Australia: In Bed with a Bachelor: The Costarella Conquest / The Hot-Blooded Groom / Inherited: One Nanny

‘I arranged to stay overnight at his apartment. I don’t want Eddie worrying about me.’

‘Ah! Of course! You didn’t want your father to know. He won’t know any more from me, Laura,’ he quickly assured her.

She paused a moment, eyeing him with deadly seriousness. ‘If you don’t keep to that, Jake, I won’t see you again.’

‘Understood.’

A secret affair, Laura thought, liking the idea of it as she made her way to the ladies’ room. Somehow it was less threatening than a relationship she would be expected to talk about. Eddie would have to know but she could trust him to keep it private if she asked him to. They had a solid sister/brother pact about running their own lives—away from their father.

However, she had no sooner sent the necessary text than her mobile phone rang in response. With a rueful sigh, she reopened it, knowing Eddie was going to express concern.

‘You said you weren’t going to fall at his feet,’ he snapped in disapproval.

‘I’m standing upright and walking to where I want to go. Just like you do, Eddie,’ she reminded him.

‘You’re younger than I am, Laura. Not as street-hard. I tell you, that guy knows how to play all the angles. You should be standing back a bit, more on guard.’

She knew it was Jake’s connection to her father making her brother overprotective but she had dealt with that issue. Until it raised its head again—if it did—she was determined on ignoring it and pleasing herself. ‘I want this, Eddie. Let it be. Okay?’

In the short silence that followed she had a mental image of him grinding his teeth over her decision, not liking it one bit but forced to respect it. ‘Okay,’ he said grudgingly. ‘Will I see you tomorrow?’

‘If you’re at the apartment when I come to pick up the things I’ve left there.’

‘I’ll be in. Hope this isn’t one hell of a mistake, Laura.’

‘I hope so, too. ’Bye for now.’

She stared at her reflection in the mirror as she refreshed her lipstick. Her eyes were very bright. Feverishly bright? Earlier this week she had likened Jake to a virus that had invaded her system, knocking her out of kilter. The invasion was much stronger tonight, both physically and mentally, and she didn’t want to fight it. Surrendering to all the clamouring feelings inside her had to be right. By tomorrow she would know for certain if it was a mistake. That was better than wondering.

Jake rose from his chair as she approached their table again. ‘Ready to go?’ he asked as she reached it.

‘Yes. Have you paid…?’

He nodded. ‘And tipped. The service was excellent.’

‘Absolutely. We didn’t have to wait too long for anything.’

He smiled, the sexy simmer back in his eyes as he hooked her arm around his, drawing her into close physical contact with him and intimately murmuring, ‘I’m glad you don’t like waiting.’

Her ear tingled from the warm waft of his breath. Her heart leapt into a wild hammering as the thought jagged through her mind that she was being too easy for him—not waiting, plunging headlong into bed with him. Probably all women were easy for him and she would be no different to any of the others. But did that really matter? Wasn’t she going after what she wanted? She didn’t have to be different. She just had to be true to herself.

She sucked in a deep breath to calm herself as they moved towards the exit. ‘I daresay you don’t have to wait for much, Jake,’ she said drily.

‘You’re wrong.’ He slid her an ironic look. ‘Some things I’ve been waiting years for.’

‘Like what?’

She caught a savage glitter in his eyes before he turned his head away and shrugged. ‘Just personal goals, Laura. I guess you’re impatient to make a start on your career, but you have to wait until you get your degree under your belt.’

‘It will be good to finally strike out on my own,’ she agreed, wondering what his personal goals were and why they sparked such a flow of strong feeling in him. A dangerous man, she thought again, dangerous and driven, but driven by what?

‘I’m sure you’ll find your work-life very rewarding, caring about the environment as you do,’ he remarked, sliding straight back into an admiring expression, shutting the door on what he obviously wanted to keep private.

Laura decided not to try probing. Later in the night when his guard was down and he was more relaxed, he might reveal more about himself. It could wait. Or maybe his goals were connected to her father. In which case, she didn’t want to know. Not tonight. Tonight was about exploring something else entirely and she didn’t want anything to spoil it.

As they emerged onto the street she hugged his arm, secretly revelling in its strongly muscled masculinity. Her imagination conjured up images of him naked—the perfect male in every respect. Every woman should be allowed to have one, she told herself, and this was simply seizing the opportunity. This connection to Jake Freedman didn’t have to get complicated. In fact, she shouldn’t let it become complicated. It was much safer to keep it simple.

‘The hotel is about three blocks away,’ he said, his mouth moving very sensually into a teasing little smile. ‘Can you manage to walk that far in those gloriously erotic shoes or shall I flag down a taxi?’

She laughed, giddy with the thought of his mouth moving erotically all over her. ‘I can walk, as long as it’s a stroll and not a forced march.’

‘I wouldn’t force anything with you, Laura. This is all about choice,’ he said seriously.

It was nice to have that assurance, to know she wasn’t at physical risk with him. Strangely enough, it hadn’t even occurred to her that she might be. It was the emotional risk she’d been concerned about. No man had ever affected her as Jake did.

‘Why choose a hotel?’ she asked as they walked towards it. ‘We could have gone to your place.’

‘My place is barely habitable. It’s an old run-down terrace house that I’m in the process of renovating. There’s stuff everywhere. I hope I can make it look great when it’s finished, but that’s not tonight or any night soon. I only have time to work on it at week ends.’

‘You’re doing the renovating yourself?’

‘Not all of it. Only the carpentry. My father taught me all the skills of the trade and I’m enjoying doing the work myself.’

‘Your father was a carpenter?’

‘No, he was an engineer but he loved working with wood. It was a hobby he shared with me in my growing-up years.’

The tone of deep affection told her he’d shared a very special bond with his father while Eddie had only ever known criticism and disapproval from their father and she had learnt to avoid the kind of contact that inevitably led to acrimony. Such different lives…

Possibly working with wood kept the family bond alive for Jake, though he’d also said last Sunday he liked to relax by doing something physical. Going to the gym was not his only outlet, and she liked the idea of him being involved with something creative. Renovating a house was similar to building an environment to a pre-designed plan.

Jake worked for her father but he definitely wasn’t like him.

She would tell Eddie so tomorrow.

In the meantime, she couldn’t resist lifting her free hand to slide her fingers across Jake’s. ‘Your skin isn’t rough,’ she remarked.

He was amused by her checking. ‘I wear gloves for heavy work. You must do, too.’ He caught her hand and held it, caressing it as he had before, smiling into her eyes. ‘Definitely no calluses.’

Laura had difficulty catching her breath he was so utterly gorgeous and her mind was spinning with the wonder of how excited he made her feel. Only belatedly did it click into the line of conversation and produce a reply, the words coming out huskily. ‘My mother’s training. A lady should always protect her skin from damage.’

He stopped walking, halting both of them as he released her hand to lift his to her cheek, stroking it with exquisite softness. ‘No damage,’ he murmured.

His thumb slid under her chin, tilting it up. He un-hooked his arm from hers and wrapped it around her waist. His head bent and Laura watched his mouth coming closer and closer, her heart hammering in wild anticipation for the kiss she had been remembering all week.

It didn’t matter that they were standing on a public sidewalk in the centre of the city with people passing by. Everything beyond this moment with Jake faded into insignificance. The desire, the need to feel what he’d made her feel before, was pulsing through her.

His lips grazed over hers, igniting a host of electric tingles. His tongue flicked over them, soothing, seductively seeking entry, which she eagerly gave, wanting the deeper sensations, the erotic tasting, the rise of feverish passion that would blow away any lingering doubt about choosing to have this night with him.