London Bound: New Adult Romance (Chase Brothers) (13 page)

Fire flooded his veins, overheating his synapses. There was something he was supposed to be doing. Something he had to remember, but all he could focus on was Abbie, her lips, her smell, her taste.

He deepened the kiss, demanding a response rather than coaxing one. Lex’s head spun as jolts and sparks of electricity lit his skin on fire from the inside out. His fingers tucked under her T-shirt and played with the skin at her lower back, just as he had while they danced last night.

Abbie swayed into him, pressing her body against his from breast to hip. He groaned again as his body went rigid as stone. He released her abruptly. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

Hazy, unfocused eyes fluttered open and blinked up at him. “Wh-what’s the matter?” She blinked rapidly as the lights flickered back on.

“You mean besides being so turned on I was giving serious consideration to pinning you up against the wall of the corner shop and finding out how sweet you tasted everywhere? Nothing.” He raked both hands through his hair.

Abbie dragged in several deep breaths, and he fixated on her lips. What the hell was his problem? He’d kissed lots of women. But kissing Abbie was like kissing a live wire. He wanted more of it. To grab hold and never let go. But he waited a beat too long.

She took a step back as she adjusted the strap of her camera again, bringing it back in front of her like a shield. “I guess I’d better go.”

Lex had no choice but to watch as she descended the stairs of the tube. Well, he’d screwed that one up. He should have just left her alone. He should have given her the tour, then put her in a taxi. He should have left things as just friends with them.
Should should should
.

Instead, he’d kissed her—again. And not in that sweet way that said ‘I think I could care about you.’ But in that desperate way that said, ‘I won’t be able to think about anything else until I’m with you.’ Trouble had just landed on his doorstep.

Chapter 15

After another sleepless night filled with dreams of Alexi, Abbie strolled into the living room to find Tamsin surrounded by stacks of books. “What’s all this?”

Tamsin looked up absently from the piles before turning her attention back to a hardback with a bare male ass on the cover. “New client. An author. I have to plan their PR package. Boss man has me getting familiar with her work before I start working on it.”

“Let me guess, your boss is going to take credit for all this work too?”

“Probably.” Tamsin sighed. “So, Mr. Lover Lover has been calling the house line, looking for you nonstop. What do you want me to tell him?”

To fuck off maybe?

Abbie groaned as she slung her camera bag over her shoulder. Sooner or later, Tamsin would ask why she wouldn’t at least talk to Evan. And then what the hell would she say? “Shit, I’m sorry, Tams. I hate to put you in this position, but I’m just not ready to talk to him yet. Mom must have given him your number. I know I have to deal with him eventually. But my brain just gets clouded.”

Tamsin nodded. “I completely understand. I was mostly just telling you to find out if we can turn the ringer off permanently, or if there is someone you anticipate calling the house phone.”

Abbie blinked. “You’d do that for me?”

“What are friends for? Besides, no one ever uses the land line. Most everyone calls my mobile, unless it’s the council tax people or something. We don’t need it.”

“I appreciate it. I’ll deal with him eventually, just not quite yet.”

Tamsin eyed Abbie’s bag. “You headed to campus?”

“Yeah. I’m just going to grab the bus. I want to use their fancy computers for my photo manipulation and printing on large canvases. I think they’ll give the images I took on Saturday more pop, if I go large scale.”

“Well, from what I saw, they were fantastic. I mean, how did you ever get into Brixton Gold? That place is legendary. You must have some serious blagging skills like Sophie to simply talk yourself in there.”

“Erm,” Abbie hedged, “I probably just got lucky. I need to drop off some job applications too.” It felt like she’d applied for every possible job. Her bad luck for arriving late.
Fucking Evan
.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she snuck a look at the incoming text message. A UK number she didn’t recognize. It could only be Lex. The muscles in her belly fluttered.
Calm yourself. He probably is only calling to remind you that he is emotionally unavailable.

Meet me a block north from your flat.

