by Jules Wake
‘Sh.’
‘Sorry,’ she whispered and maintained a steady speed and he almost laughed out loud at her comical focused expression. Leaning slightly forward over the steering wheel, she looked like an anxious hen, worrying about her chick. Every few seconds she’d glance and him and then whip her head back to concentrate on the road. Her concern was rather cute.
Cam groaned.
‘What?’ whispered Laurie.
With a shake of his head, he pulled a face and stroked his chin. ‘Can you hear that?’
‘Hear what?’ Her eyes widened and she hunched even more over the steering wheel towards the engine.
Holding up one finger, he said, ‘Listen.’
‘I can’t hear anything?’ she whispered again, her face agonised by her inability to hear.
He ignored the twinge of guilt that flickered.
Distracted, she’d begun to decrease acceleration. As the revs fell, the car protested. ‘Shit.’ She fumbled for the gears, to change down.
‘Careful,’ he snapped, telling himself it was in a good cause. Laurie would still get a good price for the car, even if it wasn’t a fraction of its real value. But like she said, she’d never expected to receive anything from Miles.
‘Sorry,’ she squeaked. ‘Was that me or the car?’
‘You. Concentrate, Laurie. It’s not a Ford Fiesta, you know.’
With a cheeky grin, she ignored his sharp tone and poked her tongue out at him. ‘Like you’ve ever driven a Ford Fiesta. I bet your Mum pushed you around in a McLaren buggy … geddit. So what was your first car? Surely you didn’t start with anything like this?’
‘It was a little Triumph Hillman owned by the old boy next door to us. He’d kept it in the garage for years and asked Mum if I fancied helping him get it back on the road. I was only fourteen but car mad already. Me and Bill spent hours on it. He gave it to me on my seventeenth birthday.’
‘Oh, that’s lovely.’
Cam laughed. ‘Yeah and the payback was whenever he got drunk down the local pub I had to go pick the old coot up.’ And she’d distracted him once more.
‘There. Can you hear it?’
Laurie listened. ‘No.’
‘Just a slight …’ Now he’d done it, what? It needed to sound serious enough but not too serious. ‘Knocking.’
‘Is that bad? Should I stop?’
‘Only if it gets worse. When we stop I’ll check the oil levels. Take a quick look under the bonnet.’
‘What could it be?’
‘A car like this? Could be anything. Modern cars are all computerised. Lots of warning lights on the dash. You plug them into a diagnostic and it tells you what’s wrong.’
He pointed to the pared down dashboard. ‘This, you have to strip down. You need to know engines. Ferraris. Don’t worry. It’s fine. It might hold us up, but I know what I’m doing.’ He paused, wondering how thick he dared lay it on. Laurie wasn’t stupid but she was a bit of worrier. ‘Of course if you were on your own, it would be a different story. An ordinary garage wouldn’t have a clue. You’d need a specialist. And then you can be talking thousands in labour. Especially if a part’s gone.’
He was reasonably sure that she wouldn’t have a clue whether he was bullshitting her or not. ‘You can’t get new parts. I remember a mate of mine. Stranded in Milan for weeks … and that was in Italy.’
‘Do you think you could fix … whatever it is?’ Laurie’s knuckles had gone white where she was gripping the steering wheel.
He tutted. ‘I could, yes, but then I’ve been working with this car for years.’
The rest of the trip passed in relative silence as Laurie concentrated hard on her driving. Watching the rev counter, checking the oil and water gauges, and slowing periodically to listen to the engine. As her anxiety mounted, so did his guilt.
Laurie fell in love with the pretty mountain village of Monstein as soon as they wound their way through the tiny streets to the hotel Ron had booked them into, although that could be the relief of getting out of the car. These last few hours had been quite stressful, worrying that there might be something wrong with the engine; plus as fun as it was to drive, the Ferrari was definitely built for speed rather than comfort. Although she suspected, like Cam, she’d rather die than admit it.
Despite his offering and her concern about the engine, she’d driven most of the day. He’d been favouring his shoulder for the last day or so, rubbing it when they stopped and stretching his neck away in the opposite direction.
