Page 36 of Prognosis Incompatible

Madeline laughed and turned back to the river view because he was so gorgeous she wanted to bite him. But still, she could feel his presence behind her, feel the heat radiating in waves off his body.

Rebound sex.

Enough already!

‘Maybe you should think about this.’

His voice was low, his mouth close to her ear, and she shivered. Part of her wanted to scream at the unfairness of his effect on her, part of her wanted to lean back into him and rub herself against him like an appreciative feline.

Rebound sex.

I mean it, get a grip!

Marcus sat beside her, facing the wide paved walkway, and watched the ebb and flow of human traffic for a few minutes. He was conscious of their arms brushing occasionally and of the weight of the ring in his palm and the hum deep in his loins as his mind wrestled with the possibilities.

Did this mean the engagement was off? ‘What happened?’

She sighed. ‘Simon and I split up.’

Marcus couldn’t tell from her voice whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. But she’d obviously been crying so she must be upset. Despite the delicious potential, Marcus had an unexplainable urge to go and find her too-busy ex-fiancé and punch him on the nose.

‘Want me to beat him up?’

She laughed, the humour in his voice making it sexier than ever, and the urge to rub herself against him intensified. She looked at her hands instead, desperately trying to banish the serpent’s whisper and not think about rebound sex when they were talking about a serious issue. ‘Actually, we split a couple of months ago.’

‘Oh?’ Marcus frowned. So, all this time he’d been lusting after an engaged woman and she hadn’t been?

‘I’ve been in denial.’

He looked at the bling in his hand and again thought what a fool Simon was to have ever let Maddy get away. He turned side on. ‘I told you he was an idiot.’

She smiled. ‘No. He did us both a favour. We were together for all the wrong reasons. We didn’t love each other. Not like we should have. I just didn’t realise it until he came back this afternoon and wanted to reconcile.’

‘How did he take it?’

She shrugged. ‘Quite well. He knew, too. Deep down, he knew. Although – ’ She gave a half laugh. ‘I’m sure he hasn’t spend an hour crying about it like I have.’

Marcus nodded. ‘So, if it’s all over and has been for a while, why the tears?’

She shrugged. ‘We’ve been together for a long time and now it really is over. It feels a bit like he’s died, I guess. These things need to be mourned. Trust me, I’m an expert on mourning.’

And, Marcus supposed, tossing the ring was the funeral. Picking her hand up off her lap, he placed the ring in her palm. ‘Do it. Closure’s important.’

Madeline looked at him through suddenly glassy eyes, warmed by his support.

Rebound sex.

She shut her eyes and ignored the whisper as she closed her hand around the flashy piece of jewellery and tossed it long and hard at the pliant river. There was too much noise to hear it plop but she opened her eyes in time for them to both watched it hit the surface and disappear.

‘C’mon.’ He nudged her arm with his after a few moments. ‘I’ll buy you a drink.’

She eyed him dubiously, his bare, flat abdomen tantalising in her peripheral vision. ‘You’re not exactly dressed,’ she pointed out.

‘This is South Bank.’ He shrugged. ‘No one cares.’

She did. The way she was feeling at the moment, if he didn’t cover that delicious chest she was afraid the temptation would become too great and at some stage she would lean over and run her frosty glass down his perfect abs.

Marcus saw a flare of desire heat her green eyes and the hum in his loins kicked up to a buzz. ‘I’ll button up,’ he said. ‘I’ll even put on some shoes.’ He swung a backpack off his shoulder and brought out a pair of Birkenstock slides.

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