Aren’t you supposed to feel the fear and do it anyway?
“I promise you, if you spend the night with me it will be a hell of a lot better than the alternative you described.” Zac murmured in her ear, his stubble lightly grazing the side of her cheek.
“Oh really?” She laughed, looking down at her new boots. From now on they were going to be her lucky boots. “It doesn’t exactly set the bar very high does it?”
“Are you okay?”
That he sounded curious, not scornful or impatient made her like him even more. Her weird behaviour hadn’t sent him running for the exit yet and she was sure with his sexy smile he could have his pick of the girls in this bar or any of the other Verbier bars for that matter.
“Erm … ” She fiddled with her bag strap, picking at a loose thread and absently thinking she must do something about it. “It’s just I don’t really know you, it feels a little…Well it’s not something I’m used to doing, you know?”
She looked pleadingly at him, willing him to understand she was inexperienced and not dismiss her for being totally pathetic.
“If you’re worried I’m about to kidnap you, you don’t need to be. Let’s see, I’m a respectable management consultant with a flat in Geneva and a chalet here in Verbier. I love to snowboard. What else? Well, I’m quite fond of après ski and I like sex.”
“Right. Your English is very good but I can definitely hear something else in your accent?” She tried not to react to his mention of sex.
Great, now you sound like you’re making conversation at a church garden party! Not sexy Flora.
“My father’s Swiss,” Zac’s smile tightened. “Hence the Swiss surname. But I was sent to boarding school in England and my mother’s English.”
“Okay.” Flora’s tense muscles relaxed as she nestled against his firm torso. She could feel the hard muscle through his shirt, was aware of her flesh responding to him, her nipples hardening on contact.
I want this. I need this.
“So you’re happy to come back with me now you know my mother’s English?” He teased.
“Sort of, it’s nice to know a little about you.”
“And how about you Umflora? What do I need to know about you?”
“Absolutely nothing.” Flora giggled. It was great being able to finally say what she liked and do what she wanted. This was the first time since leaving Tom she felt really free from him, free from home, free from the old Flora…
“I promise I’ll come up with much more interesting Dares. Because if you don’t want to tell me anything you’ll have to do what I dare you to.”
“And vice versa, you’ll have to do what I dare you too,” she countered, feeling playful and liking the idea of having some power.
“I look forward to it.” Zac leant in closer and planted a soft kiss on her neck. She shivered, certain they both knew Zac was way more experienced than her. What would he say if he knew she’d only ever slept with one man?
I do hope he doesn’t ask me that.
Come to think of it there were all sorts of things she hoped he wouldn’t ask her. It would be so much nicer if he did things to her instead.
“Relax.” Zac stroked her ribs through her dress, sending sparks of desire ricocheting throughout her body. “Let’s go, shall we?”
Like there’d ever been any doubt about whether Flora was going to leave the bar with Zac. She’d been kidding herself that she could walk out of this bar and take the turning back for Chalet Repos at any time but she knew, deep down, there was only one place she was going.
To bed with Zac.
She went with him to the coat rack and once he’d helped her into her coat they stepped out onto the street. The icy mountain air assaulted them immediately. Flora shivered, half with the cold, half with anticipation.
She glanced up at the dark, star-strewn sky. It seemed appropriate; as she walked along the street with Zac’s arm behind her back, steadying her on the icy patches of pavement, it felt like taking a step into the vast unknown.
She was due some adventure.
Playing Truth or Dare made it easier. After all at least fifty per cent of the time she would be in control. There was quite a lot she wanted to ask Zac about himself. Getting to know him might be a lot of fun.
And then there was the sex…
“Is it far?” she asked.
“It’s just up here, the modern chalet with the large windows.” He pointed to a snow-covered chalet further up the hill ahead. It nestled up above the town centre, facing the magnificent drop down over the Val de Bagnes and the view across to the French Alps. It was a sight that usually took her breath away but tonight she only had headspace for Zac.
At least his chalet wasn’t as flashy or as large as some of its neighbours. It was a relatively new building, a quirky design but built with the same wood as the traditional luxury chalets surrounding it. The front of Zac’s chalet had windows the height of the building facing the mountain view and a couple of balconies to sit out on to enjoy the Swiss sunshine during the day and stars by night.
Nerves hit her as they entered the main cabin. It was cosy with large padded dark leather sofas contrasting with light oak flooring. The splashes of colour in the room came from the books on the shelves that covered an entire wall of the room. The volume of books impressed Flora. It was kind of nice to find another reader. Not that it mattered obviously. This was only going to be a short-term fling so it hardly mattered if they had much to talk about.
Zac walked over to the log basket by the fireplace and tossed another log onto the still smouldering fire. It hissed in protest and then sent flames licking around the new source of fuel, flaring into life. Outside in the darkness, snowflakes began to fall, slowly at first, then growing ever larger until the night sky was thick with snow, giving it an eerily pale glow.
“Drink?” he asked.
“Erm, I probably shouldn’t.”
Shouldn’t drink and probably shouldn’t be here. Oh help, what have I got myself into?
“Can I tempt you with a Kir Royale?”
“Okay,” she folded, mentally swatting the worry-insects away. “You’ve found my weakness.”
A couple of sips wouldn’t do any harm. It might help her to relax. She wouldn’t finish it. On top of the cocktails she’d already had, it could be lethal. Or at the very least, it could lead to her doing or saying something she’d regret.
“I hope to find a lot more weaknesses,” he replied, the corners of his mouth twitching. “It will save me a lot of time if you tell me up front.”
“You’ll have to work a bit harder at interrogation than that,” she said, taking the tall champagne flute filled with rich, dark-pink bubbles. She sipped at it, the fruity blackcurrant bursting onto her taste buds before she swallowed. The warmth spread through her chest like a comforting embrace, relaxing her.
Zac knows what he’s doing. He does this a lot.