Shuffle (Ruby Riot #2) (10 page)

Chapter Eighteen

FLEUR

The meeting with Shaun begins the same as any other. Light, chatty, professional. No mention of kissing. I’d steeled myself and worn extra foundation to disguise the inevitable blushing that will happen. I’d emailed Shaun part of my dissertation to read over, and he’s genuinely impressed, told me I had ideas he’d not considered, which took the paper in a unique direction. His praise for my work thrilled me as much as telling me he wanted to kiss me.

Shaun thinks I’m clever and attractive.

Ready to leave, I’m still talking through some of my concepts when I reach the door. Then pause, aware of Shaun’s silence. The tension seeps out again and I glance up. His eyes are trained on my face; I don’t think he’s listening.

“I need to apologise to you,” he says.

“What for?”

“Propositioning you.”

I smile at his antiquated expression. “You didn’t. Sorry I behaved like a silly girl.”

“You didn’t.”

The heaviness doesn’t drop. “That’s fine. All forgotten.”

He sighs. “Is this because of the rock star? The Ruby Riot guy who studies with you? I heard the rumours.”

Rumours? Crap. “No. He doesn’t study with me. Not anymore.”

“Is he the one who upset you? The other day? Do I have to challenge him to a duel? Protect your honour?” He smiles the Shaun heart-gripping smile.

“He propositioned me, but not as eloquently as you did.”

“I bet he wasn’t! I hope you turned him down.”

“Do I look like I’d be interested in a rock star?”

“You know what they say, opposites attract. You never know, underneath all that he could be a gentle, loving guy who enjoys long walks in the park and reads books.”

I snort at the idea, despite the fact I’ve seen Nate’s gentle side. “And you could be an egotistical dickhead who tells me he wants to fuck me on the desk.”

As soon as the words are out, I slap my hand over my mouth. That was supposed to be a joke, but it came out very badly. Luckily, Shaun takes the comment in his stride and my language doesn’t shock him.

“I could see why that might upset you if that’s what he said, Fleur. I think he misjudged you totally.”

“Exactly.” I shrug my bag strap onto my shoulder; no way is this foundation hiding the red beacon, which is my face right now.

“But I would like to ask you out.”

“Oh.”

“There’s a new Thai place. Spice Temple, 7p.m.?”

“Um.” He steps closer and I swallow. Now what do I do? “Why me?”

“Because I like you. You’re smart. Funny. Different.”

“Are we allowed to go out together?”

Shaun laughs. “Yes, 7 p.m.”

“Okay. Right. Meet you there?”

“Sure.” As I head out of the door, he calls my name and I glance back. “I’ll make sure I buy you flowers before I ask you to fuck me on the desk. The rock star did things in the wrong order.”

If Shaun hadn’t ended that comment with a laugh, he’d be waiting a long time to meet me tonight.

****

WILL

A pissed off Tegan slams cupboard doors in the kitchen of our small house and I watch warily. She might be able to help.

“Hey, Tegan. You’re a chick, right?”

She turns and frowns. “You need to ask me that question?”

“Yeah, sorry. I mean, if I’ve pissed a girl off, and she won’t talk to me, what should I do?”

“Are you asking me for relationship advice?”

“Um. No. Me and her, we’re not like... dating, but she helped me with something. I want to thank her and she won’t talk to me.”

Tegan stares as if I’m speaking a foreign language. “Since when were you and your brother interested in what girls think of you?”


Since Fleur.


“I’m not, just want to thank her.”


“Uh huh. I don’t know. Buy her some flowers.” She pours a glass of water and gulps down the contents. “Tell Jax I’ll see him later.”


Before I can respond, Tegan slams the glass on the counter and glides past me, grabbing her phone from the table on the way past. The door slams as she leaves the house. A couple of minutes later, a hassled looking Jax appears at the foot of the stairs.


“Has Tegan gone out?”


“Yeah. What did you do this time?”


“Said something I shouldn’t. As usual. Man, what am I supposed to do?”


My mouth twitches into a smile. “Buy her some flowers?”

****

FLEUR

When the large bunch of pink roses arrives at the house, I panic. If Shaun bought me flowers, is that a not-so-subtle hint? After what he said when I left the room today, I’m wary.

