Just Tell Me (The Justice Series) (2 page)

Nicole
asked for water, and Daniel requested a gin and tonic, she instantly regretted her choice, suddenly needing an alcoholic drink. 
At least to calm my nerves for the remainder of this journey
. 

“You should have got one too” he spoke to her for the first time, and she knew he was looking at her, his voice had a slight Scottish accent.
  She looked up at him again this time steeling herself for her body to give her away once more and his eyes twinkled in a smile as she nodded in agreement.

“
Yeah, I never thought to order one it’s a bit early for me”.  Her voice sounded unusually high. He glanced down the aisle and stood up, returning with a handful of miniature gin bottles, tonic and another glass.

“I don’t like drinking alone” he said, his eyes smiled as he poured the gin into the extra glass
“And it’s never too early for an aperitif, anyway you look like you need one”.

Their han
ds almost touched as he passed the glass across and she placed it quickly onto her table.  She felt shaky and unnerved and she didn’t want to look as though she could not control of her hands.

“Daniel” he announced and this time he put his hand out so she had no cho
ice but to take it in a formal handshake.

“Nicole
Shaw” she whispered as their hands touched and she looked at him once more, he was smiling at her and his eyes were full of curiosity. Her heart was beating so much she was sure he must be able to feel it through her hand, his skin felt soft and firm, while hers were sweaty and slightly clammy. She quickly let go and took a big gulp of her gin and tonic as the strong liquid calmed her nerves. 

“So, what takes you to Edinburgh
, Nicole Shaw?  Or are you returning home?” he sat back in his chair a little and listened while she told him she was a property solicitor working in Manchester for a global firm.  She explained she was heading to Edinburgh for the annual teambuilding event. Daniel poured another gin and handed it to her. She mixed it with her water and drank it quickly. The train started to slow down, and although it was a long way from anywhere it suddenly stopped. Nicole’s bottle flew off the table and disappeared between the seats and she reached down to grab it. 

Daniel moved towards her a
t the same time and their faces almost touched. As she grabbed the bottle she realised how close they were. She could almost feel his hair on her cheek and she felt charged as her skin tingled, she moved back slowly and her rib screamed at the sudden movement. Always reminding her of Andrew, six months until it healed the hospital said. The gin, which helped her nerves earlier, had gone and she felt intense butterflies as she sat back in her chair and closed her eyes for a second as she breathed through the pain. There was a murmur from the train as it started to move but then the lights flickered in the dusk light and then stopped again. Daniel didn’t move or register the train’s sudden stop; he just carried on watching her as she breathed.

“
Oh dear” said Daniel “That’s not a good sign” he sat back in his chair and watched her as she squirmed under his constant gaze “I don’t know about you, but I am really hungry” she looked over at him quizzically “I always like to have a meal on a long train journey, it’s the best part, and besides it looks like we are going to be stuck here a while” his eyes smiled at her “Do you want to have dinner with me?”

Nicole felt her stom
ach twist in nervous excitement, she hadn’t felt like this in a long time and all thoughts of Andrew disappeared. Sod him. This Daniel really was gorgeous, she thought of Anna again and tried to give herself some of her friend’s attitude and she nodded her head in agreement. She couldn’t admit that she didn’t want to eat a thing, her appetite had all but disappeared as they walked through the train towards the buffet cart.  They glanced at each other as the announcement was made that the train had broken down and there would be an update shortly, Daniel just shrugged his shoulders as though he had nowhere else to be. Nicole felt giddy, it meant she would be stuck with this man and she almost felt like she was on a date.  They arrived at the buffet carriage but the waiter dismissed them.

“The train has broken down sir” he explaine
d in a strong European accent “We cannot cook anything while the train is stationary”

Daniel glanced over at Nicole, who was feeling a little unstead
y after the gin she drunk on an empty stomach, her head was spinning from the lack of food. 

“Come on,
let’s get back to our seats, I’ll treat you to a sandwich and a packet of crisps?” his eyes danced as he spoke, he seemed younger than she previously thought.

“You really know how to spoil a girl”
Nicole giggled and felt like a schoolgirl,
pull yourself together you’re a grown woman not a silly teenager
.  She ordered a ham sandwich, while he got a bottle of red wine and some water; he turned round and faced her when she tried to protest. “Daniel I can’t drink all that”

There wasn’t enough room in the aisle to put distance between them and she felt the wall agai
nst her back as she stepped away, there were only inches between them.

“Wh
at?” he whispered “It’s not everyday we are stuck on a broken train, besides what else are we going to do?” he raised an eyebrow and his eyes burned into hers. Nicole felt her body react to his gaze, her face felt as though it belonged to someone else and she was unable to hold his stare, it was like he could read her mind.   

She was close enough to notice his slender tanned neckline against the collar of his shirt, his top butt
on was undone and she wanted to undo the rest and feel his skin underneath that white shirt.
What on earth is happening to me?
The intensity of her desire shocked her. He had ignited something inside that she never knew existed and she felt scared, but her broken rib throbbed as she pushed herself against the wall of the train bringing her back to reality. The conductor broke the awkward moment as he asked them to move along and they went back to their seats, Daniel opened the red wine and they ate their makeshift dinner.

“So how about you?”
  Nicole sipped her glass of red wine, it was sharp and she winced as she swallowed it from the plastic glass.  “What takes you up to Scotland?”

