The Temptress (3 page)

‘I really hope everything works out for you,’ I
said, genuinely. She wasn’t a bad girl, she’d just acted stupidly.

‘Thanks, Miss McQueen. I’m sorry I let you
down.’

‘So don’t let it happen in your next job, be the
best that you can be, you’re responsible for another life, Zoe. No more risks.’
I opened the door and gave her shoulder a reassuring rub as she walked out. I
quickly closed it, leaning back on it as I covered my face. Why, why,
why
,
had she put me in that position? I shook myself down and went and sat back at
my desk, activating my devices again and checking messages, then leaned over
and pulled out the card that came with the bouquet of roses.

I sat back in my chair, holding the card as I
read it again. He
really
thought it was amazing? If he’d said
God,
last night was a disaster, let’s try again
then I wouldn’t have been as
concerned. But if he thought
that
was amazing, much as I loved spending
time with him, he wasn’t the man for me. Maybe if I had no form of sex drive, I
could have overlooked that side of our relationship, but I was thirty years
old, I was still in my sexual prime. According to some magazines, I hadn’t even
reached it yet. I wasn’t prepared to be in, potentially, a very satisfying
relationship in all areas but the bedroom. I closed my eyes as I pondered my
dilemma, tapping the card on my desk. I liked Greg too much to walk away after
one disastrous night and Violet was right, I needed to give him another chance,
but I also needed to be honest, to tell him that the sex hadn’t blown my mind
and for me, it was a very important part of a healthy relationship. I picked up
my phone and dialled him, but it went straight to his answer machine.

‘Greg, it’s Lulu. Thank you so much for the
beautiful flowers, I love them. I can’t do tonight I’m afraid, I already have
plans, but I’m free Saturday night. Give me a call and let me know if that
works for you. Bye’

I headed out to make myself another coffee,
then settled back down at my desk and got on with some work.

I pulled my car carefully into the double car
stacker, in the garage of my Knightsbridge town house, then headed into the
hall, locking up behind me.

‘Darling, I’m home,’ I called, as I opened the
door to the large, ground floor kitchen, dining and family room. A huge smile
broke out on my face as Tristan yelled and shot off the sofa, haring across the
room towards me. I crouched down and caught him in my arms, lifting him up as
he flung his arms around my neck and kissed me.

‘Mummy, I missed you,’ he sighed.

‘I missed you too,’ I replied, as I kissed his
soft dark hair. He was my plan for the night. I hadn’t seen him since I left
for work yesterday morning, with staying over at Greg’s last night. Tristan was
the reason I had my three month rule. I didn’t sleep with
anyone
until
we’d dated for that long. I wanted to know they had potential to fit into mine
and my son’s life first, so if they passed the three month dating test, sex
came next and if that didn’t end the relationship, then I’d be ready to think
about bringing them back to my house to meet him. Sadly, no one had ever made
it past the last step. Very few even made it to the stage that I slept with
them. Tristan had never seen me with a boyfriend. As far as he was concerned,
it was just the two of us. ‘Were you a good boy for Grandma?’ I asked, giving
her a raised questioning eyebrow over his shoulder. She smiled and nodded.

‘Of course I was, Mummy. I’m
always
a
good boy.’

‘You are my darling. Mummy’s missed you so
much. Let me look at you.’ He pulled his head back, a big smile all over his
little face and I laughed and kissed the tip of his nose. He was a gorgeous
looking little boy, all mothers would probably say the same, but he was in a
different league. Dark brown hair, verging on black in hue, rich brown eyes
with amber flecks and long dark lashes. He was going to be as good looking as
his father. I sighed at the memory of him, then kissed Tristan’s nose again,
making him giggle and repeat the gesture on mine. ‘Mummy’s had a stressful day
and doesn’t fancy cooking. Would you like a Chinese takeaway?’

‘Yes please,’ he smiled, his little dimples
making my heart ache.

‘Are you going to join us, Mum?’ I asked, as I
walked over to where she was standing by the large, comfortable squashy sofa,
watching us.

