She gave an audible swallow, the tip of her tongue sneaking out to deposit a layer of moisture on her lips. Lips he couldn’t stop thinking about kissing, to see if they were as soft and pliable as they looked. To see what they tasted like—sweet or salty or a sexy combination of the two? ‘Louis...what do you find most attractive in a woman? I mean, you date a lot, so I guess you’d know what’s hot and what’s not, right?’
What was hot was sitting right in front of him, with her small white teeth pulling at her lower lip. What was hot was thinking about peeling those skin-tight jeans and sweater off her and planting kisses on every inch of her body. What was hot was thinking about her legs wrapped around his hips while he drove them both to oblivion.
Louis suppressed a shudder and gave himself a vigorous mental shake. Anyone would think he was the one who’d drunk that brandy. ‘Confidence is enormously attractive in a woman.’
Ivy slapped one of her thighs and sprang to her feet; her bag dropped to the floor with a thud but she didn’t even seem to notice. ‘I knew it. That’s exactly what I think and it’s why I’m here to ask for your help to gain some.’
Louis raised his brows a fraction. ‘Me?’
She came around to his side of the desk, standing close enough for him to touch her. Do. Not. Touch. Her. The temptation to do so was painfully difficult to resist. Her hair was a red-gold cloud around her neck and shoulders, and every time she moved her head he could smell the fruity fragrance of her shampoo. Her eyes were so bright they could have auditioned for a position in the Milky Way. And her lips... Dear God, her lips were plump and shimmering with lip-gloss, and it was all he could do not to lean forward and kiss her.
‘Yes. You,’ Ivy said, her smile triggering those cute dimples again. ‘I wouldn’t feel comfortable with anyone else. I need someone I know and trust. It would be too hard for me to do this with a stranger.’
Do what with a stranger? And why did she trust him? Louis wasn’t so sure he deserved her trust, given where his mind was leading him—straight into the gutter. He pushed his chair back and stood, putting a little more distance between them. He went over to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a neat whisky. He wasn’t a heavy drinker—thankfully that was one way in which he was different from his father—but right then he could have drained the bottle and followed it with a brandy chaser.
He took a measured sip and turned back to face her. ‘I’m not sure I’m following you. What exactly do you want me to do?’
Ivy shifted from foot to foot, her hands interlaced in front of her body, her cheeks blooming again with colour. ‘I have a problem with...with sex...’
Louis sprayed most of his second sip of whisky out of his mouth on a choked splutter. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘Are you sure I’m the person you should be talking to about this?’
Her mouth was down-turned at the corners, her shoulders slumped. ‘I’m still a virgin and I’m almost thirty. I need to do something to fix myself otherwise I’ll never find a partner—especially today, when everyone’s so adventurous and open about sex. I’m a pariah. An uptight prude who can’t even get undressed unless the lights are out.’
To say he was shocked was an understatement. Almost thirty and still a virgin? He’d lost his in his teens. Didn’t most people? She wasn’t particularly religious, so deliberate abstinence could not be the issue. Had something happened to put her off doing the deed? His skin crawled at the thought of some pushy guy pressuring her or abusing her. Anger rose in his gut and climbed into his throat with acid-laced claws. Louis put down his glass of whisky and took a deep steadying breath.
‘Firstly, Ivy, you don’t have to fix anything. You should only do what you’re comfortable doing when, and only when, you’re comfortable doing it.’
‘But I might never be comfortable if I don’t do something sooner rather than later. I can’t go on like this. It’s beyond embarrassing going on a date with a new guy and then bolting out the door as soon as he touches me.’
Louis rapid blinked. Tried to ignore the little stab of unease in his gut about her hooking up with some guy she barely knew. ‘Let me get this straight... You want me to sleep with you?’
Her cheeks darkened but her eyes contained a single-minded light that was more than a little unsettling. ‘No one is never going to be interested in me unless I get over my inhibitions. There’s no point me trying to date anyone unless I feel more confident. And I don’t think I’d be comfortable with anyone but you. I know you. I’ve known you for years. Plus, you know what you’re doing with sex, and I think you’d be the best person to teach me.’
A trap door creaked open in his mind, a narrow gap revealing a host of erotic possibilities he had locked down there, out of sight. Getting naked with her, doing all the things he’d been trying not to think about for the last couple of years. Gliding his hands down her beautiful body, exploring her breasts, discovering all the sweet contours of her feminine frame. Kissing her, touching her, their limbs entwined...
Louis held up his hand like a stop sign. ‘Whoa there, Ivy. You’re talking like a crazy person. I’m an architect, not a sex therapist. And, besides, we’re friends. The friends-to-lovers thing never works.’
‘But in this case it would work, because I’m not after anything other than a one-night stand. That’s what everyone calls you, right? Mr Amazing One-Night Stand. I’m not asking you to marry me. I just want you to have sex with me one time so I can say I’m not a virgin any—’
‘I heard you the first time,’ Louis cut in quickly. ‘I’m not interested.’ If he heard her ask him to have sex with her one more time, he’d be a goner. There was only so much self-control he could muster at a given time.
She looked like a puppy that had been refused a pat. Her teeth sank back into her bottom lip and she bent down to pick up her bag from the floor, where it had fallen earlier, and then straightened and levelled him with a wounded look. ‘Is it because I’m not attractive enough? You find me a turn-off?’
Louis tried to keep his gaze away from her cleavage. Tried but failed. ‘You’re one of the most attractive women I’ve ever met but—’
‘Prove it.’ She put her bag on his desk and approached him. He had forgotten how tiny she was until she was toe-to-toe with him. She had to crane her neck to maintain eye contact. Her eyes were clear and her expression determined, and his self-control had a panic attack.
Louis cleared his suddenly tight throat. She was so close, if he moved half a step her breasts would brush his chest. He could see every pore of the creamy perfection of her skin, the only blemish a tiny white two-centimetre scar above her left eyebrow. Her blue eyes were an intricate mosaic of deep blue, purple and indigo with wide jet-black pupils as infinite as outer space. Her lower lip was twice the size of her top one, the shape of her mouth a perfect Cupid’s bow. And don’t get me started about those adorable dimples.