She hesitated a moment longer. “And the sex?”

  “Only if you want to. Only if I want to. Consenting adults, Davina.”

  Too good to be true, whispered her mind. Grab this opportunity with both hands, whispered another deeper part of her anatomy…

  “Alright, then.” Holding out her hand, she gasped as he gripped it, tugged her closer, and dropped his forehead to hers.

  “We can do better than that.” The whisper of his breath caressed her, and her eyes slid down, far too heavy under the sudden sensual barrage.

  Their lips touched, the barest pressure. She sighed, and her mouth opened to his, welcoming the intrusion of his tongue. It slid deep as she moaned. She knew the moment his fingers found the sash around her waist before sliding up to the shoulders of the garment. He slid the cotton material off until it fell to the floor. Unheeded. Davina and Micah wound arms around each other, clinging so their bodies flowed together.

  His mouth left her lips and trailed a fiery path down her neck. “Oh God, Davina. You’re so bloody sexy.”

  She giggled at his belaboured words.

  He raised his head and frowned. “What?”

  “I just found that funny. Sexy but funny.”

  Then he flung back his head and guffawed. “Well, that kinda wrecked the mood, didn’t he?” He muttered once he regained composure.

  “Ha ha. Maybe we should get dressed and do something friends would do. Like find some breakfast.” Her stomach trembled at the thought, yet there was an undercurrent of hopefulness threading through her veins.

  His frown morphed into an assessing smile. “Sure, then afterwards I have an idea.”

  On a deep breath, Davina nodded. “Sure. Tell me what you have in mind?”

  “Over breakfast.”

  Chapter

  Nine

  With careful moves, Micah swung his car into the designated space in the parking lot, well-aware that the woman beside him was nervous. “Okay there?”

  She turned wide eyes on him. “I’ve never, umm… I’ve never been a date to an event like this. You’re sure it’s okay?”

  He reached out, hand sliding over hers, thumb caressing the long fingers on her lap. “It’s fine. I’m the major attraction and my date is always welcome.”

  Clearly unconvinced, Davina nodded, sliding her hands away from his grip. “How long have you been…”

  He grinned, because this was the first time she’d asked about his profession and passion. “My first showing was ten years ago. My mother claimed my first painting was achieved when I was about a year old. She’d framed it and hung it in the hallway. Told everyone that one day it would become a collectible.”

  Her laugh tinkled, and he finally relaxed. “Come on. We need to get inside.”

  The release of the seat belt and the clunk of the door opening told him she’d followed his lead, and he rearranged his suit and tie before firmly closing the car door. She met him on the concrete at the front of the car, her ruby dress of silk lovingly fitting her form like a glove. Her black hair swept up into a chic knot at her nape, and the tiny diamond hanging from the long silver chain around her neck dipped into the hollow between her luscious breasts. The length of her legs encased in silk, but below the gown he knew lay the promise of a garter and lacy panties.

  The throb of his body jerked him back to the moment he’d entered her apartment, strategically early to find her racing around, dithering about clothing choices. He’d almost called the night off and suggested a night in. The sudden honk of a car yanked him from the memory but one look at her was enough to plunge him into the well of hunger that followed him anywhere Davina was.

  Her ruby red lips called like a siren, and he swayed until she reached out, hand against his chest. “You don’t want the shadow of my lipstick on you, so come on big boy.”

  There was a playfulness in her voice he’d never heard before, and it filled some unknown emptiness in his chest. “Only because I’m going to kiss it off you later, then unwrap you like a Christmas present.”

  “Promises, promises,” she snickered, as he slid her hand into the crook of his elbow.

  “Stick with me, and I’ll show you a good time.” His Humphrey Bogart was atrocious, but she laughed.

  In his mind, he vowed one day he’d paint her. But this painting would be for him alone. But now wasn’t the time to think about the setting and lighting. Tonight, was the opening of his latest showing and at the door, looking for him, was Karen.