‘No, you enjoy your night together. I’ll get
home, you know your dad, master spy he may have been, but he’ll probably have
starved rather than attempt to cook for himself,’ she smiled. I laughed and
kissed her cheek. She was a stunning woman, I owed all of my good genes to her.
Rich brown glossy hair, the most unusual amber eyes, the rarest of all eye
colours, a small straight nose and exquisite bone structure. We could almost be
mistaken for sisters, as she looked nowhere near her age. She was a beauty
model and her face was still in demand, even in her late fifties. Her agency
had begged me to join them, but I’d grown tired of everyone thinking all I had
to offer was my looks, that’s what had made me determined to succeed in
business. Yes, my business was
still
about my looks, it would be a waste
not to put them to some use, but this way I got to use my brain as well.

‘Give him my love. We could come over tomorrow,
after our trip to the zoo?’ I laughed as Tristan squealed with joy. I wasn’t
sure, out of the two of us, who enjoyed our monthly visit to the zoo more. It
was a ritual, one I’d never break until he was too old to enjoy it anymore. The
first weekend of every month I made sure I was free all day Saturday and Sunday,
to spend quality time with him. I even turned off my work mobile from leaving
the office on a Friday, to when I returned on a Monday morning. They knew it
didn’t matter what emergency came up, I wasn’t dealing with it. Work had a
habit of encroaching on my evenings and weekends as it was, after all my
business wasn’t exactly a typical nine to five one, I deserved time off and he
deserved to have me all to himself. He deserved so much more than I could ever
offer him. I’d never dreamed of becoming a single parent, I’d wanted a happy
marriage like my parents, but life hadn’t worked out that way for us.

‘Your brother’s coming over with his latest
boyfriend,’ she replied, rolling her eyes. I grinned at her, with a roll of my
own eyes. My parents had got over the fact that Dominic was gay a long time
ago, what they found hard to handle was the fact that he got through men faster
than wildfire in the dry Australian outback. None lasted more than a few weeks,
at a stretch. He always “fell in love” after a few dates and insisted on taking
them to meet Mum and Dad, but a man rarely made a visit to see them more than
once.

‘He’s in love again?’

‘You know Dominic,’ she sighed, with a shake of
her head. ‘Do you think he’ll ever settle down?’

‘He’s happy, that’s all that matters. Why don’t
you come over on Sunday and I’ll cook a roast for us all? You can fill me in on
his latest conquest.’

‘That would be lovely,’ she nodded. Tristan
clapped his hands. Roast dinners were his favourite.

‘What would you like, darling?’ I asked. He
screwed up his beautiful face, deep in contemplative thought, as if I’d just
asked him to explain some complex Pythagoras’ Theorem.

‘Chicken,’ he finally announced, with a firm
nod. ‘With Yorkshire puddings.’

‘Yorkshire puddings go with roast beef,
Tristan,’ Mum told him and his face fell.

‘Well as a special treat, we’re going to have
them with roast chicken this weekend,’ I confirmed, making him smile again and
nestle his face back in my neck.

‘You spoil that boy,’ Mum tutted, in a whisper.

‘We’re a single parent family, Mum, and I have
a very demanding business. He misses out on so much. If he wants a roast
chicken dinner with Yorkshire pudding it’s not a big deal,’ I snapped.

‘Someone’s had a bad day,’ she observed,
pulling a face at my short comeback.

‘I’m sorry,’ I sighed, as I blew out a quick
tense breath. ‘I had to fire someone today and things with you know who, didn’t
go so well last night.’

‘Who’s you know who?’ came a little voice from
my shoulder.

‘Never you mind, big ears,’ I chuckled and
kissed his head, as Mum gave me the double questioning eyebrows.

‘Elephants have big ears,’ he replied.

‘Yes they do,’ I agreed. ‘Mum I’ll tell you
when Dad’s occupying this little tyke,’ I smiled as I bounced him up and down
making him laugh.

‘We’ll see you on Sunday then,’ she nodded,
kissing my cheek.

‘Thanks for looking after him. Say bye to Grandma,
darling.’

‘Bye, bye.’ He reached out to give her a hug
and kiss, before nestling back into my neck again. We waved her off and I let
out a contented sigh. At last, it was just the two of us and I couldn’t wait to
start our weekend.

