obliterating the view until Jake switched on the wipers.
‘And there was I, hoping we’d get a clear night with a romantic moon and starlight,’ he quipped.
‘Is that really what you were hoping for?’
Lifting a shoulder, he smiled again, this time more freely. ‘Why? You don’t think I have it in me to be romantic?’
The remark immediately threw her.
‘How would I know? I don’t know you well enough.’
‘Then it’s clearly time for me to do something about that, don’t you think?’
He didn’t turn his head to look at her. The provocative words were simply left hanging in the air between them, like a small but lethal incendiary device.
Urgently feeling the need to change the conversation to something far less dangerous, Caitlin asked, ‘So, who’s the band we’re going to see tonight? You didn’t tell me.’
‘They’re called Ace of Hearts. The lead singer is Nikki Drake and I’d really like you to see her. She isn’t what you might call the best singer in the world, but what she lacks in vocal range she more than makes up for in her performance. It’s electrifying. She lives and breathes the band and it shows.’
‘And you’re hoping that I might pick up a few tips?’
The rain ceased as suddenly as it had started, and as the wipers squeaked redundantly across the screen Jake’s brief azure glance at Caitlin was like a heat-seeking missile that went straight to her womb.
‘Sure,’ he answered.
Jake was amazed that he’d even got the word out. Whenever he caught sight of Caitlin’s bewitching face—whether by design or by accident—he was all but struck dumb. Ever since he’d kissed her he’d been filled with an insatiable desire to know her intimately. As far as he was concerned, not having to share her company with anyone else tonight was like being given the keys to heaven.
For a man that prided himself on always being in control of situations, his feelings for this woman were unravelling him. If he didn’t act soon to counteract the danger then the walls he’d built around his heart, brick by brick, would come crashing down and render him helpless. Whilst he would do everything in his power not to let that happen, there was no reason why he shouldn’t take Caitlin to bed to help get her out of his system…was there?
‘Do you know her well? Nikki Drake, I mean?’ she probed.
Hearing the curiosity in her voice, Jake smiled. He smiled because he detected the unspoken question that she really wanted to ask, which was How well do you know her? Although he’d never been remotely attracted to Nikki, he couldn’t help but experience a certain male satisfaction at the idea that Caitlin might be a little jealous.
‘I know her well enough. But then, I know a lot of people in my business,’ he drawled.
Not for the first time Caitlin realised that Jake was a man of few words. But, whatever he said, there was always a wealth of meaning behind it that often required some serious detective work. Then again, perhaps she should just go with the flow and not worry too much about what he meant. Jake was Jake: enigmatic, taciturn, not giving an inch. She’d better get used to it if she was going to make a half decent job of working with him.
But what she wouldn’t give for him to one day speak about her in the same admiring way that he spoke about Nikki Drake… She was feeling ridiculously jealous of the woman when she hadn’t even seen her or heard her sing yet.
‘Then I can’t wait to see her,’ she remarked, hoping that the amiable smile she gave would convince him that she meant it.
* * *
There wasn’t a single gaze in the room that wasn’t trained on the sexy strutting singer onstage. A small shapely blonde, her blue eyes heavily outlined with thick black liner, her generous mouth painted with bold red lipstick, Nikki Drake held the mike as if she owned it and commanded the small raised stage with every sexy thrust of her hips, every husky note that she sang.
Her slender body was encased in tight black satin and a wide scarlet belt was cinched tightly round her impossibly tiny waist. Her creamy breasts were clearly enhanced by the loving support of a daring uplift bra Sex on legs, as her friend Lia might say.
The performance was riveting. While the music throbbed around them Caitlin experienced an adrenaline rush like nothing she’d ever experienced before at a live concert. Was this how Jake wanted her to look? Commanding, sexy, wearing tight, hard-to-breathe-in clothing specifically designed to highlight every curve, every undulation? Unashamedly putting everything she had on show?
Her throat was dry from the combined heat of wall-to-wall people crammed into a space not much bigger than a living room. Taking a hasty sip of her rum and Coke, with the ice in the glass already melted to slivers, Caitlin almost jumped out of her skin when Jake moved up behind her. Her senses reeled with shock when his lean, hard body was all of a sudden on intimate terms with her back, his denim-clad thighs carelessly brushing the backs of hers as his warm, bourbon-laced breath drifted tantalisingly over her hair. Caitlin went rigid.
‘What do you think?’ he asked, and the husky timbre of his voice did seriously X-rated things to her body, draining her limbs of all their strength in the process.
‘About—about what?’ She could barely squeeze the words past her throat.
‘About Nikki and the band of course. What did you think I meant?’
Jake’s amused smile was almost tangible. She didn’t need to see it to know that he was taking great pleasure in teasing her. She was suddenly grateful for the dim lighting and the intimate proximity of the other bodies around her, because she didn’t want him to see that her face was burning.
‘She’s very good. They’re all very talented. I’m really enjoying the music,’ she told him.
‘Without a doubt you’re a better singer,’ Jake responded. ‘All we have to do now is find the right image for you.’
‘As long as you don’t expect me to pour myself into tight black satin. I’ll definitely draw the line at that.’
To bolster her flagging courage, Caitlin tipped up her glass and drained the entire contents of the drink that remained. Her head swam a little as the alcohol hit home, but it was as nothing compared to the dizziness she was already experiencing with Jake getting closer by the second.
‘I think we should go for something more classy. Sexy…but classy.’
His hand drifted over her hip to settle on her waist, his fingers deliberately sliding across the thin silk of the white camisole she wore beneath her jacket. Caitlin almost stopped breathing.
When she lifted her hand, ostensibly to move his away, his fingers caught hers and trapped them possessively. The words she’d started to form were suddenly obliterated as she closed her mouth, shut her eyes and sensed Jake press even closer. A tremulous shudder went through her as he brushed her hair aside and planted a devastatingly erotic kiss on the sensitive juncture between her shoulder and neck.
The unexpected caress went straight to her core and almost
