Читать книгу Australian Affairs: Claimed - Margaret Way - Страница 18

‘SO HOW’S it going with your gorgeous boss?’ Julie asked when she phoned Kitty a couple of days later.

‘Next question.’

Julie laughed. ‘That bad, huh?’

Kitty paced the kitchen of her town house. ‘He’s the most maddening man I’ve ever met,’ she said. ‘I thought I was getting to know him a little bit. He’s really nice when he’s not playing the big bad boss. He was really supportive when we had this crazy emergency outside the hospital the other day. And he even told me about his family circumstances over dinner, and—’

‘Dinner?’ Julie said. ‘Hey, back up a bit. You didn’t tell me you had dinner with him. When was that?’

‘It wasn’t a date or anything,’ Kitty said. ‘We ran into each other and it sort of…happened.’

‘What sort of happened?’

Kitty closed her mind to that kiss. ‘Nothing happened,’ she said. ‘We just had a meal at his friend’s restaurant.’

‘And then?’

‘And then he walked me home.’

‘Did he kiss you?’ Julie asked.

‘What makes you think he would’ve kissed me?’ Kitty asked.

‘He’s a man.’

‘I’d rather not talk about it.’

‘So he did kiss you,’ Julie said. ‘How was it?’

‘I told you I’m not going to talk about it.’

‘I bet it was completely different from Charles.’

‘I’m not listening,’ she said in a singsong tone.

‘Are you going to see him again?’ Julie asked.

‘I can hardly avoid it when he works at the same hospital, can I?’

‘I mean see him as in see him.’

Kitty thought of how distant and formal Jake had been the other night at the hospital. It had been a stark turnaround from the intimate exchange they had shared. It was as if he had regretted talking to her about his family circumstances and his brother’s situation in particular. He had lowered his guard just long enough for her to glimpse some of his pain and frustration, but he had snapped the drawbridge back up as soon as he could, locking her out. He was prepared to offer her a no-strings relationship but not access to the innermost yearnings of his heart.

‘Jake Chandler isn’t really interested in me other than as a one-off affair,’ she said. ‘I haven’t been around the block enough times for him. He likes his women casual and carefree.’

‘You mark my words,’ Julie said. ‘It’s the cynical ones who always fall for sweet, homespun girls like you. But anyway, why shouldn’t you have a little fling with him while you’re here? Isn’t it time you had a bit of fun? You spent years and years with the same guy, for God’s sake. For years you’ve acted like an old married lady. But you’re single now. You can do what you want with whoever you want. This is your chance to let your hair down a bit. Live a little. Put yourself out there. You’re only twenty-six. There’ll be plenty of time for settling down with Mr Right later on. What have you got to lose?’

‘I don’t want to get hurt,’ Kitty said.

‘You take life way too seriously, Kitty-Kat,’ Julie said. ‘You always have. You’re allowed to have sex without being in love with someone, you know. And you don’t need a ring on your finger, either.’

Kitty looked at the promise ring that was too tight on her hand. Was it time to put the past aside and do as her cousin said?

* * *

Kitty was on her way to her first practice session with the combined hospitals doctors’ orchestra she had been invited to join when her car refused to start. The engine coughed and spluttered and then died. She turned the key again, but this time there was only a clicking sound—and a faint one at that.

‘I don’t believe this,’ she muttered. ‘Why are you doing this to me now?’

A shadow blocked out the driver’s side window. ‘Need any help?’ Jake asked.

She clenched her hands on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. ‘If you’re going to say “I told you so”, then please don’t.’

‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’

She blew out a breath and threw him a frustrated glance. ‘I can’t get my car to start.’

‘Want me to have a look?’

‘Be my guest,’ she said, cranking open the driver’s door. She squeezed out past him, her body tingling where it brushed against his in the confined space between her car and the wall.

He sat in the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition while his foot gave the throttle a couple of pumps. ‘Sounds like a blockage in the fuel line.’ He leaned down and popped the bonnet lever. ‘I’ll have a quick look under the hood.’

Kitty sucked in her tummy as he moved past her. He looked so vital and male dressed in a black T-shirt and chinos. Every muscle looked as if it had been carved to his torso by a master sculptor. He smelt like summer—a mixture of surf and sweat, sunscreen and aftershave. She wanted to run her hands down the muscular slope of his back and shoulders, to press her mouth to his and feel him shudder with need.

