`Damn.’
Jo dropped the mascara wand at a sudden loud knocking from downstairs and stepped back into a puddle of water near the shower, grabbing at the door with her right hand to keep herself standing upright.
She took a deep breath, told herself to calm down and ran a hand through her hair, tugging at the curls to try to straighten them by sheer force of will. Not achieving the intended effect, she stared into the mirror ruefully then gave up and went downstairs, forcing herself to count to ten before opening the front door.
`Hi.’
God, he was even better looking than she remembered.
`Um, hi, come inside,’ she said, stepping back to let him in, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering into a frenzy that left her feeling slightly nauseous. Or maybe that was the wine. She’d had a glass to calm her nerves. Or maybe it was two. She couldn’t remember.
`Jo? You Okay?’
`What?’ She looked up, saw him frowning at her in concern.
`Oh, yes. I’m fine. Um, do you want to sit down? Have a drink?’
`Sure. You have any beer?’
She nodded, thankful that the long walk to the shops that afternoon had been worth the effort.
She started towards the kitchen, paused, suddenly dizzy.
`Jo are you sure you’re okay?’
`Yes. Wine doesn’t mix very well with painkillers.’
`Maybe you should sit down.’
He grabbed her elbow, led her to the couch. She leaned her head back and after a moment, the dizziness passed.
She sat up, opened her eyes to see him crouching in front of her, the faint glint in his gaze suggesting barely suppressed amusement.
She frowned. `Oh blast it. I’m fine. Momentary lapse. I’ll go get that beer.’
He stood up, pulled her to her feet and for a second she felt him along the length of her body. Groaning, she pulled away and walked to the kitchen, reached into the fridge and grabbed the beer.
She stopped at the sink, closed her eyes again and tried to take a deep, calming breath. The calm disappeared when she turned to see him leaning against the door jamb, grinning.
`You really are very entertaining Jo,’ he said.
Not sure what to say she glared, thrust the beer at him and then stood still, unable to move as he was blocking the exit.
`God, you’re infuriating,’ she muttered when he didn’t move.
`Nice to see you again too.’
`Look, let’s start again. Pretend this never happened.’
He laughed, took a step towards her. And then another. She felt her back hit the kitchen bench and tensed as he reached out, put the beer on the counter and stepped closer. There was barely an inch between them now.
`Just relax, will you,’ he said and she took another halting breath as she felt him run a hand through her hair. Her heart was beating madly in her chest, the air between them buzzing with tension. Relax? Yeah, right.
`Maybe if we get this over with you can calm down and enjoy the rest of the night.’
`Get what over –’she broke off as he met her gaze, lifted a finger and ran it down her cheek, across her lips.
Oh God. Now? He couldn’t kiss her now. She wasn’t prepared for it. Not yet. She needed the work up of the dinner, the alcohol to give her false courage.
`Jo. Relax.’
Her breath caught again as she watched him lower his head, felt his lips against hers. Despite herself, she closed her eyes and leaned in, opened under the gentle pressure of his tongue. She moaned softly, reached a hand up and ran it through his hair, pulling him closer and feeling him respond to her touch. The heat of him burned against her as he moved a hand at her waist, rubbing up towards a breast as he explored her mouth. Suddenly he reached behind her, pulled her hard up against him in a primal move that sent a jolt of lust rushing through her but the movement also crushed her arm against his chest and she winced at the sudden pain in her injured shoulder. She suddenly came to her senses and pulled away.
Will stepped back, his breathing ragged. `Bloody hell,’ he said after a moment and she nodded, her head still spinning.
She wasn’t sure if it was the effect of the wine or the sheer desire his kiss had inspired in her. Hell, a man who could kiss like that really ought to come with some sort of warning. She swallowed nervously, met his gaze.
`Sorry, got a bit carried away there,’ he said with a sheepish grin. A curl of hair flopped over his eye and she couldn’t help but smile at the way he managed to look innocent, adorable and threateningly masculine all at the same time.
