"Julie? How is that sample coming along?" Carla asked stepping out of her office and coming to stand beside the blonde machinist.

"I'm just about done. Just need to finish up the trim and the add the suspenders." She handed over the red corset Carla and Maria had agreed to show Frank Foster the following evening, as she stood up to get the trim needed from one of the bins.

The factory boss turned the corset over in her hands. Expert fingers and eyes checking for inconsistencies in the seams. A smile tugged at her lips as she handed the sample back to Julie. "That's great work, love! I reckon this may just seal the deal with Frank for us. How long do you think it'll take you to finish?" She asked, glancing at the clock for what felt like the millionth time that day.

5:15PM

"Maybe half an hour? Though to be honest, I could be more productive without the audience." Julie responded quietly, nudging her chin towards the machinists who were standing near the kitchen watching the exchange, sipping their tea and whispering. As Carla turned towards them, they all looked away in an attempt to appear nonchalant and disinterested, and it caused her to snicker,

"Alright you lot, you can all clear off for the day and leave poor Julie 'ere to finish up what may be our golden ticket to kickstart this place again. Go on, chop chop!" she clapped her hands at them.

"Well I don't need to be told twice!" Izzy stated as she rolled to the clocking out station, followed by the remainder of the staff.

"Night Mrs. C! See you in the morning!" Kirk called out, with a little wave.

"Make sure you're all here 9AM sharpish!" She called out after them. With a nod to Julie she walked back into the office.

"Right, I've spoke to Kirk," Maria stated as she sat down, "He can babysit Liam tomorrow night so that's all sorted."

"Oh I've been thinking," Carla responded her head not lifting from the paperwork she was working on, "would you mind taking it over yourself?"

"Me?" Maria asked incredulously

"Yeah," Carla finally looked up to Maria, "Well it's been your baby from the off hadn't it with this sample, thing. Run with it."

"On me tod?"

"You're only delivering the stuff, aren't you? You just gotta go and keep him sweet for an hour or so." She could see the uncertainty in Maria's eyes, remembering what it was like the first times she had to meet a client on her own and sighed, "to be honest I'll be more use here won't I? Getting this place sorted out, so that if he does sign I can hit the ground running, can't I?"

"I don't know, Carla..." Maria sighed

"It's kinda part of the job," Carla responded kindly but firmly, "go on get glammed up! He'll end up putty in our hands." She smiled encouragingly at the blonde, "you can do it."

"Well, alright then, I'll go" Maria answered, feeling more assured with Carla's confidence in her.

"Well good!" Carla looked up from her paperwork and smiled again, "Thanks, Maria. Look just be like you were today. You'll do us proud!"

"Well, I'll try." she laughed nervously before clearing her throat, "Are you still going to Peter's tonight, then?"

Carla's hand stopped writing for a split second, before she nodded and continued writing, "yeah. I'm curious as to what he's got to say. And it would give me a chance to explain meself without an entire congregation staring at me." she chuckled nervously.

"Well, just don't let him add on to your guilt, Carla. He knows how to twist the knife, that man. You don't need his sort messing with your head, okay?"

Carla mockingly saluted Maria, "yes boss!" She looked up from her paperwork, "go on home, I'll close up once Julie is done."

"If you're sure?" At Carla's nod, she stood up to get her coat and purse, "right, well I will see you tomorrow morning then. Night Carla."

"Night, love."

As Maria exited the factory, Carla glanced at the clock on her desk. 'How is it 5:30PM already?' she thought nervously. She shook her head and went back to her paperwork, the gentle whirring from Julie's machine taking her mind off the growing nausea that was building in the pit of her stomach...

It was an hour later that Carla found herself standing outside the bookie's flat with that same uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shifted from foot to foot and bit her bottom lip as she raised her hand to the buzzer. She stopped short when she realized her hand was shaking. Lowering it abruptly, she stepped away from the buzzer and paced nervously in a circle as she shook her hands repeatedly at her sides in an effort to halt the trembling. 'God I am so pathetic!' she chastised herself angrily, 'come on pull yourself together Car.' She took a few deep, even breaths, closing her eyes and placing her hands out in front of her to steady herself; Squaring her shoulders, she shook her hair out of her face and turned to face the door again. Reaching up once more, her fingers hovered for a split second prior to pressing the call button, before fumbling with the shoulder strap on her bag.

"Yeah?" came the abrupt response through the intercom.

