‘I don’t know who he was.’
‘At all?’
‘He was poor,’ Demyan said. ‘Well, given how we lived, I assume that my mother didn’t charge much.’
He knew then why he was telling her this.
Be appalled, Alina, Demyan thought.
Gather your things now and we’ll head back to the car. He half hoped for it, for she was innocent and he was far from that.
Instead, Alina sat up and took another drink of water.
He watched her tongue lick over her lips and it was not a seductive move. Still, he felt it in his groin.
‘It sounds as if she was terribly ill.’
‘She was weak,’ Demyan said. ‘She chose drink...’ Then he paused and looked at Alina, who said it again.
‘She sounds as if she was ill.’ Alina thought about what he had said about his mother not charging much. ‘Is that why nothing shocks you?’ she asked, and he watched as her cheeks turned to fire.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well...everything shocks me. Maybe I was too sheltered. I mean, there was just Mum and I and then school was only girls...’
‘We’re taking about sex, yes?’ Demyan checked unnecessarily. He loved it that even her throat was red and then he thought of her breasts and whether or not it was convenient. Demyan was turned on, just at the thought of her shy, and then not.
‘Yes.’
They were talking about sex.
Alina lay back down.
‘I don’t think men...’ She faltered.
‘Go on.’
‘Fancy me.’
‘Wrong.’
‘Or if they do, then they don’t want to be seen with me.’
‘Alina, it was work.’
‘Even so, you didn’t want to...’
‘Wrong,’ Demyan said again. ‘I very much wanted to but you would have thought it...’ He circled his hand and she didn’t jump in. ‘A date.’
‘No.’
‘Yes,’ Demyan said. ‘You would have thought it a first date and then been upset when there wasn’t a second.’
‘How many second dates have you had?’
‘Survival rates are shocking,’ Demyan freely admitted. ‘If I were a hospital I’d be closed and audited.’ How could his appalling reputation make her giggle? ‘You will find that nice man one day, you just need confidence, experience...’
‘Ah, but you can’t get that without confidence and experience, it’s like trying to get a job.’
‘You’ve worked for me now,’ Demyan said, and their faces turned to one another, their eyes met and held. She felt her stomach fold over on itself as she stared into unblinking eyes. ‘You will have no problem getting any job you want now.’