Falling for Alexander (Corkscrew Bay #2) (6 page)

Chapter Seven

They were on the road again, heading in the general direction of Penryn. Kate put her head back and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep. After that lunch, s
he felt horribly exposed. Couldn’t imagine what had possessed her to open up to the man.

As if she
’d wanted him to see her, really
see
her, as if it mattered in the least.

Add to that the constant awareness, a humming along her veins that was tuned in to t
he man beside her.

Of all the men she
’d ever encountered, why did Alexander Gerardo have to be the one that turned her inside out and upside down? He was so going to be crushing the pieces of her left behind. She’d already fallen down. Couldn’t seem to get up.

Stuff that.

He’d bedazzled her hormones, but she’d get over it. She just needed a little space, a little normal. Where she wasn’t breathing in his presence, enthralled in the magnetism of a kiss that had never happened.

She just needed to wait this ou
t. Because when Alexander finally turned this car around, it wouldn’t be on her word. She hadn’t come this far to fail.

Occasionally peeking beneath dipped lashes at the countryside passing by, lulled by the soft music from the radio, Kate was halfway to g
enuinely nodding off when her heart lurched wide-awake.

Penryn 8 miles.

She bolted forward, glaring at the signpost as they flew past. Obviously she hadn’t fully appreciated Alexander’s commitment either. “We’re almost there!”

“
Your timing is impeccable,” he said. “I was just about to rouse you.”

A kink formed in her shoulder blade, tightening with every mile as the beginnings of a suburban community encroached on the grazing fields either side the road. A cluster of cottages, a nursery compound with farm s
talls, a housing estate walled with tall firs…and another signpost.

Penryn 1 mile.

What now? They’d gone beyond delay tactics and stalling. Beyond battles of stubborn willpower.

Penryn.

And Mrs. Pinnings? Maybe this wasn’t such a bad turn of events. She could get the facts from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

She chanced a quick look at Alexander. One arm resting on the open window, his head angled slightly away from her. Mr. Cool until the very end.

Kate’s heart pounded, blood rushing to her head. Of course he hadn’t brought her to Mrs. Pinnings. In another moment or so, he was going to demand directions and she’d better have a good reason for not knowing her aunt’s address.

Think, Kate, think.

They veered left into a warren of narrow streets. Alexander pressed a button on the dashboard and a built-in GPS display flickered to life.

“
Street address,” he enunciated with crisp syllables.

Kate wet her lips.
Come on…think.
But she’d reached the bottom of her bag of lies. There were one or two pitiful excuses wallowing in the dredges, but she didn’t have the heart to bring them out for him and she didn’t want to question the reason why too closely.

“
Eleven Darling Street,” he said with that same crisp enunciation.

“
Eleven Darling Street,” repeated a recorded female voice before stating the postal code and finishing with, “Navigate to this address?”

“
Yes.”

A sigh staggered from Kate
’s lungs.
What the...?

“
You will arrive at your destination in…seven…minutes,” confirmed the GPS female.

He hadn
’t used the opportunity to trip her in the tangle of her lies. They were seven minutes away from Mrs. Pinnings’ doorstep.

What did it mean?

Alexander was innocent, through and through.

Or one of his goons lived at number eleven, standing ready to welcome her with a banner.
Got You!!

The implication of either option hurt her head. Change of plans.
Don’t think, Kate. Just go along with it.

“
You’re very quiet,” Alexander said as they pulled up outside a row of terrace houses. “Everything alright?”

She reached behind to collect her bac
kpack from the rear seat. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

He turned the engine off and unbuckled his belt. “
Anything you want to tell me?”

“
Anything
you
want to tell
me
?”

“
Not right now.” He leaned over, turning in toward her, covering her body with a slow, deliberately sensual slide.

A rush of hot, breath-stopping desire washed over her. She melted back against the seat, but the inch or so she gained did nothing to dilute the effect he had on her. He was a lightning rod and she was wired from head to toe with bolts
of electricity.

His head was slightly averted, his attention somewhere to her left.
Her
gaze, however, was fixated on the corner of his mouth. If she didn’t kiss him now, the opportunity would be forever gone. Her magical midnight hour arrived the moment she stepped out of the car to confront whoever waited for her behind the door of number eleven.

Her lips tingled. Her blood itched. Her pulse fluttered. Every molecule within pined for a brief taste of this man who could never be hers. The situation was ri
diculous. But his mouth was just there. All she had to do was tip forward an inch; press her lips to his. Or maybe she’d trail her lips over the roughened skin of his jaw, dip her tongue into the deep hollow…

The passenger door beside her popped open with
a soft click.             

“
You go on ahead,” Alexander said, pulling back to his side of the car. “I’ll give you a minute to say your hellos before I intrude on the family reunion.”

Kate exhaled the breath trapped in her lungs, closing her eyes as she took a moment t
o flutter back from that fantasy and down to reality. From the illusion that Alexander Gerardo had any right to intoxicate her senses when she knew the mettle of the man beneath. Arrogant, disinterested and detached.

The devil himself probably had enough c
harisma to charm the souls out of men and women alike. That didn’t mean it would have been a good idea to kiss him.

Something hard and cold pressed into her hands. Her eyes blinked open, flitting from the oversized porcelain cat to the sardonic grin of the
man who’d retrieved it from the back seat.

“
You wouldn’t want to forget your aunt’s gift.” The underlying amusement in that drawl didn’t deter his husky voice from trembling over her skin like a sun-tipped caress.

