“Hmm, yes. You could say that,” Jack said.
Okay, that was obviously not a fruitful topic for conversation. Damn. At the airport, it was so easy for them to talk about everything under the sun. Now, however, in the confines of the car, with all these unspoken things between them, the heated air, and the knowledge of what could be…
The car stopped abruptly, and Penny glanced up in surprise. According to the sat nav, they had reached their destination. She peered out the window and opened her mouth, stunned. A high iron gate shielded the view, but behind it, a few feet away, atall white building was visible. The entire thing looked like the entrance to a high-security prison.
Yep, Gareth would choose an apartment for her with this exact type of ambiance.
“Are you part of the Mexican mafia?” Jack casually asked, peering through the windshield at the various surveillance cameras.
Penny chuckled. “That belongs in the private column, sorry.”
An amused snort came as a reply. “Well then,” he said and stayed seated.
“Well then…” she replied slowly, looking at him thoughtfully. Should she just… Yes, she should! “Do you want to come upstairs? Have a drink? My brother probably bought me some whiskey.”
Jack looked at her. His gaze slid over her face and stopped at her lips…then he groaned softly, put a hand on his forehead, and shook his head. “I shouldn’t.”
Surprised, she raised her eyebrows. “No?” Because he didn’t sound certain.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Hesitantly, he scratched the back of his neck. “I have this rule…”
“What kind of rule?”
“Well, I…” He narrowed his eyes, then sighed briefly and waved it off. “It doesn’t matter. I can at least carry your suitcase up for you. That’s…the only polite thing to do.” He jerked open his door. Her pulse immediately shot up, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she wiped her damp palms over her pants. Oh God, she was crazy. She had come back to L.A. to prove to her family that she was no longer the chaotic troublemaker she had been – and yet, here she was, with a near stranger…
No one had to know! No one would care what she did inside her own four walls – so what if she herself had never seen them before? What was wrong with that? She had often taken a man home with her only to never see him again.
However, neverthisman.
Heat worked its way up her neck and into her cheeks. No, never this man. Never Jack. Who, she feared – as much as shehoped –knew exactly what he was doing. She also feared he might betoo muchfor her, that she might want more from him than this one night. And she didn’t have the nerve for that. No time. No emotional space.
“Oh God,” she murmured, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out. What choice did she have but to dig for the key Gareth had left for her with Professor Gilly in New York and tackle the first door?
It had two locks, and it took Penny ages to open it. Not her fault! She merely found it hard to focus with Jack standing directly behind her, feeling his breath on her neck. Every nerve ending was on alert. When the door finally gave way to her pressure and Penny stepped into the courtyard, she was breathing twice as fast.
“No need to be nervous, Penny. I’m merely carrying the suitcase up for you,” Jack stated softly. Nevertheless, it sounded a bit like he was talking to himself rather than her – convincing himself, not her.
“Right,” she said quickly and strode across the crunchy gravel to a white, flat-roofed building with lots of overhanging balconies. “And we managed to be honest with each other for almost twelve hours…”
Jack didn’t reply as she opened the second door, stepped into the hallway, and paused. Gareth said her apartment was on the ground floor — this one here.
She turned and tilted her head back to see Jack’s face. The door closed behind him, her suitcase at his side…and he was silent. He looked at her. His gaze was intense and hot.
“So,” she said quietly. “That is my suitcase. Do you want to leave now?”
Jack didn’t move, didn’t say anything, just stood there staring at her. His gaze wandered down her body. Calmly. Leisurely. His pupils dilated. She could see his pulse quickening in his neck, until he swallowed.
“This is a stupid idea,” he finally muttered and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
“Because of your rule?” she asked, licking her lips.
Jack groaned softly and narrowed his eyes. “Yes.”
“Rules are meant to be broken.” She knew that better than anyone. He exhaled deeply and when he opened his eyes again, there was so much heat in his eyes that Penny shuddered. She wanted this. She would have to behave from tomorrow onward. Have to justify herself to journalists — and even worse, her mother! She would have to argue with her father, let Gareth put pressure on her, and convince a hockey team that she was competent even from afar. She had earned this!
