Catch 'n' Kiss (Are You Game?) (7 page)

“I’m going to shower and get ready now.” Jody didn’t wait for him to comment. She gathered her things and entered the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind her.

Dan sighed as he flopped back on the bed. She’d run away again. Sure, she’d only gone as far as the bathroom, but a wall and locked door were the equivalent as far as he was concerned. He stared at the ceiling and replayed their kiss in the elevator. He’d never touched a woman who instantly drew need so deep he thought he might drown in it. She wasn’t like anyone he’d ever been with in more ways than that though. Jody was mature for a start. As much as it shamed him, he had to admit his usual preference was for women younger than himself. Women less likely to be looking for something more than a few hours of fun.

Call him shallow, God knows his mother had on numerous occasions in the past, and until now it hadn’t worried him. Now he wanted to go back and erase history so Jody wouldn’t see what kind of man he was. Dan knew he’d never treat Jody in the sometimes callous way he’d treated other women, but she couldn’t know that. And if she looked at his behaviour before now, she’d be forced to make the conclusion that he was only after one thing. And he couldn’t deny it no matter how much he wanted to.

He dragged his hands through his hair, scraping it away from his face and tugging on the ends until pain lanced his scalp. He’d have to prove to her she was different. Whether she knew about his insensitive—though unintentional—actions before or not, he wanted her to see he could care—
did
care. With every fibre of his being, he wanted to prove he was worthy of her time.

Rolling onto his side, he gazed out the huge picture window at the sun-soaked fields of grapes. The afternoon light left dark shadows and bright spotlights scattered over the vines as the sun slowly slipped beyond the horizon. He wasn’t one for appreciating nature, but he had to admit the countryside surrounding the hotel was breathtaking. Almost as much as the woman currently showering a few plasterboards, timber and tiles away.

Just the thought of Jody naked behind that closed door had every muscle in Dan’s body stretched tight. The throbbing in his groin hadn’t quit since the first time he’d kissed her and had only intensified with each one since. She was like a drug in his system. He’d had a hit and the high had made him crave more. He wanted her worse than he’d wanted his first car. And that had been a six-year yearning that he’d finally managed to quench the day he’d turned seventeen and plunked down the three and half grand he’d scrimped and saved his entire teenage life.

Needing a distraction, he reached over to the bedside table and picked up the room-service menu. Scanning the pages, he didn’t see anything that appealed, but then the one thing he did want wasn’t on the menu. He’d have to come up with a substitute until he could get his hands on his first craving. Unable to decide, he went with a standard feel-good food. Fries. He snatched up the phone and hit the room-service button. When the woman answered, he ordered two plates of fries and hung up. By the time Jody came out of the bathroom there’d be a snack waiting for her, and hopefully he’d have gotten his libido in check by then too.

Dan sat up and rolled off the bed. He’d unpack while he waited for Jody and food. The hot tub beckoned, but he didn’t have time to luxuriate in it like it should be enjoyed. They had a little over two hours before they had to be back downstairs ready to meet this weekend’s participants. If he remembered right, they had a four-hour gap between the last session tomorrow and the evening function. He rubbed his hands together. A four-hour window was plenty of time to not only enjoy the tub but to convince Jody to join him.

The door opened behind him and he turned to find Jody wrapped only in a towel. He swallowed. Hard. His throat was dry, his mouth more so, and the erection he’d managed to subdue came roaring back to life. Before he could think, he’d taken a step, causing her to back up. Her reaction was enough to stop him in his tracks.

“I forgot my…” She darted over to where her suitcase lay open on the floor and whipped out a black lace bra.

He groaned and clenched his fists tight enough to cut the circulation to his fingers. His balls retracted into his body as more blood filled his cock. How he stayed in place and didn’t rush over and ravish her he couldn’t say. All he knew was one wrong move and she’d run farther than the bathroom, and he couldn’t live with that. Not when everything he never dreamed he wanted was in front of him all pink and wet from her shower wrapped in a fluffy white towel. If it was the last thing he did, he wouldn’t blow it with her.

“I ordered some food.” His voice sounded tight, but it was a wonder he could get any words out through his constricted throat.

She paused on her dash back to the bathroom. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Dan rubbed his jaw. “Just some fries to see us through until dinner.”

“Ah…okay. I won’t be much longer.” She disappeared behind the door, the soft click of the lock echoing through the room as she shut herself away once more.

He felt like an idiot. He was an idiot. She’d been naked and he’d frozen like a randy teenager getting his first look at a set of boobs. The woman did a number on him, plain and simple. Only nothing he experienced—no emotion, no physical reaction—when he was around Jody was simple. Everything about her—about them—was complicated and confusing and downright scary when he let himself think about what he wanted for longer than a few minutes.

She’d blown into his life and turned it upside down without trying. In fact, she’d tried everything she could to avoid him, but the second they were in close quarters and she quit running, they went up in flames. They just had to find a way for neither of them to get burned. Considering they wanted different things, one of them was at least going to be disappointed. Whether that was him or her remained to be seen, but Dan hadn’t given up on something he wanted before now, and he didn’t see himself backing away from Jody and all being with her offered.

He’d have to convince her they were a good bet. He knew she was divorced, knew she had two teenage girls, and from what little he’d gleaned from Cassie and Luc, he also knew she hadn’t had an easy life up until now. Dan didn’t expect things to be smooth sailing between them. He fully expected to fight her every step of the way. She’d already proven her opposition to his intentions. It was a shame her body told a different story whenever he got close. She might have had a chance of keeping him at arm’s length if her mouth and body spoke the same language.

Dan would have to make sure her mouth fell in line with her body. And soon. His own body couldn’t take much more of this constant state of arousal. Besides, it was getting to be embarrassing walking around with a hard-on all day. He could take matters into his own hands—literally—except he felt no urge to satisfy his needs that way. When he finally found relief it would be with Jody. Inside Jody.