How the hell did he know where she lived? Muttering a quick goodbye to Tamsin, she took the stairs two at a time, nearly falling out of the front door. More sedately, she headed down Grove Park Gardens, barely even noticing the lush greenery and stately mansions. She didn’t want him thinking she’d run to meet him.

Her good judgment meter was clearly on the fritz. Everything about this guy said emotionally unavailable, and she’d just come off a relationship with someone who didn’t know the meaning of love. She needed another guy like she needed another hole in her head. Rather, she needed another handsome, wealthy guy like she needed a lobotomy. But still, her breathing grew shallow at the thought of seeing him again.

But logic wasn’t on her side. She knew how she felt when she was near Lex. Safe, but also edgy and tingly. She rounded the corner toward the row houses that hugged the Thames and slowed when she noticed a shiny black BMW sports car idling on the side of the road. When she got within ten feet, Lex climbed out, grin flashing.

“I was starting to worry that you wouldn’t come out to meet me.”

“Well, I didn’t really have a choice. This is my way to school.”

“Oh, is it now? Fancy that.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How did you know where I live?”

“Easy. I asked Jasper where Tamsin lived. Told him a friend of mine was asking about her.”

Abbie wrinkled her nose. Now, thanks to the grapevine of their group of friends, Tamsin would think some guy was crushing on her. “What happens when Tams finds out there is no guy?”

“Who said there’s no guy? My friend Nick was quite taken with her, as he is with many women. He just didn’t ask where she lived, so I did it for him. If it happened to get me access to you too, then anything in service of a friend.” His smile was infectious, crooked and so sexy. “Why don’t you hop in? I’ll give you a ride.”

She eyed the sleek, black sports car. Abbie didn’t know a ton about cars, but she knew a BMW was all kinds of expensive. Lex leaned against the car, confidence oozing off of him. He fit. The car, the setting, he belonged to a world she didn’t understand. Everything about him oozed privilege. She shouldn’t want him, but her body hummed with anticipation when she thought about his kisses. Abbie cleared her throat. “I don’t want you to go out of your way. School is in Ealing. I’ll catch the bus.”

He scrunched his face. “Come on, Abbie. Why ride with a bunch of tosser rude boys heading back to their counsel flats when you can ride in style? I promise I won’t bite. Besides, we’re friends, right? Get in.”

Abbie wavered for another second, but eventually folded herself into the sleek leather of the passenger seat. She was careful not to touch anything. “Uhm, thanks. It’s University of West London in Ealing, right next to the high street.”

He chuckled. “I know where it is, remember?”

“Right. I keep forgetting Xander’s your brother. I appreciate the ride. So what did you want to see me about?”

He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat as he pulled into the road. “Well, mostly I wanted to see you. You know, see how your photos came out.”

She breathed deeply then exhaled, unsure what to say or how to deal with him, so she said nothing.

“Okay, bullshit. I just wanted to see you. When you left yesterday, I got the impression I’d freaked you out…again. I wanted to make sure you—we—were okay.”

Abbie’s throat strangled her last intake of air, refusing to let it be expelled. Slowly, she forced her muscles to relax. “Honestly, I’m fine. I guess. Confused, frustrated. Did I mention confused? Every time we touch, it just seems to get pretty intense, you know? Then you turn around and tell me you don’t want to be with me. Then you kiss me again. I haven’t got a clue if we’re okay or not.”

He exhaled, and the tense silence stretched between them like sticky taffy for several minutes. “Shouldn’t. That I shouldn’t be with you, not that I don’t
want
to be with you. Obviously, I’m doing a shit poor job of staying away. I swear to God, I’m not trying to confuse you.” He laughed. “Hell, I’m confused myself. I know what I should do. Unfortunately, it’s very different than what I want to do.” He shook his head and changed the subject abruptly. “Why don’t you tell me about the pictures you took.”