We spent the next hour playing with his Lego on
the plush carpeted floor, then ate a delicious takeaway and headed up for bath
and bedtime. I tucked him up in his bed, sitting next to him, so he could see
the pictures in the storybook as he rested his head on my arm. His was tightly
around his favourite cuddly toy, Eric. He was a soft grey elephant with pink
inner ears and the end of his trunk and pads of his feet. I kissed Tristan’s
forehead and read from one of his favourite book series, naturally it was
Elmer
the elephant. He was
crazy
about elephants, I had no idea where his
obsession with them had started, but that’s where we spent the longest when we
went to the zoo. I couldn’t wait for the morning, to see his excited face as we
drove there. Just being home with him wiped away all the crappiness of my day.
I smiled as his eyes started drooping.

‘Love you, for the rest of my life and beyond, darling,’
I whispered, as I kissed the top of his head, breathing in my favourite scent
of his Johnson’s Baby Shampoo and Baby Powder.

‘Me too, Mummy,’ he yawned, fighting falling
asleep. ‘Don’t stop.’

‘Never, my darling boy,’ I replied, my heart
swelling with all the love I had for him. He was my entire world.

Six
Years Ago

‘I need to sit down,’ I gasped, shoving my hand
through my hair as Beyoncé’s
Single Ladies
ended. My feet were killing
me from all the dancing, the music in this club was fantastic.

‘Me too,’ nodded Coco. ‘I can’t believe it’s
only midnight. I feel like we’ve been dancing until the early hours. I’m so out
of practice.’

‘And I’m supposed to be the old one here,’
sighed Phoebe, as she reluctantly followed us back to our private booth and
slid in opposite me.

‘Coco, stop,’ I groaned, covering my glass with
my hand as she attempted to pour in more champagne. ‘I’ve had nearly a bottle
already.’ It prompted her to pull a face. My best friend was a little wilder
than I was. We’d met at primary school, my twin brother Dominic having had the
biggest crush on her when we were seven, before he realised he preferred cock
to pussy. The three of us had become inseparable and drew plenty of attention
as we grew up. Dominic was stunningly handsome, his hair and eyes matching
mine. He was a male model, mainly underwear given he’d been blessed with a
snake like appendage, Coco insisted it was a crime against womankind for him to
not bless them with it. She was drop dead gorgeous, Italian on her father’s
side, which meant her complexion wasn’t quite as light as my English porcelain
one. She had light brown hair with sun kissed highlights and unusually for Southern
Italian heritage, vivid green eyes and a pair of luscious full lips. She was
slightly shorter than me, at five foot eight, but like me had curves in all the
right places. The three of us had shared digs at University, Coco studying
design. I’d tried to convince her to be my business partner, she had no problem
attracting male attention either and would have been fabulous in the field, but
she had her heart set on the jewellery industry, coming up with some unique
pieces as she practiced at home, many of which I snapped up, at discounted
rates of course. Dom had gone to study Economics and Statistics, but had ended
up majoring in beer and cock, ending up with no qualifications at all, other
than giving “amazing” head, by all accounts.

‘Lu,’ she moaned, as I refused to move my hand
and let her top up my glass.

‘Come on, Lu,’ coaxed Phoebe, ‘you can’t not
drink on my hen weekend.’

‘I
am
drinking,’ I protested. ‘I’ve had
plenty, I’m trying to pace myself, we’re out tomorrow night as well. It’s my
first time in Paris, I want to be clear headed enough to enjoy it in the
morning.’ We’d only landed this afternoon and had gone straight to our shared
suite at The Domville, to unpack and get ready to come out. We’d had a
delicious meal first, stopped off in a cocktail bar, before coming on here, the
top recommended club in the whole of Paris. Phoebe was Coco’s sister, she was a
few years older than us and getting married next weekend. Coco had convinced
her to have her hen night in Paris, mainly out of self-serving purposes, as she
wanted to come and see the architecture, to soak up the atmosphere of somewhere
known for its artists, so she could draw inspiration for some new pieces. I was
just happy to be in a seriously swank club, surrounded by sexy French accents.
There was something about it that just did things to my mind and body. Ask me
to choose between the best looking English guy or an average looking guy with a
French accent, I’d probably go with the latter. The club was very sexy looking,
in tones of black and red, giving it a Burlesque club type atmosphere. The
music was electric, right on point with the charts back home and the lighting
low and sultry. You could just feel the sexual energy coming from people
grinding on the dance floor.

‘We’re never going to get you laid if you don’t
down some more,’ sighed Coco. ‘And after that disaster of a relationship with
Thomas last year, you need to get laid by a man who appreciates the clitoris is
a few inches higher than he was thinking it was. And you know what a French
accent does to you, where better than here to find a seriously sexy one night
stand?’

