The Seller

The sensation was so intense, it was closely bound up with pain, and it was so exquisite she knew she couldn't turn him away – couldn't refuse him anything.

Chapter Two

A distant sound awoke Lucas.

Easing his head from the pillow, he tried to work out where the hell he was. He remembered, and smiled. He glanced at the empty space next to him and breathed in her scent. Naomi.

The events of the day before flashed through his mind. He'd chased the length of the country to beg her to forgive his heavy handed attempt at winning her. They'd agreed to a week of dating. Long enough to prove their time together shouldn't be limited in any way, he hoped.

Where was she? Downstairs, he guessed, hence the noise.

Lucas yawned and looked around. The bedroom was tiny and cluttered with personal belongings. He'd been so focused on Naomi the night before he hadn't taken much notice of the surroundings – which had resulted in a bashed elbow and a near disaster with a bedside ornament. The space around the bed was limited and it was the narrowest double he'd ever had the misfortune to sleep in. He couldn't decide if it was a wide single or what. Naomi had spent the night draped over him, but that would have happened no matter how large the bed. He'd held her there, locked in place with one arm while he stroked her hair with his free hand.

An old wooden wardrobe and dresser were wedged together along one wall. The wall facing the bed was painted with a fairy-tale like mural depicting an iron gateway with a picturesque glen beyond. It was too pretty for his liking, but it did the job of making the place feel more spacious than it was.

The physical memory of her relinquishment to him the night before heated his blood rapidly. He was hard in an instant. He'd teased her long and hard and slow over the cabinets in her shop and he'd never been more grateful for it – because she'd let him back into her life and agreed to his compromise. He'd win her trust over the course of the week ahead if it was the last thing he did.

They'd made love again later in the night, here in this tiny bed, and he'd held off coming for as long as he could – long enough to prove to himself she wanted him as much as he wanted her. The last thing he'd done the night before was sent a quick text message to Frank, the pilot he chartered for the company jet, to let him know he could return to base in London for the time being.

He yawned again and stretched, his muscles stiff.

Another sound alerted his senses. Someone was moving around downstairs and muttering to themselves. Then a screech sounded in the shop below.

Lucas sat up, resting on one elbow as he listened out.

"Who's there?" It was a female voice that bellowed out – a female with a broad Scottish accent. It wasn't Naomi's voice.

Again Lucas wondered where she could be. He scratched his head.

A loud bang followed.

"Show yourself or I'll call the police," the Scottish woman shouted up the stairs.

Police? Lucas groaned, threw back the bed cover, and glared at his erection. Waking up with thoughts of the night before had left him in a predicament, and by the sounds of the footsteps on the staircase he

had to move fast.

He stood, reached out and grabbed his shirt from the wooden clothes horse where it had been thrown the night before, and covered his groin with it just as a small blonde woman pushed open the door and barged into the room. She held a long metal pole in one hand and it was raised like a weapon.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded.

"I could ask you the same question." He raised his free hand in a sign of surrender, and smiled in attempt to show her she shouldn't feel threatened. Surely his state of nakedness would reveal the reason for his presence? "Is Naomi not about?"

The woman narrowed her eyes. She looked him up and down and then let out a surprised laugh. "You're here with Naomi?"

Lucas nodded, relieved his erection was quickly subsiding.

"About time too…but she was supposed to be in London until this evening."

The woman was tenacious, whoever she was, and despite her petite size, she looked as ready to pounce as a loyal hound on full alert.

"Change of plans."

More noises issued from downstairs followed by rapid footsteps on the stairs.

"Megan?" Naomi joined the blonde woman in the doorway and her surprised stare moved from Lucas back to the woman at her side. Her eyes rounded. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Megan, I meant to text you last night to let you know I was back, but I…forgot."

The woman called Megan lowered her weapon and laughed. "I can guess why you forgot," she said with a side-eye at Lucas.