They walked out into the street together, and Lara immediately recognised
the red sports car, and the man arguing with a traffic warden by the front
windscreen.
"Hillary!" she roared. "The number of times I've warned Bryce about the consequences of driving my cars..I never would have expected it of you."
"Actually, I didn't drive it," the butler said, throwing his hands up in exasperation as the traffic warden took the opportunity to shove a parking ticket under a wiper blade. Alex was already stepping away from Lara, fearful of her wrath, when she turned to face him. Thankfully she just smiled and held out her hand for the keys, with her other hand on her hip.
Alex pulled the keys out of his pocket, but instead of handing them over he dangled them from one finger teasingly. "But how did you get here?" he asked.
"In the Porsche," Lara replied, not quite understanding what he was getting at.
Alex grinned. "So if I give you the keys to the Ferrari, how is the Porsche going to get home?"
She glared at him for a second, he had a point, then her arm shot out and she snatched the keys away. She turned to Hillary and threw them to him, "drive carefully now," she said as the butler smirked in delight.
Lara reached out and pulled the plastic package from under the windscreen wiper. She shoved it at Alex's chest, "and you can pay this," she told him before turning on her heel and marching towards the real car park around the corner.
*
Alex ran after her and caught up as she reached the drivers side of the shiny black 911. "It doesn't always have to be like this you know Lara. We could just have a normal relationship, dinner dates, making out in the back row of the cinema, that kind of stuff."
Lara laughed and pressed a button on the key ring she had extracted from her pocket, causing the headlights to flash on the car as the locks clicked open. "Hmm, with a baby screaming in the background," she said, arching an eyebrow at him across the roof of the low-slung car.
Alex just smiled as he walked around the bonnet to stand in front of her. "Sounds perfect," he said softly and leant in to kiss her gently on the lips. Lara responded to the kiss and didn't object to being pushed back against the cold metal of the Porsche.
They finally broke apart. "Get in you idiot," she said, reaching behind her for the door handle.
*
After about half an hour Alex looked up from the owner's manual he had been studying and surveyed the road they were driving along. "Just out of curiosity, where exactly are you taking me?" he asked, realising that they were heading west along the M40 away from London, rather than back to his flat or south to Croft Manor in Surrey.
"Oxford." Lara answered, dropping into fourth gear to undertake a BMW pottering along at about a hundred in the outside lane.
"Ok," Alex said, nervously gripping the dashboard as they narrowly avoided colliding into the back of a lorry, "any particular reason? And why are we driving like this?"
"We're driving like this because we're being followed, which you might have noticed if you weren't so engrossed in the engine specifications and fuel consumption chart." He blushed and shoved the book back into the tiny glove compartment. "Probably the press again, thanks to your stunt last month," she continued and Alex sighed in frustration. "And we're going to Oxford to find out what this is." Lara took both hands off the wheel to search the numerous pockets of her combat trousers, eventually finding the small cloth bundle and handing it over.
Alex breathed in relief when her hands were back on the wheel and he unwrapped the metal disc. "I was hoping you weren't just going to keep this," he said while looking over his shoulder to try and establish if they were still being followed. The motorway had just narrowed to a two lane A road and there were no other cars around now. Except...
"Shit, cops!" he exclaimed at the sight of the familiar checkerboard pattern and Lara instinctively braked hard to a much more legal seventy miles per hour.
"Yeah, that wasn't obvious," he said sarcastically as the police car came up quite close behind them.
Lara checked the rear view mirror and sighed. "Has the driver got spiky blond hair Alex?"
"Yeah, you know him?"
Lara nodded. "He keeps trying to catch me out," she said, annoyed. "He'll probably follow us for ages now."
"Maybe he just fancies you," Alex smirked.
"Quite likely," she said mildly. "A few months ago he caught me speeding, but said he would overlook it if I agreed to go on a date with him."
Alex laughed. "I hope you complained. How does he still have a job?"
Lara looked across at him in amusement. "I went on the date," she answered with a smile.
"What?" Alex was fuming. "But that's...that's..." he wasn't quite sure what it was.
Lara raised a brow at him. "Bribery?" she asked. "I was doing 130, they would have taken my licence away."
