Daring to Date Her Ex

by Annie Claydon

  * * *

  Lucas’s resolution not to be seen anywhere near Thea’s room lasted for two full days. Then, at two in the morning, his phone woke him up.

  ‘Ava?’ He’d gone to bed last night thinking about Ava. He knew that she was perfectly safe and happy with his parents, but Lucas felt slightly guilty that he wasn’t there to make sure that she was safe and happy.

  ‘No. It’s Thea. Were you asleep?’

  The strained tone of her voice removed any temptation to tell her that, of course, he’d been asleep. ‘No, I was…’ He couldn’t think of anything he might be doing at two in the morning other than sleep.

  ‘You were. I’m sorry…’

  She was apologising again. Always a bad sign. ‘You called me at two in the morning to ask if I was asleep?’

  ‘No, I…’ The sound of her weeping quietly came down the line, and Lucas regretted the frustration that had crept into his voice. Tucking his phone under his chin, he pulled on his clothes.

  ‘Hey. None of that. Tell me what’s up.’

  She gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. ‘I’m just being stupid, that’s what. Go back to sleep.’

  ‘Before I do, you’d better tell me what you’re being stupid about.’ Lucas noiselessly opened the door of his room, his footsteps in the corridor muffled by the thick carpets.

  ‘Oh, you know. Stage fright.’ She sighed. ‘I think I took on a bit more than I can handle. I’ve been lying awake, trying to think of all the ways that I can get out of tomorrow. I’ll be okay.’

  No, she wouldn’t. If Lucas knew Thea at all, he knew that she wouldn’t have called in the first place if she’d thought she was going to be okay. And if she lay awake the whole night, not only would she be even more tired and distressed in the morning, she might just come up with a way to get out of presenting her paper.

  ‘Want some company?’

  ‘No, really—room service is bringing a cup of tea and I’ll drink that and then go back to bed. Hold on a minute, I think that’s them now. I just need to put some clothes on…’

  Lucas closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the door. If he’d known she wasn’t dressed, he could perhaps have dragged the conversation out a little longer and enjoyed the mental picture.

  She opened the door, wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants, her phone slipping from where she’d tucked it under her chin and dropping to the floor when she saw him.

  ‘Are you going to let me in, then?’ She hesitated, and Lucas gave his most persuasive grin. ‘Before anyone sees me?’

  She wiped her tear-stained cheek with her hand. ‘You didn’t need to…’ As soon as he closed the door behind him she gave up the seemingly gargantuan effort of pretence that she’d been making. ‘Thanks, Lucas.’

  ‘No trouble. I was awake anyway, my phone rang. Perhaps they’ll bring enough tea for two.’

  ‘I ordered a pot. Just one cup, though.’

  ‘I’m sure we’ll manage.’ Her room revealed her state of mind, even if her words didn’t. Papers spread out on the red and gold cover of the large bed. Three different outfits, the hangers hooked over the top of the open door of the wardrobe. There was no furrow in the carpet from where she’d paced up and down, between the window and the bed, but if Lucas knew her at all, that was exactly what she’d been doing.

  ‘Wondering what to wear?’ He decided to address her worries one at a time.

  She nodded. ‘Yeah, I was thinking this one…’ She picked up the sleeve of a dark jacket, which went with a pair of sludge-coloured trousers.

  ‘Boring. And you’ll get really hot in that. What about this?’ Lucas peered into the wardrobe, pulling out a pale, silky top. ‘With this.’ He caught sight of a flash of colour and extricated one of her seemingly endless selection of wide scarves.

  ‘You think so?’ She looked uncertainly at the two as he held them together. ‘The colours do go.’

  ‘Yeah, and if you wear it with dark trousers, you’ll look great.’

  She frowned at him. ‘This is a professional conference. I don’t want to look great.’

  ‘You mean you don’t want anyone to look at you. Sweetheart, they’re going to be doing that anyway. You may as well look nice.’

