Lexington Black Read Online Free PDF

I
get to be close to a car like that is when I clean it. If you buy
it, I'll go into mourning.'
    Lex laughed out loud. 'I'll bear that in
mind. To answer your question, I could probably find this car in
America. In fact, I know I could, but until I walked past your
showroom, I didn't know what I wanted. Have you ever done that?
Seen something so special you know your life will never be complete
until you possess it?' His gaze seared into Rob's. Rob dropped his
attention to his coffee.
    'I guess,' he muttered. Damn it, he was
blushing!
    'When I saw the attention you gave that car
it damned near gave me a hard-on. I knew I would never find
anything like it in the States.'
    Under his magnetic gaze, Rob could feel a
strange tightening in his lower belly. He was getting hard
again . Change the subject, for Christ's sake .
    'Right. Well. That's great. What do you do
for a living?'
    'All in good time. We were talking about
you.'
    'Why are you so interested?'
    'If you want me to consider the Audi you'll
answer any damned question I care to ask you.' Lex was still
smiling, despite the sternness of his tone.
    'But I don't want you to buy the Audi,' Rob
countered. Despite the hard-on he was copping under the table,
despite the direct questioning from this extraordinary man, he
beginning to enjoy himself. His heart was beating in an unfamiliar
way. He didn't know what the hell was going on but he decided he
liked it. He liked it a lot.
    Lex smiled indulgently. 'Touché, Rob, but
you're still going to answer the question. Now it's a matter of
principle.'
    'That's just what I was thinking.'
    'Fair enough. Tell me tomorrow night over
dinner.'
    Rob was aware he was doing his stranded fish
impression again. 'I ...' Think. It wasn't "let's meet up for a
pie and a pint" but a "tell me tomorrow over dinner." Dinner. Like
a ...
    'You mean, like a date?'
    As soon as he said it, he realised his
mistake. Lex concentrated on folding his serviette into smaller and
smaller triangles.
    'So I've just told you I'm gay, and now you
think I'm hitting on you?'
    Yes, yes, yes! 'No! No, no, no. I...'
He caught the Machiavellian glint in Lex's eyes. 'Anyway...'
    'Anyway, what? I'd appreciate a bit of
company on my last night in England.'
    Put like that, it sounded less intimidating.
'Of course. I'll be happy to.'
    'Good. Come to the Deansfield Hotel at eight.
Their food is fairly reasonable.'
    Rob gave a surprised laugh. 'I know. I'll be
there on Sunday for a family lunch, which promises to be joyous. My
sister's wedding reception is being held there in September.'
    'That's very convenient. Maybe you'll be able
to sample their breakfast as well.' Lex toasted him with his coffee
cup, his smile enigmatic. 'So what do you do for fun, Rob
Martyn?'
    Rob was monumentally relieved at the change
of subject. 'Not much at the moment, but if I had the choice I'd be
in a room with a sea view, bashing out pulp novels for an adoring
readership. That sounds pretty damned good right now, dull as it
sounds.'
    'So you write. Interesting. Published
anything?'
    'I self-published once on Amazon, that's all.
A couple of years back. I think I sold one e-book, and that was to
my sister.'
    'What's the title?'
    Rob laughed. 'I wouldn't inflict it on
you.'
    'Go on. I really want to know.'
    'Okay, but it's pretty bad. It's called The Victorian Gentleman's Guide To Twenty-First Century
Woman. It's a kind of steampunk/romance/adventure/satire kind
of thing.' He looked at the bemused expression on Lex's face. 'I
told you it was bad.'
    'Not bad. Maybe a little cumbersome. What the
hell is steampunk?'
    Not for the first time, Rob found he was
explaining what the steampunk genre was. "Think of the Industrial
Revolution, set in a post-apocalyptic future," was how he usually
described it. It had been gratifying to discover how popular the
genre was, when he first began looking into self-publishing on the
internet.
    But since publishing, he had almost forgotten
about it, not bothering to advertise,