Desire: A Cariad Romance Three Book Bundle Read online

  Annalise laughed.

  ‘My last name is Berger. And, all of the above. I’m freelance, so theoretically anyone who will pay me.’

  Damien nodded. ‘I hear ya. So what time is your flight?’

  Annalise looked at her watch. ‘Oh, I have about an hour yet. Why?’

  ‘I’m due a break. Wanna go and grab a drink and a snack? I’d love to hear more about your travels.’

  ‘Um, sure.’ She sure hadn’t been expecting that, but she was more than happy to spend more time chatting with him.

  Damien went to let his colleague know he was going for his break, then he and Annalise headed out of the bookshop.

  ‘Well,’ Damien said, glancing across at Annalise as they walked side by side, ‘I guess you know this airport better than me, so where’s the best place to go?’

  Annalise laughed. ‘There’s not really that much choice, but I just fancy a muffin and a drink, so is the cafe OK?’

  ‘Fine by me. Chocolate?’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘A chocolate muffin?’

  ‘I don’t know yet. I’ll see what’s on offer. Why?’ She resisted the urge to hide her stomach behind her hands. Did he think she looked like she ate a lot of chocolate?

  ‘Oh, it’s my first choice every time. I just wondered if you were a fellow chocoholic as well as bookworm and travel lover.’

  Annalise grinned. Damien had obviously clocked on to the fact that they had a lot in common, too. She said nothing, the sound of her heels the only noise that came from either of them until they reached the cafe.

  Moving towards the end of the mercifully short queue, Annalise instinctively started looking around at the tables to see if any were free, or if people looked like they were almost done. She was so engrossed in her task that she jumped when Damien’s voice came from close behind her.

  ‘Quick,’ he said, his arm reaching over her shoulder and pointing. ‘They’re leaving. Go grab that table. What are you having?’

  Damien’s close proximity meant she could feel the heat of his body, as well as getting another whiff of that gorgeous scent he was wearing. She forced her response out of her mouth before he thought she was an indecisive weirdo.

  ‘White coffee, two sugars, and a muffin please.’ She started to edge towards the family vacating their table. She didn’t want to dash right up and look like she was literally jumping into their seats. Although that’s exactly what she was going to do.

  ‘What flavour?’ Damien asked while she was still in earshot.

  ‘Chocolate!’ she shot back over her shoulder as she moved quickly towards the now-empty table. She couldn’t help grinning. She’d had no intention of having any flavour of muffin that wasn’t chocolate. She’d just felt a little defensive when he’d assumed. But then he’d ’fessed up to being a chocoholic himself. That changed things.

  It also made him even more fabulous. Intelligence, books, travel, chocolate; he ticked all the boxes, so far. And he was a cutie to boot.

  She pulled out a chair and checked it for crumbs – or worse – before sitting down. Then she glanced back across the cafe towards Damien, who was just tucking his wallet back into his pocket. A strand of his hair had escaped from his hairband and he made the adorable tucking-behind-the-ears motion again before picking up the tray with their drinks and muffins. He looked straight at Annalise as he walked towards the table. When he saw she was looking, he glanced down at the chocolate muffins, back at her and wiggled his eyebrows, making her giggle.

  She was still giggling as Damien put the tray on the table, pulled out the chair opposite her, also checking it was clean, and sat down. He looked at her, an amused expression on his face, and the faintest hint of the dimple appearing in his cheek.

  ‘Something amusing you, madam?’

  ‘You know full well, sir.’

  Damien laughed. ‘Here, take your muffin before I eat them both.’

  ‘You wouldn’t deprive a fellow chocoholic from her fix now, would you? Especially since all I’ve got to look forward to in the next few hours is a crap airplane meal.’

  Unloading the contents of the tray onto the table, he then propped it up against the table leg. Then he slid one of the muffin-laden plates towards her, as well as a napkin.

  ‘You’re right, of course. I would never deprive a lady.’

