Risk of a Lifetime (Mills & Boon Medical) by Caroline Anderson Page B

said, emerging from the beach hut and smiling warmly at her. ‘You’re welcome to join us any time.’
    Not if he had anything to say about it, Annie was sure, and not if she did either, but she thanked his grandmother anyway, waved to his grandfather and then turned back to Ed. ‘Thank you, too. For the first aid, for the ice creams. It was very kind of you.’
    ‘Any time.’ His eyes held hers again. ‘I’ll see you at nine,’ he murmured softly, and she nodded.
    ‘Yes.’
    Then his eyes slid down her body, back up to her face and his lips shifted into a mischievous smile he’d probably been perfecting since before he’d learned to walk.
    ‘I’ll look forward to it.’
    She turned away before her legs melted like the ice cream, and ran her tongue round the same spot that he’d licked just moments before.
    Me, too, but at some point we have a lot to discuss. Like why you haven’t told me what’s really wrong with your grandfather, and what it means for you...
    * * *
    She was aware of his presence in every cell of her body.
    Every time she glanced up through her lashes, he was there, watching her surreptitiously. It made her feel oddly self-conscious, but also curiously comforted.
    She guessed Marnie would be giving him the third degree, and she just hoped her mother didn’t turn up any time soon to add fuel to the fire, because she was more sure than ever now that this relationship was going nowhere.
    She didn’t come, but the next time Annie looked up, the hut was closed and they’d gone. And she felt bereft.
    Stupid. So stupid. This was no-strings, just an affair, a little light recreational sex to add another dimension to their lives. She didn’t need to feel bereft , for goodness’ sake, just because he’d gone!
    But she did, and the rest of the day stretched out in front of them like a yawning void. It was still hours before she’d see him again, hours before she could ask him the questions that were burning a hole in her. Hours before she could hold him—
    ‘There’s MamaJo!’ Chloe cried, and she felt a surge of relief. Something to take her mind off Ed, she thought, but of course it didn’t work like that.
    ‘Oh, Grace, what happened to your knees, darling?’ her mother asked, and then it all poured out and of course Ed’s name came up.
    Out of the mouths of babes, Annie thought wryly.
    ‘Well, how lucky he was here,’ her mother said, and then looked up and caught her eye. ‘Or had you arranged to meet?’
    It took a huge effort not to look away. ‘No. It was just a fortunate coincidence.’
    ‘Hmm,’ her mother said, as if she didn’t believe a word.
    And that was the end of any semblance of privacy.
    * * *
    The gates were open when she arrived a moment after nine, but his car wasn’t there.
    Maybe he’d parked it somewhere else, she thought, and ducked through the wisteria curtain into the garden proper just as he reversed the car in. She went back out to the carport as he unfolded himself from the driver’s seat and straightened up.
    ‘Hi, there.’
    He turned to her, ran a hand through his hair and smiled distractedly.
    ‘Hi. Sorry, I was a bit on the drag. Have you been waiting long?’
    ‘No, you’re fine, I’ve only just arrived.’
    ‘Good. I left the gates open for you in case I was held up.’
    His voice was low, and it wrapped around her like the scented garden. He brushed past her, shutting the gates, and then turned to her with a slow, sexy smile that made her toes curl. She went up on tiptoe and brushed her lips against his, but apparently that wasn’t enough. He caught her against his body, threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her properly.
    Improperly?
    Whatever, she was more than happy for him to kiss her, to hold her, to give her a chance to hold him after the past few hours of tumbling thoughts.
    He slowly pulled away, ending the kiss with a soft sigh that drifted over her face, and let her go, dropping his hands to her hips and looking