  People packed the room of the gallery. The wine in the glass that she clutched with numb fingers had long since warmed.

  Men and women crowded around Micah, and she took a moment to examine him in his element. His hands moved expressively, fully immersed in discussing brush strokes or pigments, she guessed. Every now and again, he’d look up, grab her gaze with his and smile apologetically.

  Her heels didn’t click as she turned, her eyes seeking the painting that caught her attention. A seascape, very like the one he’d painted and now hung in her lounge. Only this one was a day-scape, alive with colour and movement.

  “He’s exceptional, Davina.”

  Karen, his assistant, crowded in beside her. “I’ve got the night version of that one in my lounge.”

  “He painted the night version the week after his mother’s funeral, you know. When he moved home. I remember telling him it was dark and moody, and he turned to me and said it reflected where he was. The flecks of colour and stars were the hope for the future. The roiling seas, his emotions. He’s an instinctive artist.”

  “He’s also fantastic and there’s a lot of them already sold, if the stickers are anything to go by.”

  Karen giggled. “True. His work is highly collectible.”

  Davina couldn’t help her tiny snicker. “He said his mother kept his first picture.”

  “Really?” There was an odd inflection in Micah’s agent’s voice. “He never told me that.”

  “Oh. Well, uh, how long have you been with him?”

  “We’ve known each other for years, but I’ve been his agent for the last eight. Apart from that, we were together for about the last two… two-and-a-half years.”

  That stilled Davina, her heart plunging to her guts.

  “Oh, I didn’t realise.”

  “It was mutually convenient. Neither of us wanted anything, you know, permanent. But it’s over and has been for a while. Look, I don’t know you, but he’s the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time.”

  Davina took a half step back, looked critically at the woman in front of her and gave a smile she doubted reached her eyes. “Yeah. Look, I’m not feeling all that well. Could you make my farewells to Micah?” The bubble she’d been ignoring all night, the one lodged in her chest, swelled, cutting off the supply of oxygen to her brain. Dots of dark bounced in front of her gaze. Then she turned and stumbled forward, thankful no one blocked her way.

  “I…” The heat of the room became oppressive as she turned. After several rapid blinks, Davina spied the nearest waiter and dumped the drink on her tray.

  At the door a warm hand curved over hers on the handle. “What’s wrong?”

  She shivered despite the heat. Her insides chilled as Micah increased the pressure on her fingers. “Nothing. I mean, I’ve got a headache and I need to go home.”

  “Davina?”

  Her name stopped her in her tracks. “Look, I’m not sure this is going to work. I… Karen is exceptional.” That slipped out along with a tear, and his sigh ricocheted through her mind.

  “Karen. Right.” Carefully, Micah spun her in his direction. “What did she say?”

  “That you’d been intimate. That it was over.” Setting her gaze at a point over his shoulder, Davina sought to ignore the flare of frustration on his face and the knowledge emblazoned in his sapphire blue eyes.

  “So, what’s the problem?”

  Was he genuinely unknowing, or was it an act? “Look, even though it’s over between the two of you, it’s got to be uncomfortable. Your association is long standing and business so—”

  “It’s done, Davina. We’re great friends. Would you hold that against me? I love Karen like a sister, and I would protect her, but with you, it’s different. Please. Don’t leave. I promise, we can talk after this is over.”

  On one hand, she felt mean and small feeling like this, but the ground beneath her feet was pretty damned slippery. She’d already broken all the rules she’d had surrounding relationships and men for Micah. It wouldn’t take much for everything to come down on her.

  Yet the thought of just leaving almost tore her in two. “For now. But we talk after.” Her voice sounded raw, but she knew the instant her words settled in his brain. The lines of strain around his mouth softened a little.

  “Good. We’ll talk after.”

  He got through the event, tense and on edge. Yet Micah took great pains to ensure Davina had company. His sister and brothers didn’t ask why he’d insinuated her into the middle of the gang when he had to go on stage. They just welcomed her.