  Annalise couldn’t help but pick up the double entendre in his words. She sincerely doubted he’d meant anything by it, especially since it was a pretty lame play on words. He could undoubtedly do much better than that. The trouble was, Damien was sparking her brain as well as her body and making her read too much into what he said. And she was so out of touch that she had no idea if he liked her as more than a friend. The annoying thing was, if she was just trying to pick him up for a quick knee-trembler or one-nighter, she’d be pretty blatant about her intentions and know one way or another if he wanted her. But this was different. She liked him, and although she was definitely not averse to jumping his bones, she wanted more than that.

  Annalise suddenly wished she could speak to her best friend, Tammy, and get her advice. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Tammy was in the military, and currently on a six-month tour of Afghanistan with only occasional contact by email. She had a pretty good handle on men and their minds – given she spent so much time around so many of them – but there was a good chance that even if Annalise emailed her, by the time she got a response, the moment would have passed. No, Annalise would have to deal with this one on her own.

  ‘You OK?’ Damien asked, interrupting her train of thought. ‘You’ve gone all quiet. And you haven’t even touched your muffin! I’d be happy to take it off your hands if you’ve lost your appetite.’

  She playfully slapped the hand he’d reached across the table. ‘Back off. This one’s mine.’

  Their eyes met, and Annalise felt her heart skip a beat at the intense look on his face. Particularly as she’d been expecting him to be grinning at their silly joke, rather than looking all serious. A couple of seconds passed, then Damien awkwardly dropped his gaze and became incredibly interested in his muffin. Annalise raised an eyebrow and reached for her own bundle of calorie-stuffed goodness and started to eat.

  Now, she thought, that terrible double entendre was probably accidental, but that look definitely wasn’t. Either he really wanted her muffin, or he liked her.

  A little smile tugged at the corner of Annalise’s mouth, then quickly died. Even if he did like her, what next? She didn’t have the guts to ask him out. What if she’d got it totally wrong and he was just being friendly? What if he had a girlfriend? She was quite sure she’d die of embarrassment. Not literally, obviously, but still ... she went into that bookshop every time she left on a new trip, there was no way she’d be able to show her face in there again if he turned her down. And then where would she go? Oh, Tammy. What would you do?

  ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ Damien said, looking at her with concern. ‘I’m not boring you, am I?’

  ‘No!’ she said, a little too forcefully, resulting in a few strange looks and frowns from people on nearby tables. She blushed and lowered her voice. ‘Sorry, I mean no, of course not. I’ve just got a lot on my mind, with the trip and stuff. I can never relax properly when I know I’ve got a plane to catch. Even though I always get here in plenty of time, I’m always paranoid that somehow I’m not going to hear the gate number being announced or something, and end up being the one that holds up the plane. I hate being late. I’m sorry if I’m being weird.’

  The words came out of her mouth with no hesitation, which made the lie completely convincing. Of course, it wasn’t a total lie; she really did think and feel that way. But she couldn’t exactly tell him the complete truth, could she? That she fancied the pants off him but was too shit scared to ask him out on a date. That would be the most humiliating conversation ever.

  ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘just try and relax for a little while. Look at that information screen. Your flight’s the fourth one down on the list, for a guess. Am I right?’

  Annalise twisted around in her seat to look at the screen he was indicating. ‘Yep, that’s me.’

  ‘Well then, you have a while to go. I promise faithfully to keep an eye on that screen and let you know the minute your gate number is announced. Deal?’

  ‘Deal.’

  They grinned at one another across the table and tucked into their muffins simultaneously. For a while they ate in companionable silence. Damien finished his snack first and announced his extreme appreciation before taking a sip of his drink and wiping his mouth thoroughly with his napkin.

  Annalise couldn’t resist. Washing down the remaining crumbs of her muffin with a sip of coffee, she swallowed, and said, ‘You missed a bit.’

  Damien’s eyes widened with surprise. ‘I did?’ He swiped furiously at his face with a clean paper tissue, seemingly determined to remove the stray crumbs.

  Annalise bit her inside lip to keep from laughing.