Unsure of what to say, she told him what he wanted to hear. “The photos came out great, actually. I’m headed to campus to do some light touching up with Photoshop and grab some large prints.”

Lex zoomed up to the stoplight on the Key Bridge, and she learned very quickly not to watch the road if they were moving. He drove like a maniac. If she had a car like this, she’d never drive it. And if she dared it would be at a snail’s pace.

“You know, your eyes light up when you talk about your work.”

His intense focus on her made her want to squirm. No one had ever looked at her like that, like he really saw her, like he was dissecting her soul. Back to awkward and uncomfortable. “You have a way of making me edgy.”

His voice pitched lower, and he started the car forward again. “Edgy bad or edgy good?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure. I don’t really know what to do with you.”

He grinned. “So you know, the feeling’s mutual.”

The hell it was. There was no way she made him edgy. “Yeah, right, says the guy who probably has women dropping at his feet all the time.”

“You’d be surprised. I don’t date much.”

Now
that
was curious. “Why not? You’re certainly good-looking enough. Smart, engaging. What deep dark secret are you hiding?”

She might have imagined the shadow that crossed his face, it was so brief. But the tension surrounding them thickened.

“It’s complicated, but I guess no one’s ever made me want to share my secrets.” He frowned. “On Friday, you were talking about things you’d left behind. I’m curious. Did that include a boyfriend?”

Heat suffused her face. She wanted to open the window for some air but couldn’t figure out which of the tiny buttons it was. “It’s complicated.”

“Ah, I see. A little tit for tat.”

She rushed to explain. “No. No, it’s not like that. I just—It was sort of messy. Basically he kept my dream from me. I’d spent the last five years with someone who made me feel like I wasn’t good enough.”
Not to mention abusive asshole
.

His voice was calm, modulated, and he stared directly ahead. “Five years is a long time. A lot to let go of.”

Abbie winced as the memories swirled on the edges of her consciousness. “Tell me about it.” She didn’t want to go into it, but wanted to talk to someone. She was exhausted from holding it all in, so she told him what she could. “Turned out I had him pegged all wrong. Once I figured out my mistake, I sent him packing.”

“So when did he figure out that you weren’t going to take him back?”

“Probably when I changed the locks. I left a note letting him know he couldn’t get back into our place.”

Lex coughed. “Oh, shit. What did the note say?”

A smile pulled at the corners of her lips. “You have a week to move out. Call my sister for a key.”

“That’s it?”

She shrugged. “Yep. He knew I was excited about the program. He hid my acceptance letter.” She used the back of her knuckles to rub at her jaw. “I hate liars.”

Lex frowned as he swerved around a garbage truck. “I wasn’t sure if I should believe you when you said you’d just packed up your things and showed up here. And pardon me for saying so, but he was a total wanker.”

She shrugged. “Don’t I know it?”

He slid a glance toward her as he pulled the car into traffic again. “How do you know it’s the right thing to do? Coming here?”

“I feel it. In my bones. For the first time, I’m really following my dreams.” Her heart skipped faster as she spoke. “I’m making it happen on my own terms, and it feels fantastic. I’ve never been happier.” And that was the truth. Here, she didn’t feel like she was shutting away who she really was.

“Your parents haven’t called, begging you to reconsider?”

She chuckled. “Oh, they’ve called. Mom has called so often I’m wondering what London’s stalking laws are. My sisters have called too. Dad sent an email or two, but he’s more worried about my school work than anything.”

Lex smirked. “Let me guess, they can’t believe you’re making such a rash decision. And they’re convinced you haven’t thought all of this through.”

Laughter bubbled out of her chest. “It’s like you have our place bugged or something. Hell, have you been speaking to them directly?”

His grin was quick and made his gray eyes crinkle at the corner. “No. I’m not James Bond after all. Don’t let the accent fool you. I’m just dealing with my own rendition of the same song. I’m likely about to be disowned if I do what I want to do and not what my father demands. Problem is, I couldn’t really give a shit.”