Page 55 of Pomegranates and Olive

Surprised by his tone, I look up at him. "What?"

"You think all I'm after from you is sex. That I am... what did you call me? A baller? You think this is all some kind of game to me." He brushes my cheek lightly with his lips. "You should know that you're the first woman I've been attracted to since —"

Oh. He… he’s attracted to me inthatway. Oh, my!

"But what about Eve? And Maeve?"

"Eve is a buyer for a chain of specialty food stores in the U.S. and wanted to tour the mill."

"So when you said you were going to show her the mill —?"

"I really was showing her the mill!"

"Merda!"

"And you made that very lucrative sale that much more difficult because you were jealous of her."

"That’s not even slightly true.” I wave my hand at him as though I was swatting a fly. “I told you I wasn't jealous, I was disgusted."

"Just stating the facts as I saw them."

"So am I! Anyway, you can't explain Maeve away quite as easily. I think we both know that she wanted to mount the mast on the love boat that night."

"I won't lie to you, Maeve wanted me to make love to her, but she was just as happy to be friends, particularly when I explained that I had feelings for you. So we drank our weight in vodka, then I helped her to the top of the hill where I had arranged for a taxi to take her back to her hotel."

"You should have told her to leave."

"I'm very sorry that I didn't. I badly wanted to make love to you."

"Fuck!"

Deniz sighs dramatically and I scrunch my nose at him in reply.

"Askim,you're ruining what should be a very special moment for us with all your bi-lingual swearing."

"I vomited on the last person who tried to have an intimate conversation with me, so I'm changing the subject." My swearing is potentially the least of his problems. "Favourite authors?"

"Dickens, of course." Deniz leans into me again, his lips mere inches from mine. "And Tennyson. Joyce. The Bard."

"Old school."

He brushes a piece of hair from my face sending a shiver down my spine. "Do you know how beautiful you are?"

Damn you, Yilmaz!

I take a step back, mentally cursing myself for being weak.

"We’re friends, aren't we?"

His gaze drops to my mouth, and I find myself licking my lips as I reply. "I thought you said you didn't want to be my friend."

He pulls me to his chest, wrapping his arms around my waist. Every part of my brain is screaming at me to get out of that house, to run and don't look back, but my feet don't budge. My whole body is on fire, flames reeling all around me under his touch. I never want him to let me go.

"That's true. I don't want to be your friend."

"What do you want, then?"

"All of you."

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