Page 146 of Never Tell Secrets
Anywhere without cameras. Where could that possibly be? “Somewhere I’ve never been before.”
His grin spread wider, a delightful wickedness there. “Done.” He opened the door, I stared at the invitation, knowing that accepting it could bring only trouble. I didn’t care. I took his hand, his skin smooth against my own and got into the car.
It might bring trouble but it would bring distraction too and right now, that was exactly what I needed.
Forty-Five
“Where are we?” I looked out of the tinted car window and up at the building that was the picture of Georgian architecture.
“My place.” Kal had been unnervingly quiet since I’d gotten into the car. He’d asked my preference on music, passed me a glass of champagne and then left me to my thoughts. I was both grateful and frustrated by that. I’d expected flirtation and teasing…distraction. His silence left Alfie the freedom to wreak havoc in my mind. “That a problem?”
“No…I just thought you’d be taking me to a sex club or something.”
“Not quite.” He smiled at me, a naughty, easy smile. His blond hair was dishevelled, as if lusting hands had ravaged it earlier tonight. Buttons were missing from his shirt, revealing a generous amount of his chest. There was no way around it, the man was mouthwatering.
The chauffeur opened his door and Kal climbed out. I followed him up the steps to his front door which was promptly opened for him by a butler who quickly made himself scarce once we were inside.
I gasped as I took in my surroundings. Countless candles lit a pathway into the house, a house which was both modern yet evoked an era long since lost.
I realised quickly there were no lights switched on, the house was lit entirely by candle light. A decadent scent hit me and I sniffed the air. “Lily of the Valley?”
“You have a good nose.” He sounded impressed. “It’s the candles. I designed the scent myself.”
“Why?”
“I like coming home to it.” He stood in front of me, hands stuffed in his pockets, an unlit chandelier overhead. “You think it’s too much?”
“I think you’re a sensitive soul.”
“Yeah,” he chuckled, “I’m all heart.” He studied me as if deciding what to do with me. “Are you tired, Lola?”
I paused, taking stock of myself. The pain was there, a hibernating bear in the deep pit of my gut, threatening to come roaring awake any moment. “I think I must be but I’m strangely awake.”
“Are you nervous?”
“Yes.” The answer came without hesitation. Kal made me nervous. Being with another man made me very nervous. But Alfie was the one who had taken everything I offered and wasted it. He had no claim over me now and I owed him nothing.
“Are you scared?”
I took a breath, soothing my racing heart. “Yes. A little.”
He took a step closer, his chest inches from my own. “Why did you come with me?”
“I needed a ride and I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” Alfie had poisoned all other areas of my life. At least here, I was pretty certain Alfie wouldn’t have any cameras hidden anywhere. I almost burst out laughing at how ludicrous it was that I even had to think like that.
Kal laughed. “You really know how to flatter a man, Lola.” He turned and headed for the stairs. I followed, taking his unspoken invitation. He shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it over the banister on his way, the motion so un-Alfie it was staggering.
Upstairs, he paused at the top of the stairway and opened a panel in the wall. He quickly keyed in a code and the wall slid open revealing a lift.
“Holy crap.”
He arched a brow at me as I followed him inside. “You haven’t gotten used to this yet?”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it.” I watched as he keyed in another code and the door closed. We sped upwards, a short journey before coming to a stop.
We stepped out into a small office that looked like it had come straight out of the 1920’s. He took a seat at a large oak desk. I dumped my bag on the floor and shrugged out of my coat, draping it over the back of the other chair. He rifled through a drawer, pulled out a document and pushed it across the desk to me.
A Non Disclosure Agreement.