Feeling the heat in her cheeks, knowing it was a dead giveaway, she decided to go with honesty. `Right, well. If that was meant to make me relax it didn’t work.’
He smiled, stepped back. `We better get going while we still can,’ he said.
She nodded, carefully edged around him and stepped into the passage, pausing to get her jacket and bag from the table next to the staircase. She jumped at the touch of his hand at her back and he laughed, shook his head.
`That must cause a lot of problems for you.’
She frowned. `What?’
`Being all nervy and jumpy. I thought vets had to be calm and hard to fluster.’
`It’s not my usual state, trust me,’ she replied, annoyed. She pulled open the front door, stood waiting for him to step outside.
He leaned down, surprised her by pressing his lips to her forehead.
`I know, I’m simply enjoying the ego boost, don’t mind me.’
She inhaled sharply, annoyed there was no suitable object in sight that would be capable of inflicting serious damage. `Arrogant damn male,’ she muttered, pulling the door shut and following the sound of his laughter down the stairs to his car.
`What on earth are you doing now?’ she asked, turning in surprise as he pulled up outside a grocers.
`Getting something non-alcoholic for you to drink. I’ve only got wine but I think you’ve had enough for tonight.’
`But I thought we were going to a restaurant or something?’
He winked but didn’t reply, climbed out the car and headed into the supermarket.
She shook her head then reached up and pulled down the visor, checking her make-up in the mirror. She was annoyed to see a flush of red under the spattering of freckles across her cheeks. Definitely too much wine. How could she not have noticed how much she’d been drinking?
It had been nerves. The whole damn day her insides had been a tangled mesh. And now, after that … that …. hell, she couldn’t even call it a kiss. That was pure seduction, practiced, expert.
It spoke volumes, probably went a long way to explaining the arrogance. She grimaced, hating the idea of being yet another in a long line of females.
About to flick the visor back up, she caught sight of a black wagon parked a few spaces behind them and her heart leapt into her mouth. She only allowed herself to breathe again when a rotund man and his equally plump family piled out of the car, headed across the road into the local fish and chip shop.
The driver’s door opened across from her and Will climbed back in, handing her a bag before starting the car and backing out the park.
She opened it, saw the grape juice and smiled slightly.
`You bought me grape juice.’
He shot her an amused glance. `Closest thing to wine I could find.’
`Where are we going?’
`Secret.’
`Oh come on. I hate secrets.’
He raised an eyebrow, glanced across at her and she turned her head and focused on the scenery, decided it was easiest to ignore him for now.
Although it was past seven, the sun was still up, washing over the dark green of the forest-clad hills flanking the narrow road they followed uphill, heading up the coast towards St Germans. She wondered where he was taking her, was very surprised when he pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car. She looked around, saw nothing but the hills and the road and frowned.
`Where are we?’
`Little place I know,’ he said, coming round to help her out then opening the back door of the Land Rover and pulling out a blanket, a lantern and a basket.
`Will! Where are we?’ she asked again, intrigued and, somewhat surprisingly, not all that wary.
`You’ll see soon enough. Got the juice?’
She nodded, watched him press the button on the keyring to lock the car as he balanced the basket against a hip, then she followed him into the woods.
A short walk later she drew in an awed breath as she stepped out from the cover of the trees and onto the beach of a small cove.
`Wow, this is awesome,’ she said, entranced by the serenity and easy charm of the spot. She turned to see Will watching her and he smiled, put down the basket and blanket.
`I knew you’d like it. Beats some crowded over-priced restaurant, doesn’t it?’
Jo nodded, overwhelmed with a rush of anticipation. This was no ordinary man she was dealing with, she knew that for certain now. But it wasn’t just the undercurrent of danger, there was something else, something in him that called to her, something that she couldn’t ignore.
`So you’ve planned a picnic for us then?’ she asked with a smile. `I hope you didn’t do the cooking.’
