They’d be working miles apart. They both had friends and social lives, and he’d have family commitments. Their time in that big wide world would be limited so it was reasonably safe to comply. But then reason didn’t come into how being near him shook her mantra: Stay strong. Keep distance.
‘Agreed.’
He raised her hands and kissed her knuckles.
‘Coffee’s cold. Do you want to walk Sam now and order pizza on the way so it’s delivered soon after we’re home?’
* * *
The air cooled as soon as the sun began to set, even on the warmer days they’d been having lately. Clad in thick zippered parkas, they let Sam lead the way, Jack’s fingers linking with Cassie’s the moment they stepped off the back veranda. A guy had to ensure a lady didn’t slip on the damp path, didn’t he? And it gave him the added pleasure of her distinctive perfume with every breath.
‘Did you have pets as a child?’
Did you learn a musical instrument? Did you like school?
He’d have to limit his questions to general topics at first. And was he prepared to answer any questions she had with the same honesty he expected from her?
‘Goldfish for years, and a succession of cats and dogs, always from Animal Welfare. Mum chose older ones who had little chance of being adopted otherwise, and they returned her affection unconditionally.’
She smiled as if recalling a treasured memory. ‘The cats and smaller dogs would curl up on her lap as she watched television.’
‘Did you have a preference?’
‘I loved playing with the dogs, teaching them tricks and trying, not very successfully, to train them. I admired all our cats, who tended to be self-reliant, solitary and often standoffish. And I learned that trust takes time and patience to build.’ She laughed teasingly. ‘I can’t imagine you with cats, more a romp with the pedigree dog type.’
She’d painted a picture of mutts and strays, boisterous fun and limited or no formal training. The complete opposite of the Randell domestic animals. And, without realising, she’d given him an insight into her view of her place in the world when she’d spoken of the cats.
‘We always had pedigree dogs, two at all times. The one cat in my lifetime was a present Val bought herself for her fifteenth birthday, still her favourite pet. The dogs were professionally trained but we boys did our best to un-teach them and get them to join in our rough and tumble games.’
‘And now?’
‘I won’t own a dog and leave it alone all day. My cousin had Sam when Mel was in hospital, and he’s well behaved so I’ve taken him with me the last two days.’
He flicked a glance at her, saw her lips part and guessed what was coming. He got in first.
‘And no, I’m too old for goldfish and have no interest in an aquarium.’
‘Mind-reader.’ Their mingled laughter caused a warm glow in his stomach. It sounded natural, nice, something he could get used to. Something he’d miss when she was no longer around.
‘Val’s threatening to give me a cat for my birthday, says I need the company and something living to take care of. I’m terrified she actually means it.’
‘It might do you good to have a flatmate you can’t dominate.’
‘That’s my worry. Can you hold Sam while I make the call?’ The alternative was to let go of her hand. Not an option.
Cassie complied, urging the dog to her side. Twilight walking hand in hand with Jack was comforting. She was convinced it could be habit-forming and probably addictive.
Pizza ordered, they walked to the next corner and turned back, Sam remaining under her control.
‘When do you intend to start Mel’s listing?’ Jack asked.
‘Tomorrow morning. I have charts in my computer, and I’ll do one room at a time.’
She sensed the turn of his head and felt his penetrating gaze. He halted and swung to face her, pivoting her body with his hold. The overhead streetlight reflected in his green eyes reminded her of the lush foliage of a Queensland rainforest. Her body responded in the same way it had trudging up a hill on that hot, steamy day.
‘It’s the weekend. No days off between contracts?’
‘That’s what I’m here for. I’ll fit in odd hours or days off as I go.’
She wasn’t surprised by her heart racing and the fluttering in her stomach, or by the tingles leaping from cell to cell. But how was it possible to feel breathless when her lungs were working overtime pumping air in and out? Especially when his cool fingers caressed her cold cheek and ignited heat.
How was it possible for his eyes to darken any further or to intensify beyond soul-searching? Seconds, minutes—who knew how long the spell lasted?
A raking shudder, a harsh huff of air, and it was broken. He’d wanted to kiss her, and her logical brain silently thanked him for resisting. Her heart regretted his self-control.
‘Make sure you do.’ Grating, as if from a dry throat, the way hers felt. ‘Keep a lookout for the Batman car I lost twenty years ago.’
His hand dropped to his side and they resumed their walk.
‘I’m committed for the weekend so if there’s anything that needs to be moved or lifted, let it wait. Text me, and I’ll get there when I can.’
She had mixed feelings about not seeing him for days. Heck, she had mixed feelings about every aspect of their relationship.
She certainly didn’t expect him to be beholden to her because of a kiss. A kiss like no other. A kiss she’d remember for ever.
* * *
Cassie was torn when Jack sat in the armchair instead of alongside her. It was more aligned to the television, it did mean they could set the pizza at the end of the table, and it lessened the temptation to shift closer. It also meant he was always either in her peripheral vision or leaning in front of her for food.
They ate all bar two slices of the pizza while watching the news, followed by hot drinks, cheesecake and a multi-times rerun of an American sitcom.
