Page 23 of All Mine
Andy nodded, muttered something unintelligible and slid off his bar stool. He shuffled towards the exit, leaving his pint half-finished on the bar. Isabella turned back to Etienne.
‘I didn’t need rescuing,’ she said and it came out sharper than she meant.
‘I know that. I heard you.’ Etienne raised a dark eyebrow in appreciation and then laughed. ‘I bet Andy’s never been given dating advice before.’
‘Maybe someone should have done it earlier,’ Isabella said. At this close range, she could see the designer-length stubble. She could smell the woody scent of his cologne. She could feel the heat from his body.
‘Got a night off then?’ she asked.
‘Celebrating with my friend. He’s finished a deadline.’ He chatted for a bit about the game and Isabella recognised the names Fox and Walker the girls had mentioned earlier.
‘Good to see you out, though,’ he said. ‘I see you’ve met some of the locals.’ He nodded at the dance floor where Wren was now on a podium in the middle of the floor. Rosie and Amber were holding each other’s hands above their heads and dancing back to back. Someone had started a conga which snaked around the back of the stage. The place was chaos.
The long-haired barman finally appeared in front of them and Etienne indicated that Isabella should order first. The bartender departed again to fetch another Blue Lagoon for Amber, three shots of toffee vodka and a pint of water, no ice.
‘It’s great here,’ Isabella laughed, turning her attention back to Etienne. ‘Honestly, I haven’t been out like this in so long.’ She took a second, trying to remember, but then realised it would have been in the Daniel Days. She blinked the image away. Better to forget that. Daniel had probably been texting his lover every time he was at the bar, while Isabella was on the dance floor.
‘How come?’ Etienne asked, leaning on the bar next to her, his thigh casually pressed against the curve of her hip. She felt the warmth of him, his proximity the closest contact she’d had in months. Something in her longed to press back.
‘I haven’t felt like dancing for a while,’ she said and again those eyes found hers. Probing, searching, as if to see her story. Read her like a book. Uncover her secrets. Jesus, she sounded like one of Rosie’s steamy romances. NO SEX FOR A YEAR. She shook herself. ‘It’s been one of those years.’
‘I’ve had one of those before,’ Etienne surprised her by saying and she thought she saw something like regret cross his face, just for an instant.
‘But it’s a good break from decorating!’ She rolled her shoulders and saw his attention flash to the strap of her top as it slipped off her shoulder. She lifted it back into place. ‘I never realised how exhausting it is. My body aches all over. . .’
He flexed his hands together.
‘I give a good massage, so I’ve been told.’ He grinned wolfishly.
‘Don’t worry!’ she said as his eyes met hers again. ‘Nothing a long, hot soak won’t solve. . .’
‘I’ve got a big tub. Room for two?’ he asked, one eyebrow lifted. ‘You know where I am. . .’
He caught his lower lip under a pointed, white incisor.
Good God. The thought of those white teeth on her own skin. Stop! She laughed and shook her hair away from her neck, which was suddenly burning hot. The action drew his eyes before they dropped to her chest, where she knew her breasts were on show again through the silky satin of her top.
‘I do,’ she said, grinning back. ‘But I think maybe tonight. . .’
He was leaning in now, his face mere inches from hers, and she didn’t pull away. His eyes sparked as the knuckles of his hand brushed against hers, a soft touch which set off some kind of chain reaction right the way to her pants. One finger lazily stroked a single line on her forearm from wrist to inner elbow, where the skin was smoother and more sensitive, without taking his eyes from hers. Get a grip, woman. The man is hypnotising you into having sex with him.
‘What you need is a long, cold shower,’ she said. He laughed, head back. She couldn’t help but smile. He glanced at her phone.
‘Do you have NameDrop on that?’ he asked. She nodded and he tapped his phone to it, transferring his details automatically.
‘My number,’ he said. ‘For whenever.’ The one-sided smile made her want to lean forward and kiss him. To see what it would feel like to press into his body. To twine her arms around his neck and pull his face to hers.
‘Eighteen quid, please,’ the long-haired bartender said and Isabella threw him the money and grabbed the tray, taking it and her throbbing nipples back onto the dance floor.
Chapter Fourteen
Etienne
Etienne placed the whiskies on the table and the three each lifted a glass. The Runaway Train were now playing Michael Jackson and the dance floor was crammed with people moonwalking and grabbing their own crotches with abandon.
‘You took your time,’ Walker said.
‘Got a bit distracted.’ Etienne grinned.