Will shook his head. `I really should be insulted at that you know. You haven’t the faintest idea of what I can or can’t do.’
Jo laughed. `I think it’s a fairly good guess on my part that you don’t go near a kitchen unless it’s to stick something in a microwave.’
He smiled then shrugged. `Okay, true. But don’t worry, this is courtesy of Julia and she’s a whizz in the kitchen. Probably the reason I don’t need to be.’
She sat cross-legged on the blanket, grateful to be wearing slacks, as Will began unpacking the basket.
`Wow. A real feast,’ she said with a smile.
Will nodded, grabbed a couple of wine glasses and filled them with juice then handed her one.
They sat in silence for a moment, both staring at the sea.
`Sorry about before,’ Will said suddenly and Jo turned to face him with surprise. `Don’t worry about it,’ she said.
`It wasn’t planned.’
She wondered why it would bother him if she thought he had all of his moves planned out. `I didn’t mind,’ she said, and Will grinned.
`I could tell.’
She swallowed, put her glass down and frowned at him. `Look, this whole arrogant thing has to stop, okay?’
He laughed. `What did I say wrong? I merely said I could tell you enjoyed it. Does that bother you? Would you rather I pretended I didn’t know?’
Jo glanced away, uncomfortable with the logic. `I don’t like the idea that you think you can just snap your fingers and I’ll come running.’
Will frowned, suddenly serious again. `Why would I think that? I’m counting my blessings right now, trust me. Plus, I’m starving so why don’t we make a start on the food.’
She watched him unwrap the plastic foil over the chicken, put some meat on her plate and dish up the salad and bread. Then he cut the meat into spear-able pieces for her. She was touched by the gesture. `Thanks,’ she said as he slid the plate over before dishing up for himself.
They ate in silence and there was a tension in the air. Will appeared to be avoiding her gaze and Jo turned to him. `I didn’t mean to insult you,’ she said after a few minutes.
Will turned to her and smiled, shook his head. `I wasn’t insulted. I’m more interested in why you are so sure I’d think that.’
Jo twirled the stem of the glass. `I don’t know. Why wouldn’t you? I haven’t exactly been playing hard to get.’
`Good. Despite what I said the other day, I don’t like games, Jo. I don’t see the point.’ His voice was serious and Jo stared at him, amazed at the turn of conversation. So much for light first-date chatter.
`I don’t much see the point in it myself. Still, that doesn’t mean I’m automatically available. I’m simply taking it one step at a time. For the moment, I’m enjoying it.’
He grinned. `Care to try again?’ he asked, shifting closer. He had been sitting slightly across from her, to her right, with his elbows resting casually on his raised knees. But now his shoulder was hard up against hers and she could feel the warmth of him all along her side. Suddenly aware of how isolated they were, she swallowed nervously and he laughed, nudged her gently with his shoulder then stood up, reached out a hand.
She hesitated then placed her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet, circled her with his arms. He reached up, brushed her hair away from her face and smoothed it down her back, following the movement with his eyes. Then he looked back down at her and smiled.
`Don’t look so nervous. I’m not going to bite,’ he said, grabbing her hand and leading her down to walk along the shoreline. She stared out at a couple of boats on the horizon, the white of their sails highlighted against the pink-orange sky tinted by the last rays of the setting sun.
`What time does the tide come in?’ she asked suddenly.
`Don’t worry, it’s out now. Next high tide is midnight.’
He watched them from the cliff, saw her throwing herself at the guy and almost retched with the resulting nausea. How dare she? She knew she was his, had been from the very beginning.
She would pay for this betrayal. He’d make sure of it. Cursing, he lowered the binoculars and started the long walk back to his car. No point watching anymore, he’d only torture himself with the memories. She was a no-good cheating whore.
He spat in disgust. So she thought she’d escaped. Well it wasn’t that easy. Oh No. Nobody did that to him and got away with it.
He’d be waiting for her when she got home. Would teach her what happened when she threw herself at other men.