Page 34 of Here Comes Trouble
Any second now, he’d move higher, to the line of her knickers, then higher… The thought brought her crashing back down to earth.
‘No.’ Her voice was loud this time, loud enough to make him stop what he was doing.
‘Jess?’ his own voice was ragged and low and not at all steady. ‘What’s wrong?’
Shuffling away from his touch, she pulled her skirt down to her knees before scrambling to get up. Her legs were like jelly as she backed away from him, stumbling on the uneven ground.
‘Jess? Where are you going? Are you okay?’ His voice was filled with genuine shock and concern.
‘I have to… I need to…’ She couldn’t form the words. They wouldn’t come. She had to get out of there, but she couldn’t tell him why. She just couldn’t. It was too humiliating.
* * *
Xander stared after Jess’s retreating figure until she was swallowed up by the darkness.
He’d never been so frustrated in his life. His hands shook with the need to touch her again and the hard press of his erection against his trousers was almost painful.
He thought he was starting to get through to her, to help her realise just how sexy and attractive she really was, but she’d thrown up her defensive wall again and he’d run right into it.
Goddamn it.
Perhaps he’d pushed her too hard too soon? But he couldn’t see how that could be the case. He’d been taking it way slower than he wanted to, and she’d been there with him right up until the end.
The bullshit with her mother and those awful beauty pageants had obviously had a huge psychological effect on the way she saw her own body, because from what he’d seen, she had a fantastic figure; all soft curves in the right places but toned and sculpted from regular exercise. Out of bounds though, obviously.
Or was she afraid of what was happening between them and protecting herself? He couldn’t blame her; he didn’t exactly have a great reputation when it came to women and relationships.
But Jess wasn’t like the other women he’d dated.
This felt more special, more real. Partly because he was having to work hard to get her to trust him, but also because hewantedher to understand where he came from.
He wanted her approval.
And he wanted to go after her – like nothing he’d ever wanted before. He felt some deep connection with her that he’d never experienced with anyone, and he ached to explore it.
He needed to reassure her that there was nothing to be afraid of.
Jumping up, he pulled his shirt back on before heading off in the direction she’d disappeared.
6
She was such a coward.
Jess slammed the door to her room in frustration. What the hell was she doing running away from Xander like that?
Truth was, she’d never had a one-night stand in her life and the thought of it petrified her. Especially with someone as intensely male as him.
She was scared of not being able to give him what he expected from her.
He was used to bedding sexually confident women with lithe, toned bodies and dexterity in the bedroom and he was going to be mightily disappointed when he found out how useless she was in bed.
A loud knock at the door made her jump in fright.
That couldn’t be him, could it? Surely, he’d realised by now she wasn’t the type of woman he should be wasting his time with? He’d given her so many opportunities to take him up on his sexual invitations and she’d blown every one of them. He must be mightily bored with her inability to take the initiative by now.
She paused on the way to answer the door as an uncomfortable notion struck her. Perhaps he thought she was playing hard to get?
Had she really given him that impression?
