One Night On The Virgin's Terms - Melanie Milburne Page 0,5

the size of her top one, the shape of her mouth a perfect Cupid’s bow. And don’t get me started about those adorable dimples.

‘Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have to prove anything.’ His tone was curt and cold but his blood was hot. Smoking hot. He placed his hands on her upper arms, ostensibly to keep her from him, but somehow his fingers sank into the softness of her cashmere sweater and the distance between their bodies closed. Had he moved or had she? Her hips brushed against his, her breasts poking into his chest, and a wave of hot, tight longing barrelled through him like a tornado.

‘Kiss me, Louis.’ Her voice was just shy of a whisper, her vanilla-scented breath dancing across his lips. ‘Prove to me you don’t find me a total turn-off.’

He’d kissed lots of women and had always been able to walk away. Always. It was his modus operandi. No strings. No follow-up dates. Just plain and simple one-night sex. But if he kissed Ivy he would be crossing a line he’d sworn he would never cross. He kept his relationships short—if you could call them relationships. Those ‘relationships’ were easy to walk away from without regret. But he already had a long-term relationship with Ivy. Not a sexual one, but a friendship that would be completely changed if he acted on her wishes. The last thing he wanted to do was rush into a one-night stand with Ivy until he understood exactly what she wanted from him.

His conscience leaned indolently against the back wall of his mind and smirked. Oh, so you’re actually going to consider sleeping with her?

Louis summoned every bit of self-restraint he possessed and stepped back from her, dropping his hands from around her arms. He schooled his features into suave city playboy. ‘If I kiss you, things could get hotter than you can handle. Are you sure you’re ready for that, ma petite?’

A flicker of uncertainty passed over her face. ‘Not completely, but if you won’t do it then I’ll have to resort to my Plan B.’

‘Which is?’

Her small chin came up to a defiant height. ‘I’ll have to ask a stranger to do it.’

He held her gaze for a throbbing moment, his mind whirling with images of creepy strangers taking advantage of her guilelessness, and his guts churned with bile. No way was he going to let some filthy jerk touch her. There were some real weirdos out there these days, men who wanted to fulfil their darkest pornographic fantasies without considering their partner’s wishes. Ivy wouldn’t have the experience to handle something like that. It would totally destroy her.

‘No, you will not do that.’ He channelled his best schoolmaster voice, throwing in a deep frown for good measure.

Her expression became hopeful. ‘So, you’ll agree to help me?’

Louis speared a hand through his hair, then stood with his hands on his hips in a braced position. ‘We’ll come to that later. For now, I want to know why you got to the age of almost thirty with your virginity intact.’

Her gaze drifted away from his, her cheeks firing up again. ‘I’ve always been a little bit uncomfortable even talking about sex, mostly because my mum has always been so out there about it—especially since she and Dad got divorced.’ She glanced up at him. ‘Did you know she’s studying to be a sex therapist now? Sex is all she talks about.’

‘Yeah, I heard about her new venture. But why not talk to her about...?’

A look of horror passed over her face. ‘No way! I want to fix this on my own... Well, not quite on my own...with your help.’

He went back behind his desk and pulled out his office chair. ‘Look, I’m on a tight deadline, but can we talk about this over dinner tonight? I’ll pick you up at eight.’

Dinner? His conscience smirked again. Dinner and then what? Dinner and nothing, that’s what. Nothing to see here, as the saying goes.

‘Are you still in the flat in Islington?’

‘Yep. My two friends Millie and Zoey have moved in with me now. The rent on my own was killing me.’

‘Why didn’t you say something? I could have helped you.’

A glimmer of pride entered her gaze. ‘You’ve done enough for my family already—helping Mum with the mortgage last year when she got behind with the payments. She’ll never be able to repay you, you know. She’s always been hopeless with money.’

Louis’ frown was back. Harder. Deeper. Seemed no one kept a promise