Ocean of Fire (22 page)

If you liked Ocean of Fire by Emma Daniels, you might also like Judging Jayden

During their final weeks of high-school, Janelle Moore and her friends played an exceptionally nasty joke on her brother Jayden and Lydia Hargraves. After spiking Lydia’s drink, the teenagers leave her naked in Jayden’s bed for him to find. All Lydia has are disjointed memories of finding herself in the arms of a handsome man who might have done a whole manner of sordid things to her.
Seven years later Lydia still doesn’t know exactly what happened that night, so when Jayden shows up at her office asking her to find him a secretary for his company, she decides to exact her revenge.
But Jayden has different memories of that night, the night he found the woman of his dreams in his bed.
Revenge doesn't taste so sweet when Lydia discovers she's completely misjudged Jayden.

CHAPTER ONE

Stephanie leant across the table and said in a low voice; “The man near the window has barely taken his eyes off you once since he walked in about ten minutes ago… No don’t look,” she protested, when Lydia made to glance around.

“Are you sure it’s me he’s staring at? I mean, you’re the one who usually attracts their attention,” Lydia replied, returning her attention to the tall, attractive redhead seated on the other side of the table. Stephanie was as outrageous as her hair, and her flashing hazel eyes danced with mischief as she grinned back at her friend. She brought a well-manicured hand to the clinging neckline of her electric blue, scoop neck top, which she’d teamed with a short, sexy black pencil skirt and high heeled patent pumps. Her make-up was, as usual, over-stated, and her fingernails panted an iridescent shade of pink. But for some reason she always managed to carry it off without looking like a tart.

In comparison, Lydia was short and petite; with long, wavy honey-blonde hair she usually wore tied back with a plain clip or scrunchie. Whereas Stephanie dressed up, Lydia hid her neat little figure under loose blouses and long flowing skirts. She rarely wore make-up, and looked younger than her twenty-five years. Today she was wearing a pair of navy blue pants and a plain white blouse buttoned all the way to her neck, making her wonder what on earth had given her friend and colleague the impression the man in question could possibly be interested in
her
.

“I’ve tried to catch his eye twice now, but to no avail,” Stephanie lamented with a red-lipped pout. “He’s gorgeous, Lyd. Impossibly broad shoulders. Eyes a girl could drown in, and he has the most amazing hair. I can’t figure out if it’s red, blonde, brown, or all of the above. And it’s tied into a sexy ponytail.”

Lydia groaned out loud as she bit into her gourmet sandwich. Stephanie really had a thing for men with long hair. Should Lydia ever bring such a specimen home to meet her parents she’d never hear the end of it. Besides, she preferred her men clean cut and well groomed, when she’d still been interested in dating, that was. “Next you’ll be telling me he has tattoos and an earring.”

Stephanie glanced across the cafe again. “Can’t see an earring, and if he has any tats, they’re hidden by the business suit he’s wearing.”

“A guy with long hair in a business suit!” Lydia scoffed. “Definitely Mafia materiel.”

Stephanie giggled, and drained the last of her cappuccino. “He’s got great bone structure too, just like Brad Pitt.”

“I get the picture, all right. Just go over and introduce yourself, for goodness sake,” Lydia said, picking up her own cup of coffee. She glanced at her watch. “You have exactly ten minutes to hit on him before we’re due back at work.”

Stephanie groaned, glancing down at her own watch. “Already? I reckon if you went over and introduced yourself he’d be happy to talk.”

“Get real, Steph! I’m not going to introduce myself to a complete stranger in the middle of a coffee shop, particularly one you’ve described as a biker in a suit.”

“That’s
not
the image I was trying to portray. I know you’ve suffered, but it’s been over a year since your last break up. Going on an occasional date wouldn’t hurt, particularly if the guy can’t tear his gorgeous green eyes off you.”

Tact had never been one of Stephanie’s fortes, Lydia thought ruefully. She almost wished she hadn’t told her about all her bad luck with men. But Stephanie, being the nosy parka she was, had wanted to know why Lydia went out of her way to try and make herself look plain and dowdy, when she could look positively stunning if she made the effort.

When Lydia told her that looking stunning only resulted in unwanted advances from the sleazier types, Stephanie had insisted they weren’t all like that.

Being ogled by a handsome, long haired, green-eyed man in a coffee shop wasn’t something she was particularly fond of either. She had come to realise that the more good-looking the man, the more likely he was to be too full of himself to care about others. Since most of the guys she’d dated had been above average in the looks department, she had yet to meet one who possessed something even remotely resembling a heart.

“I’m sorry, Lyd. I didn’t mean to upset you, but honestly this guy has absolutely dreamy eyes. How could he possibly be bad news?” Stephanie remarked.

