Dirty Minds by T A Williams Read Free Book Online Page A

the relatively newlywed, after all. You will have to be my technical adviser. It’s quite acceptable for writers to seek expert help, you know.’
    ‘Expert help?’ Now it was Melissa’s turn to look embarrassed. ‘I’d better come clean. Graham is out so much and home so late these days that we haven’t exactly been at it like rabbits ourselves. In fact,’ she managed a smile, ‘I was even thinking of buying
Fifty Shades of Grey
to spice things up a bit in the bedroom.’
    ‘Oh dear, this isn’t going to be so easy, is it?’

Chapter Nine
    Tom pulled up outside her cottage at 7.30. The rains had headed off to the east of the country, leaving Devon with clear skies. As a result, this February evening was absolutely freezing. As he headed for the front door, he saw her little Mini already covered in white frost. He was searching in vain for a doorbell when the door opened. He took a step backwards.
    ‘Evening, Tom. Sophie told me you were at the door. Fur coat and thermal undies tonight, I fear. Come in while I suit up.’ She ushered him in. He smelt her perfume. It took considerable self-control to avoid a heartfelt sigh of delight.
    The spaniel rushed out and made a fuss of him. Again, she seemed especially interested in his crotch.
    ‘All set. Where are we going?’
    He looked up from the dog. What he could see of her looked wonderful. She was enveloped in a fur hat and coat.
    ‘And you must be Mrs Zhivago. How is the good doctor?’ He bowed formally.
    She giggled. ‘It’s faux fur. Made of old mineral water bottles, or whatever. No animals were hurt in the making of this outfit.’ She patted the dog on the head and they went out into the cold.
    He had booked a table at a gastro pub a few miles away. ‘We’re going to the Red Lion at Woodford. The chef’s Italian. I know him pretty well. He’s has just won some TV cooking thing.’
    ‘That sounds good. I hardly know any of the places round here.’
    ‘What? I would have assumed a lovely girl like you would have been wined and dined all over the county. What am I saying? I mean all over the United Kingdom, the world.’
    ‘Not nowadays. Sophie and I don’t socialise a lot.’
    He negotiated a humpbacked bridge that was white with frost. He made a mental note to watch out on the way back. It was well known for ice.
    ‘From choice?’
    ‘Yes, I suppose it is.’ He had to wait a while for her to continue. ‘In my job I used to do an awful lot of travelling. One year I worked out I had been in two hundred and thirty different hotel rooms, spread over sixteen countries.’
    ‘Wow. I didn’t realise you journalists did so much travelling.’
    ‘That was in my previous incarnation. I have only been a journo for three years.’
    ‘And your previous job was?’ He saw the sign up ahead. They were still early enough to find a place in the pub car park.
    ‘Modelling.’
    ‘I did a bit of that when I was a boy. You know, Airfix Spitfires and the like.’ He backed into a space and turned off the engine. ‘So, here I am with a famous model. Should I have recognised you? I’m afraid I’m not very well up on the fashion world.’
    She didn’t answer and he did not dare to ask her again.
    Their table was close to the fire. The room was snug and warm. They weren’t the first. Three or four tables were already populated, their occupants choosing from the menu. He was pleased not to see anybody he knew. He very much wanted this evening to be about the two of them alone.
    ‘Can I take your coat? There are hooks over there by the door.’
    ‘Ah, a true gentleman. There aren’t many of you left these days.’ She let the coat slip off her shoulders. She was wearing a wonderfully soft polo neck jumper. It was a delicate shade of green, which, he noticed for the first time, exactly matched her eyes. It fitted her to perfection, following every curve of her body. He took the coat and hung it up on top of his old jacket. Returning to the table, he felt he