Читать книгу Turning Up the Heat - Ashley Lister - Страница 5

In the darkness of the deserted restaurant a hand touched hers. Trudy stiffened. Her heart beat faster. She was alone in the dark with a stranger.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened to her.

A part of her had been desperate for it to happen again.

Concentrating on smells, sounds and the shape of his silhouette against the darkness, Trudy tried to get some idea of who he was. She caught the citrus notes of his cologne, a lemony fragrance that was clean, zesty and exciting. Her senses were made more acute by the absence of proper light, and she could hear the rasp of his breathing. It was a gentle sound like the half-grumbling growl of a lion at rest. Noting the forbidding height, broad chest and manly jaw, she dared to let herself smile.

It wasn’t a stranger: it was Bill.

‘Mr Hart,’ she began.

A finger touched her lips briefly, silencing her. She trembled at the contact.

It had been a long month since they had last communicated, since she had last felt the bliss of his skin touching her lips or touching her anywhere. A long, long month.

‘Don’t speak yet, Ms McLaughlin,’ he warned.

She was obedient and said nothing.

She basked in the gruff growl of his Northern brogue.

‘We’ve both been in the wrong here.’ His broad Yorkshire accent made the words come out as wev barth bin in t’wrong ’ere. Trudy had missed hearing his impenetrable voice over the past month. She closed her eyes to hold back the tears of relief that now threatened to flood from her.

‘I can see now that I was wrong for being so resolute about your involvement with Sweet Temptation,’ he admitted.

The situation had been messy. He had issued an ultimatum. She could either work with him at his restaurant, Boui-Boui, or she could try to pursue a career in online catering with her friends in their start-up business, Sweet Temptation. Bill had vowed they would have no relationship if she attempted to do both.

‘I was in the wrong,’ she insisted. ‘I should have told you that Donny was no longer involved with Sweet Temptation. I should have made that clear.’

‘We’ve both been in the wrong,’ he repeated. Wev barth bin in t’wrong.

She sniffed back a tear when she realised how much she had missed hearing his voice. It took an effort of will not to reach out for him, hug him and hold him and promise that they would never be parted again.

‘I think there’s a way for us to make amends,’ Bill confided.

He flicked a switch. Trudy was momentarily blinded by the excess of light. Blinking, her eyes became used to the brightness and she saw he looked as handsome as she remembered. There was a familiar steel-grey shadow bristling his lantern jaw. He looked comfortable yet smart in the sports jacket he wore over his T-shirt. His diamond-blue eyes sparkled as he smiled down at her.

In his hands he held a large wooden spoon.

‘There’s a way for us to make amends,’ he repeated. ‘I think one of us needs to be punished.’

She beamed.

The familiar thrill of arousal and excitement was already fluttering slickly through her sex. Her heartbeat quickened as she understood what he was suggesting. She stood up, turned around and bent over the table. Her backside was pushed out, ready for him. She glanced over her shoulder and stared meaningfully at the wooden spoon in his hand.

‘Punishment?’ she murmured coyly. ‘Yes, please, Mr Hart.’