And, whilst he had no doubt there would have been plenty of instant and mutual gratification going on if she hadn’t pulled back, that wasn’t the point. Shock rendered him mute. He hadn’t so much as considered any of his usual rules and regulations—hadn’t even bothered to find out Olivia’s views on relationships.
Way to go, Adam.
So an explosion was a sucky idea, however hard his hard-on was. Olivia Evans had issues. She was emotional dynamite and it was time to get out of the laboratory. There would be other women, other attractions. But not like this. No, not like this—and a damn good thing, too.
‘Not my style, either.’
‘Then we’re agreed,’ she stated. She plunged her hands into the shimmering folds of her dress as she turned to face him. ‘So let’s move on. I’ve done my part of the deal. Now it’s your turn. You need to take me to Zeb.’
‘Ah. Yes. That.’
‘Yes. That.’ Her eyes narrowed in sudden suspicion. ‘Don’t you dare renege on our deal.’
‘I’m not. It’s just a little bit more complicated than I mentioned.’
‘Complicated how?’
‘Zeb’s in Thailand.’
There was a pause as Olivia’s lips, still swollen from his kisses, opened and closed.
‘Thailand? He’s thousands of miles away and you didn’t think to mention it?’
Adam felt her outrage and welcomed it; at least it dissipated the sexual tension that still whispered in the air. Plus, anger was as good an outlet for frustration as any, and he knew that Olivia must be feeling plenty frustrated. She’d pulled herself from the brink of orgasm. Come to that, he wasn’t feeling any too relaxed himself.
Served him right for being so quick off the mark and for letting this whole situation get out of control.
‘I didn’t see the need,’ he said. ‘I’ll honour my side of the deal. I’ll take you to Thailand.’
‘Just like that?’
‘Sure. It’s a few hours away by plane. We pack. We go.’
‘I can’t just up sticks and fly to Thailand. When’s Zeb coming back?’
Ah. ‘He’s not.’
‘What do you mean? He lives in Thailand?’
‘Zeb doesn’t live anywhere.’
Olivia frowned. ‘So he’s like you? Does he live in a hotel?’
The innocent question scraped Adam’s nerves; if only Olivia knew how like his father he was. ‘Zeb’s a modern-day nomad.’
Dismay etched Olivia’s beautiful features; her hazel eyes drenched with disbelief. ‘But he must have a...a base? Somewhere? Give me something here, Adam.’
‘He doesn’t have anything,’ Adam said flatly. ‘No address at all. Zeb believes that bricks and mortar are an unnecessary responsibility. He very rarely stays in the same place for more than a few weeks and he goes wherever the whim carries him.’
‘But where does she leave his things? His possessions?’
‘He carries them with him.’
‘You’re kidding me?’ She bit her lip. ‘It’s not exactly what I was hoping for.’
No doubt she’d been hoping for the full package: a man who would be happy to have a child, would settle down and play happy families complete with white picket fence.
He pushed down the surge of sympathy; it was better for Olivia to know it as it was. ‘Zeb is a wanderer. He won’t change that for anyone.’ He rubbed a hand over his face. ‘It’s a Masterson trait, Olivia,’ he said, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice. ‘We don’t do settling down.’
Zeb hadn’t, and Adam certainly hadn’t. He’d tried—hell, he’d tried. He’d married Charlotte with high hopes of that white picket fence for himself. Hopes he’d dashed to the earth a mere two years into the soulless purgatory that settling down had turned out to be. For him. Not for Charlotte. Charlotte had been in her element, nest-building, whilst the chintz-patterned wallpaper had been closing in on Adam.
‘It’s not possible. But that isn’t the point. Nomad or not, he still needs to be told about the baby. So we’d better get ourselves to Thailand.’ Sort this fiasco out, then life could return to normal.
‘It’s not that easy.’
‘Sure it is. Leave it to me,’ Adam said as the limo glided to a stop outside the imposing front of his Mayfair hotel.
* * *
The deep throb of the aeroplane’s engines reverberated in Olivia’s ears. Just twenty-four hours later and she was on her way to Thailand. Ko Lanta, to be precise. Excitement surfaced as she looked down at her tablet, where a glorious picture of a white sandy beach evoked relaxation. According to the blurb, the island was a veritable paradise—a scenic miasma of forest, hill, and coral-rimmed beaches.