A/N: Thank you everyone for the kind reviews, once again.

I have re-written Chapter 4, as I was really not happy with it, and wanted to write in a funnier exchange between Carla, Peter, and Steve. I ended up finding the original chapter I wrote years back, and decided to merge the old and new together.

I also updated Chapter 5 a bit to reflect the changes as well. :)

The following evening, a now nervous Peter buzzed Carla up to his flat. He wanted a complete redo of their disastrous dinner two nights ago, starting with the food itself. So once again, he had ordered some Thai takeaway, but this time set up the flat a little more romantically than he had the first night. He still had a proposition for her to start a casual relationship with him, and he really hoped she would accept, but much of the anger and lust for revenge that had fueled his original proposal had now dissipated.

He was no longer convinced she was just a manipulative temptress: a damaged woman who dealt with her fair share of love and loss that made her cold and selfish. Made her a woman who would dump her best friend for a chance to bed her fiancée for nothing more than bragging rights. For the opportunity to say that she could. To prove to herself that she could get any man she desired until she tired of him and moved on to her next victim.

He no longer viewed her as the black widow he was convinced she was when he invited her up to his flat two nights ago.

He managed to lift that clouded veil of anger he had over him when it came to her after the incident at her business mixer. After he saw her at her weakest physically, and then emotionally as he held her and coaxed her back to sleep following her nightmare.

When she arrived in his flat, it was like they had fallen into their banter of old. She seemed very content and at ease, and perhaps that was because he knew she had put her walls up again. Perhaps trying not to let him in too close after already seeing so much.

He couldn't deny he loved their back and forth. Her sarcastic responses as quick as his own. That giggle she had when she was being overly flirty. He couldn't help the smile that kept tugging at his lips as he watched her so relaxed.

He still couldn't see himself getting involved with someone so quickly after the fallout of his marriage. But he wanted her. He needed her. And he hoped that by proposing this casual arrangement, that she wouldn't run for the hills...

"I take it you didn't make this from scratch again, then?" she wrinkled her nose humourously as her finger poked the aluminum tray in front of her.

Peter chuckled, "I didn't think the best way to start rekindling our friendship would be by giving you food poisoning, and making you have to go into hospital twice in one week."

"Oh I don't know," she says rather seductively, "could've 'ad its advantages…"

"Is that right?" he asked pausing momentarily as he took in the sight of her bent forward over the counter and smiled

"Mmmm," she nodded, "I mean it really does depend on your nursin' skills though, especially as I can't seem to remember much from a few nights ago save for my being angry that I needed looking after... So tell me Mr. Barlow, are you more of the 'here's some tablets, I'll leave you to it' kind, or do you actually prefer drawing baths, giving backrubs and tucking in your patients, you know, being incredibly attentive like?" she purred, biting her lip and gazing up at him through her long eyelashes

'Fuck that's sexy,' he felt a heat spreading through him and couldn't resist flicking his tongue along his bottom lip as he too leaned on his elbows to face her,

"Well, I 'ave been told," he said plucking a perfectly cut half of a spring roll from one of the trays and raising it to her lips, "that my bedside manner is impeccable…"

She smirked at him and shook her head in amusement before seductively taking the spring roll in her mouth and biting down on a morsel, moaning with pleasure at its taste. Peter felt his cock twitch in his pants as he watched her run her thumb along the corner of her mouth, catching the small crumbs left behind by the flaky pastry before sucking them off.

'Ice water, ice water, cold shower, cold shower…' he mumbled in his mind as he popped the remainder of the spring roll half into his mouth and stood back upright.

"Come on, let's dig in before this gets cold eh?" he stated grasping the heated plates in his hands and maneuvering around the counter towards the dining room table.

'Well this looks delicious," Carla complimented, sitting down in the chair he pulled back for her, "oh ever the gentleman," she teased, as he pushed her chair in a little closer to the table.

He didn't know where the surge of lust came from, but it just overpowered his senses. Before he could stop himself, his hand sharply covered hers on the table, splaying it flatly upon the tablecloth almost to the point of being painful. She could feel his hot breath as it moved between the strands of hair falling down her back and noted that he was bending down, almost hovering above her.