"It's Carla," she answered, a little higher pitched than normal. 'Flippin' 'eck, calm yourself Connor'

"Come on up," Peter stated. She swore she could practically hear him smirking as she was granted access.

'What the hell is he up to?' she thought warily as she pushed open the door and closed it tightly behind her.

Her eyes gazed at the slightly ajar door at the top of the stairs and tentatively took the first step up. Her ears were picking up the faintest music from above, which became increasingly louder and more prominent as she ascended the staircase. She gently pushed the door open to a welcoming aroma of spice, and peered around the frame.

"Hey," The bookie greeted her as he stepped into her line of vision whilst quickly drying his hands with a towel, "glad you could make it," his voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned over and planted a tender kiss on her cheek, an action that sent a flutter from Carla's heart straight down to her nether regions. Whoa.

"Well it was a choice of either dinner 'ere, or a cup of instant noodles at 'ome so," she teased as she deftly moved around him and into the flat, desperate to put a bit of space between them. She kept her back to him as she pretended to look about the apartment, but her mind was preoccupied with him; and his tanned, rock-hard, tattooed, muscled…

'Damn traitorous body' she scolded herself, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"Make yourself comfortable love," Peter shouted happily from the kitchenette, throwing the tea towel over his shoulder and placing his oven mitts on his hands, "help yourself to some fizzy water if you like, it's on the table there," he stated as he bent down to retrieve the trays from the oven, "of course if you fancy sommit a bit stronger I can run across to the pub and buy you a bottle of red?"

"Oh and I'm sure that neither Steve or Liz would have any moral qualms about selling it to you an' all, would they Peter?" Carla answered with a snicker, removing her coat and hanging it on the coat rack along with her purse before stepping back into the flat's main room, "but honestly, fizzy water suits me just fine."

"That's good to hear," Peter answered as he closed the oven and removed the mitts from his hands, "glad to know I won't have to pour you into a cab tonight. You know seein' as how you're license is still suspended from your drink drivin' charge." He smirked making his way around the kitchenette, noticing the way she visibly winced at his words, before stopping in front of her. He felt a mixture of smugness and disgust at himself for the briefest of moments. He wanted to hurt her; for knowing about Leanne and Nick and keeping it to herself to use to fulfill her own selfish lust towards him. And yet, as she stood there biting her lip and attempting to avert his eyes, he felt a pang of guilt course through him. Why, though?

Carla kept her eyes fixated on his sofa as Peter reached his arm towards the table, his fingers almost brushing across the material of her shirt, as he took the bottle in his hands, "Here, let me get it for you." He said kindly, trying in some way to take back the harshness of his dig. She took a slight step back, before meeting his eyes and fixing him with a lopsided smile, "well you might not 'ave to pour me in a cab, but you might need to roll me in one if that dinner tastes 'alf as good as it smells." She responded, her mask well and truly back in its place.

Peter handed the now full glass of fizzy water to her, and smiled, "well, I have to admit, I ended up being a little more busy today then I thought I would and ended up dropping Si off at me dad's a little later than expected. So, I ended up ordering a takeaway. I'm just warming it up in the oven. Hope you like Thai food."

"Yeah, I love it." she smiled, as he poured himself a glass and turned, his body standing very close to hers

"To new beginnings then," he whispered, gently clinking his glass with hers.

She frowned slightly at the mischievous look in his eye, feeling both aroused and on edge as his eyes raked up and down her body, "to new beginnings" she responded, taking a sip and attempting to step back from him before feeling his hand slip around her waist, pulling her flush against him.

"You scared to be near me, Carla?" he whispered, his mouth hovering dangerously close to hers and feeling her body tremble in his grasp.

She licked her lips and shook her head "No," she croaked, her voice unable to disguise her emotions

"I think you are," he taunted her, his nose brushing along her cheek. He felt her shuddering breath as his lips edged nearer to hers.

This was all she had wanted since that first time he visited her flat after her and Trevor split up. That night he nursed her cut hand, and let her open up to him about Liam. The night he tucked her in as she fell asleep, and stayed with her all night to ensure she was okay. As his lips brushed gently against hers, she felt her stomach flip and her heart flutter. And yet, her brain was sending off warning bells.

Something wasn't right.

