Unravelled (Revealed #2) (17 page)

My reaction wasn’t quite as violent as it had been last time Jack touched my back, but how he managed to place his hand in
exactly
the same spot that Greg had favoured I had no idea. It was creepy, and certainly made my mind recall elements of my past that I’d rather forget. Swallowing hard, I remembered how Greg had started shoving my lower back to knock my balance, then tugging me toward him so I’d had no choice but to grab him for support. He’d always claimed it was accidental, but now I knew better. Controlling fucker.

Sidestepping jerkily, I moved away from Jack, and thankfully his hand eventually dropped away from me, allowing me to sigh in relief and give one instinctive pluck at the elastic band on my wrist to clear my mind. I noticed him giving me a quizzical glance and felt my face flush as I turned away, tucking my head down. Frowning, I avoided his gaze, keen not to give any indication of the torrent of emotions flying through my mind and body at the moment.

As we walked I saw Jack’s eyes moving back to mine, and now that I had marginally reeled in my minor panic, I met his gaze. I couldn’t quite summon a smile, I was still too tense for that, but I was at least looking at him, which was a step in the right direction, and one that I didn’t usually make. He was staring at me intently, his brown eyes glimmering as if he were curious about something – probably my neurotic elastic band tugging – but then he shook his head and the trace of a smile curled his lip.

‘I didn’t even say hello, did I? How rude of me. Hello again. Meeting you twice in a week, what a small world, eh?’ He sounded relaxed and genuine and I nodded jerkily, thinking along much the same lines. Thankfully, he didn’t mention the fact that I’d practically run away from him last time we’d met, an omission I was immensely grateful for. His voice might be light and casual, but his warm brown eyes seemed to be burning into me and holding me captive as he continued to assess me.

If that wasn’t bad enough, he then totally blew me out of the water by smiling. Oh, that smile. It was so lovely that it knocked the wind out of me. I really needed to not look at him when he smiled like that, but it just seemed too difficult to drag my eyes away.

I started to squirm, feeling well and truly under scrutiny, a sensation I found quite confounding because I really shouldn’t like it – it certainly wasn’t something I was used to, but with Jack I didn’t mind as much as I thought I would.

The way this man made me question the very rules by which I lived my life was distinctly unnerving. Why couldn’t I look away from him? His gaze was almost bloody magnetic. As we continued along the pavement I actually started to wish that he would make the first move and stop looking at me with those captivating eyes of his, because that might help me settle down a bit. It didn’t look like I’d get my wish though, because he was even managing to stare straight at me as we walked. Clearly Jack favoured eye contact way more than I did.

Trying to calm my rampaging nerves, I straightened my back – a habit that helped to improve my confidence – and plastered a small smile on my face. ‘Hello, Jack. It’s, uh … good to see you again,’ I lied feebly. It wasn't good to see him again. In fact, it was terrible; my heart was pounding so hard that my chest hurt, the back of my neck was starting to sweat, and to top it all off, my body was reacting to him in that same strange way as it had last time, heating and imploring me to move closer to him.

Nope, after trying desperately hard to forget our run-in at the park I could safely say that all in all, it was
not
good to see him again – it was disastrous.

As we walked I realised he didn’t even know my name and was just wondering if I should introduce myself when he spoke again. ‘Did I get away with it?’ he murmured, but at that moment I think I might have been slipping into a mild state of shock and had to work particularly hard to process his question. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that the theatre was some way away now, but I could still see the huge crowds busy snapping Brad Pitt in various poses. It certainly didn’t seem as if anyone was looking for Jack.

‘Uh, yeah, I think so …what exactly
is it
that you’re doing?’ I asked in an almost accusing tone, still annoyed at myself for the confusing way I felt around him. After I’d left him in the park I’d blamed my peculiar reactions on the shock of my fall, and assumed that if I’d met him under normal circumstances I’d have been fine. But I was far from fine, and the way my stomach was clenching and my heart was racing was definitely
not
normal.

‘I bloody hate those events but I promised my manager I would come along to be seen. Well, I came along, didn’t I? I was seen, wasn't I? I never said I would stay for the whole thing,’ he said in a rather proud tone, a satisfied smile sitting on his lips.

