Flirting with Danger by Bev Hardy (digital e reader TXT) 📖

hear a mobile phone ringing from inside one of the rooms that he passed. It was only when the phone was answered that Luke recognised Charlie's voice.

 

He slowly pushed open the door. Her eyes flicked up to his as he entered. She glared at him as she spoke on the phone.

 

"Oh really, a double date. Would have been nice to be consulted about it Richie. Hmm, Luke suggested it, did he…with Sue, right. Yes, okay, see you at seven," she said, hanging up. "Where did you disappear to, or do I need to ask?" she said to Luke wryly. He hadn't changed at all; no doubt he'd been flirting with Sue.

Chapter 13

She was soaping herself now with a sponge which she had covered with shower gel and worked into a lather. Stepping back under the stream of water, she pressed the sponge to her neck and squeezed, allowing the soap suds to side down her body.

 

 

 

 "Just out of interest," Luke said, opening the car door and sliding into the driver's seat of his hire car yet again, "When is Doug due back?"

 

"Not until tonight. He will be at the function," Charlie replied. "Why?"

 

"Just wonderin'," Luke answered vaguely. "So, where's home?" he asked.

 

Charlie watched him thoughtfully for a moment before she replied. Luke was busy starting up the car.

 

"It's actually not far," she finally answered, "just past the turning we made for the dirt track; I'll direct you from there."

 

"No problem," he replied, speeding out of the driveway.

 

"You're truly livin' the country life now then," he observed, glancing out of the car door window.

 

"Well, I suppose so, although I do visit civilisation occasionally, Luke," she joked.

 

"Is this where you moved to after you left MI5?" He'd always been curious about where she had disappeared to.

 

"Mmm," she nodded.

 

"I didn't know you had two houses," he pointed out.

 

She remained silent.

 

She was being very vague. Luke's curiosity was roused further.

 

"Was this your house then?" he pushed.

 

"Not mine at the time," she answered a little reluctantly.

 

Luke's attention flicked from the road to Charlie. "Is this a secret or somethin'?"

 

Damn it. Why couldn't he just leave it? "No, don't be silly," she replied casually. "I bought the house off a friend later that year."

 

She still hadn't answered his question. "Anyone I know?" he went on. "Anyone from the Club?" he added as an afterthought.

 

Another quick glance in her direction and Charlie was staring out of the side window, biting her thumb nail.

 

"Charlie?"

 

"What?"

 

"Anyone from the club?" he repeated, determined to find out who now.

 

She shifted in her seat. "It's the third road on the right from here," she said, pointing out of the window before adding quickly. "Just Doug."

 

Hmm, Doug again. So maybe Luke wouldn't even have thought that much about her buying the house off Doug if she hadn't been so reluctant to give away that information. But then again, maybe he would; there was something about this whole Doug situation that intrigued him.

 

They spent the next few moments in silence, each with their own thoughts, until just before they reached Charlie's house when she sighed, and turned in her seat to him.

 

"Luke, about tonight, do you really think it is a good idea? I mean, first of all, you can't just leave the body in the back of here. We can't wait until tonight to find those discs," she put to him.

 

"Gettin' back to Sue's house is the perfect way for me to find them," he replied. "And besides, I'm gonna have to do something with the stiff anyway, 'cause who's to say the discs will clear me for sure… if she has them at her place at all," he added.

 

"Right," she huffed, turning back to stare straight ahead of her with her arms crossed. "So, are you going to sleep with her?" she asked abruptly.

 

His eyes flicked to Charlie. "Would it bother you if I did?" he replied.

 

It sprung to her lips to deny that, but she changed her mind at the last minute, turning back to him once more.

 

"You know what Luke, yes, yes it would. Here I am risking prison to help you, and all you can think about is getting Sue into bed! If the discs are probably not going to be there, then why waste time with tonight?"

 

"Calm down; we gotta start somewhere…" Plus, he had the gut feeling that it was at the Club where he would find all the answers he needed, so spending time there, talking to the members, was where his priorities lay. Of course, he couldn't tell Charlie that; she was too damn touchy about her precious Club! "... besides, my main priority tonight is getting' my hands on those discs," he added.

 

"Hmm," she responded, eyeing him suspiciously.

 

But what else did he want to get his hands on?

 

"So, what do you plan on doing with the body then?"

 

"Oh, I plan on makin' the most of that in Doug's office tonight; I'm hopin' Doug won't be around… or Dennis," he grinned, glancing sideways at her. "Oh, you meant the body in the trunk," he said, feigning innocence. She gritted her teeth. He chuckled. "Only one thing to do," he replied, "bury it."

 

"Ha, really?" She knew he'd say that. "If you think I'm helping you to bury a body you must be out of your mind."

