‘No? Only enough to engender interest?’ he taunted. ‘Is that one of the tips you dish out on your blog?’
She smiled a secretive, frankly seductive fairy princess smile. ‘My tips are very popular.’
That they were. And he could see why. She could write—her lists were entertaining. But it was the vlogs that had the greatest number of hits. It seemed people liked watching her prance about in her bedroom. His body winched tighter.
‘You’re interested in wildlife?’ And, yeah, he might have emphasised the ‘wild’ just a little.
‘Most people are.’ She continued to smile at him—so innocent and perky. Except for that heat in the back of her eyes. ‘And I thought you’d like to see some that’s unique to Australia. We have some amazing creatures. There’s a very big saltwater crocodile at the zoo. I think you’d like him. I’m sure he’d like you.’
He chuckled, appreciating the less than subtle implication. ‘I’m tougher than I look. Can’t be chewed up and spat out as easily as all that.’
‘Oh?’ She sounded disbelieving. ‘So you don’t want to go to the zoo? Where do you want to run away to?’
Anywhere. As long as it was with her.
He looked at her silently, trying to ride out the intense impulse sweeping over him. The car seemed to be shrinking. She was so near he saw her breath hitch, heard that faintest gasp. The urge to kiss her was overwhelming.
Sex. The body’s happy place. And for him the ultimate avoidance activity. He’d bury himself in her hot, tight body and screw their brains out. Until he could think of nothing else. Until he was exhausted and could sleep—not lie awake for hours and hours and hours, wondering and worrying and worrying and worrying…
It wasn’t such a bad idea, was it?
Wrong. It was the worst idea ever. He hadn’t succeeded as much as he had by bedding possible business partners.
He’d never done that.
Steffi Leigh was the excuse he’d given for making this trip to Australia. His brothers had been on his back about working too hard, but he’d said he needed to assess the viability of this acquisition himself. Truth was, he was hunting for something far more personal and he didn’t want to hurt his family by telling them yet. Not until he knew for sure. Not until he’d found everything out—even if it was the worst.
‘Jack…?’ A soft query.
He’d been silent too long—staring… all but eating her with his eyes. And in her eyes now was not just that spark that lit brighter as he neared, but the concern he’d turned away from the first moment he’d seen her.
She’d seen his anxiety again. And he hated it just as much as he had in the hotel foyer.
Unable to take the heat any more, Jack shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto the ludicrously small back seat of the femininely sweet car.
Her eyes widened. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m hot.’ No lie. And it wasn’t because of the sun beating down on them.
He loosened his tie. Then thought better of it and took it off entirely, lying it on top of his jacket. Then he undid the top two buttons of his shirt, undid the cufflinks and rolled his sleeves to just below his elbows.
‘Do you mind?’ he asked as he worked.
‘Of course not.’
But not even the make-up could mask her blush now.
So he wasn’t the only one feeling it.
He knew that. Knew there was no way she wasn’t feeling the electricity arcing between them.
His phone beeped again. Sighing, he twisted to retrieve it from his jacket pocket and glanced at the screen to read the message. His private investigator had gone all efficient and diarised their meeting for him.
Reading it in black and white, he felt his lungs tighten. As did every one of his muscles. Anxiety returned in an unexpected tsunami. He gritted his teeth. He’d travelled the world over—going into war zones, danger zones, crossing arid deserts and ice floes. But he’d never felt as freaked out as he had when he’d taken that call ten minutes ago. As he did now.
But he’d been waiting over twenty years for this meeting—what was another forty-eight hours?
Torture. That was what it was. Pure, poisonous torture.
And hell, yes, he wanted to run away for the duration.
He needed time to speed up. Needed something else to think about for the next day or two or he was going to go insane.
Unable to help himself, he looked at her again and drank in the sight of her strawberry blonde hair, so intricately curled and coiled against her head, and her flawless pale complexion. Her eyes were bright, her lips glossy, and her petite figure was shown off to perfection in that pressed mint-green dress.