Peony Place. Jules Wake

with the city-boy lifestyle there’s a certain reputation.’

      He shrugged. ‘I don’t have time for one relationship let alone more than one. Or were you asking if I’m predilected towards one-night stands?’

      ‘I guess, yes. I was also trying to determine when you last slept with someone? Last night? Last week? Last month? Last year?’

      An unexpected stab of jealousy pricked at the thought of him in bed with someone else.

      ‘Ah. You want to know if I sleep around.’ His eyes narrowed and a smile danced around his lips. ‘Do you?’

      ‘No. I pride myself on this thing called self-respect but…’ I gave him a superior look. ‘If I want to sleep with someone, I’m not ashamed of it.’

      ‘Good for you. I don’t sleep around,’ he smirked. ‘Not so sure about the self-respect. I’m fussy.’ He gave a self-deprecating laugh. ‘I’m very choosy about who I sleep with. I don’t like going back to strange places. Unknown quantities. I like places to be clean and tidy. And I don’t like taking people back to my place.’

      ‘Clean bedsheets,’ I quipped. ‘No hair in the shower.’

      He gave me a sharp glance, as if I were taking the piss. I held up my hands. ‘I’m serious. I’m a neat freak and I like things to be clean, especially bed sheets.’ I shuddered. ‘I shared a flat with a girl at university who didn’t wash her sheets for the whole term.’

      ‘That,’ said Ash. ‘Exactly that.’ He shot me an evil grin. ‘Sounds like we might be a match.’ There was unmistakable challenge in his words. ‘And to answer your question. At least six months ago. Can I ask you a question?’

      ‘Over a year ago,’ I said. ‘I’m choosy too.’ There, right back at you.

      His lips quirked. ‘That wasn’t my question.’ For about the second time in ten minutes, I blushed scarlet to the very tips of my ears. I wasn’t anywhere near as sophisticated in the sexual-relationships department as I wanted to sound. That was the problem when you put everything into your career. Your sex life took the hit. Competent and confident in the boardroom, inexperienced and a bit daunted in the bedroom.

      He took a step forward and put both hands on my waist, holding me gently, his eyes roving over my face, suddenly soft. ‘I was going to ask if I could kiss you?’

      For all his arrogance, Ash completely had me with his softly voiced question. The bottom of my stomach fell away and all those pesky butterflies took flight, a cloud around me, brushing my skin with tingles of excited awareness.

      His eyes held mine as I nodded, just the once, too fizzy to utter a word. My heart pitter pattered like a crazy thing in my chest but outside everything seemed to freeze and stand still when his lips touched mine. I hardly dared breathe for fear of spoiling the perfect moment. It was a kiss so perfect, I knew I’d remember this moment in the pooling lamplight. Every second would be burned into my memory banks, sealed into its own little vault. Our noses didn’t bump. His teeth didn’t knock mine. His mouth wasn’t hard, pushing against mine. Featherlight, his lips skimmed in a barely-there kiss. Our skin brushed lightly. I slid my arms around his neck, wanting to touch him, to feel the warmth of his skin under my fingertips.

      Then he lifted his head, his eyes meeting mine and he gave me a smile of such sweetness it completely tugged at my heart strings. I lifted my mouth to his and kissed him, feeling the hitch of his breath as my lips skated over his in gentle exploration, savouring the exquisite sensation of skin on skin. With a gentle exhalation, his fingers on my waist tightened and he pulled me closer, chest to chest, deepening the kiss.

      After a while, we both pulled apart. I felt a little dazed.

      ‘That was quite a kiss, Coffee Girl.’

      ‘You’re quite a kisser, Ashwin Laghari.’

      He laughed and squeezed my waist. ‘No one ever calls me that, you know, but I rather like it when you do. You make me sound like some sexy magician.’

      With those beguiling kisses he definitely had a touch of magic about him.

      ‘Would you like to come back to my place? I promise my sheets are clean.’ He held up a hand. ‘Not because I was hoping to score tonight… I thought you might be too much of a ballbreaker.’

      ‘Charming. What changed your mind?’

      ‘Because inside, I think we have a lot more in common than either of us would like to admit. And, just for the record, I always do my laundry on Saturday.’

      Chapter Three

      ‘Claire, can I have a word? It’s urgent. My office in ten.’

      My heart sank at Alastair’s words. It was five to eight on Monday morning and I’d literally just walked through the door – in fact, almost walked into the door frame I was so tired and my eyesight was a little blurry. Stay calm, Claire. You got the report done. It’s all cool. I heaved out a sigh, punch drunk with fatigue. I’d pulled an all-nighter to get the damned thing done.

      ‘Morning, Claire. Good weekend?’ Karen, the HR director, grinned at me as she ducked her head into my office.

      ‘It was actually.’ I grinned back, suddenly boosted by the memory of waking up in Ash’s bed on Sunday morning.

      ‘Anything you want to share?’

      ‘Not just now.’ I gave her a mischievous smile. ‘Maybe over a glass of prosecco, one night.’

      ‘Just let me know when.’

      ‘Might not be this week.’ I winced. As she walked off with a cheery wave over her shoulder, I let myself take an indulgent dip into the memories of Saturday night and Sunday morning.

      I’d woken late on Sunday. Sadly, the delicious lassitude of my muscles had long since dissipated but thinking about Ash’s body moving over mine, the breathless sighs of both of us and the delicious intimacy we’d shared, warmed me as I sat down at my desk. God, he’d been lovely. A considerate, passionate, thoughtful and, I thought with a sudden naughty smile, very inventive lover. That competitive streak in both of us had pushed us to challenge each other well beyond limits that I suspected normally bound us. I almost groaned out loud at the deliciousness of his shuddering uncontrolled orgasm and the sheer feminine satisfaction that I, Claire, had been able to bring a man to this. Not that he’d been without his own power. I’d never had sex like it and was still a little surprised by my own loss of control and the way I’d begged him, gasping, ‘please, please, please’ over and over again.

      Even now I was getting a little hot and bothered at the recollection of the way our bodies had moved together.

      I’d woken up on Sunday immediately aware of where I was and smiling at the weight of Ash’s arm draped over my back and the sun streaming in through the window. We’d been in far too much haste to bother with things like closing curtains. That smile vanished quickly when I realised the time. I’d felt a little sick when I saw it was half past nine.

      ‘I’m sorry, Ash, I’ve got to go.’ I pulled off the sheets but he tugged me back.

      ‘Not even a good morning kiss,’ he teased, pulling me down onto his warm body. He was impossible to resist but eventually I forced myself to sit up. ‘I really have to go. I have so much to do. I’ve got this big report to hand in on Monday and I’m…’ My stomach had turned over at just how much I had to do and how much time I’d lost helping my sister yesterday. Alice and her bloody hedge. If it weren’t for her, I might have been able to give in to the temptation of slow Sunday-morning sex. I was beginning to recognise the familiar signs of stress creeping through my body.

      ‘Hey, don’t look so worried. I get it. My laptop’s calling me too.’

      ‘And the boy gets the prize,’ I quipped with a grateful smile. He really did understand.

      ‘I’m