Alex looked over his shoulder at the police officer and the fact that he was very good looking made him even more angry. "You didn't fuck him did you?" he asked.
Lara shook her head. "Christ, what do you take me for?" she asked.
Alex slouched back in his seat, arms crossed. "So now we have to go slow all the way there 'cos some jerk wants another date with you?" he asked in a fractious tone.
"Oh stop sulking, you've no need to be jealous," she said, causing him to sulk even more.
Lara sighed, then dipped her foot down on the accelerator ever so slightly. Sure enough, the lights on the police car began flashing. Alex shook his head silently as she turned into a gravel lay-by at the side of the road. "Don't say a word," she warned her passenger and rolled down the window.
"Is there a problem, officer?" she asked politely as a pale haired man in uniform strolled up to them.
"Do you realise what the speed limit is on this road, Lady Croft?" he asked, getting out a notebook and licking the tip of a pencil.
"A hundred and thirty maybe?" Lara suggested dryly, tapping her hands on the wheel as if bored with the conversation already.
The man leant down to the level of the car window. "It's seventy," he stated flatly. "And we just clocked you as doing eighty five." A smile played at the corner of his lips.
"No you didn't," Lara said, looking at him for the first time with a cold expression which said beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was not in the mood for playing games.
The man suddenly looked annoyed. "Are you disagreeing with a police officer?" he asked warningly.
"Yes," she replied, "is that a new crime?" She smiled sweetly.
His lip curled. "Perhaps I should file a report about an incident of speeding on February fifth this year," he said nastily.
Lara noticed that Alex was clenching his fists. "And perhaps I should explain to your superior officer why you didn't file that report at the time," she countered coolly.
The policeman thought for a second then stood up. "I'll let you off with a warning this time," he said, then walked back to his car.
Lara smiled across at Alex and quickly shifted the gear stick into first. She slammed her foot down on the accelerator, causing gravel to fly up behind, spraying the officer who kicked the wheel of his own vehicle in anger. Alex laughed aloud as they rounded a corner at ninety before he was even behind the wheel.
"Shame. He was a good kisser."
"Hillary!" she roared. "The number of times I've warned Bryce about the consequences of driving my cars..I never would have expected it of you."
"Actually, I didn't drive it," the butler said, throwing his hands up in exasperation as the traffic warden took the opportunity to shove a parking ticket under a wiper blade. Alex was already stepping away from Lara, fearful of her wrath, when she turned to face him. Thankfully she just smiled and held out her hand for the keys, with her other hand on her hip.
Alex pulled the keys out of his pocket, but instead of handing them over he dangled them from one finger teasingly. "But how did you get here?" he asked.
"In the Porsche," Lara replied, not quite understanding what he was getting at.
Alex grinned. "So if I give you the keys to the Ferrari, how is the Porsche going to get home?"
She glared at him for a second, he had a point, then her arm shot out and she snatched the keys away. She turned to Hillary and threw them to him, "drive carefully now," she said as the butler smirked in delight.
Lara reached out and pulled the plastic package from under the windscreen wiper. She shoved it at Alex's chest, "and you can pay this," she told him before turning on her heel and marching towards the real car park around the corner.
*
Alex ran after her and caught up as she reached the drivers side of the shiny black 911. "It doesn't always have to be like this you know Lara. We could just have a normal relationship, dinner dates, making out in the back row of the cinema, that kind of stuff."
Lara laughed and pressed a button on the key ring she had extracted from her pocket, causing the headlights to flash on the car as the locks clicked open. "Hmm, with a baby screaming in the background," she said, arching an eyebrow at him across the roof of the low-slung car.
Alex just smiled as he walked around the bonnet to stand in front of her. "Sounds perfect," he said softly and leant in to kiss her gently on the lips. Lara responded to the kiss and didn't object to being pushed back against the cold metal of the Porsche.
They finally broke apart. "Get in you idiot," she said, reaching behind her for the door handle.
*
After about half an hour Alex looked up from the owner's manual he had been studying and surveyed the road they were driving along. "Just out of curiosity, where exactly are you taking me?" he asked, realising that they were heading west along the M40 away from London, rather than back to his flat or south to Croft Manor in Surrey.