‘I don’t do one night stands,’ I reminded her.
My face was a curse sometimes, I never knew if men were interested in me
because of how I looked, or for the real me behind this façade. It made me
reluctant to rush anything with the opposite sex. Phoebe had never had that
problem, to be honest it was amazing she’d agreed to get married. She’d have
been the last person I’d have imagined settling down. Coco on the other hand
was all mouth and no trousers, like me she was wary of men. We’d seen Dom tempt
too many men who were in relationships with women, for us to be too trusting,
me in particular given my career. Not one man had turned down an offer to come
up to my room when I was working and not one of them had been single. It didn’t
exactly inspire confidence in the male species.

‘You may reconsider when you see the guy that’s
not taken his eyes off you since he arrived at the bar,’ advised Coco, with a teasing
smile. ‘
Smokin’
hot.’

‘How hot are we talking out of ten?’ I asked.

‘Eleven,’ replied Phoebe and Coco together,
also nodding in unison, making me laugh. I rummaged in my clutch and pulled out
my lip gloss and a mirror.

‘Damn, he must be fine. You two handing out
elevens is rarer than a Strictly Come Dancing ten off Craig. Where?’

‘At your three o’clock,’ Coco replied, taking
the opportunity to refill my unguarded glass with the last of the current
bottle of champagne. I reapplied my gloss and carefully angled my mirror to
look for this mystery man. I knew better than to turn around, that was a signal
for someone watching to have an excuse to wander over. ‘I see three men at the
bar and of the two facing us, I’m not seeing an eleven,’ I replied, though the
one in the middle, leaning in to talk in the barman’s ear, had the most
biteable firm arse I’d ever seen.

‘Wait for him to turn around again, if you
don’t think he’s an eleven I’ll eat my … shoe,’ uttered Phoebe, as she knocked
her champagne back, her eyes trained in his direction. ‘And I’m wearing a pair
of Choos, you should know how devastated I’d be to lose a Choo.’ I sighed with
a chuckle, we all had a shoe fetish and losing one of a pair
would be
devastating to any of us. I patiently waited, with my eyes trained on the
mirror, feeling my heart beat a little faster as I studied the back of this
supposed Adonis. He was in a dark navy suit, the jacket of which had ridden up,
revealing that deliciously toned backside and a pair of muscular firm thighs.
His shoulders were broad and powerful and I just knew that if his body looked
this good from behind, clothed, that he was going to be in insane shape from the
front. No amount of clothing could disguise a powerful, sinuous body like that.
A body that mine had already apparently decided was worthy of attention.

‘O. My. God,’ I breathed, as he looked back
over his shoulder, pointing his hand in our direction. All the heat in my body
converged between the top of my thighs, my clit murmuring in appreciation of
the most beautifully proportioned face, sexily messed up dark brown hair and the
most inviting deep chocolate eyes I’d ever seen. I couldn’t tear my eyes off his
perfect lips, images of them on my suddenly aching, swollen and frankly
starving pussy, flashing through my mind.

‘Tell me you’re not damp knickered now?’ Coco
chuckled. I gulped and nodded, as I quickly snapped the mirror shut.

‘So much I may have to go to the ladies and
ditch them,’ I replied.

‘Lulu McQueen! When was the last time a man
ruined your underwear?’ she gasped. I bit my lip and shrugged, embarrassed at
my ability to find men with no sexual skills. ‘The Ice Queen has been thawed.’

‘Speaking of ice, if I wasn’t getting married
next weekend, the things I could do with an ice cube to that body,’ Phoebe
nodded as she gazed in his direction, virtually drooling. ‘Trouble is he
doesn’t seem to have eyes for anyone but you, Lulu.’

‘Please,’ I scoffed, secretly delighted inside.

‘He hasn’t, he was watching you dancing earlier
as well and he’s turned away plenty of women who’ve approached him. In fact
he’s doing it again. They’re swarming around him like bees.’

‘Excusez-moi,’ came a French voice. ‘I have a
bottle of Champagne for you, compliments of the gentleman at the bar.’

‘Thank you,’ grinned Phoebe, as she went to
take the ice bucket from him.

