In Petrakis's Power Read Free

table in front of him. ‘We will talk later.’
    It sounded strangely like a promise.
    With the memory of his smoky, arresting voice drifting tantalisingly through her mind like the most delicious warm breeze, Natalie leaned back in her luxurious seat, shut her eyes and promptly fell asleep …
    In the generous landscaped garden of her childhood London home she squealed with excitement as her dad laughingly spun her round and round
.
    ‘Stop, Daddy, stop! You’re making me dizzy!’ she cried
.
    As she spun, she glimpsed tantalising snatches of blue summer sky, and the sun on her face filled her with such a sense of well-being that she could have hugged herself. In the background the air was suffused with the lilting chorus of enchanting birdsong. The idyll was
briefly interrupted by her mother calling out to them that tea was ready
.
    The poignant dream ended as abruptly as it had begun. Natalie felt distraught at not being able to summon it back immediately. When she was little, she’d truly believed that life was wonderful. She’d felt safe and secure and her parents had always seemed so happy together.
    A short while after the memory of her dream started to fade, the muted sound of the doors opening stirred her awake just in time to see a uniformed member of staff enter the compartment with a refreshment trolley. She was a young, slim woman, with neatly tied back auburn hair and a cheery smile.
    ‘Would you like something to eat or drink, sir?’ She addressed Ludo.
    With a gently amused lift of his eyebrows, he turned his head towards Natalie.
    ‘I see that you have returned to the land of the living. Are you ready for some coffee and a sandwich?’ he asked. ‘It’s almost lunchtime.’
    ‘Is it, really?’ Feeling a little groggy, she straightened in her seat and automatically checked her watch. She was stunned to realise that she’d been asleep for almost an hour. ‘A cup of coffee would be great,’ she said, digging into her purse for some change.
    ‘Put your money away,’ her companion ordered, frowning. ‘I will get this. How do you take your coffee? Black or white?’
    ‘White with one sugar, please.’
    ‘What about a sandwich?’ He turned to the uniformed assistant, ‘May I see a menu?’ he asked.
    When the girl handed a copy of said menu over to him, he passed it straight to Natalie. About to tell him that she wasn’t hungry, she felt her stomach betray her with an audible growl. Feeling her face flame red, she glanced down at the list displayed in slim gold lettering on the leaflet in front of her.
    ‘I’ll have a ham and Dijon mustard sandwich on wholemeal bread, please. Thank you.’
    ‘Make that two of those, and a black coffee along with the white one.’ He gave the assistant their order, then waited until she’d arranged their drinks and sandwiches on the table and departed before speaking again. ‘You sounded a little disturbed when you were dozing,’ he commented.
    Natalie froze. Remembering her dream, and thinking that she must have inadvertently cried out at the very real sensation of her dad spinning her round and round, she answered, ‘Do you mean I was talking in my sleep?’
    ‘No. You were, however, gently snoring,’ he teased.
    Now she really
did
wish the floor would open up and swallow her. As the train powered through the lush green countryside she hardly registered the sublime views because she was so incensed.
    ‘I don’t snore. I’ve never snored in my life,’ she retorted defensively. Seeing that Ludo was still smiling, she added uncertainly, ‘At least … not that I know of.’
    ‘Your boyfriend is probably too polite to tell you.’ He grinned, taking a careful sip of his steaming black coffee.
    Her heart thudded hard at the implication. Not remotely amused, she stared fixedly back at the perfectly sculpted profile on the other side of the aisle. ‘I don’t have a boyfriend. And even if I had you shouldn’t assume that we would—’ Her