  She gave a shrug and began to search unenthusiastically through the contents of the wardrobe. It looked as if she’d over-packed for this trip, and brought enough clothes for a month. Lucas supposed that it gave her the option of picking out something to wear for the next day and then changing her mind at the last moment.

  ‘This, you mean?’ She’d put the top onto the hanger along with a pair of dark blue trousers, and twisted and knotted the scarf around the shoulders.

  ‘Perfect.’ Lucas grinned with approval. ‘You’ll look lovely.’

  ‘I don’t want to look lovely.’

  ‘And very professional.’

  His words seemed to mollify her a little. She put the sludge-coloured outfit back in the wardrobe, hooking the new outfit over the top of the door, and Lucas heaved a sigh of relief. ‘I’ll hang this there, and think about it.’

  She jumped as a quiet knock sounded on the door. Lucas stepped back instinctively, out of sight of anyone standing in the corridor, while she accepted a tray and sent the waiter away.

  ‘Plenty for two.’ She set the tray down on a small table by the window, smiling nervously. Lucas waved her into a seat and poured her a cup and she took a sip, watching as he collected the papers up from the bed into one pile.

  ‘How many times have you been through this?’ He sat down opposite her.

  ‘Too many. Each time I do it, it seems worse than the last.’ She passed him the cup and he took a sip.

  ‘Why don’t you leave it for tonight? Get some sleep and we’ll go through it together over breakfast when you’re fresh.’

  She agreed just that little bit too quickly. ‘Yeah. You’re right. Thanks, Lucas.’

  That was his cue to leave. And as soon as he did, she’d probably get that horrible outfit back out of the wardrobe and start fretting over her papers again until dawn broke and she realised that only coffee and good luck was going to get her through the morning. Lucas wasn’t going to let that happen.

  ‘I’m going to practise one of my new techniques on you first, though.’

  * * *

  The idea of Lucas and a new technique did the impossible, cutting through the heavy mess of worry that was lying on her chest like a stone. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘Wait and see. I want you to lie down on the bed.’ He indicated the spot where the pillows were piled up to form a backrest.

  Lying on the bed for a new technique? And Lucas’s gorgeous smile, the one that she’d never been able to resist. ‘Can I take my tea with me?’ How dangerous could it be if you could drink a cup of tea at the same time?

  He gave a nod and she picked up her cup and saucer, holding it in front of her like a defensive weapon.

  ‘You don’t need to worry.’ He chuckled.

  ‘What makes you think I’m worried?’ She tilted her chin at him defiantly, but the damage was already done. The dark glint in his eye, the sudden feeling that his bulk was looming over her set her cup wobbling slightly in the saucer, and Thea steadied it with her free hand.

  He watched as she set her tea on the nightstand and slid onto the bed, folding her arms over her stomach. Then he sat down at her feet.

  ‘Close your eyes.’

  Protesting would only make her look as if she thought something was about to happen. Thea squeezed her eyes shut.

  ‘And relax.’

  ‘I’m relaxed.’

  He didn’t even bother to answer. Lucas’s soft chuckle told her that he knew full well that her whole body was as tight as a bowstring. When she felt his fingers brush against her bare toes, she started involuntarily.

  He took hold of one foot, his touch light but purposeful. It was nice enough, but it was her head that needed to be worked on, not her feet.

  ‘Do you hav
e any rose oil?’

  He knew she always travelled with at least one small bottle of soothing oil, and rose oil had always been her favourite. Once upon a time, in a land far away, it had been one of the sweet smells of their lovemaking.

  Thea opened her eyes and sat up. ‘No, I have lavender oil. Will that do?’

  ‘Perfect. Stay there.’

  When he collected the oil from the dresser, he switched a lamp on, turning out the main light. He threw open the heavy curtains, letting the darkness in. Lucas wasn’t afraid of the dark the way that she was.

  ‘Lucas?’

  ‘Nothing’s going to hurt you.’ He lifted her feet to put a towel under them and tipped a little of the oil into his palm, rubbing his hands together to warm it. The smell of lavender did little to calm her.

