It Was Only a Kiss

She wasn’t going to be stupid enough to fall for him because, really, she wasn’t a stupid girl.

The distraction of dating another man might give her some of that much-needed distance and perspective.

‘Set it up, Mum.’

Jess had to grin at the shocked silence. It was the last reaction her mother had expected and it took her a minute to take it in. ‘Are you pulling my leg?’

‘Not this time,’ Jess replied, taking the cup of coffee Luke held out. ‘Give him my mobile number and get him to give me a call.’

Jess saw Luke’s frown and ducked her head. Impulsive behaviour again, Sherwood? She didn’t want to date anyone else. She wanted to date Luke. But in her mind he was undateable, and she did need distance.

Jess tucked her mobile back into her pocket and blew across the surface of the hot coffee. She stared out to sea, knowing that Luke was staring at her.

‘You’re going on a date?’

His voice was silky-smooth and she winced internally. He didn’t sound happy...

Jess hedged. ‘Not a date date. Dinner with a second cousin...it was my mother’s idea.’

‘You allow your mother to set you up with men?’ Luke continued, in that cool, concise voice which hinted at the calm before a very big storm.

‘No—yes! Look, it’s just dinner with someone I used to play with!’

‘Then why can’t you look at me?’ Luke asked, moving to stand in front of her.

He grasped her chin in his hand and forced her eyes upward. Jess’s eyes slammed into his and she gasped at the emotion she saw churning within them. Need, power, annoyance...

‘No.’

Jess wasn’t sure whether her ears were working properly. She thought she’d heard him telling her what to do. Nobody told her what to do...

‘Excuse me?’

‘If you want to date anyone, it’s going to be me. Because we both know where you and I are heading and I don’t share. Ever. So, if you want to do the dinner-and-dating thing before we sleep together, I’m it.’

Jess, having lived with men bossing her around her entire life, didn’t appreciate Luke going all Head Boy on her. ‘You’re delusional if you think you can tell me what I can or can’t do.’

Luke’s eyes were thin, very green slits. ‘Try me. Don’t test me on this, Jess.’

Jess tossed her head. ‘And how do you think you can stop me?’

Luke grabbed the lapels on her coat with one hand and yanked her towards him. Jess held her ground and briefly wondered if she hadn’t miscalculated by challenging him. She could see that he was grinding his teeth. His lips had thinned and his jaw was set.

Luke cursed and slanted his lips over hers in a kiss that was as powerful as it was sexy. She didn’t go for the dominating, take-me-now type of embrace, but this was wild and crazy and more than hinted at the depths of Luke’s passion. He wanted her, and he’d leave her and everybody else in the Southern Hemisphere in no doubt about that.

His arm slipped around her back and she felt the power in it as he pulled her closer up to him as his kiss deepened. Thoughts, feelings, emotions pummelled her as he took exactly what he wanted from her mouth, her kiss. Then Luke did something to her mouth that short-circuited her brain. Maybe it was the scrape of his teeth against her lip, the long slide of his tongue that had her womb melting.

Jess was thoroughly into the kiss when Luke dropped his hand and took a step back. She licked her top lip and blinked hard, trying to get her eyes to focus, felt Luke grasp her chin and eventually found the courage to meet his stormy eyes.

‘Do not test me on this, Jessica,’ Luke said again in a hard voice before dropping his hand and heading towards his vehicle parked on the opposite side of the road.

Jess closed her eyes and staggered over to the wall, ignoring the smirking looks of Sbu and the crew. They could think what they wanted...she just needed to get her breath back.

Breath, brain, composure... What the hell was that? She’d never been kissed like that before—an explosive mixture of furious and frustrated. Jess blew her breath into her cheeks and waited for her heart to stop galloping.

Thank goodness she was leaving for home on the red-eye flight tonight...some time away would be a good thing, she thought. That distance-and-perspective thing again.

Jess watched as Luke climbed into his car, his mobile at his ear, looking cool and collected and seemingly unaffected by their kiss. The man didn’t stop working. She knew that filming took a lot of time away from St Sylve and his other business interests, but instead of whining or moaning he just made the best of the situation. He followed instructions, did what he needed to do, and in between shoots and set-ups, he jumped on his laptop or mobile to do what else needed to be done.