Attraction (Love & War, Part I) (8 page)

“
Appearances can be very deceptive, believe me. Now look,
Adrian, will you please keep your nose out of my very private
business and I'll keep mine out of yours.”

“
Yeah, how about you do that. Leave Nicole for me. You know
she's not your type, but she's definitely mine.”

“
Is that what all this personal mud-slinging is about? You
want Nicole
that
much
, do you? Funnily enough, I did
notice there were several similarities between your ex wife and
her. Petite, brunette, slim. Is she your Caroline substitute, I
wonder? You can't have the real thing anymore, so you need another
one... is this really all about YOU Adrian?”

From the wild
and frankly furious look in Adrian's eyes as they glared at him in
the mirror, Ash thought he may have exploded a nuclear warhead in
his heart.

“
Fucking hell! No!
And
she doesn't look fuck all like
Caroline! I'm not looking for a substitute for her! Caroline's
quite enough Carolines for me. I happen to like Nicole for herself,
and that's a whole fucking lot of liking, actually. And she's a
sweet, lovely girl. I want some of her company as well as her body.
You don't, you just wanna fuck her and chuck her away like a piece
of trash.
You complete fucking
bastard...Shit!!!
” He thumped the
steering wheel with his fists, in fury.

Adrian was
erupting.

Ashton had
only seen his temper a few times, when it wasn't directed at him,
and it was something to behold. Ash didn't want to be on the
receiving end of what could only be described as an Adrian-style
world meltdown. He needed to calm him without losing face. In truth
Ash depended on him and didn't want to have a rift forming in their
very amenable relationship.

“
Oh do calm down, please! I never said she looked like her,
just that there were similarities between them. In any case, what I
do, what Nicole does, and what you do, are our own affairs, aren't
they? At this point, neither of us know Nicole at all. I just want
to know, why are you so fixated on her, Adrian?”

“
I've already told you, I just like her, period. It's an
instant attraction. How about you tell me why you're so goddamn
interested in her? You never, ever, date brunettes.
Never
. She's
nothing like the girls you go for. Looks or
personality.”

“
Appearance isn't a conscious decision for me. And I happen to
like lots of things about her, if you must know. She appeals to
me... in a completely different way than women usually do. On lots
of different levels. She's challenging... I can't explain it. But I
want to explore that appeal a little further. It could be prove to
be very interesting to see her effect on me and my effect on
her.”

“
What the fuck? Her effect on you? What is she, a fucking
guinea-pig test case? Look Ash, we both want her, that's clear. So,
it's all-out war, is it?”

“
Don't be ridiculous, Adrian. I'm not fighting a war with you
over a woman we don't even know yet. There's no war to be fought. I
don't intend to keep her for long and I'll leave her as unfucked up
as I can for you, that's my best offer.”

“
What?
..
.Shit!
I'm ending this convo right now, because you know what,
you're winding me up big-time. But I guess we both know where we
stand over Nicole now, don't we?”

Adrian drew
the privacy window across and turned on his appalling house music,
very loudly, just to vex Ashton further.

As far as
Nicole was concerned there was no question of Ashton bowing out. He
was very interested in her. And she was going to be around for a
week or so, working closely with him. It was no contest. The war
was already fought and won. Adrian could never compete with him. He
ought to know that and accept the inevitable fact that he was
second in line with Nicole.

But he had to
admit, if he'd drawn anything of use from the heated conversation
he'd just had, Adrian had drawn his attention to one important
issue. Nicole, CJ and women aside, he needed something of substance
to care about in his life. He ought to pay more attention to that.
Perhaps he should explore religion, and get in touch with his soul
somehow? Assuming he had one, because he sometimes doubted it. He
needed a voyage of discovery, to find out what the inner Ashton
Gates really wanted. That special something that would make him
content and happy. But where to start on such a quest, he had no
idea.

He sat
quietly, thinking, as they edged slowly through the rush hour
traffic approaching St Paul's Cathedral. They turned into the
one-way road system and headed towards Barbican and a few moments
later arrived outside her office.

The door
opened immediately and she walked down the steps. Ashton noticed
she'd changed and looked very different to earlier in the day,
wearing a far more glamorous outfit. Her short black dress hugged
her curves perfectly and some skyscraper high heels lengthened her
legs.

And her hair
was down. It reached almost to her waist.

My God I want
that hair...

His hands were
mentally in it, grabbing dark shiny handfuls.

The top of it
was pinned up here and there, styled in one of those artfully
messy, just-had-sex affairs, which he adored.

She had now
been elevated in his mind from a reserved and promising beauty to
damn fucking hot. And he was more interested than ever. Adrian
might be waiting a while for him to finish with Nicole.

Adrian opened
the door for her, greeting her with a few pleasant words, smiling
at her broadly and then scowling at him immediately afterwards, as
he caught his eye. Ashton ignored him as Nicole gracefully glided
into the seat next to him like a long legged gazelle. Her cloud of
heavy perfume swamped his male brain so completely he was almost
speechless. She turned to face him with a knowing look, dazzling
him with her amazing eyes. She knew exactly what her little
surprise was doing to him.

He stared at
her, openly brimming with lust and not caring that she could see
it. Her made up face was way too sexy not to react to it. It might
be a superficial aspect of his personality but he completely loved
an excess of mascara and red lipstick.

“
Hello Ashton,” she said, almost in a whisper. He couldn't
remember hearing that breathy tone to her voice before. It was
obviously a new addition to her repertoire.

“
Hello again, Nicole. How stunning you look and what a lovely
dress.”

“
Thank you. I always keep a spare dress at the office, just in
case,” she explained.