He gently swiped her hair to one shoulder and placed a gentle suckling kiss upon her smooth neck. He heard the table move courtesy of her knee, knowing she jolted in surprise to his unexpected seduction and he smiled against her skin as he continued his assault on her neck, suckling and kissing with more perseverance as he made his way to just behind her ear. She exhaled deeply as his tongue flicked the sensitive flesh behind the lobe before grasping it between his teeth, drawing a heedy gasp from her in the process.

"I may be a lot of things Carla," he whispered as his tongue traced the outer edges of her ear while his other hand gently brushed along her cheek, feeling her melt into his caresses, "but 'gentle', definitely doesn't come to mind with what I 'ave in store for you…" His lips continued to glide effortlessly around her throat, laying soft kisses in their wake as he searched for her pulse point.

"Peter…"

Her voice had hit a lower register, a barely audible whisper that certainly would have not reached his ears had they not been so close to her mouth. But her calling his name in that delectably throaty hum of hers caused him to smile against her soft skin in pure ecstasy.

He was so bloody aroused by her physical responses, and no longer confident that he would be able to control himself for the remainder of the night. He knew he had to pull back, to put distance between their highly receptive bodies before they reached the point of no return, but there remained that niggling little doubt in the back of his mind that she was no longer interested. He just needed reassurance that she was still as attracted to him as he was to her and was unable to contain the flutter that resonated deep within him when he found his target: the throbbing vein in her throat that now pulsed at a rapid speed against his moist lips.

But in his current euphoria, Peter failed to register the concerned undertone in her voice when she called to him. Her body was responding to him of its own accord, so much so that she pressed her thighs together in an effort to both quash the rising heat pooling between her legs, and to offer her some sort of relief from her building arousal. Though her heart chastised her to just let go to this man whom she both loved and lusted for, her brain flashed images of the last time she had given up control and allowed herself to be seduced by a man she loved…

"You've got to go," she mumbled against his lips, trying half-heartedly to push him away but he ignored her plea and pulled her face back towards his own, his lips descending upon hers once again, "I'm serious Liam!" She stated more forcefully, succeeding in pushing him away ever so slightly. "Don't look at me like that," she implored him hoarsely

"Do you ever stop giving orders?" He asked with a smile, his hands falling from her face and caressing her body possessively towards his own so she could feel his arousal

She moaned and gasped at the contact, her swollen lips instinctively moving closer to his, her eyes glazing over with lust and desire, "I'm trying to be strong for us both," she tried to reason with him

'why now? I can't be slighted by you Liam, not again…' her mind screamed

Liam's hands moved back up to cup her face, his lips finding hers again and erotically capturing her top lip between his with a passion that burned straight through to her core, yet somehow she found the strength to push away again.

"Why are you doing this?" she pleaded with him...

"What?"

Her eyes flew open. She was back in Peter's flat, her eyes now looking into the bookie's concerned ones.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered uncertainly

Peter's brown eyes continued to bore into hers as he dropped to his knees beside her chair. He had stopped his caresses the moment he felt her tense up. The fingers he kept firmly under his hand began to tremble so profoundly upon the table that the bottle of mineral water itself began to shake. He had no idea what would provoke such a response but worry overtook him and he shifted to get a better view of her face. "You said 'Why are you doing this?'" he answered quietly, "and it sounded almost," he swallowed hard as he tried to form the description properly, "pained."

Embarrassment flooded through her and she visibly slouched in her chair. 'Great move Car,' she berated herself, 'God, he must think I'm a right nutter now!' She could feel the tears beginning to form and hurriedly freed her hand from Peter's now gentle grasp, excusing herself as she made way to the bathroom.

Peter watched as she shut the door behind her before closing his eyes and bowing his head. 'What the hell was that about?' he thought in confusion. He'd never seen her react like that- no…no that was a lie. He had seen her resort into an embarrassed shell of herself once before…

"Otherwise I'd 'ave bit your arm off."

"Yeah yeah," she sighed dismissively sitting down on her chaise and slumping forward defeatedly, "nuff said."

"Your very smooth toned arm. I've got eyes you know. You're beyond gorgeous; you're off the scale!'

That night seemed so long ago now. So much had occurred to the both of them since she first admitted her attraction to him; the first time she had placed her soft lips deliciously upon his only to have him respond for a second then push her away. He remembered how she hid her face behind her hands, ashamed of the way she recklessly threw caution to the wind when she really had no intention of doing so. And now she practically reacted the same way as he recklessly attempted to seduce her.

