quiet in the building. By the time she had showered and dressed she’d been able to chuckle to herself, having finally seen the funny side of his teasing remark the night before.
Of course she could do it.
She’d been brave enough to meet up with her virtual lover, she’d flirted madly with a stranger who’d subsequently seduced her, and she’d even stuck her tongue out at him when he’d delivered her sandwich the night before. Going out there and facing the pair of them was simply the next step in a catalogue of mistakes and humiliations. Keeping her sense of humour was clearly paramount.
The fact that her curiosity was getting the better of her also proved to be good motivation. What were the two of them doing out there, she constantly wondered as she stared at the door. Late into the night she’d heard the TV, and later on some chatter and laughter. Had they been discussing her? Before she let herself ponder that one too much and lost her nerve as a result, she grabbed the door handle and left her room.
Further down the corridor was a door with a sign that read ‘Residents’ Lounge’. That’s where Seth had emerged from the night before, when she’d tried to grab her phone. The door was open, and she headed over and ducked her head in. It was thankfully empty of attractive
51
men this morning, so she made her way across the gloomy room and peeped through the curtains to have a good look around and get her bearings.
Large French windows overlooked a patio and frost-covered evergreen borders, and the view beyond was postcard-pretty with bare, frosted trees and distant hills dotted with sheep.
The room itself was large and comfortable. There were several well-stuffed armchairs and a matching sofa. One wall was lined with books. There was also a TV, a rack of DVDs, and what looked like a well-stocked bar in one corner of the room.
Braving the corridor again, she noticed that the doors to room number one and two were both slightly ajar. The sound of a shower running emerged from at least one doorway.
She headed in the opposite direction, towards the staircase. To the left of it she saw an open doorway that led into the kitchen.
Whoa, this place is a dream. Andrea would love it. It was just the sort of thing they wanted for their business, but they couldn’t stretch to it as yet. She walked along the stainless steel cooker tops and work surfaces, running her fingers over them possessively. A massive great breakfast bar ran down the centre of the room, two stainless steel poles reaching from floor to ceiling at either end giving the place a high-tech, all-mod-cons feel that didn’t quite fit with the rest of the house. Whoever did the cooing here liked their gadgets. As she passed, she loosely clasped the pole at one end, pivoting on one heel, imagining what Andrea would say if she could see this fabulous kitchen.
“Oh yes, you like that, don’t you?”
Lily turned on her heel, her hand falling way from the pole.
Adrian was standing in the doorway, elbow up against the frame as he supported his weight on one leg, a walking stick in his other hand. His insinuating gaze was on her shimmying with the pole.
Her skin prickled anxiously and she quickly moved away from the metal pole when she realised what she’d done. Without thought, she had sashayed across the space by instinct, using the pole as her pivoting point.
It was there in his eyes; he remembered everything she’d said—that fantasy about being a pole dancer or a lap dancer for a private audience, one special man. Part of her wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. The other part of her responded to the intimate knowledge held in his gaze. Isn’t that what she wanted, someone who would know her secret desires without her having to say them aloud? Yes, but she hadn’t known then that it would work
52
out like this, that she would be locked into a place and time with him that she couldn’t just get up and walk away
Of course she could do it.
She’d been brave enough to meet up with her virtual lover, she’d flirted madly with a stranger who’d subsequently seduced her, and she’d even stuck her tongue out at him when he’d delivered her sandwich the night before. Going out there and facing the pair of them was simply the next step in a catalogue of mistakes and humiliations. Keeping her sense of humour was clearly paramount.
The fact that her curiosity was getting the better of her also proved to be good motivation. What were the two of them doing out there, she constantly wondered as she stared at the door. Late into the night she’d heard the TV, and later on some chatter and laughter. Had they been discussing her? Before she let herself ponder that one too much and lost her nerve as a result, she grabbed the door handle and left her room.
Further down the corridor was a door with a sign that read ‘Residents’ Lounge’. That’s where Seth had emerged from the night before, when she’d tried to grab her phone. The door was open, and she headed over and ducked her head in. It was thankfully empty of attractive
51
men this morning, so she made her way across the gloomy room and peeped through the curtains to have a good look around and get her bearings.
Large French windows overlooked a patio and frost-covered evergreen borders, and the view beyond was postcard-pretty with bare, frosted trees and distant hills dotted with sheep.
The room itself was large and comfortable. There were several well-stuffed armchairs and a matching sofa. One wall was lined with books. There was also a TV, a rack of DVDs, and what looked like a well-stocked bar in one corner of the room.
Braving the corridor again, she noticed that the doors to room number one and two were both slightly ajar. The sound of a shower running emerged from at least one doorway.
She headed in the opposite direction, towards the staircase. To the left of it she saw an open doorway that led into the kitchen.
Whoa, this place is a dream. Andrea would love it. It was just the sort of thing they wanted for their business, but they couldn’t stretch to it as yet. She walked along the stainless steel cooker tops and work surfaces, running her fingers over them possessively. A massive great breakfast bar ran down the centre of the room, two stainless steel poles reaching from floor to ceiling at either end giving the place a high-tech, all-mod-cons feel that didn’t quite fit with the rest of the house. Whoever did the cooing here liked their gadgets. As she passed, she loosely clasped the pole at one end, pivoting on one heel, imagining what Andrea would say if she could see this fabulous kitchen.
“Oh yes, you like that, don’t you?”
Lily turned on her heel, her hand falling way from the pole.
Adrian was standing in the doorway, elbow up against the frame as he supported his weight on one leg, a walking stick in his other hand. His insinuating gaze was on her shimmying with the pole.
Her skin prickled anxiously and she quickly moved away from the metal pole when she realised what she’d done. Without thought, she had sashayed across the space by instinct, using the pole as her pivoting point.
It was there in his eyes; he remembered everything she’d said—that fantasy about being a pole dancer or a lap dancer for a private audience, one special man. Part of her wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. The other part of her responded to the intimate knowledge held in his gaze. Isn’t that what she wanted, someone who would know her secret desires without her having to say them aloud? Yes, but she hadn’t known then that it would work
52
out like this, that she would be locked into a place and time with him that she couldn’t just get up and walk away
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