  No one questioned her presence, though there was a decided twinkle in Miriam’s eye. He avoided talking to her tonight, but knew tomorrow she’d demand her pound of flesh and answers. He wasn’t yet sure how that would pan out.

  The evening drew to a close, and Micah ushered Davina to the car. “I hope that wasn’t too much for you.”

  She perched in her seat; hands gripped together as she looked him in the eye. “I acted like a child earlier, Micah, and should have respected you and the situation with Karen. I’m sorry.”

  Unable to stop himself, Micah reached out and cupped her cheek, pulling her towards him. “You did nothing wrong. With your family situation, it’s not the sort of thing you’d have experience with. Mind you, our arrangement wasn’t exactly normal by most people’s standards. I should have told you about her beforehand and that while we are still friends, there is no anger or...” Searching for the right words had never seemed so hard before.

  “Micah—”

  “I should have been upfront, so you weren’t blind-sided. I’m sorry too.” He kissed her. Kept it gentle so as not to spook her, then retreated to let her recover herself.

  “Can you… Can you stay?” The hesitancy in her words gouged him.

  “I can, but I need some clothes. Mind if we drop by the house?” He didn’t live far from here, and at her nod, he fastened his seatbelt, then left the carpark. They drove in silence, two people lost in their own thoughts. At his place, he gave a quick, “I’ll only be a moment or two,” and dashed inside. On a whim, he hurried to his studio and grabbed pencils and a small sketch pad. In his bedroom, he grabbed two sets of clothes, basic toiletries, and the charger for his phone and shoved them into a small overnight bag he kept on top of his wardrobe. “Everything else can wait.”

  Once he returned to the car, he slid the bag onto the back seat and reversed out of the driveway. Spying a small all-hour mall, he pulled the vehicle into the parking lot. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

  With his wallet in his hand, he moved quickly, heading for the grocery store, his mind urging him to purchase the small number of supplies that he was sure would help ease the discussion that lay ahead.

  Returning to the car again, he watched as Davina caught sight of his shopping bags. “What have you bought?”

  He grinned. “I’ll explain once we get back to your place.” He deposited the bags on the back seat, along with his bag, and climbed into the car. “Let’s go.”

  This time, he felt more assured as they parked in the complex, his car filling the second slot allocated to her apartment.

  He grabbed his bag and the shopping before she could offer and followed her to the entrance, waited as she unlocked the security gates to the residential zone and followed her to the front door.

  In the kitchen, he unloaded the bags and swiftly cleared up, then dropped his bag into her bedroom. Neither speaking even though they both knew there’d been a major shift in their relationship.

  He waited, perched on the bed as she self-consciously shucked the dress. When her fingers moved to undo the stockings, he stood and stilled her fingers. “Leave them on for now.” Through the mirror, he noted the shake of her fingers and the shock in her eyes.

  “Okay.”

  Instead, Micah reached for the light satin wrap he’d spied and assisted her to slide into it. “I need to take off the makeup.” She retreated to the bathroom, and he moved to the kitchen to prepare the setting.

  On a plate he arranged strawberries and the small Belgian chocolates, poured two glasses of champagne into the flutes he found and carried everything to the lounge and set up the coffee table.

  “Oh…” Her surprise was genuine, her smile tremulous. “What… Where did you get… At the supermarket?” He nodded and retreated to fetch the last item. A small posy of flowers. Not roses, because they were too cliché in his mind. Instead, he’d found a small bunch of yellow, red and orange tulips. He remembered his father getting them for his mother every year on her birthday, commenting that they meant love and devotion.

  “Micah!”

  He pushed them into her hands, pleased at the tiny gasp she gifted him with. “Flowers for a beautiful lady.”

  She scurried off, likely looking for a vase, he guessed, and returned with a smile, placing the bunch now in a cut crystal holder on the coffee table. “No one has ever done this for me.” She glanced up, and he noted tiny shimmering tears on her lashes. He ached for her, and would have reached out to wipe them away, but Davina shook her head. “No. Why, Micah? Why did you do this?”

