Page 19 of Tangled With the Wrong Guy
‘Be my guest, tired boy.’
Beautiful, confused, tired boy.
He leaned his head on her shoulder, and she leaned hers on his. It was nice. It was lovely.
Darkness gently laid its cloak over them, and as Joel dozed, Chloe looked around her, at the shadowy tombs, the trees silhouetted against Paris’s nighttime glow. She felt the warmth of this man next to her, this new, unexpected friend.
After a while, his head slid down a little, onto her chest. She gently guided it onto her knees, then, contorting, trying not to wake him, pulled free the jumper tied around her waist. She brushed off the debris collected from beneath the chewing gum tree as best she could with one hand. He shifted, turning his head so it was facing her, gathering his free arm in front of his face, and she adjusted their shackled wrists so he’d be as comfortable as possible. Then she lay the jumper over him and he snuggled in.
Before long, Chloe felt herself drifting off to sleep too.
It’s almost time. Make your way to Oscar Wilde. Stay well hidden. Be ready! You know what to do.
Chapter Six
Chloe was awoken by bright light shining through her eyelids. As she came to, she remembered where she was, and opened them expecting to see the beam of a security guard’s torch. But instead … wow. A huge, dazzling full moon was hanging between the trees overhead, shining benevolently down on them.
The tombs were bathed in its pale light, and across the cobbled path Oscar’s winged Egyptian was a ghostly guardian angel. The cemetery was silent, and breathtakingly beautiful.
In her lap, Joel stirred. Moonlight silvered his hair and cast shadows from his long eyelashes onto his cheeks. He groaned a little and moved again. The weight of his head on Chloe’s legs was disturbingly pleasurable. She became aware of an ache; it must have been building as she dozed. She wriggled.
Her jumper was still laid across his back, and she pulled it up so it was covering his neck. Beneath it, his free hand shifted further up her thigh.
She knew he was just moving in his sleep, getting comfortable, but the motion didn’t help.Oh Chloe.You utter tragedy.
She rested her hand on his soft hair, then began stroking it. There was nothing suggestive or sexual about that; it was simply … affection.
He sighed, and his hand crept still further up her leg, and then … his thumb settled on the denim between her legs. She let out a quiet gasp of surprise, then opened them a small way. He moved his thumb, pressing it into her.Oh my god.Her nerveendings reached out to meet him, straining towards his thumb. Then he began rubbing her with a circular motion, stopping occasionally to push against her. She willed him to carry on:don’t stop, don’t stop … please don’t stop.Unless it’s to unzip me and slip that thumb inside.
Then all at once he opened his eyes, blinking rapidly, pulled his hand sharply away and sat up. ‘Uh … where …?’
The jumper fell to the ground and he bent down again, his face hidden, groping around for it. ‘Chloe! Shit! Sorry – what happened?’ His voice was panicked. ‘I must have been dreaming.’
‘Shush, you didn’t do anything,’ she lied. ‘I moved your head so you wouldn’t wake up with a stiff neck.’
He sat up straighter and rotated his head slowly, easing his muscles. ‘Oh, right. Thanks. It feels fine.’ He gave her a searching, quizzical look; she stared back, hoping her expression gave nothing away.
Joel opened and shut his mouth, making a smacking noise. ‘But my mouth feels like someone attacked it with sandpaper.’
‘That’d be the hangover making an early start.’
‘The pasties.Pastis.’
She hoisted her backpack onto the seat beside her and took out her water bottle. Clamping the top between her teeth she twisted the bottle with her free hand, then handed it over. ‘Your need’s greater than mine. Just leave me a splash.’ She rootled around in her bag some more and found a packet of mints. ‘Have one of these while you’re at it.’
‘You’re an angel, Chloe.’ He took a long swig, popped in the mint, then passed the bottle back. ‘And you’re getting pretty good at doing things with one hand.’
‘So are you,’ she said, before she could stop herself. The throbbing was taking a while to subside.
‘So Idid…’ He pulled a face. ‘God, I’m so sorry.’
‘I was half asleep myself, so … what happens in Paris stays in Paris. Lips sealed.’ As she said the words, she was aware they could be interpreted as an invitation.Hypocrite! You’re suggesting he does to Zara what Dan did to you.
His eyes went to her mouth. ‘Very pretty lips, if you don’t mind me saying.’ Then those eyes moved to the moon. ‘Would you look at that. No need for a light after all.’
‘Isn’t it all incredibly beautiful?’ she said, gazing around her. ‘So are you feeling okay? Shall we look for a way out?’ She shivered, feeling the nighttime nip in the air now that Joel had removed himself from her lap.
He noticed. ‘It’s getting chilly – you should put this on.’ He passed over the jumper. They looked down at their shackled wrists. ‘Ah, you’ll need help. How do we do this?’ He wriggled his arm up through the jumper until it emerged through the neck hole, managed to lift it over her head and then pulled it down until her face popped out. She got her free arm down its sleeve, letting the other sleeve hang loose over her shoulder. ‘Thanks.’
