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“I know, I know, I’m not usually a line kinda guy, I promise, but I’d regret it for the rest of the night if I hadn’t at least tried to talk to you.”
“See, now you’re on the right track. So, the dress thing?”
“It’s one of those odd little sex laws you Yanks have across the country. Like in Florida you can’t have sexual relations with a porcupine. Or in Texas you can’t own more than six dildos.”
What the hell?He mentally face-palmed himself. This was no way to chat up women, especially not this woman. No oneneeded to know he collected trivia like some people collected stamps. It was an affliction. He grimaced.
“You’re bringing up dildos and porcupines? Wow, are you always this awkward?”
“Not normally, no.”
“You did it again,” she said with a slight shake of her head. “Right on the verge of retrieving lost ground, you go and mess it up. You are horrible at this.”
“The worst.”
“Notice I’m not arguing?”
Xavier rubbed the back of his neck. She wasn’t letting him get away with a single thing. If he kept trying to flirt with her, his gut told him he’d end up frustrated and more than a little infatuated. He wasn’t getting anywhere with this beauty. He might as well pull something out of the bag she wouldn’t be expecting, something he hadn’t tried in a while. A complete and utter lack of bullshit.
He took a deep breath. “I’m going to take a stab in the dark here. This isn’t you, is it? This persona? I mean, you’re obviously a beautiful woman. There’s no denying you are literally breathtaking. It’s the snarky edge I’m not buying. You’re sharp. You’re funny, but there’s much more going on under this”—he gestured to her dress—“than you’re letting on. Let’s be honest, coz to me, at least, that’s far more interesting. Surface is surface, but you have so much more than that, don’t you? Real is far more stimulating.”
Her lips parted and doubt crept into the corners of her eyes. There it was again, the fracture. The dress, the glasses, the confidence, itwasall an act.
She’d started to lean towards him as he spoke, then shook her head and straightened her back. Raising both eyebrows this time, she said, “You use an awful lot of big words for a surfer boy.”
“What? You think because I can surf, that means I’m dumb? You shouldn’t judge a guy by his haircut. He might surprise you.”
Her gaze became distant. “In my experience, surprises are never good.”
“Sorry?”
She waved a hand in that regal gesture again, leaned forward as if to impart a precious secret and said quietly, “You’re doing better.”
“Really? I wasn’t angling for anything.”
“I know. That’s what I said.”
Xavier still didn’t kid himself that he had a chance, but he ploughed on regardless, his mouth taking over his brain. Anything was better than being dismissed. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. If this is who you want to be tonight, I can see the attraction. I really can. Tonight, you’re playing a part, putting on a mask, pretending to be someone else. That’s fine. We all have different roles to play, and sometimes we need a break. The mouse who wants to roar, an authoritarian playing the submissive, whatever. We’re all human. We all have needs. Just make sure you don’t get typecast in a role.”
Babbling again, he’d said too much. Something about this woman made him desperate to impress.
Leaning forward, she evaluated Xavier’s face closely, lingering on his lips. “You seem to have come over all wise and coherent all of a sudden.” She crinkled her forehead, face full of humour, “You sure you’re feeling all right?”
“Oh, I’m fine. Fit as a Mallee bull, see?” Xavier leaned forward and poked his tongue out for her to investigate.
She placed her fingers to his chin and assessed it in mock seriousness.
Retracting his tongue, Xavier said, “Maybe you should check my glands, too.”Glands?Xavier was left wondering how he’d ever managed to lose his virginity after dialogue like that.
Thankfully, ignoring his last in a long procession of dreadful lines, she said, “That’s a sizable piece of equipment there, does it come in handy Down Under?” A fissure in her confidence appeared again as she realised what she’d said, “I mean, ah…”
It was Xavier’s turn to smile. Cocking his head, he asked, “Was that a request?”
A blush the colour of her dress appeared on her cheeks and spread down to her cleavage as she said, “Well, no. I was just saying, well, ah, no need to. It’s overrated anyway. So, tell me—”
Xavier’s jaw dropped. “Cunnilingus is overrated? Are you serious?”
For the first time, the woman in red was unable to meet his eyes. She placed her hands demurely in her lap as she performed a detailed analysis of the tabletop. “In my experience, yes.”