Her brain won out, and she gently pulled out of his grasp, placing the glass on the table and positioning herself behind the chair. "Peter, what's going on? I thought you wanted to talk?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I think we can do better that just talk." he responded lustfully and she felt a shiver rush through her body. Her fingers softly gripped into the chair's back as she willed her self control to come back. No man, not even Liam, had caused her to lose her bearings and her control before. With Liam it was always a cat and mouse game; growing up together, they knew each other so well, and each gave gave as good as they got. But with Peter, it was new territory: he always seemed to knock down those barriers she kept building up around herself, shattering her confidence with that gorgeous smirk of his and those warm, inviting eyes. With Peter she felt like she was a teenager again, falling in love for the first time, and awakening all kinds of emotions from fear of the unknown to sheer joy.

He stepped towards her like a lion to its prey, her eyes were wide and questioning, her fingers turning white as she gripped the chair. But her body was betraying her, almost leaning towards him as he inched closer.

This wasn't how he expected this to go. He had wanted to take his time playing with her tonight. Breaking down her barriers one by one until she agreed to his terms: a casual, sexually charged arrangement, in which he was in charge. He would call the whens and wheres they would meet and he would hold all the cards. Yes a casual, lust based arrangement that he would devour until he had his fill of her, and then cut her loose. A final parting gift to twist the knife. He wanted her to feel the pain she had caused him: to use her simply to fulfill his own lust like she had planned to do with him.

But he was already failing at trying to be in charge. Whenever she was near him he couldn't help but be aroused. Those plump lips, those piercing eyes, that soft skin...

...but she was now pulling away from him, playing her little conniving games again and trying to regain control. 'not this time, baby'

"I thought this is what you wanted, Carla" he stated, his frustration evident behind his voice.

Her brows furrowed at his question and tone, "what are you talking about Pe-"

He interrupted her, "Oh don't play coy with me, love! It doesn't suit you."

Her eyes began to harden, her walls coming back up as she blinked repeatedly, pressing her lips together before responding, "so this whole, wanting to talk and have a chance to explain what 'appened between us, was just a lie? Y-You just wanted to lash out at me? You didn't want to put the past to bed at all, did you?"

Peter smirked and placed his hands on the chair she was leaning on, "oh I wanted to put it to bed alright..." he growled lowly, before removing the chair from between them and stepping closer to her as she stepped back until her body made contact with the counter behind her.

She watched as Peter placed both hands on the counter on either side of her, stepping so close she could feel his arousal on her leg. Her body instinctively positioned itself so he was between her legs, her hips wanting desperately to push up against his. She swallowed her desire for him down, willing that he couldn't hear her heart beating rapidly in her chest as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "You can't tell me this isn't what you wanted all along, Carla? Me to find out all about my cheating wife, split up with her without you being the one to point it out, while all the while you are there, laying your groundwork, like the minx you are, to get me into your bed."

His hand came up to brush along her hair, but he dared not meet her eyes... not yet. He continued, "You use men, Carla. You use them to feel better about yourself and to forget about Liam; and once someone else sparks your fancy, some other married bloke perhaps, you get your fill and cut them loose. Well, I may be onto your game but I can certainly help you with your lust towards me," his hand moved to cup her cheek as her body stiffened, "I can give you what you wanted for months-" he whispered seductively in her ear before pausing, suddenly horrified. He felt moisture on the hand that cupped her cheek and he pulled back to look at her; dread automatically coursing through him.

Her eyes were glassy, hot tears had spilled down her face as she bit viciously into her quivering bottom lip. She looked crushed as she gazed at him, and he couldn't stop the guilt that flooded him.

"Carla," he began, using his thumb to wipe the tears on her cheek, "I'm, I'm sorry-"

"Let me go," she whispered, her eyes narrowing and hardening. He automatically stepped away, giving her space to step out around him. She grabbed her jacket,

"Where are you going?" Peter asked, suddenly terrified he had pushed her too far

"Home." she responded, wiping the back of her hands across her cheeks, "It was a mistake for me to come here."

"Carla, please I'm sorry," he pleaded with her "I shouldn't have said what I did, I didn't mean it"

"Oh I think you meant every word." she grabbed her purse and opened the door to the flat. "Goodbye Peter"

"Carla, please!" he cried out as she descended the stairs. "I'm so sorry." he whispered, leaning up against the doorframe as he watched her exit onto the street below.

For weeks he had thought about this. He had convinced himself that she only wanted him for sex. But after her reaction tonight, it was as though the haziness had lifted.

There was something far deeper than just lust towards him. And he had well and truly pushed her away tonight.

He just hoped he hadn't lost her for good...