Maybe her cousin was right. What would be so wrong about indulging her senses for once? What harm would there be in a relationship with him, even if it was on his terms? Wasn’t it time she lived a little? It wasn’t as if she had to be as progressive as her parents. Even a short-term relationship could be exclusive. She wouldn’t settle for anything less. It was just so tempting to explore the chemistry she shared with Jake. What if she never felt this level of excitement again? She would regret it for the rest of her life. She would spend the rest of her days wondering what she’d missed out on. She would have no memories of his possession. No images in her head of their bodies entwined in passion. Her body would never know the full extent of its sensual response in his arms.

She wanted to know.

‘Want to give it another try?’ Jake called out.

Kitty snapped out of her reverie and turned the ignition. The engine choked and spluttered and then died. ‘Am I doing something wrong?’ she asked.

‘No,’ he said, coming round to her side as he wiped his hands on a handkerchief. ‘The fuel line was definitely blocked but it sounds like your battery’s had it as well. I can hook it up to my charger overnight.’

‘But I have to get to my practice session,’ she said, frowning at him in worry. ‘I’ve joined a local doctors’ orchestra. It’s our first session tonight.’

‘I can give you a lift.’

Kitty gnawed at her lip. ‘What if people see me getting out of your car?’

A smile lifted the edges of his mouth. ‘I promise not to kiss you goodbye, OK?’

She gave him a guarded look. ‘How do I know if I can trust you on that?’ she asked.

His sapphire-blue gaze flicked to her mouth for a heartbeat. ‘You can’t,’ he said, and then turned and led the way to his car.

Jake pulled up outside the church hall where the orchestra was rehearsing in the suburb of Annandale on the other side of the city. ‘How long will you be?’ he asked.

‘You don’t have to wait for me,’ Kitty said. ‘I’ll get one of the other doctors to drop me off near a bus stop or a cab rank.’

‘I don’t mind waiting,’ he said, putting on the handbrake. ‘Even better, why don’t I come in and listen?’

‘It’s probably not to your taste.’

He gave her a sardonic smile. ‘A little too highbrow for someone like me, huh?’

She tightened her mouth. ‘I didn’t say that.’

‘I’ve heard about this orchestra but I’ve never been to any of their concerts,’ he said. ‘Maybe it’s time I stretched my horizons a bit.’

‘Please don’t feel you have to do so on my account,’ she said. ‘I’m quite happy to make my own arrangements.’

He got out of the car and came around to open her door for her. ‘I’ve got nothing better to do this evening,’ he said.

* * *

Kitty tried to concentrate on the conductor’s beat but her gaze kept drifting to where Jake was sitting in the stalls. He kept smiling at her in that indolent way of his, making her fingers fumble over the notes like a nervous schoolgirl at her first school concert. But about halfway through the rehearsal she noticed him glance at his phone. It must have been important because he got up and left the hall and it was at least ten or fifteen minutes before he came back.

‘That’s it, everyone,’ the conductor said as the session drew to an end. ‘Same time next week if you can make it.’

Kitty made her way to where Jake was chatting to a couple of the doctors he had introduced her to earlier. ‘Thanks for waiting,’ she said, once they had moved on. ‘I hope you weren’t too bored.’

‘Not at all,’ he said. ‘I found it relaxing. I had no idea you could play like that.’

‘I’m not that good,’ she said. ‘I need to do much more practice.’

‘Well, from my end it certainly didn’t sound as if any cats were being tortured.’

She gave him a sideways glance. ‘Thanks.’

‘How long have you been playing?’

‘I started when I was six,’ she said. ‘My parents wanted me to experiment with a whole range of instruments, but I only ever wanted to play the violin. I finally wore them down.’

He gave her a crooked smile as he led the way out to the car. ‘Not many kids nag their parents to learn a classical instrument,’ he said. ‘Isn’t it normally the other way around?’

‘I know,’ Kitty said wryly. ‘I think I’m a throwback. My parents are quite ashamed of me for being so conservative. I haven’t got a single piercing or a tattoo. I don’t even dye my hair.’

‘Why would you want to?’ he said. ‘It’s fine the way it is.’

‘It’s boring.’

He stopped, reaching out and picking up a stray lock of her hair. He coiled it around his finger. ‘It’s not boring,’ he said. ‘It’s beautiful—especially when it’s loose like this.’