The Alpine style façade of the hotel with its window boxes spilling over with bright red Geraniums looked perfect, exactly like the mountain chalets in all the pictures she’d ever seen. Even the reception looked as if every last fixture and fitting had been made from rustic wood and the receptionist with her ruddy cheeks and flaxen plait looked like Heidi as she gave them a welcoming smile.
‘Hi, I believe we have some rooms booked. Matthews and Browne?’
The smile slipped as the girl scanned her computer. ‘I have a reservation for Herr and Frau Matthews,’ she said apologetically, her accent very German. ‘But nozing for Browne.’
With her pulse skittering, Laurie didn’t dare look at Cam. What would he say? After this morning when she’d pretty much thrown herself at him, she’d decided that she would leave the next move to him. There’d been plenty of playful innuendo in the car throughout the day and she’d flirted back but nothing had been said, pretty rubbish really considering they were both grown adults. Adult enough to jump each other’s bones this morning. Adult enough, from the low ache in her belly, to want a second round.
‘I am very sorry but there are no other rooms. We are fully booked. Summer hiking is very popular.’
Cam slid her a side-long look, giving absolutely nothing away in his expression. It unnerved her. Bloody hell, the big fat coward was leaving it to her. Did that mean he wanted to sleep with her again? Or was he worried she didn’t want to? Or maybe he didn’t and didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
‘Laurie?’ Cam’s voice was bland and reasonable. Still no bloody clues. Great, just pile on the pressure why don’t you?
Bugger it, seize the moment. Hell yes, she wanted to sleep with him again. She’d thought about nothing else all bloody day. Rather than sated by the explosion of passion this morning, it seemed to have fired her up.
‘That will be fine, thank you.’ She didn’t look at Cam; instead she followed the girl to their room.
‘This is getting to be a habit,’ quipped Cam as he carried their bags into the room with a wicked twinkle in his eye.
All Laurie could do was blush. What would Robert say? She couldn’t even claim innocence now. This time it was most definitely premeditated. The intimacy this morning had been spontaneous combustion. Flushing at the memory, she looked at Cam, catching his gaze full on. Sexual tension arced between them. It had been there all day, anticipatory and neither of them had had the courage to broach it.
Her face heated and her mouth went dry. In jeans and white shirt, rolled at the sleeves to reveal tanned skin and strong capable forearms, he was gorgeous and hers for the taking, if she wanted it. If she understood the rules. This wasn’t for keeps. Strictly casual.
Her mind was already made up, although she wasn’t sure if her mind had had anything damn thing to do with it. Her hormones had jumped right in and taken charge.
‘If you keep looking at me like that …’ Cam growled.
With a sultry smile, she lifted her chin.
With two strides he filled the gap between them, grasped her shoulders and brought his lips down, their warmth immediately igniting heat flashing down to her core. God, help her but she wanted this man more than she’d wanted anything else in her life. Snaking her arms up around his neck, fingers delving into the long dark curls, she clung to him, kissing him back with fevered fervour.
‘God, Laurie,’ Cam groaned into her mouth, tightening his hold with one arm, the other sliding down to cup her bottom and pul
l her closer. Rubbing against him, giving into feeling, she pressed against the hard outline of his erection, both of them straining for more.
‘Laurie.’ Cam lifted his head. ‘We shouldn’t be—’
She didn’t want to hear. Wouldn’t hear.
‘Laurie,’ he tried again but she wouldn’t let him. Desire drove hard and with her tongue she delved into his mouth, playing the aggressor, one hand slipping down to rub the length of him through his jeans.
‘Jeez,’ he whispered, straightening at her touch as if a thousand volts had shot through him. His low moan fired her blood. When his hand slid to her breast, she gave a feline smile and sank with elated triumph deeper into the kiss.
‘Christ, woman. We haven’t even unpacked the bags.’
They lay sprawled diagonally across the bed, clothes littering the floor and Laurie’s head tucked on Cam’s chest, his arm loose about her shoulder. Looking down the length of him, she couldn’t believe she was sleeping with this Adonis and that sounded so juvenile but she’d never slept with anyone but Robert. When you lived with your dad, there wasn’t that much opportunity and most boyfriends had melted away under his fierce inquisition.
