I don’t have the luxury of being able to sit here and wait until he deigns to honour me with his presence. You tell him that from me, Mr Malone!’
‘Brenna?’
But she was disappearing through the door of the bar before Fin had even got to his feet, before he even had a chance to defend himself and the stance he was taking on Nick’s behalf.
Drumming his fingers on the smooth polished surface of the table, he murmured a colourful expletive. When Nick had asked him to do him this favour he’d had his reservations considering the delicacy of the situation, but Lord knows he hadn’t expected a woman with so much fire in her veins that she threatened to ignite them both into an inferno whenever they were together. Intensely frustrated and annoyed, he picked up his glass and downed the contents in one hit. A few minutes later, he got up and went to the bar. The young barman threw him a sympathetic glance. Stony-faced, Fin took out his wallet.
‘Give me another bourbon,’ he irritably ground out.
Brenna’s eyes flew open at the insistent-sounding knock at the door. She’d been dozing in one of the armchairs, her body and mind exhausted with the sheer intensity of emotion she’d expended during the day. She was hungry too … ravenous, in fact. The growl in her stomach as she moved reminded her that wounded pride had cost her her dinner.
‘Damn.’ She speared her fingers through her hair, her mind racing with indecision. If Fin Malone was mad at her then he had every right. She’d acted appallingly downstairs in the bar. If she were him, she’d definitely be giving her a wide berth from now on. Suddenly the knock had a voice to accompany it.
‘For God’s sake, Brenna, open the door. I’m not quitting until you hear what I have to say.’
Steeling herself, she made herself move. He came in through the door without a word, broad shoulders sweeping past her with such an air of purpose that she hesitated briefly before closing the door behind him. The frisson of electricity as he passed her was tangible, so much so that she shivered with the force of it.
‘If it’s an apology you want then I—’
‘Dammit, woman, what’s your problem?’ His blue eyes narrowing to angry slits, Fin spun round to address her. ‘You’ve got a chip on your shoulder a mile wide. I don’t blame you for feeling scared about what Nick might be proposing but when are you going to get it through your thick skull that you’re not under attack here? If you keep treating every damn meeting we have like some blasted confrontation then we’re going to get nowhere fast.’
‘I don’t need a lecture on how to behave, Mr Malone.’
‘Oh yes you do, sweetheart.’
With barely restrained ire, Fin bore down on her, yanking her arm towards him by the elbow. All the breath whooshed out of Brenna’s body in a heated rush. Up close, the man was like some invincible warrior – the expression on his handsome face grim and purposeful … resolute. There was no question he was intimidating. There also wasn’t any doubt that he was the one in charge of this situation. All the strength suddenly seemed to drain out of her body.
‘Stop fighting me. I’m not your enemy.’
She knew that he was going to kiss her even before his mouth descended. She had ample time to twist away but the thought never even entered her head. In fact, her lips opened almost immediately to receive him just as soon as his satin smooth flesh made contact. A bolt of shock and desire so strong and powerful ricocheted through her body from her mouth to her womb that it rooted her feet irrevocably to the floor. At the hot demanding invasion of his tongue, the clash of lips and teeth mingling with the taste of bourbon and man, Brenna groaned longingly into his mouth. A feeling of such intense need and desire pulsed through her that she thought she might faint from it. Five years without a man’s touch and she never even knew that she missed or needed it so much … needed it like someone drowning needs to suck in fresh air to breathe.
Even as her mind formed the thought, Fin’s hands moved urgently down to her waist and hauled her hard against him. Sweet heaven! But as his hands moulded themselves round her hips to pull her against the hard aroused evidence of his manhood, Brenna’s mind awoke with stinging and shocking clarity at the implications of what her body was so helplessly aching to do. She’d already made a fool of herself once. Was she so eager to repeat the experience? Her heart started to beat so fast that she could barely catch her breath.
‘No!’ Her hands came up to his chest to push him away. His body stiffened in protest and she sensed the warmth of his breath hover momentarily against her cheek. She bent her head in shame.
‘I’m sorry.’
Breathing hard, his expression almost dazed, Fin not only let her go, but actively pushed her away. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth as if wiping away the taste of her.
‘Sorry for turning me on?’ He derisively shook his head. ‘God gives you a body like that and eyes a man could lose his soul to and all hell breaks loose. Not your fault, honey. However, I’m interested to know why the brittle “touch me not” act when you were clearly as interested in what was going on as me? We could have had a small conflagration going between us just now. Is this how you normally treat the men in your life?’
Shakily Brenna touched her cheek. Her skin did indeed feel as if it was on fire. What did he want from her? Was she supposed to feel ashamed because she’d briefly let her body capitulate to desire? Now he seemed to be suggesting that she was some kind of thoughtless tease.
‘There aren’t any men in my life. There hasn’t been anyone since Nick. I don’t even date.’
‘You don’t date?’ Fin stared at her as if she’d just uttered something totally incomprehensible. So what was she telling him? That she hadn’t made love with a man since Nick? Heat tore through his veins like a racing car speeding towards the chequered flag. In an instant he was hard and aching all over again. The woman was seriously getting to him and no mistake. He wished he’d never come here. If his sense of honour weren’t as such, he’d have told Nick to come and do his own dirty work. The woman was scared and hurting. Only a fool could imagine otherwise. Why else would she be so angry and defensive? Why else would she have stayed relationship-free since Nick walked out on her? That really bothered him.
Fin was privy to part of the reason Nick wanted to make contact with his child after all this time, but the unsettling feeling was growing inside him that perhaps his real motives were not as pure as Fin would like to think they were. How could he be sure that he’d told him the truth about anything? They were friends but really Nick Balcon was a law unto himself. A bit of a closed book, as some of their colleagues would describe him. Right then, Fin fervently wished he’d simply gone to dinner instead of staying in the bar and imbibing too much bourbon.
Chapter Three
‘I don’t date because my main priority is Nancy.’ Brenna swung away, returning to her armchair to pick up the black cashmere stole she’d draped round her shoulders; shoulders that were now drooping with tiredness and something that felt like a scant heartbeat away from defeat. ‘And anyway, working two jobs I don’t get time to date.’
‘So there’s been no one since Nick?’
‘That’s what I said.’
‘You’re asking me to believe that no man has shown an interest in you in five long years?’
