I studied him, trying to place the vaguely familiar man while sipping the drink clutched in my hands.
Beth batted her lashes and brushed her long blonde hair over one shoulder, gracing the man with a beguiling smile as she leaned in close, murmuring into his ear.
Small crinkles appeared at the corners of Greg’s blue eyes as he returned her smile. He slid an arm around my friend’s waist as he bent to say something back to her.
Turning my head away, I scanned the crowd. Leave it to Beth to pick up the hottest dude in the vicinity within seconds, but who could blame the powerless victim who’d succumbed to her lovely smile and voluptuous curves?
The occasional glance from Beth told me that the club’s newest couple hadn’t totally forgotten I lingered like an uninvited dinner guest. Still, I eyed the exit and then my watch, waiting for the right moment to sidle away and drift into the night.
The motion of Greg’s rising hand caught my attention, as did the slight wave as he beckoned someone behind me.
Beth swayed toward me. “Scrumptious with a bonus,” she said in my ear. “He brought a friend.”
“Hey, Jake.” Greg saluted the newcomer with his beer bottle.
“What are the odds? Jake.” My friend smothered a giggle. “Must be something about that name.”
Greg smirked at me and then averted his gaze as I narrowed my eyes.
Where had I seen Greg before? Then the heady scent of earthy aftershave wafted over me. It took superhuman effort to look up, my worst fear coming true. “Ohhh, no. Hell no!” I took two unsteady steps backward, colliding with someone behind me, the last of my drink sloshing over the rim of the glass and across the front of my dress, trickling down my bare thighs, straight into my shoes.
A low hiss came from whomever I’d stumbled into, accompanied by a sharp impact as they shoved me away. “Watch it, bitch.”
The heel of my stiletto snagged—on someone’s foot, I imagined, from the yelp—and I pitched forward, flailing as the surface of the table rose to meet me, but the arm slung around my waist caught me seconds before my face connected with the edge. My cheeks flamed as I wiggled free of Jake’s embrace.
I slammed my empty glass onto the table and snatched up my clutch before hobbling and weaving through the crowd, focussed on the red sign above the door. Sucking in deep breaths and blinking hard, I barely managed to limp onto the street before the first scalding, salty drops splashed onto the screen of my phone.
“Amara.”
“Leave me alone,” I muttered, swallowing hard and swiping a hand across my burning cheeks. Each push of my thumb against my phone’s home button resulted in a tiny screen jiggle. Damn. I pressed harder but with the same result. “Stupid fingerprint crap.”
“Hey.” Jake stepped in front of me and grasped my shoulders. “You’re limping. Did you hurt yourself?”
“I was fine until you showed up.” I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering at the peel of thunder followed by the first drops of icy rain landing on my bare skin. I shook off Jake’s hands and maneuvered past him.
“Relax.” Jake shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around me. “Let me check your ankle. I’m a doctor, remember?”
“Ha. For sea creatures. Does the doctor angle work as a pickup line?”
“Like I need to pick you up. Anyway,” he said with a wink, “I’m good at anatomy.” He crouched, ignoring the damp concrete, and lifted my foot, removing my stiletto. He pressed my ankle with his fingertips. “Does this hurt?”
“A little.” A masculine tang clung to every stitch of the enormous leather jacket engulfing me. I hugged it closer, soaking up his lingering body heat, shutting my eyes and inhaling, savouring his tender touch on my bare skin.
“Are you all right? Can you put weight on your foot?”
My eyes popped open, and I hunched my shoulders. “I’m fine. Where’s a taxi when you need one?”
“I’ll order a car.” Jake stood and looped an arm around my waist, supporting me as I hobbled under the awning of a nearby store. He tapped the screen of his phone with one finger. “Hang tight. One’s right around the corner.”
“Why are you here?”
“Greg talked me into it.” His soft laugh sounded a touch nervous. “He accused me of having no life.”
“But why are you here? To see Luci?”
“Oh. My boss assigned me to a project,” he said, his arm tightening around me as he motioned to the street. “That’s our ride.” Jake assisted me to the curb and into the car, sliding in after me. A droplet trickled down his cheek, and he slicked back his hair, dabbing at his damp face with the sleeve of his sweater.
The driver peered at us in the rear-view mirror. “Address?”
“West 15th, just off Lonsdale.”
As our taxi pulled into traffic, I stared out the window, trying my hardest not to look at Jake, who looked adorably tousled in his blue sweater with wet patches. The light scruff on his jawline was absent, his hair trimmed. I longed for those silky soft tendrils that had curled against his neck. “You shaved.”
“Hmmm?” His eyebrows rose as a smile touched the corners of those impossibly luscious lips. “Oh.” He stroked his chin. “Someone always complained about my scratchy facial hair.”
I clamped my teeth over my lower lip and looked away. Pitiful me, noticing the smallest of changes in the man. Next, I’d blurt out the words topmost in my mind. I hadn’t said a discouraging word about his sexy scruff while he plundered my body. The exact opposite, in fact, as I’d welcomed the roughness against my tender skin during the night that I now sought to strike from my memory. Sometime, in the distant past, I might have complained … Heat crept up my neck. It’s not even