How could he have been so careless? With a sigh he rose to his feet and, with a final longing look towards the bathroom, turned and began cleaning up the overturned salt and pepper shakers that had fallen over when Carla's knee made contact with the underside of the table. 'She's probably coming up with an excuse to leave now,' his conscience berated him, 'so much for the whole make her feel comfortable malarkey before proposing your indecent intentions eh Barlow? You ponce!' Scoffing at the voice in his head, the bookie sat down in the chair opposite of where Carla had been sitting moments earlier, and began working on his apology and the reasons why she should stay.

Carla stood with her back pressed against the bathroom door for minutes simply trying to catch her breath. She would be lying if she said she wasn't blown away by the events that just occurred at the bookie's dining room table. Sure when she first accepted his dinner invitation that night in the Rovers, she had been hoping to clear the air, and possibly reignite some harmless flirting, allowing it to grow over the next few weeks as they saw each other in the street while he settled back to a somewhat normal routine following his disaster of a blessing.

But this…

She swallowed hard. She hadn't expected him to take control like he did tonight, and her loosing herself to his ministrations only fueled her anxious state. After the night of her dress fitting, the night Liam succeeded in garnering the control in their mutual attraction for each other, she vowed never to give up the reins again. When she was in driver's seat, everything was contained: her emotions were restricted, her heart firmly guarded. But when Liam had taken control she lost herself to her vulnerability, her heart and body lay open for him to do as he pleased. Once she remembered there were more than just the two of them involved in their affair, she had been able to garner some of her self-control back until she could make a sensible choice.

But not enough…

Not nearly enough…

No. No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to make a rational decision regarding her and Liam following that night. And that is why on her hen night, following some gentle prodding from the 'voice of reason' Leanne, she finally decided to end the war between her head and her heart and follow the latter, for the first time in a long time, to the man she loved more than life itself. But once again her lack of control had ended in her heartbreak. Maria was pregnant; and no matter how much he may have denied it, Carla knew that the moment he found out, Liam would have remained with the hairdresser and played happy families while she fell seeped into a depressive state at having her heart tossed so viciously aside by him again. The events that followed only added to the tragedy of the situation, and would serve as a not so subtle reminder that while she was in control of her emotions, it was Tony who had controlled their future. She had foolishly taken her eye off the ball, too infatuated with the possibility of being with Liam for the rest of her life to notice that her insanely jealous fiancée had moved the goalposts. Something she promised would never happen again.

When her feelings for Peter surfaced, she tried desperately to just remain friends with him, even after shamefully throwing herself at him and having him softly reject her advances. But when she had found out about Nick and Leanne's sordid affair, she found herself vying for Peter's affections with much more vigor than even she had ever anticipated. When it all came out in the open following the tram crash, she knew what Leanne, Nick and Peter must have thought of her, and it was easier for her to let them believe it. It was less messy to let them think that she was a homewrecking slut than to open her chest and divulge the real reason.

After all, only one other person knew the truth now...

And she had voiced her concern about this so-called dinner that night in the Rovers, before kissing Carla's cheek and heading back to her flat above Audrey's salon.

Carla took a deep, steadying breath, and pushed herself away from the door. In the flat she could hear Peter shifting around, most likely settling back into his chair. 'Or maybe he's so turned off at your reaction that he's out there right now making excuses on how to end this farce of a night early. Frigid cow,' her mind scolded her. She wondered if that pesky voice in her head was right,; had she ruined possibly her last chance to be with Peter? Would that be the last time she felt his supple lips on her skin? His stubble soft yet rough as it glided under her jaw, his fingers masterfully caressing her cheek, his breath hot against her ear...

She quickly turned on the cold tap and stuck her wrists under the cold water in an effort to quash her ever growing arousal. She was loosing control again, and in her heart she knew she needed to leave before she lost herself entirely, and yet she was unsure if she could do it. Turning off the tap and drying her hands, she exhaled deeply and stepped back into the flat.

