Sarah retrieved her arm. “We? Why should I help you?”
He cupped her chin as if he intended to kiss her passionately. “Because I’m asking you. Please?”
She severed eye contact. “Oh, alright. I’ll get the maid’s uniform, and you two try to keep your hands off each other until I get back.” She lowered her voice. “But this is the last time, Dylan. If you’re in trouble with Russians, I don’t want anything to do with you. I’ve got a bloody hotel to run. Right?”
Chapter Two
The stifling July humidity hit Dylan as he strolled into night with Sarah and Natalia. He’d never really noticed how secluded this hotel was, considering it was right in the middle of London. But now – as he walked down the carpeted steps and through the ostentatious doorway into the courtyard – the silence and darkness struck him like a punch. He scoured his eyes for trouble across the vast parking lot – which was crammed full with Jaguars, Rolls Royces, and Bentleys. If any of Orlov’s henchmen were out here, they were well-hidden. Hopefully he could make it to the car before anyone lurking realised what had happened.
Dylan loosened his tie, regretting his self-imposed rule about always looking ready for business. But at least he’d looked decent for his impromptu reunion with Sarah. He reached out and held her hand as they walked behind Natalia – who was dressed as a maid and carrying a suitcase stuffed with a pillow. The scene was farcical. But hopefully convincing…
Natalia looked so different now that she’d removed her make-up, brushed her hair, and ditched the false eyelashes. Dylan realised she was pretty, but nothing special – just like most the women he met. She was nice enough, and he’d enjoyed their liaisons over the last couple of weeks. But last time they’d met, she’d become clingy and had threatened to tell the papers about their affair. That would’ve been a death warrant for Dylan. Orlov wasn’t someone to be messed with. So he’d met with her tonight to call it off. Thank goodness Sarah had been there to help, or he’d possibly be dead right now.
But instead he was alive and ready to continue his business negotiations with Orlov. What a strange situation this was – doing business with a guy who wanted him dead for screwing his wife. They had a meeting booked tomorrow – assuming Orlov still wanted the deal to go through... He really hoped his brief encounter with Natalia wasn’t about to become an affair he’d live to regret.
And now Sarah was in the mix – what a freaky stroke of luck that had been. It was awesome to see her again and he was still reeling from their amazing reunion. But he didn’t want her involved in this craziness – the thought of her getting hurt repulsed him. The truth was, she was the only woman he’d ever loved. The only one he’d ever wanted. And now she was back in his life, he wasn’t going to let her go… not without enjoying that wonderful body one more time. They’d missed out on their chance for a relationship, but there was nothing wrong with one final fuck. He could see under that sharp suit that her former skinny body had filled out in all the right places, making her deliciously curvy, and he was desperate for a closer look. He knew all Sarah’s soft-spots and pleasure-zones, and he was determined to make her cry out his name and forget any other guys she’d had since they’d split.
He’d convinced himself back in the hotel that he was only bringing Sarah along to make Orlov’s men believe she was his wife. Hopefully, this sudden marriage should make Orlov and Natalia back off. But the truth was he wanted to find out what Sarah had been up to these last seven years. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, and he knew from the way he’d touched her earlier that she still felt passion for him...
He held no hope of a romantic reunion, though. Their time had gone; they were probably too different now. Gone were those nights when they could stay up until four in the morning, laughing and fooling around – those fun college days when they’d spent hours discussing how to make the world a better place; when they’d promised to never stop loving each other… Bullshit. They were grownups now. It was too late. But Dylan knew that if he could fuck her one more time, he’d be able to get her out of his system once and for all. And then they could both move on.
“That’s my car over there,” Dylan called to Natalia, gesturing towards his brand new BMW. She headed towards it, not looking at him. Dylan loved that car – it was roomy and sleek, and tonight he was thankful it didn’t stand out too much. His brother Adam was a sports-car nut, and he often mocked Dylan for his preference for practical and sturdy cars. But it was actually pretty useful to have a car that blended in when you had Russians on your back. Dylan could sense eyeballs in the darkness; he was sure they were being watched, but as long as Orlov himself wasn’t here, then Natalia’s disguise should hopefully be enough to convince anyone else that she was a maid. Right now, she certainly looked nothing like the glamorous woman who was always by Orlov’s side.
