Love in London by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Four

Oz

I can’t believe it.

I think I might be about to go into cardiac arrest.

Something has happened here, and I’m not sure what. Somehow, the sweet and innocent gangly sixteen year old I knew, with braces, acne, and awkward clumsiness, has been transformed. It must have been some kind of spell. A witch or something got hold of her, or maybe the devil.

Yes, definitely the devil. Because only he could make curves this sweet.

Somehow, sweet little Gabriella has been transformed into the goddess I saw walking down the street earlier, and I just do not in any way understand how.

It’s as much as I can do to get through the first few minutes of our conversation. I even lead her over to the bar I was sitting in before just to give myself a moment to turn away from her and think. This is all so confusing. The woman I saw from behind – the one who had the strange power to instantly turn my thoughts dirty and make me want to grab her by the hips and take her – how can that be Gabriella?

I offer her a drink because I need one. Something. Anything to serve as a distraction.

And also because this is no longer strictly something I need to do out of courtesy to my best friend.

Now I’m infinitely curious – and I need to know what it is about her that has this effect on me.

Because, even as I’m getting up to go to the bar and order us both a couple more coffees – though I probably don’t need any more caffeine at this point – my mind is racing. Alright, not just my mind. My blood keeps threatening to rush in one particular direction, and I’m not talking about my brain.

No, my body has other ideas.

She’s grown up so much in the last couple of years. Now she’s like a model, gorgeous straight white teeth set in an open smile, full lips, wide blue eyes I could drink up… she’s blossomed into herself completely. I know it’s wrong to have these thoughts about her – about Dean’s daughter – but… I don’t think I can stop myself.

When I turn back around, she’s leaning towards the window, craning her neck to get a better view. She’s lifted herself up off the booth seat slightly to look, giving me a pretty good view of that perfect ass encased in white. It’s as much as I can do not to trip over myself as I walk back to the table with two cups and saucers in hand, trying hard not to spill anything.

What has come over me today?

“Thanks for this,” Gabriella says, as I clatter the cups down onto the table. I slide back into my seat, flashing her a smile.

“No problem,” I tell her. “So, what are your plans this week? Are you really visiting colleges, or is that just an excuse to get a vacation all on your own?”

She laughs, her eyes lighting up as she does. Her nose does this adorable little crinkle, dimples appearing on her cheeks. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I can’t look away. “No, I really am looking at colleges,” she says. “Actually, didn’t you study here? Maybe I’m looking at your alma mater.”

I nod, taking a sip of my coffee in a foolish attempt to study myself. “I was at Imperial,” I say. “It’s actually where I met your father. He was there for a year to study.”

She brightens up again. “That’s where I’m going tomorrow.”

“Oh, really?” I say, laughing a little. I remember, so many years ago, when I took that tour myself. God, it feels like a lifetime ago. But at the same time, I don’t know that it feels like it was much more than a handful of years back. It’s funny how time changes the older you get. “Well, it’s a good university. You’ll enjoy it there.”

“Do you ever go back, ever?” she asks. “Like, for alumni stuff?”

“Not really,” I shrug. “Every few years, I suppose. I’ve been back there maybe a handful of times.”

“When was the most recent?” she asks eagerly. “You might be able to give me the inside scoop on what to look out for.”

I grin. “I was actually there last year. They’ve put in some great improvements lately. Invested a bit more in the student social scene.”

“Like the bars?” she asks.

“Like the bars,” I chuckle. “Typical student.”

She shakes her head, grinning. God, that smile. I could look at it all day long. “I don’t know about that,” she says. “It’s kind of weird. Coming to a place where it’s legal to drink three years earlier. I don’t know if I’ll do it. But I heard they have a lot of entertainment going on there.”

“Oh, yes. Live music is pretty regular. And they have talks and workshops from visiting professionals. Actually, that was why I was there last year.”

“No way!” Gabriella exclaims. “You gave a talk?”

I nod, wishing it didn’t show just how painfully older than her I am. If I was twenty years younger, I would be charming her into my bed already.

But even following that thought, I can’t help but find another chasing it. That it doesn’t matter. Even knowing who she is and that she’s almost twenty years younger than me, I don’t know if I can resist her.

I want her. I want to make her mine. I want to put my mark on her so no one else ever touches her again. Like a primal beast, I just want to own her. That’s how strong a reaction she triggers in me.

“I was a guest speaker,” I say, trying to play it off a little less than what it was. They have speakers all the time, after all. Not such a huge achievement in the grand scheme of things.

The more we talk, the more I find myself noticing every little thing about her. The way her mouth moves when she speaks. The curve of her shoulder, the way her eyelashes move as she blinks. How she tucks her hair behind her ears sometimes, the last awkward holdover of a teenager now gone and turned into a woman.

And it’s more than that, too. She’s confident in herself now. She carries herself well in conversation, never making me feel like I’m talking to someone so much younger than myself. Even when we talk about college, it’s like I’m talking to a mature student, not an eighteen year old. I don’t know how she got to be this incredible. But I feel like I could sit here and listen to her talk all day long.

Even more so because it would be the most exquisite torture, watching her all the while and never being able to lay a finger on her.

I know it’s wrong, and that I should respect the fact that she’s Dean’s daughter. I know he wouldn’t like it. He’d be furious to know that I even had these thoughts about her. But, damn. How am I supposed to get them out of my mind when she looks like this, sounds like this, is like this? Everything about her taps into some instinctive, primal urge to claim her as my mate.

To make her mine.

“It’s getting late,” I say, at last, checking my watch. We’ve whiled away the whole afternoon, and people are starting to arrive for drinks – probably after finishing work. I’ve kept her all this time, and now her first afternoon here is gone. It’s time to start thinking about dinner, and she hasn’t even had time to finish unpacking yet. “I guess I should let you go and get settled in.”

“Oh, is it?” Gabriella says, checking the time on her phone in surprise.

“Sorry,” I chuckle. “I guess we got carried away chatting. But now that I’ve checked you’ve arrived fine… I guess I should let you get on with your trip.”

Inwardly, I hope that she doesn’t want me to go. That I’ll see disappointment on her face. But at the same time, I’m not holding out for it – because if she does want me to stay, we could get into a lot more trouble than either of us may bargain for.