Page 16 of It Started with a Kiss
I tried to lighten the mood again. ‘So, where do you go every morning wearing those power suits?’
‘Well, Iusedto go to Hunter-Drummond and Associates. It’s a law firm.’
Edinburgh was as vibrant as ever. Revellers dashed from one bar to another to avoid the rain, and I was momentarily distracted watching people wearing far too little clothing trying not to get wet. We reached the Jekyll and Hyde as the rain began to fall in earnest.
Realising what he’d said, I tilted my head. ‘Youusedto work at Hunter-Drummond?’
He wiped the rain from his forehead and slicked back his hair. ‘Long story. Let’s just say I’m currently between jobs.’
Whoops. Me and my big mouth.‘Ah. Okay. We don’t have to talk about it.’ I silently wondered if he was some relation to the Hunter in the firm’s name, or if it was just a coincidence. I guessed the latter as he no longer appeared to work there. Surely he wouldn’t have been fired by relatives? Unless he had done somethingverywrong.
Oh. Shit.
He glanced skyward for a moment, silently watching the rain as it fell on his face. ‘Look. I’m soaked. You’re soaked. And I don’t think I feel like drinking any more.’
Oh. Well done for screwing it up, Star. Bang goes getting to know him now.‘Okay. I understand.’ I couldn’t help the disappointment in my tone.
His luscious mouth turned up in a heart-melting smile. ‘No, I don’t think you do. My apartment is just round the corner. We could go grab a coffee... and a towel.’
Oh!‘Um... oh, I don’t really think—’
He held up his hands and fixed me with a stern gaze. ‘Look, I’m a lawyer. Well,ex-lawyer. I’m not an axe-wielding maniac, I swear. I promise I won’t kill you.’ He gave me a delicious half smile and my heart flipped.
I’m done for.
Before I had time to think things through, my mouth acted of its own accord once again. ‘Okay.’
Shit. What am I doing?
His grin widened. ‘Great. Come on then. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a coffee. And you’re absolutely drookit.’ He slipped off his jacket and draped it round my shoulders.
I presumed he meant that I looked as cold and wet as I felt and we picked up our pace as we made it along the road. He came to a halt in front of a beautiful old Victorian stone building with bow windows, on a street I wasn’t too familiar with. He jogged up the stairs and opened the door, but I stood, frozen to the spot.
Concern washed over his features as he gazed down at me where I hesitated. ‘Look, I won’t try anything, okay? I just want a coffee and your shop’s closed.’
I threw caution to the wind, ignored my inner alarm bells, and jogged up the stairs to where he stood. ‘If you murder me, I’ll haunt you,’ I told him, only halfjoking.
Once inside the building, we climbed one flight of stairs and arrived outside one of two doors on the floor. He unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside, holding the door so I could follow him in. It was a stunning place. High ceilings and tastefully decorated, if rather masculine, in grey, pale blue, and white, with a huge comfy-looking black leather couch in the centre of the room. The walls were devoid of artwork and I wondered if he’d actually finished moving in.
He threw the door keys on the dining table at one end of the living space and walked around, turning on some lamps. It was a smaller place than I imagined him living in, to be honest, and he must have read my mind.
Once he’d finished with the lights, he rested his hands on his hips. ‘It’s not as fancy as the place I used to live in but... well, I had to leave there pretty quickly and I didn’t fancy living with my brother and his newborn.’
What the hell did he do that meant he had to leave his other place quickly?I widened my eyes and swallowed hard. ‘H-how come? Did you run out of places to hide your victims?’ Again, I was onlyhalfjoking. Terrified I’d walked into some kind of trap, drawn in by his gorgeous exterior—it did happen after all, look at Ted Bundy—I began to back towards the door.
He laughed unabashedly. ‘God, you look terrified. You actuallydothink I’m going to hurt you, don’t you?’
I shook my head emphatically. ‘D-don’t be silly. I just... I don’t usually go home to apartments with men I’ve only just met.’
He smiled warmly and walked towards me. He came to a standstill around three feet away and held his hands out as if to show me he was unarmed. ‘Look, thereisa story to what happened. If you want to stay, I’ll tell you all the sordid details. If it’ll stop you looking like you’re about to bolt, that is.’ His husky deep voice made my heart pound. ‘And I promise to keep my hands to myself.’
I almost whined, ‘Awww,’ like a sulky teen, but managed to restrain myself. The thought of his hands on me appealed to me more than I cared to think about.
He gestured towards the large leather couch. ‘Why don’t you take a seat, and I’ll go make a pot of coffee.’
My cheeks heated as I twisted my fingers together. ‘Um... do you have decaf tea?’
He scrunched his brow and chuckled. ‘Seriously? The girl who sells coffee doesn’t even like it?’
