Finally. Personal details about Sebastian Clarke. Unimportant, insignificant, trivial details—just the kind Helen liked best. The kind that gave a picture of the person behind the facts.
Ready to ask more questions about his life in Canada, Helen sat on the kitchen table. Her bottom nudged her laptop and the screen came alive, blaring out its blue-white light.
Sebastian nodded toward her. “That’s very naughty.”
Sitting on the table?For goodness’ sake. She’d bet a hundred pounds perching on tables wasn’t allowed in the Clarke household, his high-achieving parents must’ve bred uptightness in him from the moment he’d been born.
But then Helen followed Sebastian’s eyeline and her face burned—Kyra stared out from the laptop’s screen, flat on her back, legs spread wide.
“Oh my—” Helen slapped her laptop shut.
Sebastian chuckled. “That looks like a comfortable position for a lady to find herself in.”
“I wouldn’t know.”It’s been so long since I’ve had sex I can barely remember what to do.
“Huh. Me too.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, god. Did I just say that out loud?”
“Yeah.”
Then Sebastian’s words pierced through her mortification. “It’s been a while for you, too? What’re we talking here? Two weeks? Or—heaven forbid—three?”
“Try eight or nine months. Maybe ten. I’m not exactly keeping score.”
“Bollocks!” Helen choked out a laugh. “Are you telling me you haven’t had sex since lastyear?”
“It’s true.” He studied the tea in his mug. “How long has it been for you?”
“A year.”Three, actually.
“Well, there you go. It can be done.”
“But you’re a very attractive man!”
“And you’re a very attractive woman.”
Her cheeks flushed at the compliment. “Google Images is full of you and your girlfriends.”
“You know, I’m beginning to think Google knows more about my life than I do. I don’t sleep with every woman I take out to dinner.”
“But you have dated some very beautiful women this year.”
“I know.” His gaze skimmed down her bare thighs again. “I still do.”
Heat coursed through her and she became aware of how close they were standing. Moonlight squeezed in the gaps between them.
“I need more milk in my tea,” Helen said when no other words came to mind. She sidestepped left to the fridge, but he had the same idea. They skirted each other and the back of her hand brushed his, crackling the air around them.
Her gaze shot to his. “It’s not just me feeling this, is it?”
“No.” Sebastian stared back at her. “Contrary to every clause in our contract, I’ve been thinking about you in ways that I shouldn’t.”
Bloody hell.
“Good thing that I didn’t take much notice of those clauses then.” Anticipation trickled down her spine. “And it just so happens that I’ve been thinking about you, too … in ways that make me feel good.”
Sebastian stood rigid, her confession hadn’t made him run away. So she gave in to the urge she’d had since that first day at the Waterfront Hotel and trailed her fingers over the hard planes of his chest. He was warm and solid, the fabric of his T-shirt fine enough to feel the tiny bead of his nipple through it.
