A Rule Worth Breaking

‘What’s that?’

This time Caitlin’s wary gaze met his in pure defiance, as though she dared him to transgress one more inch into her private life.

Jake ventured a teasing smile. ‘I’d seriously think about investing in a new pair of stockings, if I were you’

‘How did you know they were—?’

‘How did I know that they were stockings and not tights?’ He gave her a shameless grin. ‘Put it down to long experience…’ he drawled, pretty sure that if he told her he’d had a tantalising glimpse of her stocking-tops when she’d first sat down she’d exit so fast he wouldn’t see her for dust. ‘You can’t beat the genuine article.’

‘Is that so? Well, anyway…I didn’t know you could tell.’ With a disturbed frown Caitlin tried to remember to breathe. Sheer embarrassment made her babble. ‘The trouble is I seem to have an unhappy knack of snagging them whenever I wear them. They’re not really practical. I normally wear jeans.’

‘Take it from me…’ Jake’s voice dropped down a discernible notch or two, making his tone arrestingly smoky ‘…stockings are better…’

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_8ee488f7-56be-53bc-b5be-f2fb2bd0c3ba)

THE DOORBELL JANGLED and the wind chimes that hung liberally from the lilac-painted ceiling tinkled prettily in the ensuing draught. As far as Caitlin knew, Nicky, their part-time help, was around somewhere, and should have registered the fact that they had customers, but she must have absented herself to go to the bathroom.

Sighing softly, she didn’t look round, in the belief that the other girl would appear any minute now, and instead continued to scrub at the particularly stubborn patch of dirt she’d found on the lowest shelf of the temporarily emptied bookshelf. When the stain didn’t respond to her increased scrubbing with a damp cloth Caitlin scratched at it with her fingernail, a spurt of annoyance shooting through her when she realised it was the horrid remains of someone’s chewing gum.

Of all the… She was immediately affronted on Lia’s behalf. How dared someone come into this beautiful space and foul it with chewing gum? Some people just didn’t have any respect. Some people just—

‘Hi, there.’

Caitlin froze at the sound of that smoky bass voice. Still tense, she turned her head and glanced up to meet Jake Sorenson’s indisputably amused glance. Had it really been just a day since she’d last seen him? Was it possible she could have so easily forgotten how dangerously attractive the man was, or that his mere presence had the power to erase anything else from her mind?

Irritated by her purely female response to his tall, dark good looks, she realised she was gaping up at him. What was even worse, he’d caught her wearing an old and tatty pair of jeans that had shrunk in the wash and now adhered to her thighs like a second skin. Caitlin had opted to wear them because she knew she’d be undertaking some general cleaning that day and hadn’t wanted to risk ruining any of her good clothes. What made things worse was that she’d also elected to don a favourite old red T-shirt that had also seen better days, and it clung where it didn’t ought to cling, possibly inviting too much unwanted attention…like now, when Jake’s disturbing light blue eyes were making a slow and deliberate inventory of her body.

Heat crawled up her spine…sexual heat. It completely undid her. Just what was he doing here? Couldn’t he have telephoned if he’d needed to speak to her? He had an unfair advantage, taking her by surprise like this.

Leaving her cloth on the bookshelf, she abruptly turned and got to her feet. Long strands of glossy black hair escaped her loosely tied ponytail to drift down gently over her flushed cheeks, and there was a smudge of dust on her nose. She struggled to get her greeting past her lips.

‘Hi. I’m sorry, but you’ve caught me at a rather awkward moment. I was…’

‘Let me guess…stocktaking?’ Jake drawled softly.

She swallowed hard. The man could read a technical pamphlet on assembling flat-pack furniture out loud and it would still make her hot. ‘Cleaning. I was just cleaning. Stocktaking was yesterday.’

‘It’s nice to see such dedication to the task. You looked like you were giving it your all.’ Smiling faintly, he glanced round him. ‘Interesting shop,’ he remarked, sliding his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and nodding to himself as his gaze made another leisurely reconnaissance.

The heady scent of sandalwood incense perfumed the air and Caitlin wondered for the first time ever if it wasn’t just a tad overpowering. Why she should suddenly be concerned about such an inconsequential thing, she didn’t know. All she knew was that she wanted Jake to get a good impression of her workplace and not judge it adversely.

Jake’s interested glance narrowed as he examined some of the titles on the bookshelves either side of the ones Caitlin had been cleaning. He glimpsed. Living Your Destiny and other esoteric titles and permitted himself a smile. He’d known many hippies in his time, who had loved this kind of stuff. He looked up. From the painted ceiling dangled a myriad of wind chimes and crystals, and the music of some Native American drums pulsed gently. But, as eye-catching and diverting as the room furnishings were, he had no trouble bringing his gaze straight back to Caitlin.

He hadn’t forgotten how pretty she was, and he was certain that the shape that had been intriguingly hidden behind her coat yesterday would be equally arresting…especially as he’d already been treated to the sight of her long slim legs in those tantalising black stockings. But nothing had quite prepared him for the mouth-wateringly feminine curves that he was looking at now.

Her scarlet T-shirt was at least one size smaller than she needed and it clung sexily to her voluptuous breasts, with the light stretchy fabric hugging her delectable shape like a second skin. Hell, he was on fire—uncharacteristically caught off-guard by his acute reaction to the green-eyed temptress in front of him. There was a tense knot in the pit of his stomach as he tried to tamp down the forceful desire that gripped him.

