Free Suspicious Ways by Lexxie Couper Page A

studied her, completely uncertain about what to say. What did she want to hear?
    What did he want to say?
    There was no point in denying he wanted her. To say he was sexually attracted to her was like saying hell was hot—an accurate statement, but a ridiculous understatement as well. Every fiber in his body hungered for her. Every second, his mind replayed the amazing bliss of their kisses, their lovemaking. But where would that take them?
    Had he unconsciously come back hoping to begin a life with her? The life he’d fooled himself into believing he hadn’t craved for all these years?
    She regarded him from across the table, the wry smile back on her lips as she waited for his response. “Is it that hard a question?”
    He gave a short snort. “Yes.”
    “Would you like to phone a friend?”
    Jack laughed. “That depends on your definition of friend . If I phone Turps, I’d get a completely different answer than if I phoned you.”
    “Ahh.” She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if you’re allowed to call me friend yet. I think you’re still in the sin-bin.”
    “So I guess if I called you, you wouldn’t give me the million-dollar answer then?”
    “Probably not.”
    Jack raised his glass. “Better call Turps, then.”
    Ali’s soft laugh played like liquid heat over his senses, making his blood run hot. Damn, he was in deep.
    “So tell me about your latest design,” she said, eyes shining with mirth as she changed the subject.
    Jack’s heart thumped hard, his head suddenly filling with a thoroughly distracting image of Ali lying completely naked across his drawing table, her intoxicating body mapped out and labeled in blue, indelible ink for his creative inspection.
    He squirmed a little in his seat, clearing his throat. “I’m working on the MK-III, a maxi-class racer that will outclass every other round-the-world-yacht currently available.” A self-deprecating snort escaped him. “Even if I do say so myself.”
    “I’d love to sail around the world.” Ali sighed, her eyes becoming dreamy. “Just take off for twelve months, living each day for the day. Nothing to worry about except where to put port to buy the sunblock.”
    Jack sucked in a swift breath. What would it be like to spend day after day, night after night with Ali aboard Suspicious Ways ? Just the two of them? Rediscovering each other’s bodies in the intimate confines of his yacht…smoothing lotion into her sun-kissed limbs, his hands roaming the dips and curves of her—
    “So, is it good?”
    “Huh?” Jack started, his mind jerked away from the intoxicating image reeling through it. Ali studied him, one dark eyebrow raised.
    “The lobster? Is it good?”
    He glanced at his barely touched plate. “It’s not too bad.”
    “Dad loved lobster,” Ali’s voice softened. “It was his favorite dish.”
    Jack laughed. “I remember. We’d sail to the Glebe fish markets every Wednesday evening after the harbor race, just so he could buy it fresh. He could devour a kilo of prawns in less than an hour.”
    Her eyes became distant. Sad. “I miss him. Being on Wind Seeker hasn’t been the same since the funeral.” She flicked a look at Jack, silent for a long moment. “For more reasons than one.”
    “Ali, I…” Jack stopped, the words locked in his throat. They had never spoken about what had happened aboard Wind Seeker the night of Andrew’s funeral. Even four years later, he wasn’t sure what had come over him that night.
    What could he say now? That after he’d made love to her so fiercely, when she’d been so vulnerable, he couldn’t live with himself? That the self-disgust that had filled him when he thought about how he’d taken advantage of her made him physically sick? That he’d violated any trust Andrew Graham had in him?
    That no matter what he did, where he moved to, who he slept with, he couldn’t get her out of his head?
    “I can never forgive you for disappearing like you did after…after the