by Alice Raine
No reason at all. Yeah, right. I could still recall the journalists yelling at me outside the frigging supermarket, but still, I appreciated his attempt.
‘OK,’ I replied, but my mouth already felt as dry as a sandpit.
‘See you soon, sweetheart,’ Jack murmured, before I heard the click of his phone closing down the line.
‘Allie!’ I yelled at the top of my voice, desperate to get some help with my make-up. ‘He’s coming in less than two hours! I need you to do my face!’
Once we were finished, with fifteen minutes to spare, Allie stood back and gave me a thorough once over before letting out a long, low whistle.
‘You’re always gorgeous, but wow... Jack’s gonna blow a gasket when he sees you.’
Which was precisely the reaction I was hoping for. If I had to face the press, I wanted to look good. For Jack’s sake, and maybe a little bit for myself too.
The doorbell rang at exactly half past seven. I had expected no less; if Jack agreed to something, he stuck to it rigidly. Allie gave me a silent thumbs up from the hallway, blew me a kiss, and then discretely disappeared.
Here we go.
I was left alone in the large hallway, more nervous than I had been in a long while. I pulled the door open to find Jack on the doorstep in a breathtaking grey suit, holding a beautiful bunch of red roses in one hand.
I grinned like an idiot, loving that he was making this exactly like a first date, even though the scary part of any first date – the kiss at the end– would be the easiest bit by far tonight.
Jack sucked in a long breath. ‘God, Caitlin, you look stunning.’ His voice was low and thick as his eyes skimmed over my dress.
Jack flashed me one of his customary winks and held the flowers towards me. ‘These are for you.’ Accepting the bouquet, I couldn’t help but sniff them and smile timidly as I realised that this was only the second time in my entire life that a man had bought me flowers, and both had come from this amazing man.
‘You look so handsome, Jack,’ I whispered, but my voice had dried up with nerves and I wondered if he had heard me.
As if answering my question, he stepped towards me and placed a kiss on my lips. ‘Thank you. I knew I would have to dress smartly so I didn’t show myself up next to you.’
Ha! Sometimes flattery will get you everywhere, I thought with a shy smile.
Once I had put the roses into some water, Jack took my hand and escorted me out to his car, where I saw Flynn waiting expectantly. Jack insisted on opening the back passenger door for me, and didn’t let go of my hand until I had climbed into the high cab of his Jeep.
I desperately tried to tamp down my growing nerves on the drive. It was useless, of course, because I was really nervous. After driving through some incredibly exclusive neighbourhoods, Flynn turned the car onto a road that ran along by the seafront. Even with the sun close to setting, the view was beautiful. Crystal clear sea and sandy beaches stretched for what seemed like miles, interrupted by only one building, which I assumed was our destination.
‘Wow Jack, this place is phenomenal,’ I whispered as we neared it. The building itself was away from the mainland, built on a pier supported by thick wooden stilts, and seemed to be accessible via a small, white bridge that spanned the crashing sea and swayed slightly in the breeze. The restaurant was built from smart, white-slatted wood and a collection of decorative lobster pots and fishing nets adorned its walls.
‘So, are you ready?’ Jack asked. I looked over his shoulder and I could already see several photographers loitering in the background. They were safely restrained behind the fence to the car park, but I felt a tingle of nervous excitement in my belly at the prospect of walking past them on Jack’s arm.
‘I guess this is another of those places that attracts celebrities, and therefore journalists, huh?’ I murmured.
Jack’s face softened and he leant in to place a gentle kiss on my lips. It was soft and sweet, and just what I needed. Leaning back, he then gave me his best reassuring smile and caressed my cheek with his thumb.
‘Yeah. But don’t worry, sweetheart, the press aren’t here for us...no one knows we’re coming here. This restaurant is exclusive and has a reputation for being high-end. The press know if they sit outside, they’re bound to snap someone famous eventually.’
Exclusive and high-end? I was so glad Allie had talked me into the fancy high heels and smoky eye make-up. At least I looked the part, even if my stomach was currently attempting a loop-the-loop.