Just then, my eyes caught a glimpse of a huge mountain of a man, dressed in a smart black suit, and pushing through the crowd with a thunderous expression on his face as he charged toward us.

‘Uh … actually … there’s a guy that seems to be looking for you,’ I whispered, wanting to cower away from the obviously angry man who was now almost upon us.

Stopping, Jack turned and watched as the suited man reached our side. He was tall, even taller than Jack, broad shouldered, and very red in the face. If he hadn’t been so furious then he might actually have been quite good looking in an older man kind of way, with grey-blond hair, an angular jaw, and crystal clear blue eyes. But he
was
livid, his eyes were narrowed on Jack and his brow pulled into such a deep frown that they almost met in the middle.

‘For fuck’s sake, Jack. I was on the other side of the red carpet, you can’t just divert from the plan like that.’

Rather confused by the entire situation – first Jack’s appearance by my side, and now this random man – I stood in shock, my eyes flicking between the two of them as my nerves built up and I began to wonder how I could discretely make my get away.

‘My apologies, Flynn, you’re right. But I’m not going back in there, so have a few hours off. I’ll call you when I need you,’ Jack said calmly, his composure opposing Flynn, who looked like he might combust at any second.

Flynn’s eyes darted to me and narrowed even further, before he let out an irritated breath, spun on his heel, and walked away without another word. What a charmer.

‘That was my delightful bodyguard,’ Jack explained sardonically, giving the gigantic man an amused glance as he stormed off.

Bodyguard? Blimey. ‘You have a bodyguard?’ I asked, surprised, the very idea of it seeming peculiar to me. But then, thinking about it, he
was
pretty famous, so perhaps it was run of the mill for someone like him.

‘Yeah, not for day-to-day things, but I have a few slightly crazy fans, so at big events like this Flynn comes with me. Sorry for his abruptness, he doesn’t have the best manners, but we were in the military together years ago so I know I can trust him.’

Wow. Bodyguards, crazy fans, and now I discover that Jack used to be in the military? This was information overload.

Moving closer again, Jack somehow looped my arm through his so we were joined at the elbow. A spike of terror pulsed trough me at his sudden touch and this time I couldn’t be casual about my reaction; my entire body jerked away as my eyes flashed to his in panic.

‘Please don’t keep touching me!’ I squeaked, rubbing at my elbow joint as if the skin was burnt before lowering my hand and beginning a frantic picking at the elastic bands by the poor abused skin of my wrist.

My eyes were darting around restlessly, and I saw confusion on his face, followed quickly with concern as he held up a palm in a placating gesture. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to s … shock you.’ Given my wildly over-the-top reaction I’m sure the phrase he’d wanted to say was ‘I didn’t mean to
scare
you’, but he was no doubt attempting to be discreet.

Immediately, I flushed with embarrassment, but when I said I hadn’t let a man touch me in four years, I meant it, and now Jack had done so numerous times in the space of a week. It was very unnerving.

What was worse was the muddled feelings it swirled in me. Yes there was the fear, but there was something else, something deeper, that felt almost … appealing.

Intrigued by this curious reaction in my body, I risked another glance at him, but what a mistake that was. He was all half smart, half casual, with that shaved jaw and those dark eyes burning into me. Oh God, he was too handsome to be real, and yet here he was, right in front of me. Again. How could that be possible? It had to beat some serious odds to not only run into him once, but to meet
twice
in the same week. If my luck was running this high then perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket this weekend.

I was staring. I knew I was … but my body was non-responsive to the orders my mind was yelling at it. Forcing a mental shake, I decided that this incredibly surreal event had gone on long enough, and I ran a shaky hand through my hair and stepped back, not missing the way Jack’s eyes zeroed in on the tremble in my fingers and narrowed with curiosity.

Dropping my gaze, I drew in a long breath and cursed myself for my crazy behaviour. I must seem completely neurotic. I
was
completely neurotic. When I finally raised my eyes, however, I was surprised to see a kind smile on Jack’s face, and not the pity that I had been expecting, which made me warm to him a little and helped me, marginally, to relax.

