Maid of Dishonour. Heidi Rice

      FOUR

      Carter Price blinked eyes gritty from jet lag after his flight from Russia that afternoon, the fog in his brain blown off course by the pulse of heat in his gut.

      After ten years of denial, the two-line message the receptionist had handed him had confused him—and shaken him a little. More than a little if he was being entirely honest. He’d thought about Gina Carrington way too much over the years. So the sight of her dashing towards the exit doors had an effect on his senses somewhere in the region of a category five hurricane.

      She looked hotter than he remembered her. And he remembered a lot. The beestung lips, the wide green, slightly slanting eyes, the mass of chestnut hair that had tumbled over her shoulders in riotous curls back then, but was now piled on top of her head, making his fingers itch to send it tumbling again. Her tall, slender figure had filled out some since her college days—her high breasts were fuller, her hips more generous, and her legs looked never-ending in the ice-pick heels. The overall effect made all those lush curves even more mouth-watering.

      He’d dated a lot of women since popping his cherry with Gina Carrington, and divorcing his wife, most of them a lot more conventionally beautiful—but not one of them oozed pure, unadulterated sex the way Gina did. Or sent a right hook to his senses with a single whiff of their spicy, sultry scent.

      He shook off the thought as she perched on a bar stool.

      Get your mind out of your pants.

      Boy, did he need ten hours straight—he really had to be losing it if he was fantasising about the woman who had once blown his life to smithereens.

      Not that he blamed her for that. He’d been like a firecracker, waiting to explode. All she’d done was light the fuse.

      He caught the barman’s attention. ‘What’ll it be?’ he asked Gina.

      ‘Club soda.’

      ‘Make mine a Sam Adams,’ he added, propping himself on the stool beside her.

      He watched her throat bob as she swallowed heavily—and felt the surge of satisfaction. She seemed a little jumpy—and she’d definitely been planning to run out on him. Which gave him the upper hand. He made a habit now of never being at a disadvantage with women—and that went double for this woman, because she’d once had him at the biggest disadvantage of all.

      But there had been a whole lot of water under the bridge, not to mention ladies in his bed, since that night. And he wasn’t that lust-driven sex-deprived delusional kid any more. His pulse spiked as she pursed her full lips around the straw in her club soda and sucked.

      He took a sip of the yeasty micro-beer.

      Relax.

      So what if he had some lingering lust issues where Gina Carrington was concerned? He had the control not to act on them now. Or at least not straight away. Not until he knew the score. His gaze skimmed over the silky dress and noticed how her magnificent rack rose and fell in staggered rhythm against the snug bodice.

      Yeah, definitely edgy. A gratifying change from their first meeting, when she’d had all the moves and he’d been the one playing catch-up.

      He took a long draft of his beer and waited for her to speak. She’d been the one to contact him, after all.

      She glugged down a good portion of the soda, getting more jumpy by the second, but didn’t elaborate, so he decided to push it. Her note hadn’t exactly given much away. ‘So I hear you’ve got your own business—website development and social-media strategy, right?’

      Her eyes darted to his, the wary look gratifying. ‘How do you know that?’

      He shrugged. ‘I’ve been thinking of investing in a social-media strategist for the mill. Your name came up in the research we did.’

      And after the shock of seeing her name on the report, he’d looked her up on the Internet and discovered she was now living in the U.S. Not that he planned to tell her that.

      Once he and Missy had called it quits, he’d been able to let go of the guilt over his night with Gina, and how much it had snuck into his dreams during the years of his marriage.

      Given his current reaction to Gina, it was clear guilt wasn’t the problem any more.

      ‘Nice site, by the way,’ he added. ‘Clean and clear, and you’ve got some great testimonials there.’

      ‘Thank you.’ She watched him intently and he noticed the beguiling flecks of gold in the green of her irises.

      ‘Is that why you contacted me?’ He pushed some more.

      Her eyebrows launched up her forehead. ‘God, no! I’m not that desperate for new business.’

      He grinned at her outraged denial, surprised to realise he was glad she hadn’t gotten in touch just to tout for business. She took another long sip of the soda, but didn’t say anything else. ‘Then you’re gonna have to give me a hint—because your message was kind of cryptic.’

      She let out a puff of breath. ‘Right.’ She faced him, her long legs crossed at the knees and her short dress riding up to display a distracting amount of toned, lightly tanned thigh.

      ‘I was having coffee with Marnie this morning and saw your text message,’ she began. ‘When I discovered you were going to be in town for the week, I decided to take the opportunity to...’ She hesitated. ‘To come here and apologise for what I did to you ten years ago.’ The last bit came out in a rush as if she’d had to push the words out.

      The heat kicked harder in his gut. She looked totally sincere. Was she actually serious? And what the hell had brought this on, ten years after the event?

      ‘You’re gonna have to be a lot more specific,’ he said, exhilarated when her eyes flashed with annoyance. It felt good to have this particular woman at this much of a disadvantage. ‘Because as I recall we did a lot of things that night.’

      * * *

      Gina’s temper simmered at the wry comment. Was he making fun of her? And if so why? The failure of his marriage was hardly a joking matter, surely?

      ‘I’m apologising for all of it,’ she said, more sharply than she had intended when his lips twisted with amusement. ‘For seducing you, and taking your virginity and ruining your marriage.’

      The glass he’d been lifting to his lips hit the bar with a snap as his brows shot towards his hairline. ‘You have got to be kidding me?’ A choked chuckle burst out.

      ‘Actually I’m not.’ The retort did nothing to cut through the rumble of incredulous laughter. ‘I’m sincerely sorry for what I did to you.’

      Heat spread across her chest as he continued to chuckle.

      She lifted her purse off the bar, slid off her stool, the sincerity of her apology drowning in a puddle of humiliation. She’d made a twit of herself; time to make a dignified exit. ‘I should go. Thanks for the drink, Carter.’

      But as she went to walk past him strong fingers snagged her wrist. ‘Where are you off to in such a hurry?’

      ‘I’m leaving. Obviously this was a mistake.’ She twisted her arm; his fingers tightened.

      ‘Not