‘I’ll bet I’ll still be laughing at the same gags when I’m old and too deaf to hear the words,’ Jack said as the credits rolled up. ‘Are you tired or ready for another show?’
She scrolled through the selection.
‘Renovations, repeats or reality shows. Unless...there’s a sci-fi action film starting in six minutes. Enough time to clear the table, and brew another coffee if you want.’
‘What, no popcorn?’ His exaggerated aggrieved tone made her laugh, and suddenly it was almost like the evenings at home with Brad and Phil. Almost, because they were like brothers to her, and she’d never ever be able to think of Jack that way.
After the movie finished, they let Sam out for a run before bed. Jack took her hand, walked across the veranda and down a step before twisting to face her.
‘It’s cold and dark so we’ll count this as neutral territory.’
He brushed his lips over hers in a kiss as soft and gentle as the other had been passionate. A swarm of butterflies fluttered in her stomach, generating feather-light sensations from head to toes. Their only physical contact was their lips and linked hands, yet his heat enveloped her, cocooning her from the chilly air.
She swayed forward. He lifted his head. And Sam barked.
Jack’s forced smile told her he didn’t want to go, the gleam in his eyes said he believed she was beautiful, and his hard kiss on her knuckles confirmed he’d return.
‘Sam, inside.’
Keeping his eyes on Cassie’s face, he stooped to pat the dog trotting past him.
‘Go lock up then I can leave. Sweet dreams, Cassie.’
‘Goodnight, Jack.’ She turned to smile at him as she closed the door.
A little later, she smiled again as she switched off her bedside lamp and burrowed under the quilt. How could she not have sweet dreams when du
ring her waking hours, he invaded her thoughts with images of slow dancing, moonlight strolls and campfires under the stars?
* * *
Cassie wasn’t sure what woke her in the night; it might have been a dog barking or a car. There was enough light from the streetlights for her to see the dim shapes of the furniture in the room. She rolled over and the quilt slipped, exposing her shoulders to the chilly air that snapped her to full alert.
She pulled it back but knew there was no point in trying to force sleep. Thinking about the morning ahead might have worked if a vision of Jack hadn’t driven every other thought from her mind. Jack, his expression resolute, walking across the foyer towards her after suggesting they order pizza. His eyes had held hers spellbound as he’d narrowed the space between them.
Trying to steady her breathing had meant inhaling sandalwood and Jack’s essence, a mixture that scrambled her logic and jellied her insides. She’d ached for him to touch her, then he’d stunned her with his admission of wanting to stay, his eyes soft and pleading.
A surge of pleasure had whooshed through her, making her grin like a child on Christmas morning. Words had shot from her mouth, bypassing her brain and surprising them both. She’d spun on her heel and fled to the kitchen.
She’d been reaching for a mug when she’d felt his heat behind her. Every cell in her body had stilled then quivered at his feather-light caress on her neck. Butterfly tremors had stirred her stomach and she’d had no resistance as he’d eased her round, drawn her into his arms and...
He kissed her.
There’d been nothing and no one else in her world. She’d been conscious of only his touch on her skin, the smouldering fire in his eyes and his firm lips settling over hers.
Unexpectedly soft and cautious, his kiss had provoked liquid warmth low in her belly, exhilarating prickles that raced across her skin and an overwhelming desire to nestle tight into his body, eliminating even the air between them.
Time had stood still. His lips had lifted and she’d sighed, heard and felt his grunt of pleasure rumble up his chest, and sighed again when they resettled on hers.
His arms had tightened, moulding her to his frame. She’d woven her fingers into his hair, rejoiced at his trembling. Her lips parted, allowing him entry, and the outside world had evaporated in a burst of sensations she could never have imagined.
Kissing had never been this sensual, so astonishingly thought-draining, so breathtakingly thrilling. He’d tasted of strong coffee with tart apple, and a craving for more of both enveloped her. More tang, more flavour. More Jack. She was weightless, soaring...
Flump.
Sam. Mel. Mel’s house...
Remorse had shaken her, as hot and soul-searing as Jack’s kisses. How had she so easily forgotten where she was, who she was?
Pushing him away, slamming her spine on the work bench as she’d stepped back, and then dithering over an explanation hadn’t helped. Only when his irritated retort had sparked a clear response from her had he understood she wasn’t upset because he’d kissed her. And he’d made it quite clear he’d like to repeat the incredible experience, away from Mel’s home.
In the clear light of day, she’d argue the wisdom of complying. Alone in the blanket of night, she snuggled deeper, closed her eyes and let herself drift back into sweet dreams of that moment to come.
CHAPTER TWELVE
HER RESERVATIONS KICKED back in when her alarm woke her at seven o’clock. Being friends with Jack would be nigh on impossible given the magnetism that drew them to each other whenever they met. That original spark threatened to flare into bushfire heat with each encounter.
Now that they’d kissed, twice, once hot and heady, and later so tender and sweet, she feared her heart was already defenceless.
Standing under the hot shower, she resolved to be stronger, certain she could be when he wasn’t around, not so sure if he smiled at her, touched her or gave that special crackling laugh.
A folding card table from the family room served as a desk upstairs for the laptop, printouts and her mobile. After the third call on Mel’s landline, she took the cordless phone wherever she went. There had also been two women who’d opened the back door and called out.
