Page 10 of Size Doesn't Matter

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“Jack Martin, at your service,” Jack said with a slight bow. Then he took in Sophie’s wide eyes and slack jaw and sighed quietly.

His perfect evening had come to a screeching halt.

“So let me get this straight,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Not only did Ethan invite me to and then ditch me at his own party, but he made a spectacle of himself on social media ensuring I wouldneverfuck him again, and then he set me up with his brother to what… soften the blow?”

“This isn’t a set-up, Sophie.”

“Really?” She stared at him like he was a complete idiot. “Because it feels very much like a set-up to me.”

Jack scrubbed his hand across his jaw, frowning as he remembered Ethan’s insistence that he attend the party, knowing full well how much Jack loathed parties and that he would probably end up slinking off to a quiet corner somewhere to wait until it was all over and then go to bed alone. As usual. “Hmm. It does, doesn’t it?”

“That bloody coward,” Sophie snarled through a clenched jaw, then made the most adorable growl of frustration Jack had ever heard. “And you know what? No. I want to see some ID. I want proof you are who you say you are and not some twat wearing contact lenses.”

Biting back a smile, he reached into his back pocket for his wallet and produced his driver’s licence for her perusal, revealing another secret only a very select few knew about.

Sophie stared at his licence for a full minute before lifting her gaze to his, her eyes wide and her grin broad. “Your middle name is Aloysius?”

Jack scowled. “Yes. My father named me Jonathon after his father. My mother named me Aloysius after a teddy bear in a book.”

A snort of laughter escaped his companion as she handed the ID back to him. “Fine. You are who you say you are. No one’s going to admit to a name like that unless they have to.” Her smile slipped, and her back straightened. “But this still feels like a set-up.”

He had to agree. Taking in Sophie’s stiff posture and look of annoyance, he sighed again and said, “I’ll walk you back to your room.”

She levelled a glare at him that would have felled lesser men, then cocked one brow. “Why?” she demanded. “As far as I’m concerned, Ethan’s the one who screwed up here, not us. Why should we punish ourselves forhisstupidity?”

Jack stared at Sophie with a combination of shock and awe, even as one corner of his mouth lifted in a satisfied grin. Of all the things she could have said, that was not the answer he’d been expecting. “Are you saying you’d still like to come in?”

“Will there be more kissing?” she asked, her glare softening, her gaze darting away, submissive once more.

He stroked her cheek and lifted her chin, let her see the depth of his desire for her in his eyes. “Yes, there will be a lot more kissing.”

“Then yes. I’d like to come in.”

“In that case….” He pulled his room key from his pocket and held the card against the sensor until the lock clicked open. “Shall we?”

Holding the door open, he slid his palm to the small of Sophie’s back and ushered her in ahead of him, enjoying the sway of her shapely hips and spectacular arse as she walked farther into the room. That curve-hugging dress was playing havoc with his control. It was going to kill him if she didn’t lose it soon.

“Would you like a drink?” he asked, following her into the well-appointed living area of his suite.

Sophie glanced at him as she walked to the balcony and opened the doors, letting in the warm sea air and the sound of the waves brushing against the sand. “Sure. What have you got?”

Jack moved into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and chuckled, shaking his head and wondering if every party guest had been the recipient of his brother’s generosity or if it was just him. Knowing Ethan, it was probably everyone. A ridiculously expensive bottle of champagne, a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries, and a charcuterie board filled with shaved meats, fresh fruit, and a selection of gourmet cheeses awaited them. A half dozen bottles of Italian spring water filled the fridge door.

“Champagne or water?” he called over his shoulder, doing a double take when he saw her standing directly behind him. He hadn’t heard her cross the room, but he didn’t miss the hungry look in her eyes or the way her pretty pink tongue flicked across her bottom lip. A sense of satisfaction flowed through him knowing she was looking at him that way.

“Water, please. I’m not much of a drinker these days.” Then that hungry gaze shifted to the interior of the fridge and intensified. “And is that cheese? I’m starving.”

Jack bit back a laugh at his presumptive thoughts—was this woman ever going to do or say anything he expected?—and handed Sophie two bottles of water. Grabbing the snacks, he kicked the fridge door shut. “How about we sit on the balcony?” he suggested, pleased when she nodded and held back the filmy curtains so he could walk through the doors unimpeded.

The view from the penthouse balconies was beautiful. Unlike the one from the first-floor ballroom, Jack’s from the seventh floor wasn’t obstructed by palm trees and frangipanis, although the heavy scent of the pink-and-yellow blooms did reach them on the thick tropical air. As he set the food on the table, he smiled to himself, watching Sophie close her eyes and breathe deeply, inhaling the perfumed air.

“Your view is a lot nicer than mine,” she said, twisting the tops off the water bottles and setting them on the table. Reaching down, she tugged off her shoes and wiggled her toes, drawing Jack’s attention to her brightly coloured toenails.Cute. “My room overlooks the pool,” she continued, leaning on the railing and staring out at the water, “and call me old-fashioned, but moonlight looks so much prettier dancing across the Pacific Ocean instead of a chlorinated cesspit of bodily fluids.”

Laughter exploded out of Jack, shaking his whole body with the effort and snapping his attention away from his languid perusal of her shapely figure towards her pretty face and the sassy grin that decorated it. “Come here,” he said, pulling her closer.

She didn’t resist, leaning into him eagerly and letting him take her mouth, letting him continue his languid perusal of her body on a more intimate level.

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