Shoving the statue under her arm, Kate pr
actically stumbled from the car in her haste to boost her perspective with a healthy distance. She pinned her gaze on the brightly painted blue door of number eleven as she walked up the path, half expecting to hear the car roar to life as he sped away, leaving her to… Mrs Pinnings? His accomplice? Or worse, a complete stranger who lived at some random address he’d picked?

The roar hadn
’t come by the time she’d climbed the two steps to the door. He was probably hanging around to watch the fallout. Laughing his head off. No, that wasn’t his style. His laugh would be a thick rumble designed to thunder awareness of his potent masculinity straight through her last defence.

A blast of fury assuaged her. She didn
’t know what irked more. That he’d won this game of deception hands down or that losing so badly hadn’t even slightly eroded her overwhelming attraction to the man. That she’d bared herself to him, and he’d offered scorn in return with all those intimate scenes he’d engineered for the express purpose of mocking her.

She banged on the door with more fervour than strictly necessary.

Alexander wouldn’t recognise an open, honest moment if it hit him over the head. When he wasn’t hiding behind his castle walls, he hid behind those sunglasses. He was a fraud.

She
banged harder, fuelled with righteous indignation. As soon as this door opened, she’d have her proof. They might both be guilty of a lie, but he’d staged an entire production out of his.

“
Coming…” The door flew inward on the high-pitched sing-song voice. “My goodness, what on earth is the— Kate?”

A wall of shock hit Kate in the gut. She
’d considered this a possible option, but hadn’t honestly thought, not really, that Alexander would do exactly as he’d promised to do. Deliver her to Mrs. Pinnings.

Not Mrs.
Pinnings with the stern bun, grey suit and practical patent leather pumps.

Mrs. Pinnings in a flowery housedress, shocking pink slip-ons and the wispy ends of a high ponytail sweeping across her cheek as she tilted her head to peer at Kate. “
Whatever are you doing here?”

“
Surprise,” Kate squeaked, partially recovering as she pushed the porcelain cat into the woman’s arms. “Happy birthday.”

“
Oh my, how—” Mrs. Pinnings’ eyes widened on the statue “—lovely. You really didn’t have…” Her small voice dwindled as she went up onto her tiptoes, looking over Kate’s shoulder. “Is that…Alexander’s car?”

“
Well, here’s a funny story,” Kate said, moving to block Mrs. Pinnings as she tried to press past. “You see, the thing is—”

“
Why, it is Alexander.” Mrs. Pinnings’ hand shot up in a small wave.

Kate peeked around to find him striding up the path. What had happened to her
minute
before he intruded?

“
Dora, you look well,” he greeted, pushing his sunglasses into his hair. “I’m sorry to arrive unannounced. We were in the area and thought we’d stop in to wish you a happy birthday.”

“
Why, that is so thoughtful of you.” Mrs. Pinnings clasped her free hand over her bosom. “Goodness, how rude of me to keep you standing on the doorstep.” She stepped back into the hallway. “Do come inside.”

Kate rushed forward. “
Mrs. Pinnings, could I have a quick word with you?”

Mrs. Pinnings nodded, her gaze darting from Kate to Alexander. “
I didn’t realise you two knew each other.”

“
We didn’t,” Alexander said, moving in behind Kate, “until very recently.”

“
That word?” Kate tugged on the woman’s arm. “In private? It’s important,” she stressed.

“
Go ahead,” Alexander said. “I’ll wait here.”

“
Nonsense,” declared Mrs. Pinnings firmly. “I’ve never left a guest stranded in the hallway and I’m not about to start today.” She ushered them along the passage and into a front parlour, seemingly unaware of the cat still tucked under her arm as she offered drinks all around.

Kate
’s head was about to explode. “I’m fine, thanks.”

“
Coffee would be great, Dora.”

“
I won’t be a tick,” Mrs. Pinnings said, gesturing at the arrangement of sofas. “Please, make yourself comfortable.”

“
I think…” Kate headed for the door, her eyes on the carpet. “I think I’ll just go and help make the coffee.”

“
Why don’t you do that?” he said, his voice a low, sensual rumble, at complete odds with the abrasive sentiment underpinning that suggestion.

Kate shook off the urge to look at him, to search those piercing grey eyes for a clue as to which one it was. What did it matter? They were done.

She passed two closed doors, finding the kitchen at the end of the short passage. Mrs. Pinnings stood over the sink, filling the kettle. The cat had been deposited on the window ledge, its silhouette casting an elongated shadow over the counter, across the strip of vinyl floor and up along the opposite wall. Dominating the small space very much like the man responsible for its purchase dominated Kate’s thoughts and senses.

The faucet shut off, but Mrs. Pinnings didn
’t immediately turn around. She returned the kettle to a circular base beside the sink and flicked it on, then reached up to collect a mug from a shelf.

Kate stepped deeper into the kitchen and cleared her throat.

Mrs. Pinnings spun about with a look of surprise.

Kate grimaced. “
Mrs. Pinnings, I really need to talk to you.”

“
Yes, of course.” She set the mug down and folded her arms. “I’m sorry, Kate. I seem to be awfully flustered at the moment. I didn’t expect—”

“
I’m the one who’s sorry,” Kate inserted with another grimace. “We shouldn’t have barged in like this, especially on your birthday.”

“
My birthday was yesterday.” She moved back, leaning a hip against the counter. “Is something wrong that brought you and Alexander here? Has anything happened?”