  “Because I want you to understand that I value you, Davina.”

  “But isn’t this just about sex?”

  He waited for the jolt to his gut to pass, taking the minute to accept what she was really asking. “I’m not after just sex Davina.” Frustration, that she didn’t understand and couldn’t see past her own history, speared him and he thrust his hands into his hair, spun in a circle while keeping his mouth closed. He needed to contain himself before the pressure in his skull burst. Inhale. Exhale. Just like Karly taught you, he instructed himself. Control your reaction, slow your breathing. Once more, finding his equilibrium, he turned back to Davina. “Look, maybe we need to halt the sex for a while? Let’s just be friends. We can continue to practice together—”

  “Practice what? Basic meditation? Kundalini or—”

  “Maybe I should go. Give you time to settle.”

  “Maybe you should.” Tears glinted in her eyes while her mouth twisted into a mulish twist.

  His heart battered and somewhat torn, screamed it was time to leave and save himself from grief. His brain entreated him to wait. To see that the anger on her face was merely a facade of bravado. He read people and painted them for a living and surely, he could see through this too.

  Micah already had his hand on the door. Unconsciously, he’d moved, protective instincts working in overdrive.

  He looked down, stunned. Slid his hand from the metal knob. “No.”

  His turn was slow and measured.

  Her eyes widened.

  “No. I’m not going.”

  Her lips quivered.

  “You need me. I’m staying.”

  Chapter

  Ten

  Monday morning, Davina rolled out of bed. The suit she’d chosen the night before hanging on the door of her closet, along with the blouse and shoes. On her dressing table, neatly folded, were underwear and stockings.

  A dash into the shower and back did little to clear the wisps of fog from her mind or warm her up. The chill remaining from her altercation with Micah the day before, and her stomach clenched hard. Nausea rose, but she beat it back.

  “Forget him.”

  It didn’t help, though. Memories of hurling angry words at him before pushing him out the door continued to play on a reel to reel inside her mind.

  With ruthless efficiency, she set about dressing. Applied her makeup and fastened her hair into a tight and restrictive knot.

  Snatching up her bag, already packed with files and her work laptop, she reached for her keys and started running through her schedule in her mind. Seven thirty senior staff meeting. Eight, meet new PA. Eight thirty, first clients of the day and thereafter at twenty-minute intervals until eleven and first court appearance of the day. Return to office by four in time for briefing of new clients, paperwork and so on. “Just an average day.”

  The car started on time, and she glanced at the clock on the console. Six-thirty, time for her commute. Grab a coffee and check emails before the first meeting.

  Only Jim and Adele, the receptionist, were there before her and she nodded at both on the way to her office, opened the door and stilled. Shock stealing her breath and her mouth dropped open.

  On the desk sat an enormous bunch of tulips. Red, gold and yellow.

  The ache in her chest bloomed, and she backed away, gaze glued to the magnificent display on her desk. Adele came scampering around the corner. “They arrived just before you did. Aren’t they gorgeous?”

  At a loss to know how to respond, Davina gave a jerky nod.

  “Who are they from?” Adele crowded in, and it took precious seconds for Davina’s mind to process the question.

  “A friend.”

  Adele snickered. “If I had a friend who sent me flowers like that, they’d likely get lucky. As in often.”

  Unable to speak, thoughts and impressions zooming through her mind like cars on a racetrack, Davina advanced on the desk. She touched one bloom, then another.

  “There wasn’t a note, so I thought for sure you’d know who they were from. The courier was waiting outside the door when I arrived.”

  Suddenly, it was all too much. The need for silence and privacy overcame the fog and moved. “Thanks Adele. I can take it from here.” Davina waited for the door to close with a click before she rounded the desk and slumped into her chair. “Why, Micah?”