“Goodness, no, I won’t hear of it,” Dad said. “Our treat, we’ve enjoyed your company.”
I risked a glance at Phil. He was rubbing his finger on his bottom lip, his gaze narrowed on Ty.
I thought about nudging Ty, warning him to be super careful, but there was no point, he clearly hadn’t realized he’d done anything wrong. Dropping that sugar into my tea had come naturally to him. But that very familiarity was the problem.
How the hell would he know I took sugar?
Unless we weren’t complete strangers.
“Perhaps, Mr. Tipping,” Ty said, “if it is okay with you, I could ask Penny to share a nightcap with me in the bar next door? I noticed a sign in the lobby saying they’re hosting a jazz band tonight.”
Mum’s face lit up. “Oh yes, I think that would be lovely, don’t you, Penny?”
“I, um, yes, sure,” I said, glancing at Phil again.
He sat back in the chair, folded his arms and studied me.
“Absolutely,” Dad said, “of course it’s fine. You young people have so much more energy than us old ones, go and have fun.” He grinned then looked at Phil, confirming the plan.
Phil nodded. “No problem.” He shifted his gaze to Ty. “But just so you know, I’ll be around, to keep an eye on Penny.”
There was an undercurrent in his tone. I struggled to guess exactly what. Was it a warning, was it confusion? Either way, Phil would have to be handled with extreme care. We couldn’t afford another slip-up.
As Ty and I stepped into the Bamboo Bar, the gentle jazz and the dim lighting settled my mood. A couple of minutes alone with Ty before Phil appeared again would be like a breath of fresh air.
“What would you like to drink?” Ty asked as we drew up at the bar.
“Not tea,” I said, resting my purse on the shiny surface.
He looked confused.
“You didn’t even notice yourself do it, did you?”
“Do what?”
“In front of everyone you dropped a sugar cube into my tea, as if you did that every day for me.”
His jaw tightened. “Shit, did I?”
“Yes, Phil saw.”
“Fuck.” Ty rested his elbow on the bar and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. “Do you think he’ll say anything?”
“I don’t know, but the man has hawk eyes so don’t do anything like that again, okay?”
“But—”
“Don’t sweat it. If he does bring it up I’ll just say you must have seen me put sugar in my tea when we were at the embassy this morning.”
“But I didn’t, I put sugar in your tea last night, in your room.”
“I know, but we’ll just have to hope Phil’s memory isn’t that good, won’t we? One slip we can get away with, two will land us in big trouble.” I glanced at a hovering barman who was looking at us expectantly.
“Two champagnes, please,” Ty said.
I sat on the barstool to my left. It had zebra print upholstery and a curved back. As the slit in my tight dress revealed my slim, tanned thigh I noticed Ty’s gaze slip down my body.
“Well, apart from that,” Ty said, licking his lips, “today has been a massive step in the right direction, a great success.”
“Success maybe isn’t quite the right word from my point of view. I just about had a heart attack when I saw you with Hans Richmond this morning.”
He looked up and grinned wickedly. “Yeah, sorry about that, I didn’t exactly have time to tell you when we woke up.”
“Mmm, something tells me even if we’d had time you still wouldn’t have mentioned it.”
He raised his brows and the devilish smile on his lips told me I was right.
“Your face was a picture,” he said, “and I have to say, you looked damn hot in that tight little skirt, and I could just make out a hint of white lace through your silky blouse.” He glanced around and dipped his head to mine. “I’d like to check out that lacy bra in detail some time…with my tongue.”
I struggled to control a shiver of desire. “Mmm, well, it won’t be tonight, that’s for sure. My parents are happy for us to have a drink because they want me to date
nice young men
, but I think they would have issues with you hopping into my bed. They’re kind of old-fashioned like that.”
“Nothing wrong with old-fashioned, and just for the record, when I’m not involved in kidnap and blackmail, I am actually quite a nice young man. They might even approve of me.”
The burgeoning emotion in my chest grew a little more. “I know you’re nice, more than nice, and I think they already approve of you.” I was fighting an internal battle not to lean over and kiss him. My lips actually tingled with the need to press against his. I had to knot my fingers in my lap to stop myself from touching him.
He swallowed, shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted his feet. “It’s a damn shame they’re old-fashioned though, because I’ve been so hard for you all day and a night in your bed would have been just the cure.”
I smiled teasingly. “You were hard even through dinner?”
“Especially through dinner. Jesus, why do you have to wear such a damn sexy dress when you know I have to keep my wits about me?”
The barman set two flutes before us, the tiny champagne bubbles leaping upward and bursting in a fine mist.
“Charge it to room 802, please,” Ty said.
The barman nodded and moved away.
“Huh, I thought you were taking me for a nightcap, not the other way ‘round?” I said.
“Yeah, sorry, baby, I’m many things and one of them is poor. I spent the last of my travel funds on the plane ticket to England, and I’ve had to take a loan from my father to get here, pay for the hostel and buy this cheap suit. Thank goodness your dad didn’t take me up on the offer of paying for dinner, I would have had to run for it.” He picked up his drink and glanced over my shoulder. “Phil has just settled himself near the door.”
I clinked the rim of my glass to his. “Just ignore him, but at the same time, remember we’re not supposed to know each other, okay?”
He grinned, one of his devastatingly sexy smiles that balled his cheeks, creased the skin around his eyes and made my insides melt.
“Yes, miss, I’ll try and act as though I don’t know how good it is to have my cock inside you, and I’ll pretend that I’ve never heard that sweet little gasp you make when you come, or…” His voice lowered further and he leaned toward me. “That we haven’t shared a first ass experience together.”
