The Bad Boy's Redemption. Joss Wood

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      Will pulled out a stool and sat down in front of one wheel, then looked from the desk to Lu. ‘Um...what now?’

      Lu’s mouth twitched. ‘I don’t know. I haven’t done this either...wait!’ She reached across the table and picked up a plastic envelope. ‘Instructions!’

      Will leaned across and looked at the plastic enclosed paper. He shook his head and pointed to the heading. ‘It’s printed off the internet, Lu!’

      ‘So?’ Lu grinned. ‘Let’s try it.’

      It seemed that he was about to try this thing. He knew that everything that could go wrong would. He didn’t have an artistic bone in his body and he suspected that they were about to get dirty.

      Really dirty. He looked around. ‘Can you see any aprons?’

      ‘Now who’s being a wuss? We won’t need any,’ Lu told him. ‘We’ll be fine. So, first step... “Gather a small amount of clay—the size of two fists put together is plenty for someone just starting—and form it into a rough ball shape.”’

      Will dunked his hand in the bucket in front of him and lifted his eyebrows. Kind of the same texture as the mud he’d used to throw at his sisters.

      ‘We need to knead it—get rid of the bubbles.’

      ‘When do we get to play with the wheel thingy?’ Will asked, trying to copy Lu’s rather expert kneading technique. Which made him think of bread, which made him think of cake, and that reminded him...

      ‘When am I getting my Austrian cake, by the way?’

      ‘When I have time.’ Lu peered down at the instructions. ‘Maybe. So... “If you think all the air bubbles are out, shape it back into a rough ball.”’

      Will slapped the clay between his fingers.

      ‘“Put the clay on the centre of the wheel head. The easiest way to do this is by throwing the clay with some force on the centre. Drip some water over it and spin the wheel fairly fast,”’ she read.

      ‘OK.’ Will threw the clay down and hit the pedal of the wheel with some force. He watched his clay ball shoot across the wheel, skim the rim and fall on the floor. ‘Whoops.’

      Lu snorted with laughter.

      ‘Think you can do better, Mermaid?’

      What Lu didn’t realise was that her pedal was next to his left foot. She was so busy trying to get it right that she didn’t notice his foot sliding over hers until he pushed down hard. Her wheel spun furiously and her ball skidded across it. Lu yelped, turned in her seat and slipped her clay-covered hand onto his chest, leaving a perfect imprint of her fingers.

      Blue-green eyes glinting with mirth met his as she fought to find an innocent expression. ‘It could have been worse,’ she said on a shrug.

      ‘It could?’

      Lu grinned. ‘I could’ve slapped your face.’

      Will leaned forward and placed his wet, clay-covered hand on her cheek. ‘What? Like this?’

      Will kept his hand on her cheek as her mouth opened and closed like a guppy looking for air.

      ‘You...you...’

      He didn’t think—couldn’t think. He just placed his lips and swiped his mouth across hers in a kiss that was as shocking as it was stunning. Lu sighed into his mouth and planted her hands on his chest—intending, he was sure, to push him away. But her fingers curled into his T-shirt and gripped the fabric instead.

      She tasted of sunshine and excitement, of cherry lip balm and surprise. Her perfume swirled up from her heated skin and he adored the scent. He yanked her off her stool and whirled her away from the wheel, up against a tall cupboard. He moved into her, needing to get closer, needing to feel her feminine form. Will lifted his hands to hold her face, tipping her head so that he could taste all of her mouth. Lu made a sound of approval that sent all his blood rushing south. She was heat and light, softness and courage, too much and not nearly enough. But he couldn’t stop—didn’t want to stop.

      He knew he had to, because if he didn’t he never would.

      It took everything in him to lift his mouth from hers, to pull her head to his chest and rest his chin in her hair. ‘God, Lu...’

      Lu muttered something unintelligible and he thought he felt her lips flutter against his shirt.

      ‘I wasn’t going to do this,’ he muttered, but the words were barely out of his mouth before he dropped it back to hers.

      Her mouth parted to his insistent tongue and his hand drifted over her shirt, palmed her breast. Will felt another wicked flash of lust scuttle through him as she angled her head to allow him deeper access. Moving her hands, she ran her fingers across his taut stomach, let them drift lower before settling them low on his narrow hips.

      ‘Lu, you’re not helping!’ Will pulled back, gripped her arms and kept her an arm’s length away. He tried to inject some assertiveness into his voice. ‘We aren’t going to do this!’

      Lu cocked her head at him. ‘Do you always walk away?’

      He knew what she meant. ‘Yeah. Always.’

      ‘Why?’

      Will dragged his hand through his hair, pushing streaks of clay through it. ‘Have you ever seen a fire when it’s been put out?’ he demanded. ‘It’s a wet, soggy, dirty, disgusting mess.’

      ‘Ah, so you walk before it even gets the chance to become messy?’

      Essentially. Some sparks, especially this one between him and Lu, had the potential to become a raging bush fire. But even bush fires couldn’t rage for ever. And the bigger the fire, the bigger the mess. No, it was smarter just to keep this simple, platonic.

      Because they had to work together, because he really did have fun with her...but mostly because he hadn’t been so tempted to walk into the blaze in a long, long time.

      ‘OK, back up.’ Lu wiggled her way out of his grip and leaned back against the cupboard. He looked at his hands. They were now only smeared with clay. She had clay in her hair. It was streaked over her shirt, her hips, down her neck.

      ‘You’re filthy,’ she said, echoing his thoughts.

      Will’s finger drifted down her cheek. ‘So are you. And, oh, crap...if we hadn’t been going straight home we are now.’

      Lu frowned. ‘Why?’

      Will motioned to her chest, where his palm print covered her left breast. ‘Kind of a big clue about what we were up to.’

      Lu looked down and closed her eyes. ‘Pottery lesson a no-no, then?’

      Will nodded, his expression rueful. ‘It should definitely go on the things not to do list.’

      ‘Along with skydiving,’ Lu added quickly.

      ‘Oh, СКАЧАТЬ