‘Right. Great,’ I muttered. Seeing his eyebrows tweak with concern, I realised that my nerves were probably making it look like I wasn’t keen on being seen in public with him. Which I was. I was just nervous as hell, so I reached across and took his hand.
‘I’m ready, and I’m really looking forward to spending the evening with you,’ I whispered as a smile broke through my nerves. ‘I’m just a bit nervous about them,’ I added, with a nod in the direction of the press.
‘I understand. That’s why I picked this place, once we’re across the bridge, that big security guard will make sure they can’t bother us.’
I glanced at the pretty bridge again, covered with trailing flowers and delicate fairy lights, and noticed the rather large, scary-looking bouncer blocking the gate. His trunk-like arms folded across a well-built chest which looked almost as wide as a car. Hmm. Yep, he looked like he’d do the job rather nicely.
Giving me one more reassuring smile, Jack then jumped out of the car and walked around to open the door for me. With a final gulp, I accepted Jack’s outstretched hand and climbed out, smoothing my little black dress with lightly trembling fingers.
It was almost sunset, but Jack was wearing his sunglasses, so I chose to keep mine on too to give me a small protection against the prying eyes. I’d promised him I wouldn’t wear a hat, but there had been no mention of sunnies in our deal.
I held onto Jack’s hand tightly as we walked towards the bridge, partly because of nerves, but mostly because my stupid heels were way taller than I usually wore and I was terrified of falling over.
As we approached the press, I saw a tremor of excitement run through the photographers as they recognised Jack, and I saw various cameras quickly being raised in our direction. Before I even realised what was happening, Jack had smoothly swapped positions with me, moving from my left to my right, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulder and effectively shielding me from the cameras.
Voices began calling out, desperate for us to pause for a photograph, and the sound of camera shutters rose to a cacophony of near constant clicking and tapping.
The closer we got to the pack of journalists, the more I could feel my senses becoming wound up; everything seemed to be getting brighter, louder, and scarier by the step, the sun felt as if it were searing through my glasses, directly into my retinas, the gravel under our feet was screaming at me with each step, and if it hadn’t been for Jack’s firm, reassuring arm around me, I felt certain that I would have turned and run for the safety of the car a long time ago.
‘Do you want to stop for a picture?’ Jack asked quietly, but I immediately shook my head. This was already starting to overwhelm me. I desperately wanted to get inside and chug down at least one glass of wine to dissipate my nerves.
‘Can we do it after the meal? I think I’ll be more relaxed then,’ I suggested, to which Jack agreed with a nod.
‘Jack, who’s the lovely lady?’ I could hear all number of voices calling out for Jack’s attention but he calmly raised a hand, and with a polite smile we advanced towards the imposing-looking bouncer who glanced at a reservations book and then immediately stepped aside to let us in.
‘You do realise that by not posing for photos, they’re probably all snapping pictures of your lovely arse right now, don’t you?’ Jack teased, causing me to gasp and clench my buttocks for the remains of the walk. Great– enlarged close-ups of my bum would probably be all over the papers tomorrow – that was the last thing I wanted to
see with my morning coffee.
When we arrived at the doorway, a shy, pleasant girl introduced herself as our waitress and asked us if we could wait on the deck for a few minutes while she finished laying our table.
‘Jack, this is beautiful,’ I whispered as I gazed around at the lovely restaurant and sea view behind us.
‘That’s just what I was thinking,’ murmured Jack, but as I glanced at him I saw that instead of looking at the view, Jack’s attention was firmly concentrated on me, causing me to look away in embarrassment.
As we waited for our table I was aware of the distant noise of journalists’ calling out across the bridge, and even though it was faint, it was starting to irritate me, and probably some of the diners inside too, no doubt.
‘Just try and ignore them, sweetheart. You won’t hear them once we’re inside,’ soothed Jack calmly.
