She gave a guilty start. “Sorry?”
“You’re getting attention.” He nodded in the direction of the DJ. “Your friends are taking pictures with their phones.”
His words seemed to fluster her even more. She took a determined step out of his embrace and smoothed her hands against her hair. “Okay, great. Thanks for your help. I think that should be enough for tonight, don’t you?”
Claire didn’t wait for his answer as she briskly walked away. What the hell? He was tempted to pursue. It was an unfamiliar sensation and he didn’t like it. He forced himself to remain still.
He watched her walk to the bonfire. Jason didn’t know why he was even interested in Claire. She was not the kind of woman he was usually attracted to. She was uptight. High maintenance. That usually made him back away fast.
Women like Claire were too much work. But he had to admit she was a lot more interesting than the women he had been dating recently. Those women were predictable. He was beginning to feel restless with them. Bored. Empty. These days his flings were getting shorter and shorter.
Claire, on the other hand, was a mystery. He had known her practically all his life but he hadn’t noticed her until recently. Like a fine wine, there were surprising notes about her. She had a sensual streak but she reined it in hard. Why? Why did she feel the need to hide it?
Jason flinched when someone clapped a hand on his back. He turned and saw his friend Dustin. The redhead wasn’t looking at him but was leering at Claire. “Who was that girl?”
“Claire.” His voice sounded rough.
“Claire?” Dustin frowned, obviously trying to put the name with the person. “Claire Miller? She looks different.”
“Not really.” Jason wanted to direct Dustin’s attention elsewhere. He was often protective of Claire, but this didn’t feel protective as much as it felt territorial.
“Are you two hooking up?”
“No,” he answered in a raspy voice as he fought the instinct to pursue Claire and pounce. That wasn’t his style. He waited for the women to come to him. “Why?”
“I didn’t realize she was your type.”
She wasn’t. Claire was a serious woman. She was all about making commitments and focusing on her goals. They would get along like oil and water. “What type is that?”
Dustin smiled. “Wild.”
Jason stared at his friend. Claire hadn’t done anything wild yet. The only thing she had done differently was dance with him. He remembered her friends’ stunned expression when he’d sought Claire out. Was that all it took to establish a reputation around here? For him to show interest?
He shouldn’t test this newfound attraction with Claire. She was too innocent and sweet to handle him. Jason didn’t approve of the men in her past yet none of them had as scandalous a dating past as him.
But Claire was acting differently this week. Reckless. She was determined to attract any kind of male attention and that could only lead to trouble. Despite the lust racing through his veins, he had to remember that his main goal during her “reinvention” was to stay close to Claire and take care of her.
Jason took a moment to consider if that was the best option and realized he didn’t have a choice. He was tempting trouble but the most dangerous thing facing Claire tonight was Claire herself.
3
JASON FOUND CLAIRE on the other side of the bonfire in line to get a drink. Her eyes widened when she saw him striding to her and her spine stiffened. She immediately stepped out of line and headed to where the cars were parked but he caught up with her.
“Why did you walk away after the dance?” Jason asked. He looked over his shoulder but no one was around. The light from the bonfire didn’t quite reach them, and they were cocooned in the shadows.
“The song was over. Why are you following me?”
Because he couldn’t stop himself. He was always aware of where Claire was, who she was with and what she was doing. Until tonight he’d thought it was because he’d assigned himself to watch over her, but now he wasn’t so sure his motives had been that noble.
“Everything was going great,” he said. “Dustin’s eyes bugged out and he’s probably going to make a move on you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Getting Dustin’s attention is not part of my goal.”
“You want to create a persona. I thought we were doing that. Did you change your mind?”