Dylan lifted the suitcase into the trunk, then he opened the back passenger door and gestured for Natalia to climb inside.
“Why would a maid come with you?” she muttered.
“I don’t know,” Dylan said. “You want me to leave you here?”
Sarah placed her hand on Natalia’s shoulder. “Come on, it’s okay. We’re not going to leave you here.”
Dylan waited for the women to get in, then he climbed into the leather driver’s seat and fired the ignition with only one thing on his mind. Get out of here without anyone getting killed…
He swiped a glance at Sarah. She looked agitated, and it felt natural for him to reach out and squeeze her knee reassuringly – but he didn’t. Firstly, she might not appreciate it, and secondly, a few people had suggested that Dylan might find love in London, but he’d hardened his heart and dismissed them all. If he allowed an iota of tender affection for Sarah to blossom, it might lead him to places he didn’t want to go. He wasn’t interested in love. Not now, not ever – it only resulted in heartache. And he could see Sarah was only interested in her job. But he was determined to give her that ultimate pleasure; one-night only – no strings. He threw her a cool smirk as she fastened her seatbelt beside him.
“Flash car,” she said with contempt.
He chuckled. She’d never been impressed by his attempts to woo her with status symbols. Apparently she hadn’t changed much. But he knew exactly what did impress her, and he was prepared to pull every trick in the book if it meant he could have her just one more time.
Chapter Three
Sarah gazed desirously at Dylan’s gorgeous fingers as he casually hooked them around the leather steering wheel. They were long and strong, and they knew exactly how to make her cry out in pleasure with their expert caresses…
She pushed away her lust and twisted to look out the window, watching the hot and sticky city rush by, wondering how she’d been dragged into this. One thing was for sure: she needed to get out while she still had her sanity. Dylan had always been into wild schemes. At college he’d teamed up with some fellow students to trade stationery and student supplies. He’d been successful, and he’d always had plenty of money back then, which he’d generously spent on Sarah. But that hadn’t been why she’d loved him so much. He was lovely once you managed to get under that gruff exterior – or least he had been. And he was so attentive in the bedroom – he’d been the first young man who’d known how to please her. You didn’t forget that sort of thing easy…
In truth, she’d regretted leaving him every day since she’d returned to London seven years ago. But he was in trouble right now, and Sarah didn’t need trouble. What the hell was he doing having an affair with the wife of a powerful Russian? And what the hell was she doing tagging along?
With the air-con cooling them on this hot sticky evening, Dylan drove them out of overcrowded London and towards the outskirts of the city, setting his GPS for a village Sarah had never heard of.
“Are we going back to your place?” she asked
, glancing at Natalia who was sitting in the back, composing a text message.
“No. I’m staying in Central London but I can’t risk going there yet. Just in case.”
“Yeah, right,” Sarah muttered. Dylan was forgetting how well she knew him – it was obvious he didn’t want her or Natalia encroaching on his private life by inviting them into his home. He’d always been the same. Private and mysterious. But she’d managed to penetrate that steely exterior back then… she knew there was a tender guy under that tough shell. She pressed her fingers against the cool glass as her eyes connected with a green field dotted with lush trees – something she never really saw in the city. She wondered whether she was secretly hoping to crack through Dylan’s tough exterior again…
Sarah was jolted from her thoughts as she realised they’d arrived at their mystery location. Dylan punched a security code into the number-pad on the massive iron gates, then he steered the car down a plush driveway. Sarah inhaled into her belly and realised she was feeling surprisingly relaxed. It was a relief to escape the city centre – where the buildings towered oppressively down, making her feel claustrophobic and stifled. But this lavish mansion reminded her of a scaled-down version of the White House – except that it was brick-coloured. The huge sash windows gave the property a Victorian-era feel, and the paved driveway was modern and clean.