her hair, the muscled strength of his shoulder beneath her hand, his taut, lean body brushing tantalisingly close to hers.
If she closed her eyes her nostrils filled with the subtle tang of his aftershave, and if she opened them again she was captivated by the lazy sweep of the strobe light, giving her glimpses of Liam’s face and the contrast between her pale skin and his tan.
From the moment she’d met this man she’d been walking a tightrope. Perhaps her emotions were tipping her off balance? She felt spellbound by him—by their coinciding birthdays, by the kind way he’d listened to her sob story, by the hungry way he looked at her. And now, in his arms, she was incredibly ablaze.
Clearly the long months of loneliness during her separation and divorce had taken their toll.
She wanted Liam to kiss her. She wanted his hands on her body, and yes, she wanted him to make love to her.
The wanting filled her head, blanking out reason.
And she suspected that Liam’s mind was on the same fast-track. Despite the ease with which he moved about the dance floor, there was no mistaking the subtle tension in his body, or the unsubtle desire in his eyes.
His lips brushed her forehead and a soft, almost desperate little sigh escaped him.
The dark, masculine sound plunged deep within Alice and the last, fragile threads of her resistance gave way. Helpless, she melted against him and desire flowered, surged and spilled inside her.
He drew her even closer, and nudged against her with sweet, unbearable precision. With his mouth against her ear, he murmured, ‘Have you any idea how bloody beautiful you are?’
They were hardly the words or the actions of a gentleman and she knew she should have been shocked. But she was too lost inside her cloud of desire. And her throat was so choked with emotion she couldn’t have voiced a protest even if she’d tried to.
And then, in the lull between one song and the next, he said, ‘Birthday girl, I want to take you home.’
Oh, God. Alice buried her face in his shoulder, her heart beating like a wild creature. She’d known from the moment she left the Hippo Bar that there was every possibility the evening was heading in this direction, but for one hot, terrifying moment of panic her courage failed her. A casual fling was so outside her experience.
Liam gently stroked her neck. ‘Bad idea?’
Was it? Alice tried to think calmly, but she was such a swirling mass of emotion and desire she was beyond the point of rational decision-making.
But she knew there was one important question she had to ask. She tilted her face so that her husky whisper reached him. ‘Tell me one thing; are you married?’
‘No.’ He said that so definitely she knew that he spoke the truth.
Raising her eyes to meet the hot intensity of his, she said, ‘It’s not a bad idea, Liam.’
The rasp of his indrawn breath made her shiver. He was as tense, as consumed as she was. She could hardly breathe.
They left the Reef Club holding hands and yet hardly daring to look at each other as they passed beneath the glow of overhead lights.
‘I didn’t bring my car,’ Alice said. ‘Did you?’
For the briefest moment she sensed a different kind of tension in him. ‘No; I haven’t organised a vehicle yet.’
‘Well,’ she said lightly, ‘there should be plenty of taxis around tonight.’
She felt impossibly shy as they stood near the edge of the footpath, waiting for a taxi. ‘I—I guess this is where one of us says, your place or mine?’
His light blue eyes seemed to shimmer. ‘I’m sure that should be your choice.’
The taxi arrived and they slipped into the back seat. Liam glanced at Alice as the driver waited expectantly. This was it; no turning back now. And it was her choice.
She gave the driver the address of her flat in Edge Hill. Better to be on home ground. The thought gave her an illusion of control. Besides, she was rather proud of her flat; she’d bought it with her share from the sale of the house she’d shared with Todd.
It was ultra-modern and brand new and it was such a novelty to have her very own private space that she kept it looking fabulous. Her friends teased her that she was expecting Home Beautiful magazine to call, begging to feature her place in their next big spread.
Thinking about her friends’ gentle teasing helped to calm her as the taxi sped them through the dark streets. It helped too that Liam sat a little apart from her and she was relieved that he wasn’t panting all over her on the back seat.
Nevertheless she could sense his tension and her body burned with breathless, coiling anticipation. What kind of lover was this man?
What kind of lover was she? Not much of one, if Todd’s straying from her bed was any indication. But there was something about Liam’s frank and open appreciation of her that shored up the confidence Todd had undermined.
A welcome cool breeze greeted them as they stepped from the taxi. Above them a new moon spilled a romantic silver sheen over the lush fronds of the palm trees that lined Alice’s street.
‘Nice location,’ Liam said and then he fell silent as they walked along the brick path flanked by newly landscaped gardens.
It wasn’t till Alice was fishing in her bag for her door key that she was hit by a rush of sudden doubts. Was she making a terribly stupid mistake? She didn’t know anything about this man. She didn’t do this kind of thing.
If a clairvoyant had told her she would bring home a good-looking stranger from a bar, she would have laughed in her face and demanded her money back.
When it came to dating trends, Alice had been left behind in the last century. Although her unattached friends seemed to think nothing of having sex for no other reason than because they fancied a guy, until tonight Alice had never dreamed of being so rash. Not in her wildest fantasies. Well, OK, maybe in her wildest fantasies—but since when were they reliable?
Perhaps she should suggest coffee. She had a lovely new espresso machine and she could take Liam Conway into her shiny, trendy kitchen and make coffee and insist that they talk some more. She could get him to talk about himself. There were so many things she should know before they—
Too late. Liam reached for her as soon as the front door closed behind them. And thoughts of coffee and the questions that had seemed so important scampered clear out of her head as he drew her in to him. And his lips met hers.
Oh…His lips were soft and firm and warm and super-slow. Alice’s legs almost buckled beneath her.
‘You have the most gorgeous mouth,’ he murmured.
‘I’m…rather taken with yours.’ She was a little stunned to hear how sinking-out-of-control she sounded.
And then he touched his lips to the side of her throat. ‘And you have the most kissable neck.’
Ah, yes. Flattery and sensuous, lazy lips were a heart-stopping
