Miranda Lee - The Millionaire's Inexperienced Love-Slave

The wine’s arrival brought that confident smile back to his handsome face, reminding her not to drink too much. She’d gone through a stage a year or so back when she’d drunk far too much. Nowadays, she limited her alcoholic intake, having been advised that alcohol was not good for depression, which she fell into every time her thoughts dwelled on all that she had lost.

It had been too much to bear. First her husband, and then their baby. Oh, God…

‘Penny for your thoughts.’

Sharni gritted her teeth as she glanced up, then reached for her glass of wine. To hell with being sensible, she thought, I need this drink today.

Adrian watched her sweep the glass up to her lips and take a deep swallow.

‘They’re worth a lot more than that,’ she replied. Somewhat bitterly, he thought.

‘I’m not sure what you mean there.’

She took another gulp of wine before answering. ‘I was thinking about the compensation I received from the Rail Authority.’

‘I hope they gave you a decent amount.’

Her laugh was very definitely bitter. ‘They weren’t going to. So I got myself a lawyer and sued them.’

‘Good for you.’

‘I was very lucky. My lawyer was brilliant. A woman. She was so incensed by my case that she gave me her services, pro bono.’

‘That doesn’t happen too often.’

‘Jordan was wonderfully kind to me.’

Adrian’s eyebrows arched in surprise. ‘Jordan as in Jordan Gray of Stedley & Parkinsons?’

Sharni’s wineglass stopped in mid-air. ‘Why, yes. Do you know Jordan?’

‘She’s married to Gino Bortelli, the Italian businessman who commissioned me to design this building. It’s called the Bortelli Tower.’

‘Good heavens! When did all this happen? Jordan wasn’t married when she represented me.’

‘About a year or so back. It seems Jordan and Gino knew each other years before and ran into each other again by accident when Gino was up here on business. Just in time, since Jordan was about to become engaged to another man. Anyway, to cut a long story short, true love won out. They’ve not long returned from an extended honeymoon in Italy. But they don’t live in Sydney. Their home is in Melbourne.’

‘What a shame. I would have loved to catch up with Jordan.’

‘I can give you their home phone number, if you like.’

‘Oh, no. No, I wouldn’t impose like that. I was just a client after all, not a close friend. But I’m glad to hear Jordan’s happily married. I presume she is happy?’

‘Very. She and Gino have a baby already. A boy. They called him Joe.’

‘How lovely,’ she said, her eyes going all misty for a moment. ‘I’m so glad for her.’

‘How much compensation did she get you?’ Adrian asked. ‘Or is that a rude question?’

‘Three million.’

He whistled. ‘That’s a nice tidy sum. I hope you’ve invested it wisely.’

‘It’s safe.’ Safe, sitting in a bank account that paid a reasonable rate of interest and had absolutely no risk at all.

‘Do you still live in the Blue Mountains?’ he asked her.

‘Yes. On the outskirts of Katoomba.’

‘So you’re just down here in Sydney today to shop?’

‘Not exactly. My sister thought I needed a little holiday. She gave me a weekend package at one of Sydney’s boutique hotels as a birthday present.’

‘You mean it’s your birthday today?’ What a perfect excuse to take her out this evening. If he could persuade her to go, of course!

‘No. My birthday was quite a few weeks ago.’

‘And you were?’

She slanted him a sharp glance. ‘Now that is a rude question. You should never ask a woman her age.’

He smiled. ‘I thought that only applied when they reached forty.’

‘Not in my book.’

‘Fair enough. So what do you do? Or don’t you work any more?’

‘I’m a veterinary assistant. But I’m only working part-time these days.’

Why was that? he wondered. Because she didn’t need the money, or because she was still traumatised by the tragedy of her husband’s death, or perhaps the subsequent trial?

There was something in her eyes when she mentioned the compensation that told him the trial had been just that. A trial. Adrian was well aware of how stressful it was to go to court over anything. He himself had had to sue a client once, and it hadn’t been pleasant. How much worse when it involved the tragic death of a loved one.

Her air of sadness touched him. But so did her Madonna-like beauty. It was damned intriguing, the effect Sharni was having on him. He could not recall ever feeling quite like this. She brought out the gallant in him. More than anything he wanted to make her smile. Wanted to give her pleasure.

More like give yourself pleasure, a sarcastic inner voice piped up. You want to get her into bed. That’s the bottom line. That’s always the bottom line with you, Adrian.

Adrian frowned. Normally, he would agree. But not this time. This time, something was different. He didn’t want to seduce Sharni so much as have the opportunity to spend more time with her. He wanted to get to know her. Really know her, not just in bed.

‘I wanted to become a vet,’ she went on, ‘but my marks at school weren’t good enough. I never was one to study. I’m a practical, hands-on kind of person.’

‘I don’t think it matters what you do in life, as long as you enjoy what you’re doing.’

‘You obviously enjoy being an architect,’ she said, and he smiled.

‘Does it show?’

‘You seem a happy man.’

‘I love my work,’ he said. ‘Too much, some people would say.’