Peter looked up as Carla stepped back into the main room and could immediately sense that she was on edge. Her fingers were knotted and she shifted nervously from foot to foot, her eyes briefly resting on the door. 'She's gonna bolt Barlow,' his conscience chided him, 'if you're going to convince her to stay now would be the time…'

"Carla," he began slowly, as she turned her head to look at him, "look I am so-"

The door to the flat opened sharply, and Carla jumped back in shock as Simon came barreling into the flat, Ken at his heels, slamming the door shut behind him. Peter and Carla let out a breath of relief, both shocked they didn't hear their footsteps coming up the stairs seconds earlier.

"Si?" Peter asked softly, "What are you doing here?" he looked inquisitively at his dad, whose eyes were looking between him and a now timid looking Carla curiously.

"Simon wasn't feeling very well," Ken responded, his hands resting on Simon's shoulders, as the young boy kept looking at Carla.

Peter dropped to his knee in front of Simon, "What's the matter, mate? Have you got a tummy ache?"

Simon shook his head, his eyes now on the ground

"I think he's missing, Leanne." Ken whispered and Peter sighed. He knew this was going to happen at some point.

"Si, why don't you go to your room and get changed and I'll come see you in a bit, yeah?" Simon nodded to his dad. He turned and gave his grandad a hug, and gave a small wave to Carla who waved back, before dashing into his room.

"Thanks Dad, I appreciate it." Peter said, standing up.

"Well, I'm sorry for interrupting your evening," Ken responded, his eyes shifting to Carla curiously once again, "but I thought it best he come back here tonight. He wasn't settling at all at ours."

"No, no that's fine, it's best he stops here when he's like that." Peter said, as Ken nodded, heading towards the door

"Yeah, I should probably go meself," Carla said, grabbing her purse off the nearby chair, as Ken and Peter both turned to look at her,

"No," Peter said hurriedly, "no Carla, please, ummm, look just stay for a bit until we can have a proper chat." She licked her bottom lip, her eyes glancing about the apartment, "please?" he pleaded with her, and she looked into his eyes for a moment, before lowering her eyes to the ground and nodding.

Ken slowly turned his gaze back to his son, smirking and raising his eyebrow knowingly, "Well I'll best be off, have a good night, then. It was nice seeing you again, Carla."

"You too, Ken." she smiled kindly and he turned and left the flat. His footsteps echoed down the stairs; leaving Peter and Carla alone in the room once more, in a deafening silence that hung heavily in the air for several minutes, before Carla finally cleared her throat.

"Pet-"

"Is that Thai food?" Simon asked as he came around the corner in his pyjamas and climbed onto a chair at the table, "can I 'ave some dad? Grandma Dierdre had made stew and I really don't like stew."

Peter looked at Simon, placing his hands on his hips and shaking his head in a mix of admiration and frustration at his young son, before looking back at Carla who herself was suppressing a chuckle

"Of course you can have some, Si. Go on and wash up and I'll fix you a plate, okay?" Peter responded

Simon turned to Carla, "You're Leanne's friend aren't you?"

Carla's eyes widened slightly in shock at his question, unsure how to respond, "Uhh, yeah" she answered awkwardly.

'well, you used to be...' she chastised herself

"You're staying too, aren't you?" Simon asked her, jumping off of his chair and standing right in front of her, his head tilted all the way back as he looked up at her and waited for a reply

Carla inhaled, "ohh, uhh" she furrowed her brows together as she looked down into his pleading eyes, "I don't think so, Simon, I don't want to intrude on yours and your dad's time."

"No please stay!" Simon whined, taking both the adults by surprise, "we can all watch a movie after."

Peter raised his eyebrow at Carla, whose deer-in-headlight look met his gaze, and he gave her a supportive wink. When she was still at a loss for words, he decided to answer for her, "Sure she will, Si. But only if you go and wash up!" he growled playfully, his hand reaching forward and giving his son's hair a quick rub, before playfully shoving him towards the bathroom.

Carla watched as Simon disappeared in the bathroom, before turning back to Peter, who had now come to stand right in front of her. "Peter, I don't think this is a great idea..." Her words trailed off as his fingers gently grasped her chin, his thumb softly caressing her bottom lip.

"Please, Carla," he whispered, his warm eyes boring into hers, "Look, if you really want to go, I won't force you to stay, but" he swallowed and brought his hand up to cup her cheek,

"But, what? Pe'er?" Carla whispered back, her voice heavy as her eyes flitted from his lips to his eyes,

"I don't want you to go..."