Jody took a deep breath to gather her courage and opened the door. Unlike before, she was dressed. Not that her clothes were a barrier against Dan’s probing gaze. Starting at her toes, his gaze slowly slid up her body until those piercing green eyes met hers. He had a way of stripping her bare with just a look—of touching her without laying a hand on her.

A shiver skipped down her spine and goose bumps broke out on her arms and neck. “Bathroom’s all yours.” She sounded breathless so cleared her throat.

“Excellent. I’ll be quick. Keep an ear out for room service.”

“Oh, I was going to go down—”

“Plenty of time to be working later. Take a few minutes to relax.”

Dan disappeared into the bathroom, leaving her to wonder why she had the urge to run at every turn. She knew their overwhelming attraction played into it, but she’d never shied away from the tough things before. Not like she was doing with Dan. She’d stuck out her shitty marriage in the hope of things improving for more years than were sensible, and while she couldn’t compare that with her attraction to Dan, she couldn’t help think she’d stayed married because it had been easier than facing the fear of what would happen when she walked. It hadn’t even been her decision.

She closed her eyes and pushed the horrible thoughts aside. Colin may have been the one to make the break, but once he had, Jody had moved forward with steely determination to prove to everyone that she and the girls would be fine. And they were.
She
was. Except now she had a thing for a younger man and she didn’t have the first clue what to do about it other than run for the hills. If she couldn’t do that then she’d ignore it until it went away. Only he wasn’t going away. He was getting closer, and with each step he took she wanted to take her own towards him
and
away from him.

Could she be any more screwed up?

A knock on the door made her jump and her eyes popped open. She strode over and squinted through the peep hole to see a uniformed staff member. This would be a good opportunity to observe the food and beverage service. Jody opened the door and held it wide. “Come in.”

The young man headed for the small table jammed into the far corner. It shouldn’t be there, not when there was so little space in the room that the beds were almost touching. He placed the small tray down and turned with a small folder and pen. “Sign here please.”

After a quick check of the bill, Jody signed and handed the folder back. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy.” He let himself out with a quiet click of the door.

Grabbing a pen and paper, she made some notes about lack of interaction with guests. While the young man was professionally presentable and polite, he didn’t engage in any conversation that wasn’t necessary, and she wanted to be sure to bring it up during the sessions tomorrow. She wandered back to the table and lifted the lid on one of the plates. A steaming-hot pile of crispy fries filled the plate. The smell alone had her mouth watering and her tummy rumbling. Maybe she was a little peckish. Lifting the second lid, she saw that Dan had ordered a meal for each of them.

“Hey, no pinching mine. You’ve got your own.”

Spinning around, she found Dan out of the bathroom, towel slung precariously low on his hips, standing not two feet away. He was barely covered. His thighs, thick with muscle and sprinkled with a smattering of dark hair, were on display. Glancing up, she saw his ripped abdomen with a tantalising trail of dark hair running down from his belly button to disappear under the towel. Jody tilted her head to the side in her effort to figure out what was wrong.

Oh my God! It wasn’t a bath towel wrapped around his hips. It was a
hand
towel! Good Lord, if he moved too fast the thing would be on the floor in a flash and she’d be getting flashed. Turning back around, Jody stared at the plate of fries and tried to catch her breath. Having a nearly naked Dan in front of her did a number on her libido, but the thought of a completely naked Dan had her pulse racing, her breasts tingling and her sex swelling. She felt his heat behind her and knew he stood close enough to touch. If she turned back around…

He reached around her and grabbed a handful of fries. She heard the crunch as he sank his teeth into them. Heard the moan of delight as he devoured them and reached for more. His arm brushed hers and she could smell the soap on his skin, the damp heat still clinging to him from the shower. Taking a step to the side, she avoided contact and grabbed some much needed breathing room.

“These are great. Aren’t you going to eat any?” he asked as he picked up another handful.

“Um, yes, but I want to get a drink first.” Scooting past him, being careful not to brush up against him at all, Jody exited the room to the terrace where she got a drink from the mini fridge. She pressed the cool can against her hot cheek.

“Jody, can you grab me one while you’re there?” Dan called through the door.

She closed her eyes and breathed deep. As much as she wanted to hide out here, she couldn’t. She’d just have to suck it up and deal as Leigh was fond of saying. The thought of her girls made her smile. They were the two most important people in her world and for them she’d make it through this job—the weekend—without doing anything stupid like jumping the man who insisted on tempting her with every breath he took.

Chapter Six

Dan reached over and flicked off the bedside lamp. The red glow of the alarm clock mocked him. One thirty and Jody still hadn’t returned to the room. Dinner had been a success and he couldn’t fault her in any way when it came to the job. She’d done exactly what she was supposed to. She’d mingled well and spent time getting to know each of the men and women participating in the weekend’s workshops with the skill of a seasoned professional. There wasn’t a single thing he could be angry about when it came to work.

It was her after-hour’s behaviour that had his nerves raw and irritated. She’d been talking with Mooney and two of the other men at the end of the evening. Dan had wanted to interrupt, remind her they had an early start, but playing the demanding boss or worse, a jealous jerk, wasn’t something he was comfortable doing. So he’d walked away, leaving her downstairs while he came up to the room. Alone. That had been over an hour ago.

He couldn’t help the jealous thoughts rolling around his head. Couldn’t stop the images of Jody and Mooney tangled together from flooding his mind and tormenting him. Dan knew his jealousy was unfounded. Other than Mooney’s obvious interest in her, Dan had no reason to suspect they were hooking up. And as much as he wanted to, he wouldn’t go hunt her down and drag her back to their room. Turning over, he punched his pillow. Again.