‘I’m sorry Mademoiselle, I was specifically
instructed to hand it to the beautiful lady with the eyes of molten lava and to
tell you that he feels the heat from where he’s standing.’

‘O smooth,’ giggled Coco. ‘Well it’s confirmed
then, it’s definitely for you Lu and it’s proper Champagne, the one with a
capital “C” and a high price tag.’

‘Why not one of you?’ I objected, as the bucket
of expensive Champagne, nestled in its bed of ice, was put on the table in
front of me.

‘Neither of us have amber eyes and seeing how
he hasn’t taken his off you all night, it’s a given,’ she replied. I rolled my
eyes, I’d been so happy letting my hair down and just dancing and soaking up
the atmosphere, I’d tried desperately not to look at all the good looking men
eyeing us up. That wasn’t why I was here. I didn’t need the complication of an
attractive man paying me attention, particularly not one in another country.

‘Do you have a message to return?’ our waiter
asked.

‘Hmmm,’ I pondered. ‘Tell him thank you very
much, it was very generous of him, but I’m not interested and all that I’m
feeling is the very frosty chill from the ice bucket.’

‘Bien sûr,’ he nodded and disappeared, without
taking the Champagne back with him.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ gasped Phoebe, as Coco
looked at me equally stunned. ‘You had the hottest fling ever lined up.’

‘Hello! Do I need to introduce myself to you? Lulu
McQueen, occasionally has great sex, gets too attached, then ends up
heartbroken when all they were interested in was my face and body. I don’t do
flings. We’re here for two nights, it’s not happening.’

‘Well I’d let myself be flung,’ sighed Coco, as
she looked back over at him, her chin resting on her knuckles. ‘He’s … I don’t
even have the words. I mean a face like that,
combined
with that body?
That doesn’t come along very often. If you don’t want him, I could be tempted
to waive my
no one night stand
clause
and
forget the fact that I
prefer blonds. O shit, he’s coming over and he’s got a seriously sexy, pissed
off vibe going on.’

‘No,’ I gasped, mortified. This was a man I
needed to steer clear of. My gut was telling me that he could be trouble, that
I could have a hot encounter, but I’d end up going home in a complete slump.

‘O yeah,’ nodded Phoebe, fanning her face with
her hand, ‘and
damn
, he even walks sexily. He should be up on that
catwalk with Dominic. In fact he’d put Dominic to shame and you know how hot I
find your frustratingly gay brother.’

‘Shit,’ I muttered, grabbing my bag and leaping
to my feet, my eyes darting for the quickest way through the crowds to the
toilets. I’d only seen a glimpse of this man in my mirror, but he was definitely
trouble. I had sexual tingles running up and down my spine, I’d become hyper
aware of my hardened nipples and throbbing clit. One glance at a man’s
reflection and my body needed him like oxygen. It was crazy. One look had flicked
off my cool detached persona switch which I kept turned on for work, and twelve
months’ worth of repressed sexual desire suddenly screamed at me to be sated. Had
it really been twelve months since I’d given in to my urges and had sex? I
could barely believe it.

I virtually ran through the crowds, squeezing
my way through the gaps until I reached the safety of the ladies’ powder room,
the door swinging shut behind me. I grasped the sink, looking at my flushed
face in the mirror. I knew myself too well. I stayed distant, because once I
got sexual with a guy I found attractive, if it was good, I tended to fall hard.
Really hard
. Just like my brother Dom did. He’d been in love more times
than an accountant could tally. I’d been burned really badly by my first love,
losing my virginity to him when I was seventeen, only to find he was screwing
other girls in our class behind my back. I’d fallen for his lines of how
beautiful I was, how much he desired me and only me. I only found out that was
bullshit when he tried it on with Coco and she came to tell me. I’d been
heartbroken and had put my childhood sleuth training into practice, to follow
him and catch him in the act. I’d ended it there and then, while he had his
cock inside another girl in his battered old Ford Escort, in the car park of
the local playground on a Friday night. Since then, I’d been extra cautious,
Coco too. She’d felt my pain. That’s when the idea for my agency Sweet
Temptation came about, so I guess some good had come out of it. I sighed as I
ran my hands under the cold water, putting them on my burning cheeks and chest,
trying to quench the raging hormones and fire taking over my body. A one night
stand with a man I reacted to like this, a man I hadn’t even looked at directly,
was a recipe for total disaster.