 

"Oooh, Lady Charlotte gets so cranky when she hasn't had her beauty sleep," he taunted. "Don't worry, I'll see to it. I also need somewhere to stay. I saw some small place advertising rooms down the road from the club back there. Think I'll go check that place out," he informed her.

"They have hotels in town you know," she pointed out.

 

"Nah, think I'll stay back there," he said decisively.

 

She sighed. "My house is on the right here."

 

The irony of it; she had actually left her old job and moved houses to ensure that he was out of her life. Now he was staying in the bed and breakfast down the road!

 

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

 

"Right, I'm gonna go find a room for tonight, and I'll take another look at the body..." Luke said after pulling up in Charlie's front drive.

 

Charlie glanced at him dubiously. Goodness knows what state the body was in now!

 

"...I know, I'll deal with the body," he said, reading her mind, "but I need to look for clues first. Then we gotta to go back to the club to take another look around the crime scene. I'll pick you up in say, an hour," he informed her, glancing at his watch.

 

"What? What about my bath?" she came back.

 

"You got an hour," he repeated.

 

"Ohh, no, no, an hour is not nearly enough time for a bath, particularly considering last night," she stressed.

 

"Charlie, c'mon, I gotta take a look around and I need you there or people might ask questions. Look, take a shower and then after, I promise I'll leave you to take the longest bath you want," he assured her.

 

She sighed. "We have a look around; I'll take my car this time. Then I'll drop you off and I'll see you at the club later, no sooner," she emphasised, opening the car door and slipping out of the seat. "That is unless we come up with enough evidence to not warrant you going tonight," she added, bending to speak to him through the open car door.

 

"Ain't gonna find conclusive proof without those discs," he replied, his attention diverted to the loose folds at the front of her dress as she bent.

 

She tutted and stood, taking a step backwards to say, "Go, so I can have my shower!" Then she slammed the car door shut and strolled away.

 

He watched the way her hips swayed as she walked, before calling out,

 

"Hey, Charlie..."

 

She turned at her front door. "What now?"

 

"You got a shed round the back?"

 

"Yes, why?" she answered.

 

"Mind if I take a look?" he asked.

 

She frowned. "I don't even want to know," she replied, turning back to unlock the door.

 

Before getting out of the car, he took one last, longing glance at that backless dress. He really had grown quite attached to it.

 

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

 

Luke drove straight back to the house he had seen advertising rooms. It was a quaint whitewashed building, with ivy and flowers climbing up the walls and a small front garden. He rang the front door bell a few times before a frail, smiling, elderly lady answered.

 

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked.

 

"Yeah," he smiled. "I was lookin' for a room."

 

"Then you came to the right place young man," she replied, showing him into the house.

 

The lady chatted away to him as he filled in a registration form. She explained that her son helped with the upkeep but that she had run the bed and breakfast for thirty years and didn't really need his help. Luke doubted it, but admired the woman's resolve.

 

The room she allocated him was small but clean and bright, if not a little flowery. It over looked the front of the house, and the fields surrounding it. Luke could just about see the Club building if he leant out of the window.

 

He had intended to deal with the body in the truck as soon as he had secured a room, however, on seeing the on suite bathroom, he changed his mind and decided to take a quick shower. Like Charlie, he was pretty keen to shed the clothes he had been wearing for over twenty four hours now. Besides, he wasn't exactly looking forward to checking the body over. A shower would prepare him more for the ordeal.

 

The hot stream of water was a welcome relief, easing the tension from his muscles that had built up from the cramped conditions on the flight, and later on that sofa. He let his mind wander from the daunting task ahead of him and marvelled at just how much had unfolded between Charlie and himself over the space of just one day and night. Not only had he found Charlie again, which he hadn't been entirely sure that he would be able to do so fast, but things between them were just as hot… possibly even more. It wasn't just one sided on his part either. Okay, so he couldn't be one hundred per cent sure of that, but he was fairly certain that she was feeling some kind of spark there too. The question was, what, if anything, would she do about it?

 

Damn, but now, since spending the night with her in that room, he had this constant aching inside of him; he'd forgotten that feeling he got when he was around her. But right at that moment it was even worse. The aching he'd experienced when working with her before was his body telling him that he wanted what was continually flaunted in front of him, but refused. The aching he had now was of a burning intensity brought on by something that had been started and then abruptly stopped. His brain had processed the feel of Charlie's panties and thighs as 'sex time'. Not just any old 'sex time' either, but 'sex time' with the woman he'd craved for for years. The seven years apart, knock out white dress and night on a sofa with her had finally threatened to take away all his control; he was like an alcoholic in a liquor store.