Once Upon a Christmas (8 page)

In the end they ate their starter in virtual silence and Bryony’s gaze flickered surreptitiously to Jack yet again.

Immediately their eyes locked and she swallowed hard, aware that he must have been looking at her.

His eyes held hers and everything and everyone else in the room gradually faded into the background. For Bryony
there was just Jack and he seemed as reluctant to break the contact as she was.

Her heart banged against her ribs with rhythmic force and the sick feeling started in her stomach.

And still Jack’s eyes held hers.

They might have stared at each other for ever if the waiter hadn’t chosen that moment to deliver their next course, walking across their line of vision.

Staring down at her plate, Bryony realised that suddenly she wasn’t hungry any more. Her insides felt totally jumbled up.

Why had Jack been staring at her like that?

Did he disapprove of her seeing David? Did he think that she was dating the wrong man?

She pushed her food around her plate, miserably aware that David had finished his main course and was now watching her in silence.

Finally he spoke. ‘You don’t seem hungry.’

‘Not very.’ She put her fork down and smiled at him apologetically. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘It doesn’t matter.’

She bit her lip, embarrassed that the evening was going so badly. ‘I’m just a bit tired—it’s been a pretty busy week.’

‘Do you want to go home?’

She hesitated and then nodded. ‘Yes. If that’s all right with you.’

‘Shall we have coffee first?’

She remembered her resolution to kiss him. ‘No,’ she croaked. ‘Let’s have coffee at my house.’

He looked at her thoughtfully and seemed to relax
slightly. Then he nodded and rose to his feet. ‘Good idea. Come on. I’ll settle the bill while they get our coats.’

‘If you’ve finished, I’ll take her home.’ Jack’s deep voice came from right beside her, his eyes fixed on her face. ‘It’s on my way.’

The two men stared at each other with ill-disguised hostility.

‘She’s my date,’ David said tightly, and Jack smiled.

‘You’ve had your date,’ he drawled softly, ‘and now I’m taking her home.’

Realising that everyone in the restaurant was staring at them, Bryony flushed scarlet and tugged Jack’s arm.

‘For goodness’ sake, Jack! Everyone’s looking at us.’

Jack gave a dismissive shrug that indicated just how little he was bothered by other people’s opinions and then he smiled as his date for the evening joined them. ‘Nina, this is David. He’s offered to take you home.’

Nina gave Jack a longing look that left no one in any doubt as to how she felt about him. And then she sighed and shot David a dazzling smile. ‘If you’re sure it’s no trouble …’

Wondering why Nina was giving up so easily, Bryony watched as David’s eyes dropped to the neckline of Nina’s dress which revealed a hypnotic amount of female flesh.

He stared in blatant fascination and then finally cleared his throat and dragged his gaze up to Nina’s. ‘It’s no trouble at all,’ he said hoarsely and Bryony resisted the temptation to scream with frustration.

Men were just so pathetic!

Boiling with anger, she said goodnight to David and Nina and followed Jack across the car park.

He unlocked the car and opened the door for her and she slid inside and yanked at the seat belt.

As Jack settled himself in the driver’s seat, she let rip.

‘David was my date! You had no right to interfere.’

Jack reversed out of his parking space. ‘I merely offered to take you home.’

‘You didn’t offer, Jack,’ she said caustically, ‘you insisted. David was taking me home and he was ready to argue until your Nina thrust her chest in his face.’

Jack grinned, maddeningly unperturbed by her outburst. ‘impressive, isn’t she? I thought as I was taking you away from him, I ought to offer him something in compensation.’

‘So I suppose she was the
booby
prize?’ Bryony’s voice dripped sarcasm and Jack’s grin widened.

‘Booby prize.’ He repeated her words and chuckled with appreciation. ‘I admit I hadn’t thought of it in exactly those terms, but now you mention it …’

Bryony ground her teeth in frustration. ‘You are so hypocritical, do you know that? You have the nerve to criticise my black dress and then you go out with a girl who has a cleavage the size of the Grand Canyon and shows it off to the entire population. I didn’t notice you covering
her
up with a coat.’

