Attrition. That was the thing. He’d gradually erode her resistance until she was desperate, begging him to make love to her and willing to agree to anything he suggested.
‘I see your point,’ he said as adrenalin surged through him at the thought of having Bella in his arms, panting and pleading for release.
‘There are bound to be hundreds of other women out there you can have incredible sex with.’
‘Bound to be,’ he said vaguely, his brain switching into gear and formulating a plan. Because if this evening had clarified anything it was that right now he didn’t want sex, incredible or otherwise, with anyone else. He wanted it with her. Lots of it.
‘Oh,’ she said, blinking and sounding delightfully taken aback. ‘Good. Well. I’m glad you agree.’
‘I couldn’t agree more.’ He flashed her a grin and wrapped his hand round her elbow. ‘Now I think we should be getting back before someone sends out a search party, don’t you?’
CHAPTER NINE
THE following morning, after twelve hours of solid sleep, Bella felt like a different person. All was now well with the world. At least with her world, which she’d chosen to decorate with denial and to view through rose-tinted spectacles.
After the turbulent conversation and mind-blowing kiss outside the loos, she and Will had gone back into the restaurant to find the table empty. The waiter removing the empty glasses and the unused cutlery had murmured discreetly that their dining companions had given up waiting and had informed him that Will and Bella would take care of the bill.
Will, as surprisingly unperturbed by this as he’d been by her revelations about her parentage, had brushed aside all her efforts to at least split the bill, and had handed over his card. Then he’d bundled her into a taxi as if he couldn’t get rid of her fast enough, and had vanished into the night.
Very possibly to go straight round to Rosie’s to get some of that incredible sex she’d stupidly assured him others would be only too happy to provide.
God, what on earth had possessed her to say that? she wondered, switching the oven on and taking a couple of croissants from the freezer. She’d only tossed it into the conversation as a throwaway comment, so naturally it was the one thought that had dominated her journey home.
As much as she’d tried to tell herself that she really couldn’t care less, she’d arrived home slightly confused, greatly unsettled, and too exhausted to do anything other than flop into bed and pass out.
But this morning she was revived. Ravenous, but revived. And heartily relieved that everything was back to normal. Because it was, wasn’t it?
And if a tiny part of her was still a bit preoccupied by the idea of Will and Rosie together, and if another even tinier part of her was faintly put out that Will had agreed with her about the futility of pursuing any kind of relationship with her with quite such alacrity, well, it was simply hunger messing with her head. That was all.
Bella dropped the croissants onto a tray and shoved it in the oven, her mouth watering and her stomach rumbling.
Oh, yes. All was indeed well with the world.
Except for one thing.
Bella frowned, straightened and bit her lip. As much as she was enjoying patting herself on the back at how well she’d managed to extricate herself from a situation trickier than a magicians’ convention, she couldn’t help but feel appalled at the shoddy way she’d treated Sam.
It had been jabbing away at her conscience all morning and as a fresh deluge of guilt washed over her her stomach churned with shame. She didn’t deserve freshly brewed coffee and delicious hot buttery croissants; she deserved lukewarm water and thin grey gruel. Because basically she’d used him, hadn’t she? And that had been a lousy thing to do.
Hmm. If she was to enjoy her badly needed breakfast at all, she had to fix things. Before the timer pinged.
Picking up the phone and dialling Sam’s number before she had the chance to chicken out, Bella leaned against the counter and concentrated on the rings instead of the ball of nerves and shame tangling in the pit of her stomach.
‘Hello?’
‘Sam?’ she said. ‘It’s Bella.’
‘Ah,’ he said knowingly, and she inwardly cringed. ‘And how are you this morning?’
He sounded intrigued and Bella closed her eyes for a second. ‘Fine. Better than I should be. Look, Sam, I’m so sorry about last night.’
‘Don’t be.’
‘Please let me apologise. It was unfair of me to use you like that and I shouldn’t have done it.’
‘Did you see me complaining? It was the most fun I’ve had in years.’
Huh? Her eyes snapped open at the chuckle that came down the line. Crikey. If that was the case then he needed to get out more.