“
Well aren't I the lucky one today,” he added with a glow of
pleasure.

“
I'm glad you appreciate it, but I had to get dressed for my
other engagement later. As I won't have time when I get
home.”

That deflated
his ego momentarily, until he realised she'd said that
deliberately.

“
It's much appreciated, even if I am the secondary reason,” he
replied quickly, allowing her a small and gracious smile. “And what
are you doing later, can I ask?”

“
It's a friend's drinks party. At a local bar. So tell me,
where are we going for dinner?”

“
L'Anima. D'you know it?”

“
I do. I love it there. My ex and I used to eat there, when he
was on leave.”

“
He's in the armed forces?”

“
Yes, Will's a Lieutenant Commander, he's hoping for Captaincy
soon. He's doing very well in his career.”

“
How pleasant for him. And when did he become your
ex?”

“
A few months ago, we'd been together for years, since
Uni.”

“
It must have been frustrating to be apart so often. Was that
the reason it ended?”

“
Not really, we liked our space. We just outgrew each
other.”

“
What do you do with your space, Nicole?” he
probed.

“
I have my work, which is very time consuming. And I have my
friends and hobbies.”

“
And what might those hobbies be?”

“
I go to yoga class twice a week, swim and play
tennis.”

Fit and supple
women appealed to him greatly. He desperately tried to keep his
mind out of his pants, but it was a struggle, one he lost, and one
he enjoyed losing.

“
You lead an active life and seem to be a very busy
woman.”

“
Exceptionally busy,” she replied, with a flare of her eyes.
Was she telling him something unsubtly. That she was too busy for
him? He couldn't be sure.

They arrived
at the restaurant a few minutes later and Adrian dropped them off
outside. Ashton could feel the bad vibes hit him with the force of
a gale when he opened his door to let him out. He could almost see
the black storm cloud raging above his head. He got back in without
a word and drove away to wait at a nearby car park.

He needed to
ensure Nicole didn't see too much of Adrian, while Ashton battered
down her door and captured her undivided attention. He'd sleep on
that one. But for now, he was going to put Adrian's jealous and
unpleasant behaviour out of his mind, and was determined to enjoy
his date with his gorgeous legal advisor.

They entered
the restaurant and were seated at a table at the far end. He was
thankful there were a half a dozen tables already occupied by other
early diners. Eating in a deserted restaurant lacked atmosphere, he
couldn't stand it.

He picked up
the wine list and before he could open it she announced, “Not for
me, I've a party to go to. I don't want to be plastered before I
arrive.”

“
It certainly wasn't my intention to get you plastered. What
would you like instead?”

“
A sparkling water, please.”

Well I'm
having a bottle of the Villa San Martino, You're welcome to have a
glass of that if you wish.”

“
Perhaps I will, but just a very small one.”

The waiter
arrived and they ordered their drinks, starter and speciality pasta
and salad.

He leaned
forward, projecting more intimacy, and attempted some light hearted
complimentary conversation.

“
Nicole is such a beautiful name, it's French. Isn't
it?”

“
I believe so. But I'm named after my Grandmother, who's
Irish, and who now lives, coincidentally in Paris. I was born and
raised in Devon, actually,” she replied.

“
Mmm, clotted cream teas. One of my favourites.”

“
I've had enough clotted cream to last a lifetime, besides
it's so unhealthy.”

“
But we all need a naughty treat now and then, don't we? It
makes life worth living.”

“
I guess so, my naughty treat tends to be chocolate
related.”

“
Oh, so you're a chocoholic are you?”

“
Yes, and on the wagon.”

“
Shame. You ought to indulge yourself.”

“
Sadly I can't just indulge, I always OD,” she
laughed.

“
I understand completely. I'm the same for whisky. I can't
have just the one, the whole bottle's gone before I know it and I'm
blind drunk.”

“
I love whisky myself.”

“
I have a really rare single malt at home. Perhaps we could
open it together, later this week. I'd love to share it with
someone who appreciates it rather than glug it all down
myself.”

“
I'll have to pass. Your case aside, I have a lot on for the
next few weeks.”

He was
surprised at her immediate refusal of his unsubtle offer to visit
him. Women very rarely turned him down flat. In fact he couldn't
remember one instance of it, ever.

The wine
arrived and they each had a glass. The starter arrived immediately
afterwards.

They began to
eat their meal. Ashton loved watching women eat. How they ate gave
him an insight into their nature. And Miss Devon was the most
sensual of eaters. He couldn't take his eyes off her mouth. He lost
his appetite for a moment, caught up in her spell.

“
Mmm, these are so gorgeous,” she murmured, and closed her
eyes in oral rapture. Her tongue flicked over her red lips, slowly
licking off the slick of butter sauce that has been drizzled over
the tiger prawns.

Her eyes
opened, catching his open stare and she raised her eyebrows at him,
silently and coolly.

He was more
than stirred. In self preservation, he dragged his eyes from her
and speared a prawn, stuffing it in his mouth and chewing it to
distract himself. She was right, they were very tasty, and thank
God for that. He needed something else to think about in sensual
terms. His tongue tingled pleasantly with chilli.

He ate a
couple more and the evidence of his excitement faded a little. He
looked up to continue their conversation to find her watching him
with an unwavering gaze. He'd noticed she was exceptionally good at
holding eye contact. She took a few sips of her wine, continuing to
watch him over the top of her glass. She was taunting him. Teasing
him like a temptress. And he was enjoying it like nothing else.

She didn't
know it yet but she was going to get some extra special attention
from him in the near future. When Ashton pursued something, he
never failed to get what he wanted, and he'd have Nicole Wright.
He'd make sure she wouldn't forget him in a hurry.