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‘Cally—’
‘Thanks for everything.’She flashed the brittle smile he hated.He had another sip of coffee and let the black, lethally strong liquid fire down to his belly.Hopefully it would get his brain working.Because right now he had serious Neanderthal Man urges to overcome.
‘Cally, I think we need to talk.’He’d rather they didn’t; he’d rather they just go back to his bed.Contact, physical contact, would sort everything if they had enough of it.And they hadn’t had enough of it yet.
The brittle smile became even more brittle.‘Let’s not, Blake.’
‘Why not?’Hell, what woman didn’t want to talk?
‘There’s nothing to say, is there?This was a deal.You won.I paid.Now we’re done.’
He blinked.She was referring to that stupid bet?If this was a game, he was fast forgetting the rules.
‘Our business is finished.’
‘You think?’
‘You know it is.’
Blake knew nothing of the sort.All he knew was that his perfect weekend was coming to a close and he didn’t want it to.He wanted a repeat—next weekend, please.No, that was too far away.Maybe Wednesday.Or Tuesday.Or, hell, why not tomorrow?But she’d gone all finishing school on him.Back to the frigidly polite woman who determinedly avoided his eyes so he couldn’t see the fire they both knew was still there.
She turned quickly and headed to the door.
He hastened after her.‘I’ll walk you to your car.’
‘That’s not nec—’
‘Cally.’
She stopped her verbal protest but her body still oozed battle.
With every step towards her car he felt the energy in his body return.Tension rising until he was as pent up as he’d been all week.So much for one night being enough to get rid of it.She pressed the button on her keyring so the car beeped and its lights flashed.It was unlocked, but she’d gone as impenetrable as the Rock of Gibraltar.The need to conquer flared through him.
She reached for the handle, but he reached for her first.His eyes narrowed as he took in her frozen expression.He liked his chocolate warm and melting, not cold and hard.
He sandwiched her between the car and his body.He slid his hand around her neck and worked his fingers into the silky mass that was her hair.It looked so perfect yet felt so soft.He curled strands round his fingers and tugged, so she tilted her head up to his.Then he kissed her.
He kissed her and kissed her.Long and deep, until he felt her arms around him, felt her holding on tight and stroking him, pulling him closer.A final dig of his hips into hers gave him the moan from her that he’d been seeking—total surrender.
With strength he’d never known he had he lifted his hands from her, pressed them onto the car and levered his body off hers.Every cell in his body protested and he clamped down on all his muscles, stopping them from moving the way they so desperately wanted to—back into her.Leaning a millimetre away, he stared moodily into her face.Her lips were red and plump, the shadows under her eyes were pronounced and she wouldn’t look back at him.Hiding away.Running away.
Okay, so they both needed some time and distance.But this wasn’t over.He wasn’t sure what it was, but it wasn’t over.
‘See you ‘round.’
As a parting shot it was weak but it was the best he could come up with given his conflicting feelings—let alone those so obviously fighting within her.They’d take a day or so to regroup, reassess and then return to the table.Because this deal most definitely wasn’t done.
Cally drove the long way home.She should probably hate herself.Hadn’t she just done what she’d always vowed she’d never do?Paidfor a guy?Okay, it had been a bet that he’d won but it was still nothing more than a ‘transaction’, a coldly planned encounter that meant nothing.For whatever reason he’d wanted her and so they’d struck their bargain.There was nothing more on offer from or for either of them.
It had been heaven.Pure heaven.
Only now she felt lonelier than ever.
If she closed her eyes she could still feel him—feel the way he liked to twist and tangle his fingers in her hair.She could still taste him.Most definitely still smell him.She couldn’t shake him from her head at all.And she couldn’t help but want more.Lots more.
Cally had a soft heart.She worked hard to keep it protected because soft hearts bruised really easily and she didn’t like how much that could hurt.Her heart was already half in his hands and she knew how strong his hands were.He wouldn’t just bruise her, he’d crush her heart completely.So she had to claim it back and the only way she could do that was to remove herself from temptation.
One of the good things about being wealthy was the fact she had more than one residence.She had the apartment she used mostly when in town and she had the big sprawling manor with too many childhood memories for her to be able to use and which she rented out as much as she could.And she had the bolt-hole on the vineyard deep in the New South Wales wine country from where she could manage her business remotely when she needed country air and escape.Definitely time to take a trip—because when she went back to Sydney she wanted to have forgotten.
