My own heart, with its arteries and veins and blood and tissue, turns cold. I look down

for a moment, trying to calm the sense of panic that’s overtaken me.

‘That’s because of your mum, too,’ he guesses, before I answer.

I nod. ‘When I wasn’t studying, I was nursing her. Towards the end, when she was really sick and we knew it wouldn’t be long, she started talking about her regrets. Specifically, her regret that she hadn’t travelled. That she’d worked so hard, and she worried that she’d made me think work was all that mattered. She begged me not to make her mistakes. She begged me to get out and see the world before I settled down. To live my life fully.’

I drop my hand from his chest. He catches it in his, lacing his fingers through it. ‘That’s why you’re here?’

‘Yeah.’ I force a smile to my face. ‘It’s why I’m here. Why I’m going to Paris in a few weeks. Why I’m making the most of every new experience I possibly can.’

And then, needing to lighten the mood, I push at his chest so he falls back on the bed and then straddle him. ‘And, with that in mind, I can’t believe you’d deny me the chance to know what a butt plug feels like.’

He bursts out laughing. ‘I’ve created a monster.’

I lean forward, kissing him hard and fast. ‘You’d better believe it.’

CHAPTER SIX

THE SLEEK AUDI pulls into the airport, but it doesn’t head towards the terminals I’m familiar with. Instead, the driver sweeps around the curve and brings us to a stop outside a small, if modern-looking building. What it lacks in size it makes up for in design—glass, steel, curved edges and a look of prestige that kicks my excitement up a notch. I step out, looking around. There’s no sign of Michael. Impatience strums inside me.

I run a hand over the green maxi dress I chose, smoothing away imaginary wrinkles, then reach for my necklace, toying with it in what I recognise as a nervous gesture and therefore stop immediately.

The driver pulls my bag from the boot and gestures towards what I gather to be the terminal. I walk towards it, self-conscious in a way I don’t like, wondering if he’s in there, watching me.

The doors open as I approach and I step into what I can only describe as a world of unimaginable luxury. Inside this homage to modernist design is what looks like an incredibly luxurious lounge room. White leather sofas, huge flat screen televisions, enormous flower arrangements, highly polished marble floors and a bar with alcohol I know to be ridiculously expensive. There are only six people inside. Two waiters, a woman wearing a trouser suit, an authoritative-looking officer, a security guard and Michael. He is watching me, as I thought he must be. He stands still, his eyes roaming my body, and I wonder if he’s charged with the same electrical pull that I am.

Of course he’s not.

He’s done this before; there’s nothing new about this for Michael Brophy. But for me—oh, for me. This is knee-weakening, stomach-churning new territory. I walk towards him on legs that feel jellyish, wobbly beneath me, and when I’m close he straightens, taking the final step to bring our bodies together.

‘Hi.’ The word is gruff and despite his cool manner and calm appearance I wonder if he’s been as throbbing with anticipation and need as I am.

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