As he stared helplessly he registered the distinct outline of Caitlin’s nipples beneath her bra—and was it his fevered imagination or had they just puckered a little tighter? He’d already been treated to the tempting sight of her delightful derriere as she’d crouched down, cleaning the bookshelf, and God help him, why did he have the distinct feeling that Christmas had arrived early? Because it wasn’t just Caitlin’s vocal talent that would put Blue Sky on the map. The woman’s stunning beauty would put some serious icing on the Christmas cake too.

‘My friend Lia owns the shop.’

Folding her arms protectively across her chest, because she’d mortifyingly caught Jake’s gaze straying there, Caitlin silently berated herself for wearing that particular shirt today of all days. But then how was she to have known that Jake would pay an impromptu visit?

‘As I told you, she’s at the dental hospital today, otherwise I’d introduce you.’ Her gaze automatically gravitated to the counter, missing the familiar sight of a diminutive slim blonde with elfin features and soft brown eyes.

Nicky must be taking a bathroom break. Caitlin couldn’t help wishing that the girl’s timing had been better. Just my luck, she thought. If Nicky had been around she could have somehow diverted Jake’s attention. But he surely hadn’t visited the shop to browse…

‘Anyway, what can I do for you?’ she asked.

Jake stared at her in bemusement. You wouldn’t believe how creative I could get about that, he thought, and then gave himself a harsh mental shake. Where were his brains, for goodness’ sake? He had a perfectly legitimate reason for seeking out their new vocalist and yet he was standing there gawping at her like some horny teenager hoping to get laid. The realisation was sobering.

‘About the rehearsals this afternoon,’ he started, ‘I just wanted to let you know that we’ll be working quite late tonight—perhaps into the early hours of the morning. If you have a boyfriend I hope he’s the understanding type. If not, we’re all in trouble.’

‘There’s no boyfriend.’

‘Good.’

Caitlin frowned. Rubbing her hands briefly up and down her bare arms, she glanced back into Jake’s arresting blue gaze. The man had the kind of reined-in sexuality and physicality that couldn’t help but put her on her guard. It didn’t help matters that he had a ‘bad boy’ smile that was surely reserved for a woman’s wildest fantasy…if she was in the market for such a fantasy—which she most definitely wasn’t.

Still, the hard honed body outlined by his black T-shirt, jeans and fashionably battered leather jacket would surely be a thing of beauty without clothes. There was not so much as a hint of surplus flesh on that taut, streamlined physique. The man clearly kept himself in good shape. She couldn’t prevent the small shiver of appreciation that ran up her spine. But it wasn’t just the commanding, easy-on-the-eye physique that made Caitlin so intimately aware of him. Something told her that Jake Sorenson didn’t take any prisoners. When he told her that they would be working late tonight she was certain he meant it in the fullest sense of the word.

What if I’ve made a terrible mistake? she fretted. It’s the thing I want to do more than anything else in the world, but what if I’m really not cut out to be a singer in a band?

Her mind slipped into panic mode, as it was apt to do when she was hit by a sudden attack of self-doubt.

He must have read her mind just then. ‘Don’t look so terrified,’ he cautioned, amusement lurking in the steamy blue depths of his mesmerising eyes. ‘I promise not to drive you too hard on your first night. But after that I’m afraid you’ll just have to roll with the punches like everybody else. Anyone who wants to pursue a dream has to make sacrifices, and the music business is a hard game, Caitlin. It’s notoriously competitive and cut-throat, and that’s an almost conservative description. If you want to be a success in this game you have to grow a fairly thick skin. Blue Sky have played all over the country in the past two years, trying to establish themselves, and they’ve gained a loyal following. When their lead singer Marcie walked out it was a huge shock. More than that it was a betrayal. But I owe it to the rest of the band to make good on my promise to take them to the top—and, trust me, I’m going to do exactly that. Failure is just not an option in my book. Do you understand what I’m saying?’

Caitlin did. Signing up for commando training with the SAS would probably be easier. She tried for a smile but couldn’t help the nervous little quiver that hijacked her lips instead. Was the man always so serious, she wondered?

‘I’ll try my best not to let you down…Jake.’ She added his name because she reasoned she should start being less formal, and couldn’t help savouring the taste of it on her tongue—like an enticing new flavour she’d never sampled before.

He scowled.

‘That’s not good enough. Say, I won’t let you down, Jake. Not, I’ll try.’

Flustered, Caitlin pushed a stray strand of hair away from her suddenly burning cheek. ‘I won’t let you down, Jake.’

‘That’s better. Now, come here.’

Before she’d gleaned what he intended he firmly drew her towards himthen gently erased the smudge of dust she’d inadvertently acquired on her nose. Her senses were immediately bombarded by the warm sexy tang of leather mixing provocatively with the alluring masculine scent of the man himself.

If someone could bottle it, they’d make a fortune, Caitlin thought. She felt more than a little off-centre as she stepped away, especially when she saw that he was smiling. A deep, sensual tug registered low in her belly.

‘Thanks. I’m probably covered in dust and looking a right mess, aren’t I?’ she remarked nervously.

The words were out before she could check them. She could have kicked herself, because now Jake would think she was fishing for a compliment—which was absurd when she did honestly believe she must resemble something the cat had dragged in.

But with a charismatic quirk at a corner of his lips Jake elected not to comment. Instead he walked to the door, opened it and gave her a brief salute. ‘I’ll see you tonight. Five-forty-five. Don’t be late.’