* * *
Luke had already polished off one cup of coffee and was on his second when Jess walked into the kitchen, dressed in another pair of jeans and a dark blue jersey.
‘Coffee?’ he asked, even as he poured her a cup.
‘God, yes.’ Jess took the cup, wrapped her hands around it and sipped. ‘Oh, that’s heavenly.’ Jess took a seat at the wooden four-seater table in the centre of the room and sipped and sighed. When her eyes met his, she smiled. ‘One hell of a tour, Savage.’
‘I’m really sorry we got caught in the storm,’ Luke said. It wasn’t like him. He always paid attention. But his mind had been on Jess and his hyper-awareness of her. The way her body had felt against his, listening to her introduce herself to his staff and engage them in conversation, watching her as she suddenly stopped walking and just looked off into the distance, as if she were taking a mental snapshot.
She was a city girl, and her attitude today had impressed him and, if he were one hundred percent honest, thrown him off his stride. He’d expected her to whine and moan about being wet and cold, yet she’d sucked it up and said nothing, accepting that there was nothing he could do about the situation but get them home as quickly as possible. While he’d pushed the bike through mud and grass and that icy stream she’d said nothing to disturb his concentration, and he’d got them back in record time...wet and dirty but ultimately safely, and as quickly as he possibly could.
She hadn’t griped or complained.
‘My boots are covered in mud. At least I can clean these—unlike my suede heels that I had to toss.’
Luke’s smile flashed. ‘I told you so. You’ll have to get a pair of gumboots.’
Jess shuddered. ‘They are so incredibly ugly.’
Luke rolled his eyes. ‘But made for mud and rain.’
Jess placed her cup on the table and looked past him to the window. ‘It’s really belting down.’
‘Winter in the Cape,’ Luke said. ‘Want some more coffee?’
‘Not just yet,’ Jess replied. ‘Thanks for the tour. I’ve already got some good ideas for the campaign...’
‘Want to share them with me?’ He took a seat at the table, propping his feet up on the seat of the nearest chair.
‘Not yet. Still percolating.’
‘So tell me why you wanted to work for me.’ After what had happened between them he’d thought that she’d hold a grudge for ever. ‘Why did you gatecrash my party, Jess?’
Jess rolled her cup between her palms. ‘It’s the most talked-about campaign around and I’m competitive enough to want to snag it. That was one reason. Another is that I have a reputation in the industry...I’m becoming very well known for tackling hard-to-rescue brands or campaigns. And I have a soft spot for St Sylve and this type of campaign is what I do best.’
‘Even though I—?’
‘Fought with me, kissed me and then fired me?’ A small smile tipped the corners of Jess’s mouth upward. ‘I deserved everything you said to me. You were right to fire me, and the k— Well, it was all a long time ago.’
She’d been about to mention the kiss, Luke realised. He really wished he knew what she wanted to say about it. That it was fantastic? She wanted to do it again? They’d be amazing in bed? It had been fantastic, he did want to do it again and, yes, he wanted her in his bed.
Jess was staring at his mouth and he wondered if she was remembering that afternoon so long ago, how it had felt to be in his arms, her breasts mashed against his chest, his tongue in her warm, tasty mouth. Luke heaved in a deep breath and surreptitiously dropped his hand beneath the table to quickly rearrange his package. It seemed that Jess still had the same effect on him as she had all those years ago.
He was coming to realise that he really didn’t want to be attracted to this woman. He felt that she could, if he wasn’t very, very careful, be a threat to his emotional self-sufficiency, his resolve not to become emotionally entangled.
Sleeping with her wasn’t worth the price that he would have to pay if he found himself emotionally trapped. And that was why she shouldn’t be sitting in his kitchen on a rainy Sunday looking sweet and hot, relaxed and rosy. She looked far too enticing...
Luke shoved his chair back and abruptly stood up. ‘Listen, I can’t sit around and drink coffee all day. I need to get into my office.’
Jess lifted her eyebrows. ‘No rest for the wicked? Even on a Sunday?’
‘I’m still running another company...I have to take what time I can get.’ Luke gestured to the fridge and raked his fingers through his hair. ‘Help yourself to whatever you can find to eat if you’re hungry. When the storm lets up I’ll help you move into the manor house. There’s a TV in the lounge, or...’