Until I read the card.

‘Thanks for the help with my paper. Sorry about my behaviour the other night. Can I please explain?’

Unsigned, but no prizes for guessing who.

I fight a smug smile. A rock star bought me flowers. Nate Campbell bought me a bunch of roses.

Anne points at them. “Secret admirer?”

No way am I telling Anne they’re from Nate and giving fuel for her fire. “Looks like it.” I grab the card and fold it, pushing it into my pocket.

“You’re dressed up, where are you going?”

I look down at my short blue dress, teamed with a yellow cardigan. “Hardly.”

She points at my face. “You have lipstick on. And is that mascara?”

“I often wear make-up!”

She purses her lips for a moment. “Oh! Are you going on a date? With history dude?”

“Maybe. Yes.”

“Nice.” She grins. “Where?”

“Spice Room.”

“Even nicer! A bit pricier than Curryleaf.”

“Is it?”

“I guess he wants to impress you.”

“I guess.”

“Enjoy!” Anne shoves me towards the front door. “And I want a picture. Is he hot? Or is he a cardigan wearing nerd?”

The smile I give her is the answer. Hot? Undoubtedly. Carrying a mixture of excitement and nerves, I leave for my date.

Chapter Nineteen

FLEUR

We step out of the restaurant, and I shiver. In my eagerness to leave my house, I left my coat at home. A cardigan isn’t enough for tonight, even with the warmth flowing through from Shaun’s attention.

“Are you cold?” he asks.

“I’m fine.”

He takes one of my hands and rubs it. “You are. Here.” Shaun peels off his jacket and drapes it across my shoulders, despite my protests.

I relent, glad of the extra heat from his woollen jacket. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I was going to buy you flowers, but thought you might get the wrong idea after what I said earlier, so I’ll make this my romantic gesture.” He takes my hand and squeezes. “I’ve enjoyed tonight.”

“Me too.”

Shaun’s the perfect dinner date. Polite and interested in what I have to say, and we chatted about more than work tonight. He told stories of his time as a student, and listened to mine. We chatted about and planned an evening at the Royal Shakespeare production happening next month, and compared our favourite plays. This guy didn’t behave like a kid; he never picked vegetables out of his meal the way Nate did out of his sandwich or made loud, stupid comments.

Why am I giving time to thinking about the guy who makes a career out of humiliating me?

“I wondered, do you want to come back to mine? Seems too early to end the evening.” When I don’t reply he adds, “Or we could watch a movie. No pressure.”

Act cool.

“Sure, just for a little while. You can introduce me to your cat.”

Shaun’s place is central to Greenwich, amongst the listed Georgian houses and close to a park. Close to the bus stop, people spill out of a house with the thud of music beating through the open doorway. A small group sit on the low walls outside the large house and I don’t look over.

“They’re a pain in the arse at that house,” Shaun remarks as we approach his. “Imagine living a couple of doors down from that every night.”

“Every night?”

“Well, several times a week. This looks like a big one though.” He sighs as he pushes open the heavy door to his building. Narrow stairs lead upwards and he picks a couple of letters from the tiled floor. “Mine’s at the top.”

“How many flats are here?”

“Four. Mine isn’t exactly penthouse; but at least, I have my own place and don’t need to share.”

“Apart from with your cat.”

“Apart from my cat.”

The black cat runs toward me when we walk through the door and rubs against my legs. “Oh! She’s beautiful.”

“He. Yes.” Shaun picks up his cat and I stroke his head.

“What’s he called?”

“Ravenclaw.”

I laugh. “Clever. I take it you’re a Harry Potter fan.”

Shaun smiles. “A little.”

The lounge room and kitchen are one room in Shaun’s open plan flat, a sofa and TV at one end and a massive bookshelf dominating the wall opposite. A doorway leads to a bedroom, one I won’t be visiting tonight. “Wine?”

“Sure. I’ll have another glass of white.”

We shared a bottle at the restaurant and the light-headedness is pleasant, better than how my last night out drinking ended.

“Take a seat.” Shaun gestures at the sofa and wanders to the kitchen. Two glasses clink onto the kitchen counter and Shaun pours us wine.