Jack glanced across at her and in the semi-darkness she could see his eyes twinkling wickedly. ‘It would have had to be a big coat and it seemed a shame to deprive everyone of the view,’ he drawled, and she felt fury mix with a very different emotion.

Hurt.

When Nina wore a low-cut dress, Jack obviously thought
she looked incredibly attractive. But when
she
wore one he thought she looked awful and tried to cover her up.

David had said that she looked nice but, thanks to Jack, David was now with Nina and was doubtless enjoying the view as much as all the other men in the restaurant.

And she was with a man who didn’t find her attractive and never would.

‘There are times when I hate you, Jack Rothwell,’ she muttered, and he gave a soft laugh.

‘I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about, Blondie.’

For once his use of her nickname irritated her. ‘He was my date, Jack.
My date.
And you ruined it.’

To her utter humiliation she felt a lump starting in her throat. She wasn’t going to cry in front of Jack.

But fortunately Jack had his eyes fixed on the road. ‘How did I ruin it?’

‘You really need to ask that question?’ She stared at him incredulously. ‘I was spending the evening with a man and you suddenly dived in and insisted on taking me home. And I really don’t understand why.’

In the moonlight she saw the muscle in his jaw flicker. ‘The roads are icy. I didn’t want him driving you.’

Her jaw fell open. ‘You think you’re the only man who can drive on ice?’

‘No.’ His tone was calm. ‘But I’ve never seen David Armstrong drive on ice and until I do, he’s not driving you.’

‘Jack, you’re being ridiculous!’ She looked at him in exasperation. ‘And what about Nina? You were perfectly happy for him to drive Nina.’

‘Nina can look after herself.’

Bryony slumped back in her seat and gritted her teeth. ‘And I can’t?’

‘You know nothing about men.’

‘I thought we were talking about ice?’

‘Amongst other things.’

‘Oh, right. So we’re back to the fact that I haven’t dated anyone for ages. It doesn’t make me stupid, Jack.’

‘And it doesn’t make you experienced.’

‘Well, it’s obvious that I’m never going to get any experience while I’m living in the same town as you!’ She glared at him and he gave a shrug.

‘I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss. You had your date. You spent the evening together. Was it good, by the way?’

She opened her mouth to tell him that, no, it had not been good because she’d been staring at him all night, but she realised in time just how much that would reveal about her feelings and stopped herself.

‘It was fine,’ she lied, ‘but it hadn’t finished. I wanted
him
to take me home.’ And she’d wanted him to kiss her just to see whether it was possible for another man to take her mind off Jack.

‘You wanted him to take you home?’ There was a tense silence and she saw Jack’s fingers tighten on the wheel. ‘Why?’ His voice was suddenly harsh. ‘Or was that where the date was supposed to begin? Keen to make up for lost time, were you?’

His tone was frosty and she gave an exclamation of disgust. ‘And so what if it was? What I do with my life is none of your business. I don’t need you to look out for me, Jack.’

It was only when he stopped the car and switched off the
engine that she realised that they were outside her home. The house was in darkness and suddenly she felt utterly depressed and lonely. Maybe Lizzie was right, she thought miserably. It would be great to walk into her house, knowing that someone was waiting for her. It would be great to have someone to hug her at night. She’d been without a man for almost all her life and suddenly she wanted someone special. Someone who cared whether she came home or not.

But so far her quest for a man had been a disaster.

And suddenly she just wanted to be on her own.

‘Well, thanks, Jack. Thanks for ruining my evening.’ She undid her seat belt and reached down to pick up her bag. ‘I would invite you in for coffee but, seeing as you think that’s a euphemism for sex, naturally I wouldn’t dream of it. And anyway I’m sure you’re dying to get back to Nina.’

‘Nina is just a friend.’

‘I really couldn’t care less, Jack,’ she lied, ‘because your love life isn’t any of my business, just as my love life is none of your business. A whole month has gone past since Lizzie sent her letter to Santa and so far I haven’t even managed to get a man to kiss me.’

‘You want a man to kiss you?’ Jack’s voice was a deep growl and without waiting for her answer he slid a hand round her head and brought his mouth down on hers with punishing force. His long fingers bit into her scalp and he lifted his other hand and curved it around her cheek, holding her face still for his kiss.