  His hands again, rubbing gently. Missing nothing, the sensitive skin in the arches of her feet, her ankles. Lucas was concentrating on his task in silence. Gradually a feeling of well-being began to suffuse her whole body.

  ‘That’s it.’ He leaned forward, picking up her hand, and she realised that it had slid from her stomach to her side. He massaged her palm, sending warm shivers all the way up her arm.

  ‘Where did you learn this?’ Even her voice seemed to have relaxed into a low whisper.

  ‘I went to a class with my dad. When Mum was ill.’

  ‘And it made her feel better?’ Thea tried to call to mind the studies she’d read about massage and illness, and decided that she could do that some other time. The warmth of his hands, the delicious smell, the way he seemed to be touching her whole body was a powerful drug.

  ‘Not the massage. He wasn’t all that good at it. But she really appreciated him going; it was a bit of a departure for him. My father’s always been a proponent of measurable cause and effect.’

  ‘And you’re not.’ Lucas knew all about the magic of touch. The subtle rhythms of the human body that defied any attempt to categorise them.

  ‘I’m a proponent of both. Science is important. What’s going on in someone’s head is important too. I thought we agreed on that.’

  The world in which they had to talk about anything, to work out whether they agreed or disagreed, seemed a long way away. Here it was just his hands. Like sex, only… Only without the consequences. You didn’t wake up the next morning hating yourself because someone had rubbed your feet the night before. You didn’t have to worry about contraception or what the world thought. It was just feet.

  ‘Roll over.’

  She obeyed him without a murmur. When he raised one foot, his fingers sliding along her calf, all she could think was that this was lovely. A sigh escaped Thea’s lips.

  ‘Good?’ If she’d been able to see his face, she would have seen the tenderness that his voice betrayed.

  ‘Yeah. Nice.’ If he’d rolled her over again, and stripped off her T-shirt and sweatpants, she would have done nothing to resist him. But she knew that he wouldn’t. When she felt his fingers at the small of her back, she gave herself up to him as completely as if he’d been inside her, warmth spreading from the cluster of nerve endings and making the tips of her fingers tingle.

  ‘You’ve got a knot, there.’ His fingers concentrated on a spot in the middle of her back, pressing hard, and Thea felt her own momentary resistance before the muscles relaxed. His fingers pressed a little harder, and her gasp drew a grunt of approval from him. He explored the spot a little more and then moved on to the next vertebra.

  Lucas knew how to arouse and he wasn’t employing any of the tricks that would have made her cry out for him. He wanted something different from that and he’d got it. Her body felt as if it was floating, warm and weightless. Far too relaxed to want anything other than this moment.

  She felt his lips brush her back, and then he pulled her T-shirt back down. The pressure of two fingers on her shoulder was more than enough, and her body obeyed him, rolling over.

  ‘Don’t get up yet. Just relax for a moment.’ He slid the towel out from under her feet and covered her with the counterpane. The last thought that drifted through Thea’s head was that she’d just stay here for a minute longer before she finished her tea.

  * * *

  She was asleep. Curled up on the bed, her breathing soft and regular. Lucas thought for a moment about undressing her and decided that the night was not so hot that it was a necessity. In any case, that was much too much to expect of himself. His body was already raging with an intense need and he couldn’t stand much more of it.

  Quietly he closed the curtains. The lamp glowed in the corner of the room, and he decided to leave it on in case she woke later on. Temptation roared through his veins and he reminded himself that if he lay down beside her tonight, there was always a chance that someone would see him leaving in the morning and they’d become the latest victims of the conference gossip machine. The thought propelled him towards the door. He opened it an inch, looking outside to make sure that no one was in the corridor, then walked quickly back to his own room.

  * * *

  Thea found Lucas on the covered veranda, drinking coffee and watching the rain. The breeze meant that the air was cool and fresh. A perfect morning.

  ‘You slept well?’ He grinned at her as she sat down in the other wicker chair at his table.

  ‘Yes, thanks. I woke up this morning feeling calm and relaxed and reeking of lavender.’

  He chuckled. ‘The technique worked, then.’