On Monday evening Val popped in, chatted over coffee about her weekend in Melbourne and promised to visit regularly. Cassie liked her, hoped she would. During her last stay, she’d heard Mel receive numerous calls and deduced she had a wide circle of friends as well as her large family. She’d met a few while Mel had been there but Cassie hadn’t realised how many of them phoned or visited on a regular basis.
To her disappointment, just two calls had been from Jack, the first late on Saturday night as she’d prepared for bed. He’d sounded tired, asked about her day and said his had been gruelling but productive. Without elaborating, he’d wished her sweet dreams.
On Sunday afternoon, she’d heard childish squeals, voices and a chainsaw in the background, almost drowning out his voice. Again, he’d kept it short, almost businesslike, until the end when one of those children had demanded Uncle Jack’s attention. His ‘Gotta go’ had dampened her already low mood further. His whispered ‘Miss you, Cassie’ had sent her heart soaring. So much for keeping distance, even when they were.
Whenever she took a break, she wandered round the house studying the photographs that adorned every room. Being able to pick out Jack as a toddler gave her a warm glow of satisfaction, and from that she followed his life through school and into maturity.
She found one she presumed was taken at a high school formal. He had his arm around a very attractive blue-eyed brunette who wore her red figure-hugging ballgown with the confidence and grace of a model. The way they posed, bodies close and relaxed, their smiles natural, proved they were dating.
The girl’s image stayed with her all day. Where was she now? Had the teenage romance failed the test of moving into the working world? Who had ended the relationship?
Jack hadn’t rung by the time she fell asleep. She had no right to expect a daily call, text or visit. She’d had no reason to call or text him.
So he’d kissed her, turning her muscles into jelly. So he’d said he wanted to kiss her again, and then given her an almost-not-there brush of his lips. To be fair, it was still the second most thrilling kiss of her life. So he’d told her he wanted to get to know her, and had said little more than hello and goodbye over the phone in three days.
Hadn’t she been telling herself not to let his charm override her caution since the moment they’d met?
* * *
Her ringtone woke her from a deep sleep. She blinked, noted faint light around the curtains and groped for her phone. Didn’t check the caller ID as she held it to her ear, and began to drift back to sleep.
‘Cassie?’
‘Jack?’ Caution evaporated with one word. Every sense sprang to alert as she struggled up onto one elbow. ‘What’s wrong? What time is it?’
‘Early, darling. It was too late to call last night. The forecast is for sunshine and I’m free until eleven.’ His voice was animated and alive, in contrast to their last two short conversations.
‘Do you and Sam want to come for breakfast and a walk on the beach? There’s a café ten minutes’ walk from here, and they’ll be opening soon.’
She sank back and stared at the ceiling. He’d barely spoken to her since that last spine-tingling brush of lips, and now he expected her to drop everything she had planned and race to his side.
‘Cassie? You’ve worked for eight days straight—time for a break. I’ll come and pick you up.’
‘No. I’ll drive.’ How could she refuse? ‘And, before you say anything, I’ve had a GPS for years, and now I’ve got a car harness for Sam. All I need is where you live.’
‘Smart as well as beautiful.’ His laughter crackled along the line.
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As she stepped into the shower a delicious flood of adrenaline swamped her. Jack had called her ‘darling’.
* * *
Jack leant on the railing of his bedroom balcony, watching the waves through the gap between the houses across the road. He knew he was grinning, and didn’t want to stop. Between meetings regarding his shopping centre enterprise, scheduled work at his rental properties and a commitment to attend his nephew’s birthday, he’d hardly had time to eat or sleep since Friday night.
Through it all, Cassie and those two kisses had hovered at the back of his mind, surging into prominence whenever he took a break, or settled in bed at night. How come there were times he could be so logical and reinforce all the reasons they shouldn’t get involved, and yet when she was near, or he recalled the way her eyes shone or her sweet smile, logic and reason dissipated? Leaving only yearning and the anticipation of something new and extraordinary.
His determination to never get too involved with another woman was based on logic and his acute awareness of his flaws and weaknesses. He knew little about Cassie’s personal life and friends, and almost nothing of her family background.
He did know he’d missed her. She’d agreed to come for breakfast with him. He’d have a chance to claim a third kiss, maybe more.
* * *
Cassie didn’t need the disembodied voice of the satnav to tell her they were nearing Jack’s home. Sam strained towards the rear right window, head up, body quivering with excitement. Her body reacted in the same way at the sight of the familiar figure waiting by the brick and iron fence of a modern two-storey glass and tan house with twin balconies on the top floor.
As she slowed down, he walked to the kerb, waiting until she’d stopped before opening the passenger door. His smile was warm and inviting, the dark shadows under his eyes indicating a lack of sleep. He lifted her bag from the seat, slid in and held it on his lap.
‘Hi, Cassie.’ Leaning across the central column, he kissed her lips. A brief touch that blew away her vexation for his lack of communication since Friday, replacing it with heartfelt longing. So not the cool, calm mindset she’d sworn to have.
Captivated by the Enigmatic Tycoon Page 11
