Page 29 of Here Comes Trouble
She’d put the pillar-box red top and fish-tail skirt on for tonight, then taken the whole ensemble off again. Then a minute later put it back on, telling herself it was a step in the right direction to push herself out of her comfort zone.
To unstuff herself.
But then again, she needed every ounce of confidence tonight if she was going to get through the evening with her pride intact.
She was about to take it off again when she’d caught sight of her wild-eyed reflection in the mirror.
Whatever was happening between her and Xander was making her lose her mind. She was ninety per cent sure it wasn’t all in her head. Okay, maybe eighty, but he’d definitely kicked his flirting up a notch recently.
What the hell was going on? She could have sworn he would have kissed her last night if she hadn’t wrecked the atmosphere by flapping about like a headless chicken. Or was that just a figment of her overactive imagination? In the past she’d been prone to reading more into a situation than was actually there, and it had made her wary about taking anything for granted when it came to men and relationships.
Another thing she hated – making a fool of herself.
Not that she hadn’t already managed that multiple times in the couple of days she’d been here.
When he finally turned up at five past eight, looking oh, so divinely edible, she was so nervous the first thing she said was, ‘You’re late. Again.’
Despite her snippy tone, he gave her an amused grin. ‘Are you going to spank me with your ruler, Headmistress? Because I’ll take whatever punishment you choose to dish out.’
She kept her gaze locked with his. ‘Don’t be so facetious,’ she murmured, her body tense with the sudden desire to throw herself at him and consequences be damned.
He took a step towards her, closing the gap between them. ‘Ooh, yeah, keep using those long words on me too, I like that.’
She slapped him gently on the arm. ‘You’re incorrigible.’
He slapped her gently back, a seductive eyebrow quirked.
Narrowing her eyes in jest, she did it again, feeling the rock-hard muscle of his triceps vibrate under her touch.
Before she could react, he wrapped his hand round hers and, trapping it against him, walked her backwards until her back touched the wall. The heat from his body radiated over her skin, sending zingy electric currents through her limbs.
‘This is just like being back in the school playground,’ she barely managed to struggle out. Her tongue felt like a lead weight in her mouth and her lips were tight with tension.
He moved his body closer to her and a flood of longing rushed through her. ‘Did you ever play kiss chase at school?’ he murmured, dipping his head so he could look directly into her eyes. His pupils looked huge against the bright aqua of his irises.
‘Of course,’ she said, her voice husky and broken. ‘And I’m guessing you were always the first kid to suggest playing it?’ Staring defiantly back, she attempted to hold her nerve, determined not to be the one to look away first. He was teasing her, trying to trip her up and get her to admit how much of an effect he had on her. He wasn’t going to win though; she wouldn’t let him.
He shifted even closer, bringing with him a waft of his fresh citrus scent.
It was no good, she just wasn’t as good at this game as he was. She closed her eyes as an onslaught of lust nearly brought her to her knees.
‘Somebody has to take control,’ he said quietly.
She glanced up at him, straight into those unfathomable eyes. ‘I’d have fought you for it,’ she practically whispered, her throat tight with tension.
He smiled in a way that made her whole body ache with longing.
His hand was still trapping hers against his body and she could feel the faint pulse in his fingertips. Or was that her own pulse that seemed to have taken her over? She throbbed to the beat as it concentrated deep in her pelvis. She was so turned on she felt faintly queasy.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped to one side so he had to release her from his grip. ‘Shall we go?’ she said.
His expression flashed with a mixture of surprise and something else. Disappointment?
‘Okay, if you like,’ he said, his voice rumbling low in his throat. ‘I’ll grab the food from the kitchen.’
He came back a few moments later with a hamper and a folded square of material, which she assumed was a picnic rug.
Jess reminded herself not to get too excited about how special this all felt. Xander had probably done things like this a million times before with a million other women.