  ‘Has it gone?’ Damien said, moving his head from side to side so she could see the non-existent chocolate.

  ‘Nope,’ she said, barely suppressing her laughter. ‘It’s still there.’

  ‘Show me, please. I can’t walk about looking like this.’

  You look pretty fine to me, Annalise thought. She reached out and grabbed his wrist to direct him to the imaginary mess on his face. As their skin made contact, Damien looked her in the eye, waiting for her to move. Annalise froze. His intense gaze was making her heart thump almost painfully, and sending hormones racing through her body. She felt her pussy leaking juices onto the gusset of her thong, and could barely believe what was happening.

  What on earth was it about this man that was making her react this way? They’d done nothing even remotely sexual and yet she was getting so horny that if he suggested a trip to the toilets, or even the back room of the bookshop she’d say yes in a heartbeat.

  Not that he would, of course. He was a nice guy, not someone who was likely to suggest seedy encounters in toilets or back rooms. But it didn’t stop her wanting to fuck him.

  Suddenly realising that she was still gripping his wrist, Annalise snatched her hand away before Damien began to consider filing a restraining order. Her movement snapped them both out of their “weird moment” and Damien dabbed absentmindedly at his lips a couple more times before dropping the napkin on the table, the non-existent smudge on his face seemingly forgotten.

  This time the silence wasn’t companionable. It was downright awkward. They sipped at their drinks, glancing at each other occasionally before looking away. Annalise could have screamed with frustration. They were behaving like immature teenagers. The only consolation Annalise took from their furtive idiocy was the fact that it wouldn’t be happening if there wasn’t something between them. It was a tiny consolation, granted, but it made her feel a bit better and spurred her on to rescue their conversation before things became so strained they gave up on one another as a lost cause.

  ‘So …’ Annalise said, a little too brightly, ‘tell me more about yourself. I only know the bare minimum, and I don’t usually have coffee and chocolate muffins with strange guys.’

  Annalise noticed Damien’s shoulders sag with relief at the conversational lifeline she’d thrown.

  ‘Who are you calling strange?’ His dimple appeared again as he smiled, and Annalise’s instant reaction was to smile back. Her heart did a flip-flop. She had a feeling that his smile would always have that effect on her. Mercifully, Damien’s silly joke had caused the weird atmosphere to evaporate, and he started to talk. He told her about himself, his life, his hobbies; it was as if the awkwardness had never existed.

  Annalise had no idea how long they’d been sitting laughing and exchanging anecdotes, until suddenly Damien’s gaze moved away from her and focussed on something in the distance. His expression changed, and sent a lump of panic into Annalise’s throat.

  ‘Oh fuck, am I late?’ She necked the remainder of her – almost cold – coffee, stood up and started gathering her things together hastily.

  ‘No, no, not yet,’ Damien said. ‘It’s the second call for your gate. I obviously missed the first one. I’m so sorry. But they’re not calling your name yet, so it’s all good.’

  ‘Shit,’ Annalise said, scrambling to open her bag and retrieve her purse. ‘I owe you for the coffee and muffin.’

  Standing, Damien put his hand over hers. ‘Don’t worry about it, consider it my treat.’

  Glancing over at the information screen, the blinking letters beside her flight sent a fresh rush of panic coursing through her. ‘I’m so sorry Damien, I have to run.’

  ‘I know, I know. Just go. Do you have everything?’

  Looking around wildly, Annalise nodded.

  ‘I do.’ She was torn. There was so much she wanted to say. They hadn’t exchanged numbers, emails or anything. Once they’d started talking again, there hadn’t been a pause until Damien had happened to check the information screen. And thank God he had.

  ‘I really have to go. I’ll catch up with you later, yeah? Next muffin’s on me.’

  Damien smiled. ‘Looking forward to it. Now go.’

  Pausing momentarily, Annalise wondered whether to kiss him goodbye or not. Not a full on kiss, of course, but just a peck. It was such a cliché, but she knew she’d kick herself if she didn’t. Oh, what the hell.