Her blood fizzed just looking at Cam. The way he kissed, the way he teased her body – it was all so much better.
A giggle escaped her.
Cam grabbed her and rolled her on top of him, so she was looking down into his face.
‘What are you laughing about? Not got complaints have you?’ he growled, his eyes alight with mischief.
Idly she rubbed one of his nipples, sighing at the sheer beauty of his smooth muscular chest. ‘None whatsoever. I was just … happy, I’ve never …’ It sounded so rubbish but she blurted it out anyway, her finger playing back and forth over the delicate skin, ‘never had an orgasm. Well not … you know during proper sex.’
His hand topped hers, his breathing uneven again. ‘Proper sex?’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re used to improper sex?’ With a quick wolfish grin he asked, ‘Want to show me?’
‘Ha ha. You know what I mean!’
‘Do I?’
‘Yes,’ she said severely, turning her hand to hold his, embarrassed by her admission. Sex with Cam was like drinking expensive champagne after a lifetime of Cava. Discovering a generous lover was a revelation. Taking his time, he played her body like a fine instrument, strumming and stroking until she vibrated with pleasure. Not in too much of a hurry, reaching his release with careful regard for hers.
He pulled her fingers to his mouth, sliding her index finger into his mouth, up and down.
Oh Lord, she could die a happy woman right at that moment.
Chapter 21
Who knew showering together could be so much … fun. It wasn’t quite the word but it went a long way to covering it. There was no awkwardness, no shyness. For the first time in her life she didn’t feel as if sex was something that should be tucked away in the dark. It was happy and silly and so much more. Her whole system buzzed with excitement and happiness.
‘Ready?’ asked Cam, holding out his hand.
She gave herself a last once-over in the mirror. In her new clothes, with her freshly washed hair which had fallen exactly into place as Marc had promised, she looked OK. Certainly good enough that no one would wonder why a good-looking guy like Cam was hanging around with her. Of course, he had his usual white shirt and jeans on and still managed to look edible.
‘Thank God for that, because I’m bloody starving.’ Right on cue his stomach rumbled. ‘You’re insatiable, woman.’ He picked up their bags and gave the room a once-over, checking for anything they’d forgotten.
‘It wasn’t my fault we missed dinner,’ she said indignantly, following him out of the room.
‘Whose fault was it then?’ His over-the-top leer made her giggle. She never giggled but it seemed to have become a new habit in the last twelve hours.
The innocent smile she tried out failed miserably and he leaned in for quick kiss which started to deepen.
She pulled away. ‘Breakfast.’
The beep of her phone made them both stop. She glanced down. A text from Robert. Switching off her phone, she shoved it into her bag.
Cam’s mouth firmed and a look of pain crossed his face. Guilt flooded her, they really needed to talk. Cam had tried. Despite her dismissing him as a playboy at first, her assessment had been totally wrong. It wouldn’t be completely accurate to say she’d done all the running, but she’d certainly headed him off rather effectively every time he tried to raise the subject.
He had nothing to worry about, although she suspected that he didn’t feel right about her being unfaithful with him, for all his sophisticated veneer.
‘I’ve decided to break things off with Robert. It’s over.’
Cam’s jaw tightened and his gut twisted. Damn. The coffee he’d just sipped turned sour in his mouth.
‘Sure that’s a good idea?’ He hid the crash of adrenaline that hit his system.
Her eyes widened. ‘Yeah,’ she answered in a tone that said, ‘are you stupid?’
Damn. Damn. Damn. He shouldn’t have got himself in this mess. Sleeping with her … no, he had no regrets. Fragrant rose teased the air, bringing with it the sensation of that satin smooth skin just under her delicate jaw line and the memory of tracing the fine bones of her face with his lips. No regrets for that.
‘It’s just … hell Laurie, I really like you …’
Her eyes narrowed, even to his own ears this was sounding clumsy.
‘No, seriously,’ he grabbed her hand but she shook it off, her eyes looking wounded. See this was why he should have left well alone. This sounded like the, I’ve ditched the boyfriend for you speech.
