“Stay here,” Jake said, rolling to his feet and picking up the shirt he’d taken off her minutes ago. He put it on, fastening the buttons, ran a hand through his hair. Then he leaned down and gave her a swift kiss on the lips.
“Well, I’m hardly likely to come out there like this, am I?”
His gaze ran down over her, and she hugged the pillow to her middle. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, but he nodded and turned away.
As soon as the door closed behind him, she leaped to her feet. She grabbed the thong off the floor and dragged it up over her legs. Her bag and her clothes she found tossed on the chair by the bed. She tugged the top over her head, but no way did she have the energy to wriggle into those trousers. She nipped into the bathroom, found a dark-blue towel in the cabinet, and wrapped it around her waist like a sarong. She only had to get down fourteen floors to her place, so the towel would do. But first, she had to get out of Jake’s apartment, past Jake, and past his mother.
She cracked open the door and peered into the hallway. Voices drifted out from the living room. She snatched up her bag, picked up her shoes, and tiptoed into the hall. The carpet was soft and deep, and she made no sound. She got to the door, and she was nearly out of there.
When she tugged at the handle, it didn’t budge, and she remembered Jake had a central locking system. He’d locked her in.
A prickle of awareness ran down her spine, and she turned slowly.
“Going somewhere?” Jake asked.
Three people stood staring at her with varying expressions. Jake’s was bland, showing nothing. His mother had a small frown on her face, and his sister Abby grinned inanely.
Yeah, she was so funny.
“Nice skirt,” Abby said.
“Thank you.”
Jake strolled across to loom over her.
“I thought I told you to wait.”
“Er…off duty here, Jake. I don’t actually have to do what you tell me.”
Her gaze flickered to his mother and sister, who both watched with frank amusement now. Great.
“Haven’t you got a birthday present to buy?” she muttered.
She could see the frustration in his expression. Then he sighed. “Yeah. Go, but I’ll come and…see you when I get back. Be there.”
He reached across and punched in the release code, and the door clicked open. Then in front of his mother and sister, he leaned down and kissed her lingeringly on the lips. “I know you’re running scared, but why don’t you consider living dangerously for a change?” He kissed her again. “See you later, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart?
She wasn’t sweet, and she certainly wasn’t anybody’s sweetheart.
One thing was for sure. She was going out for the day. No way would she be home when he came back. She needed time, and she needed space and a brain that functioned. None of which she got when Jake was close by.
More importantly, she didn’t like the way he’d ordered her to “be there.” He might be her boss, but this wasn’t work. These days, she decided what she wanted to do and where she wanted to do it. No one else. Never again.
In the end, she showered and changed into another outfit she’d bought yesterday. This time, black jeans and a fitted black T-shirt with “Kiss My Ass” across her breasts. Then she yanked it off—the slogan raised too many memories of Jake doing just that—and pulled on an old, worn khaki one instead.
No more stilettos; she wanted to be able to run if the need arose. She shoved her feet into her Doc Martens, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and was ready to go. She headed into the office, then took herself down to the shooting range. Shooting things always soothed her; she liked the loud bangs and the recoil and the hot smell.
So what would it be like being in a relationship or even—God forbid—being married to Jake?
Jake was a control freak. He liked his own way. So did she. He’d try to tell her what to do, and they’d clash continually, and in the end, he’d realize what she’d been trying to show him—that they weren’t suited like that.
But by then, it would be too late. And it would hurt, and they’d fall out and not be able to get their friendship back.
For a second, she considered whether she could actually be what he wanted—a doormat. But only for a second. If she tried to make herself into that sort of person again, she’d end up hating him. And no doubt hating herself worse.
So what tactic could she use to dissuade him now?
She’d tried the “demonstrate they weren’t suited” technique, and that hadn’t worked. The only thing left was to keep out of his way until he forgot all this nonsense, and more to the point, until she forgot as well.
Then they could get back to normal. And she could get that promotion and go on the exciting jobs that would take her mind off sex. Jake had told her that she should try living dangerously. Well, wasn’t that what she’d been trying to persuade him to let her do?
She’d show him—she’d pass his damned test. Break into his office and steal whatever was in his safe.
She picked the locks on his door, safely navigated the maze of infrared beams, opened the cabinet holding the safe…and promptly tripped Jake’s latest addition to the security system. That hadn’t been there last time she checked.
The office locked down immediately, leaving her trapped inside. It took two hours before anyone came to let her out.
She’d known they’d have contacted Jake when the alarm went off, but still hadn’t expected him when the door finally opened.
“Aren’t you supposed to be car shopping?” she asked.
Then she saw his mother peering around his shoulder. Obviously, she’d interrupted them in mid-shop.
“Hi,” Kim said, attempting to sound nonchalant. “Just doing a little breaking and entering.”
Jake raised an eyebrow.
“I was trying to live dangerously—you set the rules.”
He shook his head. “This wasn’t quite what I meant.”
…
Nadia leaned toward him in her chair, her expression earnest. “You love me. I know you love me,” she murmured.
“Er, no, I don’t.”
Jake pressed a finger to his forehead. Why the hell had he let the woman into his office? But Nadia had called several times every day, and nothing he said put her off.
He wished Kim would be half as keen, but in the five days since he’d released her from his office—after another abortive attempt to pass the test—he’d hardly laid eyes on her. She’d even canceled their weekly movie night.