‘Don’t you ever find it weird that those strangers are so desperate to know all about you? Every little detail of your life?’ I asked, wondering how on earth he had lived most of his life like this when I was losing my temper at my first real encounter.
‘At first, maybe, but it comes with the territory. To be honest, I’ve not had much attention from the media lately. That seems to have changed since you and I were spotted at the store, though,’ he added with a proud smile.
‘So once they know who I am, will they leave us alone?’ I questioned, contemplating a horrendous lifetime of putting up with paparazzi following me everywhere as I dived from shadow to shadow trying to avoid them like some clumsy ninja.
‘They’ll be satisfied for a while, yeah,’ he said.
I’d wanted wine for confidence, but what I really wanted was to enjoy my meal with Jack in peace. Weighing up my options, I huffed out a breath and turned to the bridge. ‘Sod it. I’ll be right back,’ I announced, sounding far braver than I felt.
Before I could change my mind I marched with false confidence across the bridge with my heart practically in my mouth.
As I approached the group of photographers, I paused just short of them and leaned up to whisper to the bouncer. After a second his stern exterior relaxed as he grinned at me and stepped forwards towards the buoyant crowd.
‘Quiet down, guys. This little lady is here with Jack Felton and says she wants to make a deal with you.’ The press quietened as an expectant flutter ran through them. ‘She said she’ll pose for photos, tell you her name, and answer two minutes of questions if you’ll then leave them to eat in peace.’ Stepping forwards, he crossed his arms and glared at the crowd, ‘Do we have a deal or what?’
God, what the hell was I doing?
Unsurprisingly there was an uproar of agreement, so after a nod of encouragement from my new bouncer friend, I removed my sunglasses.
As soon as I looked at the gathered faces, a multitude of cameras bulbs started to flash in front of me, temporarily blinding me, and I immediately began to regret the decision.
A frenzy of questions were being fired at me from every direction, and I started to feel overwhelmed. Why had I thought this was a good idea? My eyes widened, and my heart was thundering under my skin as I desperately tried to get some moisture back to my desert dry mouth.
Swallowing a lump of pure terror, I returned my wide bug eyes to a normal size, lifted my shoulders, and smiled calmly at the reporters.
‘Tell us your name!’ yelled several of the reporters.
At least that question was easy to answer. ‘Ca...’ Well, it should have been easy. My mouth was so dry that I actually wondered if I’d even be able to speak at all.
Clearing my throat and licking my lips, I tried again. ‘I’m Caitlin Byrne.’ Wow, my calm voice surprised even me and I raised my chin proudly under their scrutinising gazes.
‘How did you meet Jack, Miss Byrne?’ called another.
A smile flitted to my lips as I recalled the jog in the park. Gosh, that seemed like a lifetime ago now. ‘We literally ran into each other.’ I gave a laugh and my smile grew. ‘We were out jogging and we bumped straight into each other.’
‘Did he ask you out straight away?’ called another.
‘No. But I got a job at his studios and ended up on the set next to Jack’s. We started to see more of each other and it went from there, really.’ Which was pretty much the truth.
‘So are you an actress, Miss Byrne?’
‘God no!’ I stifled a giggle, ‘I work in the Props Department.’
At this point I was starting to feel well and truly under the spotlight, so I glanced over my shoulder for Jack, desperately wishing he were at my side. He was still across the bridge, leaning against the frame of the door with his arms folded. With the sun setting behind him, he looked like a flipping supermodel–or more accurately, the Hollywood hero in a romance film.
Lifting my brows, I made a small jerking motion, hoping he would understand my silent plea of ‘Please get the hell down here’ and watched in relief as he casually pushed off from the frame and sauntered towards us.
A rustle of excitement ran through the little pack as they all jostled for the best place to get a good close-up of the new couple together, and much to their apparent joy, Jack stopped behind me, slipped his arms underneath mine, and joined his hands around the front of my belly so his front was firmly pressed against my back.
Blimey, I’d wanted him to join me, but he’d taken up just about the most intimate position he could without actually humping in front of them.