Laurie was the last person he wanted to hurt.
‘Laurie just listen a moment. It’s been amazing, but…I’m not the answer,’ he said, and leant over gently touching her face. When had he got all noble? Resisting the temptation to kiss that lush mouth, tease from her the tiny sighs. Damn it would be so easy just to kiss her.
Pretend, have fun for the rest of the ride and then sayonara.
And that was without factoring in the car. The car. Buggering hell, see that’s what sex did, especially mind blowing sex. Short-circuited the synapses. How could he have forgotten? Dropping everything to drive across Europe because he wanted this car. Only the condition of Miles’ will would ever give him the opportunity to own one of this value. When Laurie sold the car, he could buy it at the price Miles had paid for it. It was an offer no one in their right mind would ever refuse. The price of Ferraris had gone sky high in recent years. He sobered for a moment. The will hadn’t said anything about screwing her.
‘The answer?’ As she said it, her body language gave off a dozen warning signals. Folded arms, rigid shoulders, curled lip.
One false move and he was going to be up to his neck in quicksand and he hadn’t a clue what he’d said wrong. Who was he kidding? He was up to his neck and there was no going back. He had the serious hots for Laurie, hell, he liked her … a lot. But he couldn’t sell her a pup. Make promises that he didn’t know he could keep.
‘Laurie, you can’t throw what you’ve got with Robert away, because we might or might not have something going. I really like you.’ Crap − that sounded crap. ‘I admit the sex is…’ he swallowed, remembering the sweetness of her body and the honesty of her response, ‘incredible but … I can’t give you what you want.’
He couldn’t do it to her; she was the type of girl that would want more. He could see it now, the rest of the trip cosied up together, sleeping together … that he could handle, her hand tucked in his as he drove, sharing bottles of Italian vino on the descent down to Maranello. But then she’d expect forever, to settle down. He’d already tried that with Sylvie, and what a disaster it turned out to be.
‘I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you. Despite what you think of yourself, you are a beautiful and very sexy woman, and,’ he shrugged, he’d been seduced by
a lot more sophisticated women and it had never been like it had with her, ‘it sounds cheesy, but it was special.’
‘You arrogant prick.’ Laurie’s low voice spiked upwards, filled with venom, striking at him like a viper.
He felt as if he’d been punched and for a moment, sat open-mouthed, metaphorically winded.
She pushed her chair back, tossing her hair back. The rich red highlights caught by the morning sunlight along with her angry stare reminded him of Medusa. ‘It’s not about you,’ she hissed. ‘Or Robert. It’s about me.’
She loomed over him. ‘Me.’ She stabbed herself in the chest with her thumb, glorious and furious at the same time.
‘I don’t need you, or him, or my mother, or Miles pulling the strings. Sod the lot of you.’ She snatched the keys from the table in front of him and stormed off.
The rumble of the Ferrari’s engine sparked a tiny moment of unease and then he relaxed. Laurie was no drama queen. Yeah she was mad at this moment, but she’d calm down and realise what he was saying made sense.
The flap of the tyres on the cobbles had him tensing. OK, so she was good and mad. This was just bravado. She wasn’t really going anywhere, just making her point.
The tail-lights disappeared round the corner as he took another sip of his coffee. Whoops. Not his finest hour but she’d be back. He could guarantee it. Nodding to himself, he looked at his watch and made a rough calculation. Give it ten minutes. Tops. She’d get to the outskirts of town, see the road signs with just how far it still was to Italy, come to her senses and come back. Sense and Laurie went together.
Although he had to admit her sudden outburst had shocked the hell out of him. Raw passion he’d seen, but behind closed doors. What had happened to sensible, buttoned-up Laurie?
He settled back in his chair and picked up a newspaper. It was all in French and his linguistic skills certainly weren’t up to translating large chunks, but he didn’t want Laurie to see anything but indifference on his face. He watched the passers-by, his attention caught by an anxious mother and her recalcitrant toddler who did not want to get into his buggy. The two finally compromised, he clutching the metal frame while she wheeled forward slowly. They left to the chime of the clock tower in the market square.