Even his own mother thought he was way too obsessive.

But that was his nature. Adrian could never do things by half. When something interested him, he became consumed, body and soul.

This woman interested him, in ways no woman ever had before.

This in itself was intriguing. What was it about her that made her so interesting to him? Yes, she was very pretty, but he met lots of pretty girls. She wasn’t super-clever, or super sophisticated, or super sexy, as Felicity had been.

Aside from being a brunette, Sharni was different from every woman he’d ever dated. They’d all been highly educated career girls whom he’d met through his work. Felicity had been a top interior designer. Before that, there’d been a female architect or two, a corporate lawyer, a computer expert and one super-smart marketing manager.

There’d not been one veterinary assistant who lived in the bush and blushed when caught in the act of looking at a man.

‘You’re staring at me,’ she said in a low voice.

Adrian smiled. ‘Well, that makes us even. You’ve stared at me a good deal today.’

His counter-attack clearly flustered her. ‘Yes, but you know why.’

‘Are you saying you only find me attractive because I remind you of your husband?’

She blinked her surprise at his directness. ‘Who said I find you attractive?’

‘Your eyes told me. The same way my eyes are telling you I find you attractive.’

Her cheeks went pink. ‘Please don’t flirt with me, Adrian.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because I…I can’t handle it.’

‘Are you saying I’m the first man to pay you this kind of attention since your husband died?’

‘I haven’t been with another man since Ray, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t go out. And I don’t date.’

Her admission stunned Adrian. Five years of living by herself. Five years without male company, or sex of any kind. It wasn’t natural. Or healthy.

‘I find that terribly sad, Sharni.’

‘Life is sad,’ she said, and took another sip of wine.

‘You are coming out with me tonight,’ he stated firmly.

Her eyes widened before meeting his over the rim of her glass.

‘Am I?’

There was enough wavering in those two words, and in her eyes, to satisfy Adrian.

‘Absolutely,’ he said, just as their meals arrived.

‘COFFEE or tea?’ Adrian asked.

Sharni looked up from where she’d been devouring the last bite of the simply delicious almond and plum tart.

Roland was standing by their table, patiently waiting for her decision.

‘Coffee, please,’ she said after dabbing her mouth with the white linen serviette. ‘Cappuccino.’

‘I’ll have a short black,’ Adrian told the waiter who swiftly departed to do their bidding.

Sharni could see why Adrian came here often. Not only was the food great, but the service was very quick.

‘So where would you like me to take you tonight?’ he asked.

Sharni sighed. She should have known he’d come back to that sooner or later. He’d very cleverly lulled her into a false sense of security over their meal by stopping the flirtatious talk and steering any conversation onto more impersonal topics such as food, politics and the weather.

Now, his eyes were back on hers again, their focus disturbingly intense. But oh-so-flattering.

He was right. She did find him attractive. How could she not? But Adrian’s charm for her was not just physical. It was the way he made her feel, as if he found her the most fascinating female in the world.

There was no use pretending she didn’t want to go out with him tonight. But the prospect was accompanied by a measure of fear. What if he tried to seduce her? What if he succeeded?

For the last five years Sharni had lived a sexless existence, that part of her body having totally shut down. She hadn’t had a period since she’d lost her baby, various doctors suggesting her lack of hormonal activity was caused by shock and grief. To be honest, she hadn’t given sex a second thought in ages.

Now, suddenly, she was very definitely thinking about it.

Was the wine over lunch to blame, or this man’s amazing resemblance to Ray?

She’d been sexually attracted to Ray from the moment. But they’d dated for several weeks before they’d slept together. Even then, it had been left up to her to make the first move, Ray having been chronically shy in the bedroom department.

Not so this man, she thought as she glanced across the table. He would know all the right moves.

If only he didn’t look so much like Ray…

‘We could have an early dinner then go to a show afterwards,’ he said, breaking into her ongoing silence. ‘Or a show first and supper afterwards, if you’d prefer. Have you seen The Phantom of the Opera? The musical, not the movie. They say this latest revival is better than all previous productions.’

Sharni had always loved the story of the phantom. She thought it highly romantic. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music was marvellous too, echoing the uncontrollable passions that consumed the main character.

‘No, I haven’t,’ she admitted. ‘But—’

‘No buts, Sharni,’ he broke in. ‘Your sister gave you this weekend in Sydney so that you could enjoy yourself. It’s not much fun sitting in a hotel room by yourself, especially on a Saturday night. If you’re still worried about my being a stranger, then I’ll ring Jordan right now so that she can vouch for me.’ To show he meant it, Adrian pulled a silver mobile phone from his jacket pocket and flipped it open.

‘No, no, you don’t have to do that,’ she said hurriedly. ‘I can see you’re not some kind of creep.’

His handsome face showed shock. ‘I should hope not.’

‘I suppose it wouldn’t be much fun sitting in the hotel room tonight all by myself.’

‘So you’ll come?’

‘You’ve talked me into it.’

‘Fantastic,’ he said, smiling.