With a shy smile, I inclined my face up and to the side so I could see his. ‘It was getting a bit much, I wanted your support,’ I murmured. In response Jack dipped his head to whisper in my ear, which caused camera flashes to go wild, presumably because they had been anticipating a kiss.
‘You’re doing amazingly...besides, I didn’t want to steal your spotlight,’ he joked, giving me a playful squeeze, and even with all the photographs I definitely felt his groin twitch against my bottom.
Oh my God.
Surely he couldn’t get an erection here, in front of the press? Quite apparently he could, because over the next few seconds the pressure and warmth of the hardness grew until he lowered his head and chuckled.
‘Oops. See what you do to me?’
I nearly choked. What I do to him? The soft flutter of his breath tickling my ear caused a matching rush of desire to surge through my own body, and I was hugely thankful that at least mine wouldn’t be visible like his.
‘Right, well...I’ve answered your questions, so it’s time for you to calm down and let us eat in peace,’ I announced. Given my current state, not to mention the distracting erection digging into my bum, I sounded remarkably calm. I was actually quite surprised when two photographers actually did what I asked and turned to leave almost immediately; one more called out a thanks. Maybe they weren’t the heartless scavengers they were made out to be after all–or perhaps they were just keen to head off so they could be the first to get the story to their publishers.
‘One more question for the two of you...you both look so happy, could this be the real thing? Is it love?’
Yikes, I hadn’t thought they’d get quite so personal.
Jack didn’t even hesitate to answer, leaning around me and pulling me even more firmly against him. ‘Yes. One hundred per cent.’ Two journalists were now scribbling like mad, but as Jack leant down and placed a kiss on my lips, their notes were forgotten as flashbulbs popped.
‘Thanks for your time, everyone, we have a dinner to get to. Goodnight.’
With Jack’s polite dismissal we turned around and Jack guided me back toward the restaurant with his arm still protectively wrapped around my shoulder.
‘I’m so proud of you,’ he murmured as we walked. As I thought about what I’d just done, I had to admit I felt pretty proud of myself too.
Instead of going inside as I’d expected, Jack tugged on my hand and pulled me around the corner of the decking to an area where we were out of sight of any onlookers.
Without wa
rning Jack suddenly moved me so I was pressed against the wall, and then rested his hands on either side of me so they were effectively caging me between the building and his body. Leaning in close, I could smell the musky scent of his aftershave, and feel the strength of his body surrounding me.
‘You were incredible. So brave.’ Leaning down to kiss me, his tongue swept over mine with such tenderness that I ended up moaning into his mouth.
‘And I am so turned on right now it hurts,’ he added, thrusting his hips against me so I could feel the hard length of his cock. ‘I need a minute to cool off before we go inside.’
I wasn’t sure that grinding against me would help him ‘cool off’, but I was enjoying it too much to point that out to him.
‘I love you.’ Jack’s lips brushed against mine with every word and I felt a rush of goose pimples appear all over my skin. I would never tire of hearing those words.
Jack maintained his close proximity, pushing his body even closer to mine. This was all so intimate I could barely contain myself; I knew I was bright red, but I smiled anyway, before wrapping my arms around his waist and gripping tightly. ‘I love you too,’ I whispered, ‘more so than I ever thought possible.’
It’s amazing to consider the significance that generations of humans have placed on the words ‘I love you’. But even though we’d said them to each other multiple times, the impact was immediately evident, because no sooner had I spoken themthan Jack was kissing me again. It wasn't just a gentle exploration this time but a feverishly strong and passionate kiss.
His hands grasped my hips and pushed me against the wall. Both sets of our hands set about roaming over each other’s clothes and soon my skin was burning from his touch. From the jerking thrusting of his hips, it seemed that Jack shared the same sentiment.
Suddenly, Jack ripped his lips from mine with a ragged breath and rested his forehead against mine, as we clung to each other and tried to regain control.
‘If we weren’t in public with the possibility of journalists or CCTV cameras, I swear, I would have my way with you right here against the building.’
