Chapter Four
Jensen
I stare in shock at the woman in my arms. My curvy nymph! And unless I’m mistaken, the stunned look in her mossy green eyes tells me she recognizes me too.
I hold her close, cradling her protectively after almost knocking her off her feet. Again. She’s nearly a foot shorter than me, her soft curves pressing against the harder lines of my body as we just stare at each other.
“Are you okay?” she asks, looking genuinely worried. “You came out of the bathroom like a tornado.”
Her voice is like her—soft and delicious. Something twists in my stomach at the concern in her green eyes. A warmth unlike anything I’ve ever felt spreads through my body, sending bubbles of euphoria into my bloodstream. My heart falters for a split second before expanding and picking up a new rhythm, forever changed.
Ah, fuck! I’m sinking fast, and I don’t have a life jacket. But I could drown on just the memory of this woman in my arms and die a happy man.
“I should be asking you that, sweetheart. I need to start looking where the fuck I’m going,” I growl, my eyes wandering over her pretty face. “Did I hurt you?”
“N-No, I’m okay,” she says, sounding breathless.
“Sure?” I double-check, still holding her close. My hands run up and down her back over the silky material of her dress.
She gives a jerky nod. Her tongue darts out to moisten her lips, and suddenly I have a whole new problem as my cock tries to reach her through a layer of denim.
“Good,” I reply, for want of something better to say.
“I-I should go,” she says, making a half-hearted attempt to extricate herself from my arms.
My hands instinctively tighten on her soft curves, not yet ready to relinquish the sensation of her soft body against mine. I’m sure she can see the possessive gleam in my eyes as I gaze down at her, but it’s as if she can feel the current between us too, pulling us closer, keeping us locked together. My caveman comes to the fore, and I can’t seem to rein him in. He’s beating his chest and growling for his mate.
“I’ve been thinking about you for weeks,” I hear myself saying, lifting a hand to smooth a lock of hair away from her cheek. “I seem to be making a habit of knocking you off your feet.”
She shivers at the light touch, and I watch in fascination as goosebumps spread across the smooth flesh of her chest where her dress dips in front.
“That night. At The Mason’s Bar,” she nods, and I know that I’m not imagining the reaction I had to her that night—she felt it too. It’s there in her eyes, in the way her body softens and melts against mine. “Worst night of my life.”
I frown. “Why?”
She bites her lip, then sighs heavily. “Because that was the night I found my boyfriend in bed with another woman.”
Her reply shocks me. Why the fuck would anyone cheat on this beauty? “Whoever he is, he’s a fucking fool!”
Her eyes widen, taken aback by my passionate response. “Guess I wasn’t enough for him,” she says, so quietly I almost miss it. “God, I’m so sorry! I don’t usually spill my problems to random strangers,” she says, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Fuck, she’s an absolute treasure!
She moves away, and this time I let her go. My arms immediately feel empty without her in them.
“Have dinner with me,” I blurt impulsively.
Her smile falters, replaced with uncertainty. “I-I don’t even know you—"
“I’m Jensen. And you are?”
She hesitates for a split second. “Poppy.”
It suits her. Vibrant. Silky. The flower from which opium is extracted—and damned if I’m not already hooked.
“Now we’re not strangers,” I murmur, holding her gaze.
Poppy smiles, and the breath freezes in my lungs. Her whole face lights up, and her green eyes sparkle like emeralds.