Jack smiles brightly, and this time it’s that full-blown, gorgeous Jack smile. “You’re back on track, Annie.”
Forgetting myself completely, totally overcome with relief and a ton of other emotions I dare not analyze, I launch myself at him, so bloody grateful for his help. “Thank you,” I breathe, squeezing his shoulders.
His strong arms lock around my whole body and lift me from the ground, his face sinking into my neck. “Anytime,” he replies softly.
It would be appropriate to detach ourselves from each other right about now, yet neither of us shows any signs of releasing the other, both of us content to remain locked together. I can feel his heart beating, his chest pulsing into mine, and his smell, pure and Jack, takes over my senses completely. I begin to succumb to every intoxicating element of Jack Joseph, feeling myself weakening where I’m held in his arms.
“Is this how you do business?” he asks after an age, inhaling into my neck. “Because if so, we need to work together a lot more in the future.”
I smile despite myself. “I’m sorry.” I reluctantly break away from him, now avoiding his eyes. “I got a little overwhelmed.”
“So you should.” He folds his arms over his broad chest, and I fleetingly wonder if it’s a move to prevent him from taking me in his arms again. “You’re a very talented woman, Annie. I wish every architect I worked with was as dynamic and creative as you are.”
Every time Jack says my name, something inside of me happens. Something electrifying. And when he praises me like he just did, it inspires me, drives me to want to do so much more. I swallow down the lump in my throat and point over my shoulder. “I should be getting home,” I say, and he nods mildly. “Thank you, Jack.”
His eyes. Oh, his eyes. They say a million things, even if his mouth doesn’t.
I slowly turn and walk away, shaking. But not so much with excitement. More with the restraint to not run back into his arms, where for a welcomed moment my rocking world was steady again.
When I make it to my car I drop into my seat and take a few steadying gasps of oxygen, looking back up to the building, waiting for him to appear. But he doesn’t, and I start to wonder what he’s doing back there. What he’s thinking. He’s helped me. He found a solution to my problem, and his face when he saw my elation could have knocked me to my arse. He was happy for me. He wants me to succeed.
“Go home, Annie,” I say to myself, turning the key in the ignition. The engine drones for a few seconds before going dead. “Oh, come on,” I say, trying it again. This time, I get nothing. Not a peep. “Well, this is great.” I flop back in my seat just as Jack appears from the back of the building, his head dropped and his hands stuffed deeply into his pockets. He looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and when he looks up and finds me still here, he cocks his head in question. I raise hopeless hands.
Making his way over, he opens my car door. “What’s up?”
“It won’t start.” I turn the key again, demonstrating the lack of life.
“Pop the hood,” he orders.
“How?”
He laughs lightly on a little shake of his head and reaches into the car, down by my legs. I hold my breath and quickly shift my knees when he skims them with his hard forearm. “Here,” he says, flicking me a knowing look and pulling the hidden lever. I smile awkwardly, my mind blanking on me, as he slowly withdraws his arm. I only start breathing again when he’s out of touching distance, making his way around to the front of my car. He lifts the bonnet, taking him out of my view.
I get out of my car and stand far enough away from him so there can be no more touches, accidental or not. “Are you good with cars?”
“Basics,” he says, licking his finger and touching a metal knob. “Your battery is dead. I don’t have any jump leads.”
“What are jump leads and where can I get them?”
He laughs again, harder this time, and looks at me, thoroughly amused. “They may get your car started, but there’s nowhere you’ll find them around here at this time of night.”
“Oh. So what do I do?”
“You let me take you home.”
I shoot him a look. “Jack, I really don’t thin—”
He’s claimed my hand before I have a chance to argue further, pulling me toward his Audi. “It’s a good idea?” he finishes. “Why?”
And, fuck, my whole damn body goes up in smoke. I look down at his big hand wrapped around my tiny wrist, knowing I haven’t a hope of yanking myself free. He pulls us to a stop and turns to me, catching me off guard. I hit his chest and jump back, zeroing in on his open collar. I mustn’t look at his face. I. Must. Not. Look. At. His. Face.
My tongue goes all heavy, but I manage to spit some words out. “Fine, you can take me home.”
“It wasn’t up for debate.” He opens the door and pushes me down into the seat.
Chapter 10
The tension in the small space of Jack’s car is palpable. For the entire drive, I find myself fidgeting in my seat, constantly talking myself down from doing something stupid. Like diving across the car and taking what I know he’s capable of. What I know he wants. Or saying something stupid, like how much he’s on my mind. Like how hard I’m fighting my instinct to let him have me.
When he pulls up outside my flat, I literally dive out of the car and run up the steps to my front door, fumbling with the lock to get inside. My skin is tingling terribly. The need to run back to him is strong.
Married!
I slam the door and rush through to the kitchen, shrugging out of my coat and kicking my shoes off on my way, deciding a glass of wine is in order to try and calm myself down. Wine, and maybe a bath. No more work tonight. No more thinking.
“Motherfucker!” I screech, grabbing the kitchen door and virtually climbing up the wood. “Oh my God!”
I feel all the color drain from my face as I stare into a pair of beady eyes watching me from the kitchen floor—eyes that belong to the biggest mouse I’ve ever seen in my life. My heart is clattering in my chest as I grapple at the top of the door, keeping my feet off the ground. It’s just staring at me, totally unperturbed, bold as fucking brass.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”
We’re in a staring deadlock, me hanging off the door, the elephant-sized mouse holding position in the middle of my kitchen floor. Then it moves suddenly and I scream, watching in horror as it scurries across the kitchen floor and disappears behind a cupboard.
“Mouse!” I shriek, dropping from the door and running at full pelt down the hallway to the front door. I throw it open, the wood hitting the wall behind it and crashing loudly, echoing in the night air. Then I stumble down the path and run across the road, as far away from my apartment as I can get. Mice! Oh God, I fucking hate mice! My breathing becomes rushed. I’m hyperventilating.
I shudder from top to toe and glance down the street. What now?
“Annie?” Jack’s concerned voice pulls my attention to my right, where he’s standing across the road by his Audi. He’s still here?