He was standing out on the balcony, those muscular arms of his spread on the railing, supporting him as he looked out over the city. From behind he was all masculine grace, with his lean height and the powerful spread of his shoulders. Clementine experienced an inner trembling as her body recognised what it liked. She’d never known anything like it when she was with him. It was as if the air between them lit up like sheet lightning.
She stopped on the threshold of the balcony. ‘Hi,’ she said, endeavouring to sound as casual as she could.
He turned around, and the intensity of his gaze was full of everything they had shared. The answering pulse in her body brought soft colour to her cheeks.
‘Hi yourself,’ he answered, as if he knew what was happening to her.
‘Busy day?’ She knew she sounded inane, but her heart was pounding.
‘They’re all busy, kisa.’ He smiled slowly. ‘You’re late.’ But it was said without animosity.
‘Am I?’ She knew she was. But he hadn’t been beside her when she woke up. So let him deal with it, niggled the thought, and a little of her excitement fluttered away.
He strolled inside, shutting the glass doors on the city behind him, and casually reached for her. As his big hands slid over her hips, bringing her up against him, she experienced a flare of longing in her body that had nothing to do with the resistance in her head.
She waited for him to say something, allude in some way to this morning, but he merely bent his head and kissed her.
Clementine put her hands up to his chest and gently disengaged herself with a murmured, ‘Not so fast.’
He released her, disconcerting her by patting her on the backside. ‘Off you go, then.’
She looked at him uncertainly. ‘I’ll just go and change. I won’t be more than twenty minutes.’ She hesitated, feeling a little shy all of a sudden. ‘Are we going somewhere fancy?’
‘There’s been a change of plan.’ He turned his back on her as he strolled over to the side table to collect his phone and keys. ‘I’ve got to go downtown tonight. I can’t take you out to dinner.’
‘You’re going out?’
‘It’s work, Clementine. Happens all the time.’ His expression said get used to it.
‘That’s okay,’ she replied, determinedly cheerful. ‘I’ll come with you.’
‘You’ll come—’ He broke off, frowning at her. ‘No, it’s not a place for you.’
Her hand found her hip. ‘What is it? A mosque?’
‘A gym,’ he said briefly. ‘A lot of sweat and testosterone.’
‘So a lot like last night?’ she replied, scooting after him as he headed over to the wet bar.
He slowed to a halt, turned. Some of the tension eased around his mouth. He smiled. ‘Maybe, but without the important addition of a soft landing.’
It was the smile that got to her. She narrowed her eyes. ‘Did you just describe me as a soft landing?’
‘You supplied the soft landing, Clementine. I would describe you as a miracle of natural engineering.’
Somehow it wasn’t a compliment. It wasn’t what you said to the woman you’d made love to for the first time and then abandoned the next morning. Yes, Clementine, a little voice niggled. Abandoned.
She didn’t like the way he catalogued her body either—as if examining the parts he liked best. Guys did that to her a lot. It made her feel less than a person. She wanted him to see the whole woman—had imagined he had last night. But she guessed that wasn’t the reality.
Unimpressed, she muttered, ‘Careful with the sweet-talk, Slugger, you’ll melt my knickers off.’
He grinned. He liked her like this—making him work for it. The other Clementine—softer, a little unsure of herself—put the wrong thoughts in his head. Thoughts of looking after her.
This Clementine could look after herself.
He relaxed.
‘I’m going to freshen up,’ she said stiltedly, a little afraid that when she came back he would be gone. ‘It’s been a long day.’
Serge didn’t attempt to stop her. She had a right to be annoyed with him. He wasn’t going to be able to do justice to her beautiful body this week with so much going on in the outside world. But he could make it up to her now—soothe that little temper of hers in a mutually satisfactory way.
Clementine satisfied herself by calling him every name in the book as she stripped off in the bathroom, stepping into the pressure-activated shower and letting the warm water do its soothing job. Where was the sweet, attentive man who’d listened to her over dinner and held her hand going in and out of the restaurant, who’d been so romantic with her last night?