‘You seem to have found out a lot about him in a short time.’
‘Not really. And when you say I shouldn’t take men at their face value does that include you?’
‘Especially me,’ he snapped. ‘You think I would have held back this morning if we hadn’t been interrupted? I wouldn’t,’ he answered his own question. ‘I once told you that I’d never considered my age a barrier to going out with any woman, but now I think I could have been wrong. My age, the way I’ve lived, it all adds up to my not being able to indulge in just an emotional affair. With me it has to be physical too, your age against mine is a barrier against that.’
‘It doesn’t have to be.’
‘Oh yes, it does.’ He sprang to his feet. ‘But my offer to protect you still stands. You’ll just have to excuse me if I have a few lapses like this morning. You’re a very desirable young lady, and you only have to smile to shoot my temperature sky-high.’
‘And—and how do you intend to protect me?’
‘By becoming your unofficial body-guard.’
Stacy gave him a puzzled look. ‘I don’t understand you.’
‘You need protection from Forbes. My hitting him last night won’t have deterred him. You made a fool of him, and as he didn’t succeed with you …’
Her eyes were green pools of fear. ‘You don’t mean he might try that again?’ she shuddered her revulsion.
‘He will try it again,’ Jake said with conviction. ‘I just intend being with you at every opportunity. If he believes us to be having a heated affair he’ll know not to come anywhere near you, but if we just go our separate ways again he’ll make another move like last night.’
Stacy felt sick at the thought of it. ‘I think it might be better for everyone if I left.’
‘No! Not for you, not for me—and why give Forbes the satisfaction of knowing he’s frightened you away?’
‘But you—you can’t want to spend all that time with me!’
He gave her a tolerant look. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘But it—it limits your social life to just me.’
He shrugged. ‘Since I’ve been here the only social life I’ve wanted has been with you. Don’t worry, Stacy. I’m aware that your response of this morning was made out of gratitude. I’m not saying I won’t make a move like that again, I’m just saying that I know you have this aversion to who and what I am. That’s never been a problem to me before either,’ he added. ‘You’re a funny kid.’
He believed her to dislike who he was when in actual fact it had been his marital status that had frightened her off. But what could she say to disabuse him of that? She couldn’t just turn round and say that now she knew he wasn’t married she would love to go out with him, she couldn’t be that forward.
‘I—I’d better leave now,’ she said huskily.
‘Stay and have your breakfast,’ he ordered.
‘No, I—’
‘Stay, Stacy,’ he repeated curtly.
She did as he said, but refused to have anything
but buttered toast and coffee. ‘Do you really think it will be necessary to protect me from Paul Forbes?’
Jake raised one dark eyebrow. ‘After last night do you doubt it?’
She remembered her pain and humiliation. ‘I suppose not,’ she admitted huskily.
‘Right, well, I suggest that when you’ve been down to your room we go for a drive down to the location spot.’
‘Oh no!’ she protested, putting up a hand to her mouth. ‘I couldn’t face anyone looking like this!’
‘You can, Stacy, and you will. You don’t think the bruising is going to be any less tomorrow, do you? I can assure you that it will be worse, the colours more livid. No, you’ll face Paul Forbes today,’ he insisted hardly.
‘I—I can’t!’