Page 33 of An Impossible Attraction

Chapter Twelve

When Dale opened his eyes, she wasn’t there. The change in the air around him when she was near had gone. His first reaction was one of relief. He had no idea what to say to Zoe this morning.

He’d never experienced anything so all-consuming as their lovemaking the previous night. He felt confused, wrung out, mangled, exhilarated, and completely freaked-out. What she could do to him with just a touch of her hand scared the hell out of him.

He got out of bed and glanced back at the tangled sheets. And became hard again just thinking about the warm, willing woman he’d had in this very bed throughout the night. They probably hadn’t slept for more than an hour. Every time she’d turned, he’d woken up, hard for her. And every time she’d been ready and eager for him.

Pulling on his pants, he walked towards the kitchen. The smell of freshly made coffee hung in the air. On the counter he found a tray with a mug, milk, sugar, and a fresh croissant. The rest of the place was neat as a pin. There was a note on the tray.

For minutes he stared at the tray, trying to put a name to what he was feeling. Up till now the only woman who’d ever made coffee for him in the morning was his mother. He never stayed around during the morning-afters with women; he was always the one to leave. This time the woman had walked out on him, though. But had made him coffee. And had left him something to eat.

He poured coffee into the mug, took the note, and walked towards the big windows facing the ocean. The sky was overcast and the sea looked grey and gloomy.

He looked down at the note in his hand and skimmed through the few words…

Dear Dale. Like we’ve agreed—this was a bad idea. I’m flying out to Mahé today. I’ve spoken to your secretary, she’s organizing everything. I’ll contact you when I’m back. Zoe. P.S. The door will lock automatically when you close it.

Swearing, he walked back to the couch, sat down, read through the note again. He leaned back, finished his coffee while staring out over the sea. Well, hell. The last sentence of the message got stuck in his mind. The door will lock automatically when you close it.

Was that true for everything else as well? Or did it just work with her front door?

A strange pain lodged itself inside of him and he rubbed over his chest, trying to ease it.

This was actually a good thing. He should be pleased. He thought he’d have to do his usual explanation of hey-remember-no-strings-this-was-just-a-casual thing, yada-yada-yada. But now, no excuse was necessary. It would seem the lady had the same idea. What felt like a hole opened up inside of him.

So this was it. He stood up, washed the mug, cleaned the coffee machine, walked back to the room, stripped the bed, put the bedding in the washing machine, had a shower, dressed himself and left her flat, closing the door behind him as she’d instructed. By then, the hole inside of him was as big as the wide-open spaces of the Karoo. He tried not to think about the fact this would probably be the last time he’d be in Zoe’s flat.

As he waited for the door to lock behind him, the lift doors opened. For a second his pulse quickened, but it was Hannah who stepped out. Her eyebrows rose when she saw him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked coolly. “Where is Zoe?”

“I’ve spent the night,” he said deliberately. “And according to a note your sister left me, she’s on her way to Mahé.”

Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do to her?”

*

For the firsttime since opening his eyes, he smiled. “A gentleman never tells.”

For a moment, he thought she was going to take a swing at him. But she got back into the lift, muttering furiously under her breath.

“I’ve warned her about you Cavallo men, I told her you will hurt her. But would she listen? Oh, no, she—”

The lift doors closed on a fuming Hannah. Dale stared at the door. What had Zoe told Hannah about him that had led her to warn Zoe he’d hurt her? Or had Hannah’s warning more to do with Darryn than with him? The two of them always seemed to be at odds with one another.

Not bothering to wait for the lift, he walked slowly down the stairs while he tried to process his thoughts. He tried to be honest with himself.

He’d come here last night because he didn’t like the fact that another man had touched her. He’d come here because he’d wanted her. And they had sex. Sex? Was that all it had been? Damn it, he didn’t want to think about it!

And why had she made coffee for him, left him something to eat, if being with him had been such a bad idea?

Hurt and irritated with himself, he left the building and walked across the parking area to his car. Damn it, the woman had left. They’d spent a night together. That was it. Which meant she was now out of his system, like he’d wanted. There was no reason for him to follow her to Mahé. If he was honest, the only reason he wanted her to go with him in the first place was because he wanted her back in that exotic location to take up where they’d stopped the last time they’d been there. When Don and Caitlin had gotten married. He’d wanted her in bed.

*

But now thathe’d had her, he could carry on with his life. He’d see Zoe when she got back, would leave her to finish the job and that would be that.

There was no need to spend another minute thinking about the woman.

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