From my spot amongst the cushions on his sofa, I take in my surroundings. Fine art prints cover the walls and the place is neat and clean; a far cry from the places most of my male friends share.

My kind of night, my kind of guy.

****

WILL

A girl sits on my lap, tongue and mouth all over my face and neck, but I hardly react. Nate brought us to a party way too big for the size of the house; and fed up of being crushed, I moved to the wall outside. One chick with long brown hair has decided she’s my girl for tonight and half-interested, I let her close.

The reason for my distraction walks past and my chest tightens. Fleur. Just my bloody luck that she’s coming to the party too. She’s with the guy from the other day; I guess they’re an item then. Fleur doesn’t notice me in the dusk and they don’t stop.

Another girl nearby groans as she watches him pass. “Mr. Sleaze has his next victim.” She points with her bottle at Fleur’s guy.

“What do you mean victim?”

“You know. Like you and your brother. A girl for the night.”

Her friend nudges her. “Yeah, but we know the score if we spend the night with a Campbell.”

I stop listening. Fleur isn’t the type of girl for one-night hook ups. Is she?

“The dude has a few girls then?”

“Oh yeah, never the same one twice.”

A bit like me. Guess I’m being a hypocrite by judging.

“Surprised it’s her though. That’s Flora, isn’t it?” asks one of the girl.

“Fleur,” I say.

“I wonder if she knows about his reputation?”

“Obviously not.” They giggle again. “I guess she’s about to find out.”

Never before has this happened, but my muscles stiffen and my head pounds with disgust at somebody using a girl. Hypocrite. Total fucking hypocrite. But this is Fleur. My Fleur. I blink. I mean, could be my Fleur. The chick on my lap? She knows the score. Fleur’s walking into some clever douche’s trap.

Would she screw him? I have no idea and push away the images. What if she doesn’t know what he’s like and he pushes her into something?

I’m not moving from this spot until Fleur comes back out of his place, I need to know if she’s okay.

I just bloody hope it isn’t 6 a.m. when she does.

****

FLEUR

Intelligent conversation with a charming guy is something I’ve craved. Shaun is exactly what I expected and relaxing with him is easy. He’s funny; and as time passes, his random touches of my hands and arm progress to stroking hair from my face and lingering fingers on my cheek. His warm thigh rests against mine; the subtle scent and heat from his closeness maintain the constant butterfly sensation swirling around my body and filling my chest. All I want is to kiss him before the evening ends.

He’s telling me a story but I’m not listening, captivated by the intense green of his eyes and debating whether I could make the first move. The signals are there and clear.

Shaun pauses in his story. “I’m boring you, aren’t I? You’re glazing over.”

“No, not at all.”

As Shaun shifts closer, the atmosphere in the room shifts too. He touches my lips with soft fingers. “Is it wrong I want to kiss you?”

My pulse rate hikes. “I was wondering the same thing.”

In response, Shaun’s mouth touches mine, and he doesn’t hold back. I’m drawn into a sudden, hard kiss, where he holds my head and I can’t move. I part my mouth and his tongue invades, capturing mine. The desire building all evening explodes into arousal as an aching heat begins. Man, this guy can kiss.

I pull my mouth away and suck in a breath, dizzied by the sudden intensity, and Shaun immediately switches to my neck, one hand sliding along my leg.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispers and pushes me against the arm of the sofa. His other hand moves from my waist, upwards, and he closes his fingers around one of my breasts.

Whoa.

I don’t know which hand to catch first: the one squeezing my breast or the one sneaking higher up my thigh. My inner thigh.

“Shaun,” I say, annoyed that my breathlessness could be misinterpreted. “Slow down.”

His breath comes hot and heavy against my ear as he presses me harder against the sofa, his solid body heavy against mine. “You’re beautiful, Fleur. I want you and I think you want me.”

I freeze at the cliché lines, and the teasing kisses along my collarbone no longer arouse me. “Shaun!”

His mouth crashes on mine again and he doesn’t understand that the noise I make means stop. His hot and hungry kiss continues and he slides a hand to my ass, pulling me against his obvious arousal. I grab Shaun’s head and pull his face away.

