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none he⬠"!d tasted since.
His mouth watered with a sudden yearning and he realised he was being ridiculous. Of course she⬠"!d tasted sweet. She⬠"!d been young, as
the captain was so quick to point out, as he, Joe, had been himself. It was highly unlikely she⬠"!d still have that effect on him. Though it would be
interesting to find out. ⬠ÜYou look very well,⬠"! he said, smiling, his pulse quickening with the stir in his blood. ⬠ÜStill live with your old man?⬠"!
Mirandi felt his glance sear her. ⬠ÜNot for a long time.⬠"! Their eyes clashed, then disconnected as if some electrical collision had thrown out
sparks.
⬠ÜAh,⬠"! he said. The chiselled lines of his mouth compressed. He gazed consideringly into his drink, his black lashes screening his eyes, then
he said, ⬠ÜWas it hard to make that break?⬠"!
⬠ÜEveryone has to do it sooner or later. Grow up.⬠"!
A silence fell. The air in the room tautened while the wounds between them flared into life.
His eyes scanned her face. ⬠ÜAnd have you? Grown up?⬠"!
She shrugged. She⬠"!d learned enough about love and its consequences. ⬠ÜWhat⬠"!s there to say? I⬠"!m older now. I know better. How
about you?⬠"!
⬠ÜOlder.⬠"!
His mouth edged up at the corners in that sexy way he had and she felt herself slide further towards some cliff⬠"!s edge. How could someone so
bad for her still be so appealing?
He pierced her with one of those glances. ⬠ÜDo you have someone in your life?⬠"!
His tone was casual, as if he didn⬠"!t care one way or the other. But there was a stillness in him, as if all at once the world turned on her reply.
She relaxed back in the sofa and crossed her legs. ⬠ÜIs this something bosses need to know about their employees, Joe?⬠"!
He smiled at the small challenge. ⬠ÜBosses are only human. Isn⬠"!t it natural to be curious about old lovers?⬠"!
She felt an internal flinch at the word, but he⬠"!d used it deliberately. Lovers. Surely they were people who loved you and wanted to keep you?
Especially when you were scared to death?
He continued to taunt her with silken ruthlessness. ⬠ÜI⬠"!d have thought you⬠"!d be married by now to some solid citizen in the suburbs.
Some pious, clean-living guy who plays the church organ. Mows the grass on Sunday. Takes the kids to the park.⬠"!
She felt a sudden upsurge of anger, but controlled it. ⬠ÜIs that where you⬠"!re headed, Joe?⬠"!
⬠ÜMe? You⬠"!ve got to be kidding. You know me better than that.⬠"!
⬠ÜYes,⬠"! she said shortly. ⬠ÜI remember well.⬠"! She conquered the emotions unfurling in her chest. After all, it had been ten years.
⬠ÜAnyway, would that life be so wrong?⬠"!
His eyes were mocking, sensual. ⬠ÜIt might be. For you.⬠"!
⬠ÜOh.⬠"! She expelled an exasperated breath, but no doubt his assumption was her own fault. It had been her fatal mistake. She⬠"!d worked
so hard to convince him she was super-cool and fearless and ready to fly, when all along she⬠"!d been this weak, clinging little girl who⬠"!d slipped on
the most elementary of rules for conducting an affair with a bad boy. Not any more, though. ⬠ÜWhat makes you an authority on what⬠"!s right for me,
Joe?⬠"!
He said, deliberately tweaking her tender spots, ⬠ÜKnowing you in your formative years. Don⬠"!t tell me you⬠"!ve forgotten your walk on the
wild side.⬠"!
If only she could. A complex mixture of emotions rose in her, regret and anger uppermost, but she crushed them down and gave a careless shrug,
though it pained her to dismiss the enchanted time and its bitter aftermath.
He smiled his devil⬠"!s smile. ⬠ÜRemember the time you borrowed your old man⬠"!s car? How many girls can claim they swam naked at
Coogee at midnight, then drove home in their dad⬠"!s car?⬠"! He added softly, ⬠ÜStill naked?⬠"! He broke into a laugh. ⬠ÜThat was some ride. If
Captain Summers could have seen his little girl that night.⬠"! His voice softened. ⬠ÜYou were⬠ablaze.⬠"!
Straight away her mind flew to the inevitable postscript to that wild, exhilarating ride. His flat. His hard, bronzed beauty in the flickering candlelight,
in startling contrast to her own pale nudity. The excitement of being held in those muscled arms. Her passion for him, the intense heat of their coupling⬠¦
She met his eyes and knew he was remembering it too. Despite herself she felt the stirrings of desire, tightening the air between them, the sudden
sweet possibility of sex. What could be more likely, with the two of them in this otherwise empty apartment? Her breasts swelled with heat and suddenly
she was awash with the old bittersweet sensations. The yearning, the helplessness.
How easy it was for a man. No consequences, no griefs to bury.
But she⬠"!d already made those mistakes. She said steadily, ⬠ÜLook, much as I⬠"!d love to stay and reminisce, I have to go. I have a job,
remember?⬠"! She made a move to get up but he put out one lean hand.
⬠ÜNo, don⬠"!t go. Please. Patterson won⬠"!t be worried. You can tell him I waylaid you for my own wicked purposes.⬠"! He smiled, a sexy
smile that crept into her and coiled itself cosily around her insides, as if he shared some secret with her. Some private, intimate secret.
The trouble was, he did.
She examined her fingernails. Oh, heavens. Here she went, sliding down the serpent again in the old snake-and-ladders game of life. Was she
imagining it, or was the mood seductive? Who else had ever been able to look at her with quite that degree of sexy assurance, as if they knew it was only
a matter of time before she fell into his hands like a ripe plum?
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