She opened her eyes wide. ‘Why the hurry? Because I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t still be a virgin by then. If you’re not going to help me, say so, Louis. It’s not fair to string me along if you’ve no intention of—’
‘I would do it in a heartbeat if I was confident we both wouldn’t regret it in the end.’
‘You know what I think?’ Ivy shot him a heated glare. ‘I think you’re the one who’s worried about getting hurt in the end. You spend your life sleeping only once with women you’ll never see again because you’re worried about feeling something for someone.’ She snatched up her bag from the table. ‘Thank you for this evening. I’ll make my own way home. And I’ll find someone else to help me, so you’re off the hook. Goodbye.’
‘Ivy.’ His voice had a commanding note. ‘Wait.’
She turned from the door to face him. ‘I’ve wasted enough time waiting. I get it. You don’t want to help me. You’re not attracted to me even though you give a very good impression of it. But I’m a big girl. I can handle the rejection. God knows, I’ve had plenty of practice.’
He came over to her and took both her hands in his. A battle played out on his features, a war of conflicting emotions he was clearly trying to hide, but she could see it in the shadows in his eyes and the tightness in his jaw and the thinning of his lips. ‘Okay. Here’s the deal. One night and one night only. I’ll pick you up on Friday after work. And on Saturday we go back to being friends as normal.’
Ivy wanted to refuse his offer out of pride but the thought of anyone else sleeping with her turned her stomach. It had to be him. ‘Okay.’
He gave her hands a quick squeeze and then tucked one of her arms through his. ‘Come on, Cinderella. Time to get you home.’
Louis spent the following week wondering if he needed his head read for agreeing to Ivy’s plan. He’d been at war with himself from the moment she’d put it to him. He’d been dragging his heels, not so much because he didn’t want to do it but because he did. Badly. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her.
Normally his week at work flew past but this one dragged as if someone had slowed down time. He had deliberately delayed going down to the Cotswolds for another week to give her a cooling-off period. Didn’t all good business deals involve a cooling-off period? And the only way to approach her plan was to keep things businesslike. One night was all she wanted. One night was all he ever gave. But Louis became so restless and on edge, he finally caved in and called Ivy on her mobile just after two on the Friday.
‘What time will you be ready? A client cancelled a meeting, so we can go earlier to get ahead of the traffic.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie—a client had cancelled, but it had been earlier that morning. Louis had plenty of work he could have seen to if he’d wanted to but he couldn’t wait to whisk Ivy away to his own private little paradise.
‘I’ll be ready in half an hour.’
‘Perfect. See you soon.’ Louis clicked off his phone and took a deep, steadying breath. If his secretary, Natalie, could have seen him now—leaving work in the middle of the afternoon and taking most of the weekend off—she would have raised her brows until they disappeared under her fringe, or reached for a thermometer and threatened to call a doctor. He smiled and pushed back his chair to stand, grabbing his keys and phone off the desk.
For once, work could wait.
CHAPTER FOUR
IVY WASN’T THE best packer on the planet for an over-nighter. All the weekend access visits to her father after her parents had divorced during her teens had ramped up her anxiety to the point where now she couldn’t pack a bag without worrying about all the things she might need, so she took everything just in case. Her bedroom looked as if it had been done over by a burglar. Her wardrobe had turned into a ‘floordrobe’ and she couldn’t find the matching knickers to her favourite black bra.
Why hadn’t she bought some new underwear? What if Louis was turned off by her lingerie? But there was a new level of anxiety in packing this particular bag. She was actually going to do it.
She was going to have sex. With Louis.
The doorbell sounded and her stomach dropped. He was here and she wasn’t properly prepared. The day was finally here and she was stuffing around, trying to decide what underwear to take. She went to the front door and opened it, her heart doing a funny little hopscotch when she laid eyes on Louis, still dressed in his business wear, although he’d removed his tie.
‘I’m almost ready. Do you want to sit down while I finish packing? Or shall I make you a coffee or something? A juice or—?’
‘Don’t be nervous, ma petite.’ His husky tone almost made her swoon, so too the look of concern in his eyes.
Ivy could feel a blush stealing over her cheeks. ‘I’m sorry to be so flustered. I’m just hopeless at packing. I always take too much stuff and then end up without the things I most need.’
He gave one of his slanted smiles and her heart tripped again. ‘You look good in anything you wear.’
A pool of heat swirled in her lower body and her pulse went off the charts. ‘So do you.’
A twinkle came into his eyes. ‘Are you flirting with me?’
She gave him a coy smile. ‘I think I might be.’
He stepped across the threshold and closed the door, taking her by the upper arms and bringing her close to his body. His eyes darkened and became hooded, his head bending down so his mouth was just above hers.
‘I told myself I wouldn’t do this, but I’ve been thinking about nothing else for days.’ He closed the distance between their mouths in a kiss that threatened to blow the top of her head off. Desire flared and ran like hot flames through her body. His tongue entered her mouth on a silken thrust that had distinctly erotic undertones and she shivered in delight. His hands moved from her upper arms and went around her body, drawing her closer to his hard frame. She could feel the thickening of his body, the signal of his arousal, and another wave of incendiary heat swept through her. One of his hands came up to cradle the back of her head, his fingers splaying through her hair. He groaned against her mouth, a deep, guttural sound that sent a shudder of need right through her body. It was beyond thrilling to hear and feel his response to her. It made her confidence grow, like a plant starved of water finally receiving a life-saving drink.
Louis eased back to look down at her. ‘Are you still sure about this?’
Ivy was getting off just being held in his arms. Never had her body felt so warm and tingly, especially with his erection pressing against her feminine mound. Why wasn’t she freaking out and trying to put some distance between them? Or was it because Louis’ body spoke to hers in a way that made her feel more confident in her sensuality? ‘Yes. It feels like you are too.’