I gulped back a huge glut of bubbles and squirmed on my chair. I didn’t think it was humanly possible to be any more infatuated with another person. Any more turned-on or any more desperate to rip someone’s clothes off and ride them all night until I collapsed with exhaustion. It seemed it was, every moment that passed I fell for Ty a little more.
“Shall we dance?” he asked, holding out his hand.
I listened to the languid jazz number playing and noticed several other couples swaying on the small dance floor.
“I think we could just about get away with that,” he said. “Providing, of course, you don’t rub yourself all over me until I lose control.”
“Now that would definitely give the game away,” I said, slipping from the stool.
He offered his arm and I took it. The need to touch him, the need for connection was growing by the second.
As we walked to the dance floor, I was hyperaware of Phil. It was annoying, this sense of his presence. He’d been around Dad for years and I’d hardly noticed him, but today it was oppressive, irritating, and I wished he’d disappear and leave me alone.
Ty weaved through the other couples moving gently to the music. When he reached the spot just in front of the band, he turned, smiled and pulled me close. He settled a hand on my back, high above the rise of my ass, and curled the other around my right hand, squeezing it into his chest.
Slipping my free hand onto his shoulder, I was careful not to lean into him. It took all the willpower I possessed though, because melting my body against his, allowing him to hold me up close and personal was exactly what I wanted to do. But I knew full well that was not how Phil would expect me to dance with Ty. I feared that if I molded my body to his the way I wanted to, it would be as good as having
lovers
stamped on our foreheads.
“You feel so right in my arms,” Ty whispered.
“Mmm, it feels right.”
The song changed to another melancholy tune about eternal love and Ty set up a lazy sway. I moved with him, relishing being in his embrace, breathing the same air as him and feeling his strength surround me. Oh, why couldn’t things have been different between us?
A sudden stab of sadness hit me and my sigh came out with a little judder.
“Hey, baby, what’s the matter, you don’t like dancing with me?”
“Yes, of course I do.” I looked up at him.
“So what is it? Your eyes have that sad, shadowed look that tears me apart.”
“It’s just… When will we be together again?”
“You’ve never known when you’re going to see me next.”
“I know but…”
He frowned and let out a sigh. “I wish I could tell you.”
“But that’s what makes it hard,
you
don’t know either.”
He squeezed my hand against his chest. “Get rid of all this craziness and there is something really special between us, so I know this isn’t the last time I’ll see you. It can’t be.”
“But I’m off to Beijing tomorrow and then Tokyo. Next week I’ll be back in England.” I tilted my head. “Where will you be?”
“I’ll still be here.”
“You will?”
“Yes, I need to work before I can afford a ticket home.”
“I’ll lend you some money.”
He frowned. “No, absolutely not.”
“But—”
“It’s okay, I have a job.”
“You do? Out here?”
“Don’t look so surprised. I’ve turned my hand to all sorts over the last few years in all kinds of weird and wonderful places, not to mention I’ve been paid in all manner of currencies.” He slid his hand down my back and I risked leaning into him, just a little.
“So what are you doing out here?”
He grinned. “I’ve got a job on one of those little water taxis, giving commentary in English and French to tourists about the Chao Phraya River and the sights of Bangkok.”
“Wow, you have? You speak French?”
He nodded. “It doesn’t pay much but it will add up if I’m just staying in the hostel and eating cheap. Besides, I have time to kill between now and the trial. May as well be earning.”
“Yes, of course.”
“And James’ parents and his brother are flying out next week too, so I will have them for company.”
“That’s good.” I gripped his shoulder a little tighter. It seemed he had things all figured out. But why was I surprised? If there was one thing I knew for sure about Ty, he was always a man with a plan.
I glanced over at Phil. He had his crossword book out but his gaze was moving around the room. I shifted slightly so Ty’s broad back blocked him from my view and looked up into Ty’s eyes, baring myself open to him. “You really mean what you just said?”
He swept his tongue over his bottom lip, leaving a damp sheen that was so damn tempting I had to close my eyes for a second and harness my self-control.
“What, baby?”
“That there’s something special between us?”
“I can’t believe you even have to ask.” He tugged me a fraction nearer and evidence of his erection prodded my stomach.
A tremble of desire shot straight to my pussy. It weakened my knees and dampened my knickers. “Humor me,” I said in a tight voice. “I’ve seen that you’re friends with a hundred different girls on Facebook.”
“Yeah, but I already told you, none of them are like you.” He pulled a face as though he was in discomfort.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, but this is killing me, having you in my arms, wanting to bury myself in you and not being able to.”
I pulled back from him slightly, releasing some of the pressure on his cock. “It’s the same for me too.”
He took a deep breath then angled his head as though contemplating me. “You’re unique, special, Penny. Right from the first time I saw you on the beach outside Kangaroo Bill’s I felt a huge connection with you. Like I wanted to steal you away and make you mine.”
“You did?”
“Yes. That’s why it was so hard for me to admit how much I wanted you physically. My feelings were to protect you, keep you safe from the big bad world, and there was me, I
was
the big bad world.”
He swallowed and I let the tip of my finger stray to his Adam’s apple, absorbed the rough texture of his late evening stubble. “So I’m a little doll you want to look after?” I struggled to keep the indignation from my tone.
He grinned. “No, of course not. Your sharp mind, your independence and your desire for justice has also snared me. Not to mention your incredible ability to get things done when you want to.”
“Snared you?”
He tipped his head until his lips rested against my temple. His hand spread over my back and he held me a little tighter “That, baby, is my way of saying I’ve fallen in love with you.”