“I live in
Edinburgh, well it’s about ten miles out of the city, in the sticks” he explained “I have just finished renovating a gatehouse actually”

He described the house he had renovated i
n the Edinburgh countryside and Nicole listened with genuine interest.  She told him she lived in Manchester in a converted warehouse but skimmed over her personal details, she didn’t want to break this little fantasy.  This train wasn’t going anywhere and Nicole decided she would enjoy this moment with this beautiful man as they discussed their lives.  It had been so long since a man had paid her any attention. 

“What kind of music do you have on your iPod?
”  She asked.

“Oh you don’t want to know, I have strange taste, and I just got this for my birthday” he
picked up the iPod and turned the device around in his hand “I haven’t had time to upload much and I tend to play it on shuffle, you never know what’s going to come up next. It’s like a Russian roulette of music” He smiled and passed it over her “Lets see what comes up next” he handed her one of his headphones, putting the other in his own ear.

“I love this song!”
  She looked at him as they shared the music on his iPod, she knew each one it played and they kept stopping to discuss the band or the song.  He didn’t believe she knew every Depeche Mode song on his iPod and he made her guess each track. 

“I’ve never met anyone who can play this game better than me. Actually I’ve never met another Depeche Mode fan
.” he laughed and Nicole felt comfortable with him as they realised they had more in common, it was like being with a friend and she finally relaxed.  Andrew hated her choice of music he refused to listen to anything she liked, at that moment her phone beeped and she glanced at it. Andrew checking on her. Fuck him, but she knew she would pay for it later.

“You have The Lost Boys soundtrack! I haven’t heard it for years”
she looked at him “God I love this song” she pressed play on “Beauty has her Way” and listened to it nostalgically; she could sense his gaze on her and glanced away. It was the kind of music she could imagine having hot sex with him to and it was turning her on, she had forgotten how this felt. 
What the hell?
 The song finished and Daniel looked through his iPod, pressing play on another song from the album “I Still Believe”.

“This is my favourite
.” he watched her as the music started, the slow beat of the drums, the saxophone played seductively and the lyrics spoke to her through the ear piece.  She felt as though he could read her thoughts as the sensuality passed between them and she subconsciously moved closer to him as their eyes met. His gaze travelled down her body and she took a breath as his finger almost brushed her bare arm. The intensity burned in his eyes and she realised she had been holding her breath, she couldn’t stand the intimacy, it was too much. 
This is ridiculous
, she thought and she took the ear piece out, handed it back to him and confusion flashed over his face for a second.

Nicole looked away and shivered, she wasn’t prepared for any of this, from one emotion to another and now this.
  She told Daniel she was going to sleep for a while.  It was getting cold on the train and she put her jacket back on and glanced at her phone as it beeped a warning of low battery. Andrew’s messages streamed onto the screen and her heart sunk as she looked at the content.
 

NICOLE WHERE THE HELL
ARE YOU?
 
ANSWER ME.

She needed to find something to distract her; she needed to
get control of herself again. The carriage was in semi-darkness and she stood up and looked at the other passengers, they were quiet and some sleeping under coats.  She sat back in her chair as she closed her eyes and tried to drift off, wanting to forget the moment that had passed between them. Vaguely aware of Daniel placing his arm round her as she fell asleep with the smell of wood smoke and horses, she wondered if she had stepped into a strange world. 

The train suddenly powered back into life again, the harsh electric light stung her eyes and she was aware Daniel
still had his arm round her, she looked up at him as he moved it and she thought he looked a little embarrassed.  Of course it was just a fantasy that he would feel the same way about her, she remembered the moment she thought they had shared and felt foolish. She was just someone to pass the time of day with on an otherwise dull train journey. 

Her watch read 1.30am, only 6 hours until she had to be up for her course.  She sighed inwardly and pressed her hea
d to the window of the glass, the effect of the red wine hangover was starting to stab at her head. It would linger into the following day no matter how much water she drank before she slept. As the train finally moved into the night and towards Edinburgh, she was grateful that her hotel was only across the road from the station. 

The station was eerily still and quiet when the passengers of the delayed 1805 finally arrived, the shops were shut and the night staff we
re busy finishing the tidy up for the following morning.  Nicole and Daniel made their way to the exit in silence, heading to the streets above and the drizzly rain of the Edinburgh night.  They walked the short distance towards the Station Hotel, she tried to tell him she was fine on her own, but he insisted he delivered her to the door.

“Can I take you
out for dinner Nicole?” Daniel stopped her before the night porter opened the door, “I feel that I owe you at least dinner while you are here, for keeping me company for the last few hours”

She looked up at him,
the lights of the hotel reflected the rain as it got heavier. He looked tired and she felt sorry for him. It was so late and he had said he lived a few miles out of the city, she considered she should invite him to stay with her but felt embarrassed. Andrew would actually kill her if he could see her now. He couldn’t see her though and she felt as though she was free of him for the first time in years.  She looked at the beautiful stranger stood in front of her, she wasn’t usually the type of woman that invited strange men to sleep with her in her hotel, no matter how gorgeous they were. 

“I’
m not sure I will have the time” Nicole said “but I could take your number”

The solicitor in her spoke, professional and efficient.  Nicole knew this sounded wrong, she had met this amazing man and she was finding excuses not to see him.  Tomorrow night was free as far as she was aware. 
What was wrong with me?
  She had no loyalty to Andrew, and she felt her resolve soften as he stood by the door in the rain. 

“Look it’s late and cold I feel really bad leaving you here in the rain,
I have a junior suite, there is a sofa that you can sleep on. You can stay with me but it’s not what it seems! I really don’t invite men to come and stay with me like this”

“Are you sure?”  He looked doubtfully at her, surprised by the invite.