If she was, then she didn’t have an IQ higher than a tree stump. She didn’t want a relationship, and he certainly didn’t want anything more. Did she have to draw herself a picture to explain the concept of going nowhere? Honestly...
Jess parked her car in the empty garage and switched the ignition off. Ally woke up, stretched and yawned. ‘Are we here?’
‘Mmm-hmm.’ Jess tossed her sunglasses onto the flat surface of the dash and rubbed her eyes. ‘Luke’s not back yet. His car isn’t here.’
Ally released her seat belt and opened the door, greeting Luke’s two dogs as she hopped out. ‘So where does Owen live?’
Jess rolled her eyes and pointed to the stable block. ‘Luke converted the stable block into a two-bedroom apartment for him.’
Ally squinted at the building and then back at the manor house.
Jess rolled her eyes before laughing at her friend. ‘Yeah, the walk of shame won’t be that long,’ she teased.
Ally looked completely unabashed. She’d come to St Sylve to sleep with Owen, and the poor guy didn’t stand a chance. Jess opened the back door and pulled out her suitcase and then Ally’s. Ally had a very masculine way of looking at sex and men: bag ’em, tag ’em and toss them back.
Love and feelings didn’t form part of the equation.
Jess still couldn’t work out whether she found that sad or smart.
* * *
Jess hummed softly as she padded her way to the kitchen door. She was exhausted, and it felt as if every muscle in her body was protesting against Ally’s idea of heading to a pub this evening and ‘par-tay-ing’. Jess draped her shoulder bag over the back of the chair and headed straight for the kettle, suddenly desperate for a cup of tea.
‘Head up the stairs. Second room on the left. I’ve put you in the room next to mine,’ Jess told Ally.
‘How old did you say this place was?’ Ally asked.
‘Early eighteen hundreds.’
‘Encountered any ghosts yet?’
Jess knew that Ally was pulling her leg about the fact that she believed in ghosts and wanted to see one. Like Luke, Ally was a firm non-believer.
She wrinkled her nose. ‘Nothing. A house like this should have a ghost or two.’
‘And it probably would, if ghosts existed,’ Ally responded. ‘Up and left?’
‘Tea?’ Jess asked.
‘God, no,’ Ally responded. ‘Wine. Got any?’
‘I’m currently living on a wine estate...’ Jess looked around. ‘Actually, I don’t. Nor do I have any food. We might have to raid Luke’s kitchen.’
Ally leaned against the doorframe. ‘Do you do that often?’
‘More than I should,’ Jess admitted.
‘Oh, baby girl, you have it bad,’ Ally said before disappearing upstairs.
Jess poured water into a cup and poked at the teabag with her teaspoon, thinking of Luke and wondering how today’s filming had gone.
She splashed a little milk into her tea and wrapped her hands around her cup, blew across the surface of the hot liquid. Hearing Luke’s car pull into his spot outside the kitchen door, she put down her tea and walked to the door. Luke’s smile widened as he saw her standing in the doorway and Jess felt her breath hitch.
It was frightening to realise how good it felt to be back.
Luke jumped down from his seat and, leaving the door open, took two strides to reach her. He cupped the back of her head in his large palm. His mouth covered hers in a long, slow, deep kiss that melted her organs from the inside out. Jess responded without thought, draping her arms around his neck and pressing up close to his body.
Hot, randy, slow, sexy, tender... How many ways could this man kiss? Jess held the back of his neck and thought that she could read his mood in his kisses almost as well as she could in his eyes. In this one she tasted fatigue...and a layer of stress. Happiness that she was back, relief that she was in his arms and, as always, the pulsing heat of desire. Kissing him in return, she rubbed her hand up and down his back, instinctively trying to ease the stress from his muscles, arching her own back to tell him silently that she wanted him as much as he seemed to want her, trying to tell him that she was thrilled to be back at St Sylve, with him, in the strong circle of his arms.
God, this was getting far too deep, too quickly. She should pull away, take a breath...
Luke read her mind and yanked his mouth off hers.
Jess licked her lips and tasted him there. ‘What?’
Luke stepped away and put an inch of air between his thumb and index finger. ‘I’m this close to yanking you into the back seat of my car and whipping your clothes off.’