is all about choice,’ he said seriously.
It was nice to have that assurance, to know she wasn’t at physical risk with him. Strangely enough, it hadn’t even occurred to her that she might be. It was the emotional risk she’d been concerned about. No man had ever affected her as Jake did.
‘Why choose a hotel?’ she asked as they walked towards it. ‘We could have gone to your place.’
‘My place is barely habitable. It’s an old run-down terrace house that I’m in the process of renovating. There’s stuff everywhere. I hope I can make it look great when it’s finished, but that’s not tonight or any night soon. I only have time to work on it at week ends.’
‘You’re doing the renovating yourself?’
‘Not all of it. Only the carpentry. My father taught me all the skills of the trade and I’m enjoying doing the work myself.’
‘Your father was a carpenter?’
‘No, he was an engineer but he loved working with wood. It was a hobby he shared with me in my growing-up years.’
The tone of deep affection told her he’d shared a very special bond with his father while Eddie had only ever known criticism and disapproval from their father and she had learnt to avoid the kind of contact that inevitably led to acrimony. Such different lives…
Possibly working with wood kept the family bond alive for Jake, though he’d also said last Sunday he liked to relax by doing something physical. Going to the gym was not his only outlet, and she liked the idea of him being involved with something creative. Renovating a house was similar to building an environment to a pre-designed plan.
Jake worked for her father but he definitely wasn’t like him.
She would tell Eddie so tomorrow.
In the meantime, she couldn’t resist lifting her free hand to slide her fingers across Jake’s. ‘Your skin isn’t rough,’ she remarked.
He was amused by her checking. ‘I wear gloves for heavy work. You must do, too.’ He caught her hand and held it, caressing it as he had before, smiling into her eyes. ‘Definitely no calluses.’
Laura had difficulty catching her breath he was so utterly gorgeous and her mind was spinning with the wonder of how excited he made her feel. Only belatedly did it click into the line of conversation and produce a reply, the words coming out huskily. ‘My mother’s training. A lady should always protect her skin from damage.’
He stopped walking, halting both of them as he released her hand to lift his to her cheek, stroking it with exquisite softness. ‘No damage,’ he murmured.
His thumb slid under her chin, tilting it up. He un-hooked his arm from hers and wrapped it around her waist. His head bent and Laura watched his mouth coming closer and closer, her heart hammering in wild anticipation for the kiss she had been remembering all week.
It didn’t matter that they were standing on a public sidewalk in the centre of the city with people passing by. Everything beyond this moment with Jake faded into insignificance. The desire, the need to feel what he’d made her feel before, was pulsing through her.
His lips grazed over hers, igniting a host of electric tingles. His tongue flicked over them, soothing, seductively seeking entry, which she eagerly gave, wanting the deeper sensations, the erotic tasting, the rise of feverish passion that would blow away any lingering doubt about choosing to have this night with him.
Eagerly she surrendered her mouth to the intimate connection with his and almost instantly her inner excitement escalated, wiping all thought from her mind, making her super-aware of physical contact with him, the delicious pressure of touching points; breasts, stomach, thighs, a wild vibrancy pouring through her, making her ache with the intensity of feelings that had never been so overwhelmingly aroused.
This kiss was not just a kiss. It was total invasion, possession, wildfire sweeping beyond any control, burning her up with the need to have all of this man. Laura lost all sense of self. She was completely consumed by her response to him, and the response was too immediate, too powerful, too real for her to reason it away.
She wanted him.
More fiercely than she’d ever wanted anything.
It was a dizzying shock when he tore his mouth from hers and pressed her head onto his shoulder, making the separation decisive. Her heart was pumping so hard, the drumming of it filled her ears. Only vaguely did she hear him suck in breath. His chest expanded with it. He rubbed her back, probably an instinctive calming action. Her quivering nerve ends were grateful for it.
‘Shouldn’t have done that but I’ve been wanting to all evening,’ he muttered. ‘Are you okay to walk on, Laura?’
Hotel…alone together in private…bed…uninterrupted intimacy… ‘Yes,’ she breathed on a sigh that relieved some of the tense ache in her chest. ‘As long as you hold on to me.’
A deep sexy laugh rumbled from his throat. ‘Letting you go will be the problem, not holding on to you.’
His words struck a vulnerable chord in her that Laura instantly shied away from examining. ‘Let’s not think about problems,’ she said quickly, lifting her head to shoot him a look of needful appeal. ‘I only want to think about what we can have together.’
‘So do I,’ he answered, tenderly cupping her cheek as though she was something very precious, his dark eyes shining with pleasure in her. ‘It’s not far to the hotel now.’
‘Okay. Give me your arm.’
He tucked her close to him. The shakiness in Laura’s legs gradually lessened as they walked the rest of the way to the Intercontinental. Neither of them spoke. They moved in a haze of mutual desire, impatient for the fulfilment of it, everything else irrelevant.
The hotel had been built around the old treasury building, making spectacular use of its special features. Laura had shared an afternoon tea with her mother there after a shopping day in the city. The main gathering place was The Cortile, a marvellous two-storeyed area covered by a huge glass dome, with colonnaded walkways surrounding it. Tonight, as Laura and Jake headed around it to the reception area, elegantly dressed people were indulging in a late supper, enjoying the ambience and the music being played on a grand piano.
It was a classy hotel and Laura couldn’t help feeling pleased that Jake had chosen it. Somehow it made tonight with him more special. He collected their door-key from the receptionist and as they moved to the bank of elevators, he murmured, ‘I took a Bayview room. It overlooks the Botanical Gardens. I thought you’d enjoy the view over breakfast.’
Laura’s heart swelled with happiness. He’d been thinking of her, planning to give her pleasure. This wasn’t just about sex with him. They were going to share more. Much more. She had made the right decision. A journey with Jake Freedman was well worth having. She no longer cared about how far it might go or where it might end. He was the man she wanted to be with.
JAKE quickly slid the door-key into the slot just inside the room and the lights came on. Everything looked fine—classy, welcoming, and most important of all, providing a private oasis, not touching on Laura’s home environment nor his, completely separate to the lives they normally lived.
It had to be this way.
Bad enough that he was in the grip of uncontrollable desire for Alex Costarella’s daughter. Boundaries to this affair had to be set and kept. He couldn’t allow it to take over too much of his life. But right here and now he could satisfy his hunger for her, and to his immense relief she was up for it, no further delay to what they both wanted.
She walked ahead of him, moving towards the window seat with the view on the far side of the room. He watched the provocative sway of her hips,