Kitty felt the voltage of his touch all the way down the shafts of her hair to the skin of her sensitive scalp. The skin on her body tingled in sharpened awareness as he came that little bit closer.

Her breasts tightened behind her clothes.

Her breath stalled in her throat.

Her pulse rate escalated.

Her mind turned to mush.

The warm fragrant night air cast its spell of seduction around her, making her forget everything but the way his mouth had felt on hers. She felt the hard tug of attraction deep in the pit of her belly, pulling her towards his body like a magnet does a tiny iron filing.

‘I should get you home,’ he said as he stepped back from her.

‘Yes…I’ve taken up far too much of your time as it is.’

Kitty was acutely aware of him sitting so close to her inside the confines of his car. Her gaze kept tracking to his tanned arm as it worked the gear shift. And his muscular thigh as it bunched and released when he pressed down on the clutch. She imagined those muscles in the throes of passion. She imagined those hands exploring her body, touching her in places that made the breath hitch in her throat. She remembered the intimate stroke of his tongue and wondered what it would feel like to have it lick and stroke her breasts or between her thighs. She had never felt comfortable enough to allow Charles to explore her so intimately. But somehow she sensed that nothing would be offlimits to Jake Chandler. He would be a masterful and exciting lover—and a demanding one. She had felt it in that disturbingly erotic kiss. Her body had responded with such fervency to the head-spinning experience of his mouth commandeering hers. It had probably been just another kiss to him, but to her it had been a revelation. It had shown her how out of control her needs could be given the right inducement.

She had never thought of herself as a particularly passionate person. She had put her lacklustre love-life with Charles down to a mixture of long-term familiarity and the exhausting demands of their careers. But in Jake Chandler’s arms she had been transformed into a wild woman with even wilder needs. She thought again of what would happen if she gave in to those needs. So many young women her age enjoyed casual flings. It was part of life these days. She was becoming a bit of an anachronism with her white picket fence and pram mentality. Why couldn’t she have the same freedom as other girls her age? It wasn’t as if she had to fall in love with him. He was hardly likely to fall in love with her. Could she be brave enough to step out of her comfort zone and live a little?

Jake’s phone rang and he answered it via the Bluetooth device on the steering wheel. ‘Jake Chandler.’

‘Hi, Jake, it’s Tiffany. Remember me?’

‘Tiffany…’ He scratched his jaw. ‘From the gym, right?’

The woman gave a tinkling laugh. ‘That’s the one,’ she said. ‘Are you up for a drink some time?’

Kitty rolled her eyes and looked out of the window, a fist of jealousy clutching at her insides. What a silly fool she had been to think he would wait patiently for her to make up her mind.

Of course he wouldn’t wait.

He probably had a waiting list of potential lovers. She was just a temporary diversion from his usual list of candidates. Her temporary appointment at St Benedict’s gave him a perfect get-out clause—a three-month affair with no strings.

‘Yeah, why not?’ Jake was saying. ‘How about tomorrow at Brad’s place? Shall we say around nine?’

‘Lovely,’ the woman said. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

‘See you then, Tiffany,’ he said. ‘Ciao.’

Kitty threw him a look of disgust. ‘You could have at least waited until I was out of the car before you planned your next seduction.’

‘We’re just meeting for a drink,’ he said.

‘You don’t even remember who she is, do you?’

‘I can picture her,’ he said, frowning as if trying to recall. ‘Blonde hair, long legs, nice smile.’

‘Have you slept with her?’

‘Not yet.’

Kitty’s insides clenched again. ‘What’s stopping you?’

‘There’s the little matter of a thousand bucks, for one thing,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to lose a bet like that unless I’m sure it’s going to be worth it.’

Did he think she would be worth it? Kitty wondered. Could it be possible that he found her just as exciting and tempting as she found him? It had certainly felt that way while he was kissing her. She had felt the powerful charge of his desire. His body had left an imprint on hers she could feel even now.

‘And the other thing is I like to be the one who does the chasing,’ he added.

‘Isn’t that a little old fashioned of you?’

He flashed her a quick grin as he swung his car into the car park. ‘Look who’s talking, Miss Nineteenth Century.’

As soon as the car drew to a halt Kitty opened the passenger door. ‘Thank you for taking me,’ she said stiffly. ‘I hope I didn’t disrupt your plans for tonight too much.’

‘It was fine,’ he said. ‘I enjoyed myself.’

‘Goodnight.’

He waved a hand. ‘‘Night.’