  She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, causing them both to blush. Then she said quietly, ‘See you soon.’

  Turning away from Damien, she walked as fast as she reasonably could in heels in the direction of her departure gate. She only hoped her last words were true.

  Mentally shaking herself, she thought, of course you’ll see him soon, you idiot. You’re at this damn airport all the time. And he works here. Stop being such a wuss. It’ll work out.

  She joined the back of the queue of passengers boarding the flight and retrieved her passport and boarding card from her bag. Heaving a sigh of relief, she told herself that just because she was the last passenger to board, didn’t mean she was late. She wasn’t holding up the plane. Everything was fine.

  Finally, she settled into her window seat – after the terrible embarrassment of having to ask people to move so she could sit down – and shucked off her shoes. She retrieved her Kindle from her bag and put it on her lap, before stuffing the bag under the seat in front of her.

  As an image of Damien’s face and intense green eyes flashed through her mind, Annalise thanked her lucky stars that she’d loaded her Kindle with several new books before leaving for this trip. It was going to be a long flight.

  Chapter Three

  Emerging from the taxi, Annalise quickly slipped her sunglasses down from where they’d been perched on her head into their rightful position. It was late in the day so it wasn’t too hot, but it sure was sunny. She turned to where the taxi driver was retrieving her bag from the boot of the car. He slammed the lid then began happily walking towards the front doors of the hotel with her bag.

  ‘It’s OK,’ she said, waving to get his attention, ‘I can carry it. It’s fine, honestly.’

  She might as well have been talking to the wall. The man simply kept smiling and said, ‘Is no problem. Really.’

  Annalise stopped herself from rolling her eyes. He was only being polite, after all. She went to most places alone, and was used to doing things for herself. She wasn’t being ungrateful. She followed the driver without another word until they were in front of the reception desk, where he carefully deposited her bag on the floor. Annalise crouched down to reach inside for her purse, where she pulled out a note and handed it to the driver.

  His eyes widened as he took it, and he said, ‘I get you change.’

  ‘No,’ Annalise replied, gently. ‘Keep the change. Thank you.’

  He opened his mouth to protest, but a look and a raised eyebrow from Annalise stopped him. ‘Thank you, Miss. Have a nice trip. I maybe see you when you go home?’

  ‘Maybe.’ Annalise grinned. She took so many trips to foreign countries a year, and yet she still couldn’t get used to the mannerisms and friendliness. Back home, neighbours passed in the street without speaking. She gave the driver a wave as he left, then turned to the reception desk ready to check in. She was greeted by another smiling face. It was infectious, and she found her mood lifting. She wasn’t feeling grumpy, as such, it was just that even the short flight she’d just taken had made her feel travel weary. Now she was starting to perk up a little and she genuinely felt happy that she was here. Yes, it was work – despite all her mother’s comments to the contrary – but she loved it. She couldn’t relax in the same way she did when on holiday, as she was always on the lookout for things to include in her articles, but it certainly wasn’t all bad.

  It would be better if Damien were here, though. The thought entered her head completely out of the blue. Once there, however, she couldn’t seem to get rid of it. She shoved it to the back of her mind as she went through the hotel’s check-in process, then thanked the receptionist and made to leave for her room. Before she could pick up her bag, an enthusiastic young bellhop had grabbed it and was walking in front of her to call the lift. Annalise gritted her teeth. It looked as though she’d have to wait a little longer to be alone with her thoughts.

  Sliding the plastic card into the slot in the door, she heaved a sigh of relief when the light flashed green. These things could be so temperamental, but she’d obviously got the knack of it over the years. She relieved the bellhop of her bag, tipped him and practically ran into her room, shutting and locking the door behind her.

  Ahh. It was so nice to be alone at last. Now, where was she? Oh yes, Damien had popped into her head at the most unexpected moment. Annalise looked at her watch. It was hard to believe they’d only met a few hours ago, and yet she’d struggled to concentrate on her book on the flight because she was thinking about him, and now here he was again, invading her thoughts. Bloody man.