Utterly shocked, Bryony lifted a hand to his chest, intending to push him away, but instead her traitorous fingers curled into his shirt, then loosened a button and slid inside.
Her fingers felt the roughness of his chest hair, warm skin and solid muscle and she felt his grip on her head tighten as his kiss gentled and his tongue traced the seam of her mouth, coaxing her to open for him.

And then he was really kissing her.

Kissing her in the way that she’d always known only he could.

And it felt like magic. How could one person make another feel so different unless it was magic? She was trembling and shivering, overwhelmed by an excitement so intense that she didn’t know where it was leading or how it would end. She only knew that she wanted to get closer to him, to crawl all over him but the seats in the car didn’t exactly encourage that type of contact. So instead she leaned into him, sliding her hand around his body and trying to draw him closer.

His tongue teased hers gently and then dipped deeper, exploring the interior of her mouth with a lazy expertise that was so erotic it set her entire body on fire. With a maddening degree of self-control, he slid the backs of his fingers over her cheek and down to her neck, trailing his fingers tantalisingly close to her aching breasts before stopping just short of his target. Bryony whimpered with frustration. Longing for his touch, she arched against him but he didn’t move his hand. Instead, he continued to kiss her with increasing intensity until none of her senses were under her control.

And then finally, just when she thought her entire body would explode with frustration, he touched her. His strong hand cupped one breast through the silken fabric of her dress and then he drew his thumb over her nipple, creating
an agony of sensation so powerful that she gasped against his mouth and shifted in the seat to try and relieve the nagging throb between her thighs.

‘Jack …’

The moment she sobbed his name he lifted his head, his breathing unsteady as he stared down at her. Then he released her abruptly and ran a hand over his face, obviously as shaken as she was.

Her whole body screamed in protest that he’d stopped and she looked at him in dazed confusion.

‘Jack?’

She saw him tense and then he turned to face her, his handsome face totally blank of expression. ‘Now do you see?’

She swallowed, finding it terribly hard to concentrate, still suffering from the aftershocks of his kiss. ‘Now do I see what?’

‘That kisses can get out of control.’ His eyes dropped to her parted lips, still swollen and damp from the ruthless demands of his mouth and then dropped further still to the outline of her breasts which pushed boldly against her dress. He dragged his gaze away and stared into the darkness. ‘That’s what would have happened if you’d invited David Armstrong back for coffee.’

Bryony stared at him in silence.

She felt as though the world had changed shape. As if everything should look different. It certainly felt different.

For her, their entire relationship had changed in an instant. The moment his mouth had touched hers, everything had become different.

But evidently he didn’t feel the same way.

Chewing her lip, she reminded herself that this was Jack. Jack, whose parents had divorced when he was eight and who had vowed never to get married himself when he grew up. And then he’d grown up and had shown no intention of changing his mind about that one fact. Jack didn’t do relationships. Judging from the few conversations she’d overheard between her brothers, Jack did sex and not much else.

But even knowing that, her whole body flooded with disappointment as she realised that obviously the kiss hadn’t meant anything at all to him. He’d actually been proving a point and in doing so he’d proved something to her, too.

That she’d been right all along about Jack. He was an amazing kisser.

And she knew that the same thing would never have happened had she invited David Armstrong back for coffee. David might have kissed her, that was true, but she knew that there wasn’t another man on the planet who would make her feel what Jack had just made her feel.

But it was totally hopeless.

And the raw, sexual attraction she felt for Jack shouldn’t interfere with her determination to find a father for Lizzie, she told herself firmly.

That was just lust and lust always faded anyway. She needed a man who would be kind, good company and a caring father to Lizzie. She didn’t need raw sexual attraction. In fact, raw sexual attraction was starting to turn her into a nervous wreck.

So she lifted her chin and smiled at Jack, proud of how natural it seemed. ‘Well, thanks for the practice,’ she said
lightly, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek, resisting the almost overwhelming temptation to trace a route to his mouth with the tip of her tongue. ‘I’d forgotten how to do it, but you reminded me. Now I know I’ll get it right next time I go out with David.’