A Pinch of Thrill #2
A faint grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, his fingers, one by one, with each tiny fold, started lifting the fabric by its hem, until his hands brushed against the warmth of my skin.
Oh, God, I nearly trembled. The wisp of a smirk on his face vanished, replaced by a dark intensity I’d never seen before.
A jolt shot through me, a tangled mess of fear but also a strange curiosity that made my breath hitch.
A voice kept whispering a warning in the back of my mind, yes, now was a good time to tell him to stop, Florence , but my body ignored it, urging me closer to him.
Suddenly, the room dissolved around me. In a flash second, I was on a cool surface of the table, Miles looming above me, his grip tight on my thighs.
“Miles!” I gasped, a strangled cry escaping my lips as I shot upright in my bed like a human catapult with my palm splayed on my chest. My heart pounded against my ribs, sweat clinging to my skin.
Wait , I glanced around.
The room, bathed in the peaceful soft amber glow, looked nothing like the place I had been a second ago. No kitchen table or anyone named Miles, for that matter. No, this was just a dream. A very bad one. And with that, relief washed over me at once.
“Miles,” I muttered, pulling the covers over my head. “You son of a bitch!”
***
When it was time for dinner, I put some effort into my appearance.
I, of course, refused to believe that it had anything to do with the nightmare I’d encountered during my nap, but if I was being completely honest with myself, it might have.
“God! What is wrong with you?” I sneered at my reflection in the mirror.
My hair, stubborn waves tamed under the hot surface of the straightening iron, glided smoothly over my shoulders.
Light makeup, a touch that felt effortless, gave me a refreshingly new look.
A cold silver silk blouse, revealing just enough skin, and high-waisted trousers complimented my ‘thin’ figure—an outfit that would make my mother proud.
Boy, tonight I definitely did fit into this family.
“You.” I let out a nervous sigh, glancing one last time at the other me before heading downstairs. “Keep it cool!”
When I reached the dining room, to my surprise, there was no one there. Did I get the time wrong, or—glancing at the empty surface of the table—was this yet another horrible dream?
“Florence?” A sudden voice from behind startled me.
“Miles?” A shaky whisper escaped me as I whipped around. There he was, standing in front of me…fully dressed. “Um…what are you doing here?”
“Just came to tell you we dine in the garden.”
“Oh,” I swallowed hard, staring at him. “Thanks!”
“Are you okay? You seem a little…”
“What?” I asked, quickly regaining my composure. “Annoyed to see your face again?”
“Um…yeah. That.”
“Well then, there you go. You are an excellent judge of my true feelings—” I leaned in closer—too close—whispering, “—towards you!”
“Miles? Florence?” my mother’s voice stretched from across the room, instantly pushing us both a step further apart.
“What are you two doing here?” Shit! The last thing I needed was my mother getting the wrong idea about what was truly happening right now.
Oh, no , were we standing too close to each other?
God, I couldn’t tell for sure. Glancing at her, I really hoped she’d just move on to something else, but no, there she was, patiently waiting for our response. “Well?”
“Mum,” I began, stammering, “um…” Crap! Then, remembering all those facials I saw in his—well, my—room, I suddenly blurted out, “Um…can you believe the best skin routine advice Miles just gave me? Wow! Will you just look at his face, it’s glowing!
” Taking a nervous step back, I noticed a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Oh my God, shut up, Florence , this was never going to work.
My mother stood silent for a moment, her gaze flickering between the two of us. And I could swear a hint of a smile appeared across her lips.
“The secret is,” Miles, playing his part, thank God, added enthusiastically, “the SPF. You should never underestimate the power of a good sunscreen, Florence.”
“Right,” I drawled with a smile, raising my finger in the air as if pointing out a great idea. “I will make sure to use it next time. Thanks, Miles.” God! Did she buy it?
“You are very welcome.” He flashed me a grin, then lowered his voice to a whisper, ensuring my mother heard every word. “And sorry to hear about your itch.” What the actual fuck?
My eyes went wide. “It’s just… It’s…a little sunburn, that’s all,” I blurted at her. “Nothing to worry about.”
Miles slightly furrowed, feigning concern. “It did look quite bad to me.”
“Oh, I assure you, it’s not as bad as it looks.” Asshole . “Your lotion was a saving grace. It seems you have a remedy for everything, though—” An idea crossed my mind and I smirked “—I was surprised to see you had Vagisil in your little first aid—”
“Yep, I’m glad I could help with that too, Florence,” Miles quickly cut in, “and, honestly, you can keep it, but next time—” He tilted his head towards me as if stating the obvious, dropping his voice a tone down.
“—perhaps you could persuade someone else to do the honours, you know?” Miles winked.
The heat immediately crept up my neck and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
Did he really just say that? In front of my mother?
“Well, well, well. Great that we have you, Miles, to tell us about all things skin-related,” my mother beamed, her eyes twinkling.
“With that expertise, I assume then you wouldn’t mind joining us girls at the spa salon tomorrow morning.
Sounds like something you too might enjoy?
” Casting a pointed look at him, she added, “And I won’t take no for an answer. ”
“Um—” Miles narrowed his gaze on me. “—then I guess I don’t have much choice here.” Glancing at my mother, he choked a smile. “Looks like we are getting pampered tomorrow.”
The sudden realisation of spending time together with him was like a punch to the gut, making me nearly flinch. Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuck!
“Great,” I drawled with a smile, too desperate to drown my own misery. “Shall we go have a drink now?” I offered.