"Oxford." Lara answered, dropping into fourth gear to undertake a BMW pottering along at about a hundred in the outside lane.
"Ok," Alex said, nervously gripping the dashboard as they narrowly avoided colliding into the back of a lorry, "any particular reason? And why are we driving like this?"
"We're driving like this because we're being followed, which you might have noticed if you weren't so engrossed in the engine specifications and fuel consumption chart." He blushed and shoved the book back into the tiny glove compartment. "Probably the press again, thanks to your stunt last month," she continued and Alex sighed in frustration. "And we're going to Oxford to find out what this is." Lara took both hands off the wheel to search the numerous pockets of her combat trousers, eventually finding the small cloth bundle and handing it over.
Alex breathed in relief when her hands were back on the wheel and he unwrapped the metal disc. "I was hoping you weren't just going to keep this," he said while looking over his shoulder to try and establish if they were still being followed. The motorway had just narrowed to a two lane A road and there were no other cars around now. Except...
"Shit, cops!" he exclaimed at the sight of the familiar checkerboard pattern and Lara instinctively braked hard to a much more legal seventy miles per hour.
"Yeah, that wasn't obvious," he said sarcastically as the police car came up quite close behind them.
Lara checked the rear view mirror and sighed. "Has the driver got spiky blond hair Alex?"
"Yeah, you know him?"
Lara nodded. "He keeps trying to catch me out," she said, annoyed. "He'll probably follow us for ages now."
"Maybe he just fancies you," Alex smirked.
"Quite likely," she said mildly. "A few months ago he caught me speeding, but said he would overlook it if I agreed to go on a date with him."
Alex laughed. "I hope you complained. How does he still have a job?"
Lara looked across at him in amusement. "I went on the date," she answered with a smile.
"What?" Alex was fuming. "But that's...that's..." he wasn't quite sure what it was.
Lara raised a brow at him. "Bribery?" she asked. "I was doing 130, they would have taken my licence away."
Alex looked over his shoulder at the police officer and the fact that he was very good looking made him even more angry. "You didn't fuck him did you?" he asked.
Lara shook her head. "Christ, what do you take me for?" she asked.
Alex slouched back in his seat, arms crossed. "So now we have to go slow all the way there 'cos some jerk wants another date with you?" he asked in a fractious tone.
"Oh stop sulking, you've no need to be jealous," she said, causing him to sulk even more.
Lara sighed, then dipped her foot down on the accelerator ever so slightly. Sure enough, the lights on the police car began flashing. Alex shook his head silently as she turned into a gravel lay-by at the side of the road. "Don't say a word," she warned her passenger and rolled down the window.
"Is there a problem, officer?" she asked politely as a pale haired man in uniform strolled up to them.
"Do you realise what the speed limit is on this road, Lady Croft?" he asked, getting out a notebook and licking the tip of a pencil.
"A hundred and thirty maybe?" Lara suggested dryly, tapping her hands on the wheel as if bored with the conversation already.
The man leant down to the level of the car window. "It's seventy," he stated flatly. "And we just clocked you as doing eighty five." A smile played at the corner of his lips.
"No you didn't," Lara said, looking at him for the first time with a cold expression which said beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was not in the mood for playing games.
The man suddenly looked annoyed. "Are you disagreeing with a police officer?" he asked warningly.
"Yes," she replied, "is that a new crime?" She smiled sweetly.
His lip curled. "Perhaps I should file a report about an incident of speeding on February fifth this year," he said nastily.
Lara noticed that Alex was clenching his fists. "And perhaps I should explain to your superior officer why you didn't file that report at the time," she countered coolly.
The policeman thought for a second then stood up. "I'll let you off with a warning this time," he said, then walked back to his car.
Lara smiled across at Alex and quickly shifted the gear stick into first. She slammed her foot down on the accelerator, causing gravel to fly up behind, spraying the officer who kicked the wheel of his own vehicle in anger. Alex laughed aloud as they rounded a corner at ninety before he was even behind the wheel.
"Shame. He was a good kisser."