‘OK, well, you’re away from the theatre now. I should get going, can I get my bag back please?’ I asked almost stubbornly, determined to put some distance between myself and Jack flipping Felton.

It would definitely be best if I got away while the going was good and my common sense was still intact, but surprisingly, Jack frowned at my words, looking crestfallen at my remark, which threw me completely. In fact, I felt utterly confused, because surely after my near meltdown, he’d be keen to get as far away from me as possible.

Swallowing hard, I glanced over my shoulder again. Catching a brief glimpse of Jen and the other girls from the hostel still bobbing up and down in the crowd, I indicated in their general direction. ‘My friends are heading back to bake some cakes and I have some of the ingredients so I need to go.’ This was a bit of a lie – they could no doubt survive without the packs of serviettes, plastic cups, and paper plates in my bag, but it seemed a good enough excuse.

As I went to sidestep Jack, he leant down close to me and managed to whisper in my ear, and although he was behaving casually, I noticed just how careful he’d been not to touch me again. ‘Walking away from me
again
? I'm wounded. I suppose I should be grateful that you aren’t scowling at me this time,’ he said, a half smile playing on his lips as he clutched his chest dramatically.

Oh God, he remembered my rude departure from the park, but was being light-hearted about it instead of pissed off. I was so thrown by his behaviour that I ended up mumbling an awkward ‘Sorry.’ When really, I had nothing to apologise for – although I
was
glad he hadn’t made more of my scowling departure, because that childish behaviour was something I wasn’t particularly proud of.

‘I forgive you, but I’m not letting you get away with it twice. Come for a drink with me.’ My reaction was dual: first I was thrown by the fact that he’d just asked me to go for a drink with him, but then I couldn’t help but frown at the domineering way that he’d basically ordered me to go. There had been no question in either his words or his tone. He simply expected me to agree. Just like Greg used to.

‘Thanks, but I really can’t,’ I replied, crossing my arms and hoping that my defensive gesture would give him the hint that I wasn’t interested. Well, I was interested – my body was, anyway – but it was against my better judgement and self-imposed rules, and not something I would be facilitating further.

‘Oh.’ Standing tall with a near perfect posture, Jack placed my bag on the ground and tucked his hands into the pockets of his trousers as he continued to observe me. Picking up my shopping bag I prepared to leave, but couldn’t help but notice how his new posture made his T-shirt pull tighter across his chest, and I had to forcibly refrain from dropping my gaze to check out his physique.

‘I was just hoping to buy you a drink to say thanks for saving me twice,’ he said absently as he lowered his eyes and began to nudge at a stone on the pavement with the tip of his shiny dress shoe.

OK, he’d successfully drawn me in, so with my curiosity piqued I tilted my head and watched him, just as he was watching me. ‘Saving you?’ I queried with an incredulous smile and a raise of my eyebrow.

Looking remarkably pleased that I hadn’t left yet, he smiled. ‘Yeah, first you saved me from embarrassment in the park by not trying to sue me or go to the papers after I ran you down, and you saved me again from utter boredom tonight by being in the right place at the right time.’

I was weighing up his response with a light frown when he inclined his head like a puppy might, before widening his eyes appealingly. God, those eyes were to die for. A brown so warm and inviting it reminded me of melted chocolate or young conkers, smooth and fresh from their spiky shells. I felt something twang inside my chest and had to briefly squeeze my eyes shut to break the magnetic pull of his gaze.

Predictably, when I reopened my eyes he was still staring at me. ‘Please? Just one drink to say thanks? The bar I had in mind is literally just up here,’ he added persuasively, pointing over his shoulder. He was like a bloody Andrex puppy, with his innocent, wide eyes and beguiling looks.

Licking my lips, I tried to calm the warring emotions inside me; my protective nature yelled at me to leave, while a tiny, long-buried, curious part of me was starting to try and push to the surface. Oh, sod it. One drink couldn’t hurt … could it? Letting out a sigh, I nodded in defeat, causing Jack to grin back at me with his victory, his eyes twinkling with happiness. When he looked at me like that, how could I really refuse?

‘Great! The owner of this place knows me so I can always get a drink in peace.’