  ‘It certainly did. You’ll have to teach me some time.’

  He shot her a thoughtful look, as if last night was then and this morning was now. ‘When we get home maybe. Would you like me to go through your talk with you?’

  ‘Thanks, but no. I’ve been through it about a million times already. I’d rather just have a moment of calm before I have to enter the fray.’

  He nodded approvingly. ‘If you want, I can work the laptop to display the images. Let you concentrate on what you have to say.’

  She wished he’d said that sooner. It would be great if she could just do the presentation and have someone else work the laptop, but he didn’t know which image went with which part of the talk. ‘It’s too complicated.’

  ‘I’ve got the script you sent me. I read through it on holiday. The prompts are all in there.’ He grinned. ‘I haven’t been through it a million times, but I’m fairly au fait with it.’

  Something in his look told her that he knew every word of her talk. While she’d been stressing over her presentation, he’d been quietly working through it, weaving a fine safety net under her that she’d not seen but was nonetheless there.

  ‘Thanks. I’d really like that.’ She leaned back in her chair and Lucas beckoned one of the waiters, who seemed to know either by instinct or long practice when to appear and when not to interrupt. Watching the rain softly plashing on the great leaves in the garden seemed as if it was all she needed to do right now.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  THE MORNING’S SESSION was a comparison of how people all over the world were facing the challenges of TB. Delegates from the US and Europe spoke, and then it was Thea’s turn. Walking to the podium with Lucas at her side somehow didn’t seem so excruciating as she’d thought it might be.

  He sat down quietly at the small side table reserved for data projection. She glanced at him and he smiled and nodded. Go for it.

  She began to talk, dimly aware that images were flashing up on the screen behind her. When she turned to refer to a graph, showing the comparative numbers of incidents of TB in the UK over the last ten years, it was there already, completely on cue. Thea began to forget the sea of faces in front of her and concentrated on speaking to individuals, a woman in a green sari in the fourth row, a man who was sweltering in a suit, almost at the back.

  Before she knew it, she was on the last page of her script. When she’d finished, and polite clapping turned to wholehearted applause, she wanted to stay right where she was and talk some more. Maybe read the whole thing again, with a
few variations.

  Lucas was at her side. ‘Leave them wanting more,’ he whispered quietly in her ear, and escorted her off the stage. Perfectly mannered, as if she were the star of the show. Suddenly she felt as if she was.

  ‘Enjoy it?’ he murmured in her ear as they took their seats in the front row of the auditorium, ready for the next delegate.

  Thea nodded, and he chuckled. She was aware that she was grinning stupidly, but couldn’t stop.

  The next few minutes wiped the smile off her face.

  In the sparkling haze of achievement she hardly heard the announcement that the delegate from Bangladesh had been unable to come to the conference due to family commitments, and that a colleague had flown in to deliver his paper. When that colleague walked onto the stage, it felt as if her blood had suddenly frozen.

  For a moment she was unable to move, caught immobile as her limbs turned to ice. Getting up from her seat felt as if she was shattering joints that had lost the ability to flex and move, but she had to go. Had to get away from there.

  She felt Lucas’s hand on her arm, pulling her back into her seat. ‘What’s…?’ He followed the line of her terrified gaze to the small, dapper man who was standing at the podium. ‘You know him?’

  His head twisted around as Dr Nair was introduced to the audience. Having worked for twenty years as the director of a TB clinic near Dhaka, he was now the head of research at an institute in the city. Understanding flashed in Lucas’s eyes.

  ‘Stay, Thea. Please.’ His hand slid down her arm, and his fingers found hers.

  ‘I…I can’t.’

  ‘You can face him, Thea. He should be the one who can’t face you.’ Lucas was leaning in close, speaking straight into her ear so she could hear him over the applause.

  Dr Nair obviously didn’t think so. He must have seen the list of speakers and his gaze found her almost immediately, hardening into frank dislike.

  ‘Don’t do it.’ Lucas’s words penetrated her panic.

  ‘Don’t do what?’ Fear made her snap at him.