“Stop. I don’t want this!”

Shaun stills his hand and stares down at me, dark eyes filled with lust, and I’m unable to move. Not only because of his weight, but because I don’t know what to do. I’m coiled, ready to fight back in case the situation takes a dangerous turn.

Please let him stop. He wouldn’t push this. He can’t.

A muscle in his cheek twitches and Shaun sits back.

Relieved, I wriggle away and adjust where the top of my dress has slipped.

“Why not?” he asks, stroking a strand of hair from my face.

“This isn’t me. I don’t... do this.”

He cups my cheek in his hand. “Did I come on too strong? I’m sorry.” The soft look is back in Shaun’s eyes. “I’ve fought to keep my hands off you all night. The way you flirted, how you looked at me.” He strokes my cheek. “I thought you wanted the same.”

When his mouth brushes mine again, I pull my head back. “I am attracted to you, but I don’t jump into things like this. Not on a first date.”

“Not even with me?” Shaun whispers, sliding a hand around my back to pull me close. “I promise you’ll enjoy yourself.”

I place a hand on his chest, no longer interested in discovering what lies beneath his shirt. “I think we have mismatched ideas about sex.”

Shaun drags a hand through his short curls and sits back. “You’re saying no?”

“I am.”

“Right.” The lamp on the table next to us casts a soft glow across the room and his eyes shine in the dim. “Girls don’t usually say no.”

My scalp prickles at his comment. I need to leave because I have no idea what he’s capable of. What if Shaun is one of those guys who don’t understand no means no? Thinks I’m playing hard to get? I stand and brush my dress down with trembling hands. “Thanks for this evening. Maybe we’d better leave things there.”

Shaun’s demeanour shifts from easygoing to a look of disgust. “I’m not about to force myself on you, Fleur, but I am surprised.”

“Why surprised?”

Running his tongue along his teeth, Shaun sweeps a gaze along the length of my body. “I don’t think you should piss me off.”

“Why?”

“Because I have influence in the history department.”

His words confuse for a moment until they sharpen into startling clarity. “What? Are you blackmailing me into changing my mind? You can’t influence anything to do with my studies.”

“If you say so. I guess you’ll find out.”

My thumping heart speeds again and I’m disgusted at how my body yielded to him. Good thing common sense prevailed over the lust. “Wow. I totally misjudged you.”

“And I misjudged you.” He stands. “Girls like you piss me off.”

“Excuse me?”

“You expect a guy to pay for everything, do the whole romance crap, then not repay him,” he says in a low voice.

I blink. Not only is his language sometimes archaic, but his values are too. “I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”

I step back as he approaches and when he touches my face again, I recoil. My dream guy is a nightmare. “A definite no, then?”

Fighting down the fear, I grab my handbag with shaking hands and head towards his door. I can’t speak and let him hear how panicked I am. Shaun doesn’t follow me through and I don’t look back. I trip down the dimly lit stairs two at a time and burst through the building’s heavy front door into the cool air.

****

WILL

A figure appears from the house two doors down and I squint through the darkness. The orange streetlight catches the girl’s blonde hair as she hurries along the path in my direction.

Fleur.

I’ve no idea how long I’ve waited to see her leave his place. An hour at least, judging by the number of empty beer bottles lined up beside me on the low wall. The chick from earlier disappeared inside a while ago, complaining she was cold, but alcohol and a leather jacket keep me warm as I wait. Music and voices carry from inside. Nate is in the midst of the crowd somewhere. I’m alone, unusual situation for me at a party. I struggled with whether to go back inside and forget about her, but I have to know Fleur is okay.

Fleur’s halfway to running as she approaches and I stiffen. Has something happened? The bus stop is a few hundred metres from the house and her sights are fixed on there.

“Hey, Fleur,” I call out and she stops, twisting her head in my direction. “You okay?”

She pauses and steps closer. “Nate? Are you?” she asks.

“Am I what?”

“Which twin are you?”

“Which one do you want me to be?” I reply, echoing the words, which annoy her.

“Nate.”

“You want me to be Nate?”

“No, you’re obviously him because I’ve heard that line before.”