“I hate to tell you this, but gorgeous eyes got me two-timing Laurie Stevens,” Lydia reminded her. Big brown and needy, so needy that he’d taken all her money as well as money she
didn’t
have.

“I think you take things too seriously. I rarely fall in love with them. I just want to have a good time. That way it doesn’t hurt so much when we do break up.”

“See what I mean. You know it’s going to end, that they’ll let you down. Why bother in the first place?”

“Maybe you can sit at home night after night, but I can’t.” Stephanie leant closer and added in a hushed whisper. “I enjoy sex too much.”

And therein lay the crux of the matter. Lydia didn’t. Laurie had been the only man she’d gone all the way with, believing him when he said he loved her and wanted to marry her. Not only had he left her for another woman, sex had at first been painful, then uncomfortable, and finally a chore to endure if she wanted to keep her man.

What a joke! Not only had she ended up back on her own, she’d had to pay off his debts when no one could find him.

Ever since then her life had become a man-free zone. She was once again in charge of her own finances; she had a loving family, friends, a place to call home, and a job she liked and was good at.

“I need to be in love before I’ll let a man go all the way again. Call me a big softie if you like, but how could a biker in a suit ever hope to fulfil my obviously too high expectations?”

“I told you, he’s not a... Oh, he’s just got his laptop out of his briefcase. Since when do bikers have briefcases or laptop computers?” Stephanie asked with raised brows.

“All right then he’s their club leader cooking the books after their last drug haul. Come on, time to go.” Lydia got to her feet and reluctantly Stephanie followed suit.

“He’s going to pretend he never even noticed us now that he’s got the computer running, so why don’t you just give him a sweet seductive smile as we pass him on our way out?” Stephanie suggested with a wink.

Lydia rolled her eyes. “I have a better idea. Why don’t we just walk out and pretend
we
never even noticed
him.
”

“But that’s no fun!” Stephanie protested.

“Tough.” But her curiosity had been piqued. Lydia had to see with her own eyes if the image Stephanie had portrayed was real.

As they walked up to the counter to pay for their meals, Lydia glanced covertly around the room. Most of the lunch crowd had left, only a few tables still occupied.

The man in question had the best position in the café, beside the potted palm in front of the window. And yes he was looking right back at her, the open computer sitting forgotten on the table beside his folded hands.

Lydia experienced an uncomfortable tightening in her chest as she met his intense regard. Even though there was at least three metres of space separating them, she felt as though he was touching her in the most intimate way, caressing her with those amazing eyes. Stephanie had described them to a tee; they
were
dreamy; a deep ocean green a girl could drown in if she looked long enough. They were fringed with long dark lashes no man had a right to.

And yes, he was handsome. Stephanie had been right about that too. His features were strong and evenly proportioned, with a wide, full-lipped mouth, and dark straight brows.

As for his hair; the cute ponytail seemed to suit him, drawing out long streaks of red, blonde and brown. Surely that couldn’t be natural.

His dark suit and tie didn’t make him look like a gangster, or a bikie gang’s bookkeeper, more like a businessman with an independent flair.

Realising she was staring just as much as he was, Lydia tore her gaze away, returning her attention to paying for her meal, but her hands trembled as she pulled the required change from her purse.

When Lydia turned to follow her friend from the cafe, it took all the willpower she could muster to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Suddenly her knees felt as weak as water, and when they passed his table, she was acutely conscious of his presence and his eyes following her as she left the café. Her skin prickled with awareness, and even though it was a relatively cool early spring day, she grew hot and uncomfortable.

Then she was free, released from the bonds of his penetrating emerald regard. Standing on the footpath, she took a deep shuddering breath. Then as though the hounds of Hell were on her heels, Lydia ran all the way back to work.

But she was unable to escape the past. The memories came after her, closing in on her like vultures as she tried to flee their grasping claws.

Stephanie called for her to slow down as she tried to keep up in her teetering heels, but Lydia ignored her.

The worst night of her life had involved the man from the coffee shop. And judging by the intimate way he had looked at her, he remembered it too.

Thank God for work, she thought, as she reached her building. It would help keep the memories at bay, like it always had when life got out of hand. Her job had been her saviour before, and Lydia promptly marched up to the reception counter to see if her next appointment had arrived. Since Stephanie had detoured via the ladies room, Lydia dealt with the people waiting there before calling out the name on her list.

A slender middle-aged woman approached her from the waiting room, and Lydia motioned for her to follow her. As she turned, Stephanie arrived at the counter. Lydia didn’t bother saying anything to her about it. On the whole Stephanie worked well, and it irked Lydia that their supervisor, Maureen, rostered Stephanie onto reception most of the time, when it was meant to be a shared responsibility.