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Nina Breslin gripped the long strap of her handbag, deterive herself away As it was, her abs were tauter than Super the concrete at an accelerated pace Though that could be explained away by necessary haste, right? She had a train to catch
He shouldn’t be there Until now, she’d only seen hi weekdays and well before the co, not super-early like when she usually saw hily encasing his long legs, but ink-blue jeans Even -sleeved tee that ski, leather-belted jeans
That’s why she had to grip her bag strap so hard, because the tee revealed what his th The breadth of his shoulders and the curves of his biceps, triceps, and those other muscles she didn’t know the names of were clearly discernible Not too- lis—and he had plenty—were honed to max their potential He looked like the statue of an ancient Greek athlete come to life
But while his tall, striking presence commanded attention, he didn’t offer the same courtesy in return Instead, he stood aloof, never directly engaging with those so irresistibly drawn to admire his ance she avoided outside of work She had to deal with his kind all day Intelligent, successful o blow stupid ane in lap bars at lunchtime But with his aura of untouchability, this one took it to a whole other level Without words orhis place in an upper echelon No doubt he had extreme success in it all—looks, wealth, work, and of course, sex
But she wasn’t giving hi he had yet another fe herself in the corner as she watched hie to run her hand through her hair, despite the awareness tingling over her scalp
She’d read the body language book only yesterday during the few quiet spells at work Heavy on diagra sales techniques” section that was supposed to help up her co out on the Continent But of course, she’d flipped to the “courtship and irl needed to be armed with info of the “Is he into you” variety—especially when one’s perception was as far removed froe to preen, but she wasn’t going to succuy, anyway For teeks, she’d passed hi on her way to the Baker Street Tube station and he’d not once glanced her way
She was stupidly piqued by that—another nail in her self-confidence coffin He wasn’t her type—truly—but even so, part of her wanted him to notice She pushed fe her hand to her hair and exposing her breasts to his gaze in the process It was htened Such a strong sexual attraction to a re—the desire to ene pool and preserve the species Utterly cave-girl of her
Uh-huh She’d lost it
Fortunately, he’d be gone in a second Every day he stood on the path for a few stunningblack car pulled up and paused only long enough for hi with the masses on public transport for him
Nina expected the sine would pass her in two seconds Except as she watched behind her big sunglasses, the guy stopped on the pave impassively down the street toward her And then he turned and actually started to walk
While billboard perfection when standing still, when erous animal that’d be invincible should he decide to pounce—the kind who only had to fix you in his sights to have you immobile and in thrall
Nina didn’t have time to be i her lips together to stop the sot into the station he was taking a ticket froh the turnstiles and striding down the escalator
Nina swiped her weekly pass and went past the tiles with their distinctive Sherlock Holmes silhouette—her s to France and Germany and beyond? She still had to pinch herself to believe it r />
The roaring sound grew louder as the escalator descended She knehat it meant—a train had just pulled in Her heels clattered as she walked faster As she got to the platforlanced at the board to check the destination Already the recordedDa to be ten minutes until the next
She ran She couldn’t be late, she was solo at work today and even though it was Sunday there was money to be made and every penny would help her Euro-trip last a few days longer Thethe doors were about to close, but she was threewasn’t one of her abilities
“Nooo,” Nina groaned, still running even though she kneas useless
Through the , the crowd on the carriage didn’t notice her—staring up, doay from anyone else’s eyes, already in the insular, determinedly isolated poses that only public transport could induce Nina stared, wishing she were one of them
She stopped as the doors slid closed Because there he was, right inside the doorway of the nearest carriage How typical he’d have lared at the edge of the platfor bad words beneath her breath As she did, the doors , screechy sound the way they did when soain—open Her jaw dropped open when she saw the obstacle in the way of the door was a broad shoulder—his broad shoulder
She didn’t et on board A second later it was a driver’s voice—not a recorded ers to please stand clear of the doors The gorgeous guy straightened up, no longerthe barrier that had helped her
Surprised—and thrilled—at his gesture, she smiled at him “Thank—”
Her voice died So did her brain She totally forgot what she’d been saying because she saw he’d taken his sunglasses off All she could do was stare as a different thrill shivered down her spine and sent her heart dru into overdrive
She’d ilossy and dark and chocolaty They weren’t They were blue Brighter than a kingfisher’s wing, yet cooler than a ht, they were pale And right now they regarded her intensely Startled at the unexpected help he’d offered, she kept staring at the unexpected lightness in his eyes
His lips curved, ever so slowly, and then that s the clinical, drilling assessment “You’re welcome”
Oh dear heaven, he was foreign Not “boring” foreign like her But speak-another-language foreign—his English lilted and tilted and intrigued Hopeless at identifying accents, Nina reckoned he could be from any land where the Mediterranean lapped There armth in his words and smile and tone thatoil
She rapidly blinked No need to get giddy about it—she could get a grip She was off to the Continent in a little over a week and eous men on every street corner More attainable ones hopefully—this guy was in another realm
The train raced through the tunnel and Nina grabbed the steel pole at the opposite side of the door to him