It Was Only a Kiss (7 page)

So that wasn’t going to happen. She hoped.

‘I can smell the smoke from all those brain cells you’re burning,’ Luke said mildly, swiftly dicing onions with a wicked-looking knife. ‘What are thinking about?’

Jess sent him a blank look. ‘What?’

‘You’re miles away.’ Luke tossed the onions into a pan with the sizzling garlic. He nodded at her laptop. ‘And you brought work...not cool since I’m trying to seduce you with my culinary talents.’

Jess leaned back in her chair and lifted her wine glass. ‘You should know that my ex cooked the most amazing meals and it still took him three months to talk me into bed.’

Luke raised his eyebrows. ‘Cautious, aren’t you?’

‘Very.’ Jess held his eyes for a long moment.

It would be so easy for you to talk me into bed, but while you can easily walk away,
Jess silently told him,
I’m not so practised. Sex is intimate, it’s binding, and I’d be handing my body to you, and some of my soul, and that scares me. I don’t want to get hurt. I really don’t want to feel anything more for you than lust-coloured friendship.

Luke saw something in her expression—possibly craziness—and turned away without saying anything.

Jess took that as a sign to change the subject and looked down at her screen. ‘And the reason I brought work over is that I need to talk to you about the campaign.’

‘Talk,’ Luke said, sounding resigned.

Jess ran through the schedule for the next couple of weeks and told him which society events she suggested he attend during the next month. Some were in Cape Town, some in Franschoek, and a couple were in the surrounding wine towns of Stellenbosch and Paarl. All were high society, and it had been easy securing an invitation for him. Actually, most he’d already been invited to, but he’d binned the invitations without opening them.

‘Guess I’d better get my penguin suit dry-cleaned,’ Luke muttered.

Jess powered down her laptop and sat back and looked at him. He was leaning against the counter, ankles crossed, the foot of his wine glass resting against his arm. His eyes were warm and relaxed and Jess felt her throat tighten. It was such a nice end to a busy day: a man cooking her supper and looking as if he wanted to slurp her up. Casually romantic...

Jess gave herself a sharp mental slap. If she was going to start having romantic fantasies about Luke then she shouldn’t be in his kitchen, in his personal space.

Jess’s mobile rang and the glass in her hand wobbled. Putting the glass down, she saw the call was from her eldest brother, Nick, and she smiled. For far too many years she hadn’t received any calls from Nick, and it still gave her a kick to see his name on her caller display.

‘Hey, you,’ she crooned. ‘It’s so good to hear from you.’

As Nick started to speak she caught Luke’s frown and asked Nick to hold on. Excusing herself, she walked out of the kitchen to the hall and into Nick’s living room. Another painting dominated the room—a beach scene this time, of a deserted cottage and the wild and cold Atlantic ocean. It was atmospheric, but every brushstroke seemed saturated with loneliness. Luke’s mother’s work...

Jess shivered and went to stand by the fire. ‘Sorry, run that by me again?’

Jess slapped her mobile against her hand as she walked back into the kitchen, her thoughts a million miles away. She missed the searching look Luke sent her as she picked up her glass and drained the contents.

‘Hey!’ Luke protested. ‘That’s fifteen years old. If you’re going to throw it down your throat I’ll give you something cheaper.’

Jess looked at her glass and grimaced. ‘Sorry.’

‘Problem?’ Luke nodded at her mobile. ‘Bad news?’

‘Not bad news. Just trying to manage my family. That was Nick, my oldest brother, being bossy and trying to arrange my life for me.’

‘You don’t sound particularly upset.’

Jess half smiled. ‘To be honest, he’s the only one I accept it from. He was out of my life for so long that it’s still a bit of a thrill to have him in it. I’m prepared to forgive his managing ways. Probably not for much longer, though.’

‘And the problem is...?’ Luke stirred the bolognaise mixture and dashed some olive oil into a pot of water, cranking the gas high to get it to boil.

‘Next weekend is a long weekend—Friday is a national holiday.’

‘Yes. So?’

‘My family have traditionally always spent that weekend together. All the siblings, their kids, my parents, me... We usually go away somewhere for those couple of days. I told them I couldn’t make this year because I’m swamped, and because...’ Jess stopped and winced.

Luke sent her a look that insisted she finish her sentence. When she didn’t speak, he crossed over to her, tipped her chin so that she had to look at him and lifted his eyebrows. ‘And because...?’

‘Because they keep dropping hints about my ex and me getting back together. He’s good friends with three of my brothers. He often spent that weekend with us.’

‘But you told your family it was over? Why are they pressuring you?’ Luke asked, puzzled.

‘Because Grant has said that he wouldn’t mind us getting back together and I was iffy about why we broke up. My brothers think I’m being temperamental and picky and just need to see what I’ve lost. Grant is a good guy in their eyes.’ Jess shoved her hand into her hair in frustration.

‘He cheated on you,’ Luke said with utter certainty.

Jess’s mouth fell open. When she could find words, Jess spoke again. ‘How did you know that?’

Luke tapped her nose before going back to the stove. ‘I saw it in your eyes. Why didn’t you tell your family?’

Jess dropped into a chair and rested her elbows on the table. ‘Partly pride. He made a fool of me and, as I said, they are friends. Have been for years... That makes it worse. If they find out about him cheating, something awful might happen.’

Luke stopped stirring the sauce and looked at her, surprised. ‘They’d beat him up?’

Jess pulled a face. ‘They wouldn’t mean to. But my brothers are very protective over me. Grant will say something stupid and a fist will fly...’

‘Aren’t you overreacting?’

Jess took a sip of wine and looked at Luke over the rim. ‘When I was five I was bullied at school. My brothers hung the bully—a girl—on a hook. All four Sherwood boys, ranging from six to ten, ended up in the principal’s office.’

‘Huh?’

‘I was thirteen, going to my first dance. My date was threatened by the quartet. He was so scared he pulled out and I went to the dance alone. Sixteen—another boy, another kiss... Nick sprayed the boy with a hosepipe. In winter. I could go on and on.’

‘Lucky you.’ Luke held out the spoon for her to taste the sauce.

Jess held his wrist, blew on the sauce and tasted. It was perfect—herby, garlicky, meaty.

‘Yum. Lucky? Are you mad? They are the bane of my life. They’re nosy and interfering and still think I’m a little girl in need of guidance and protection.’

‘But it must be nice to know that you have four people standing in your corner, ready to wade into the fire for you,’ Luke said soberly, and Jess knew he was right.

Yes, her brothers annoyed her, but she wouldn’t trade them for the obvious loneliness of growing up an only child.

‘Or to punch an ex for you.’

‘I guess.’

‘He cheated. He deserves it.’ Luke shrugged. ‘Are you sure he cheated or was it just a suspicion?’

‘I caught them in my bed. She was on top.’

‘Tacky,’ Luke said, tossing pasta into the rapidly boiling water. ‘You’re not very upset about him cheating.’

Jess shrugged. ‘I’m over it. Mostly.’

‘Mostly?’

Jess looked at the ceiling. How did she explain that she felt stupid rather than hurt—embarrassed that she’d never suspected he was cheating? And his parting words still stung.

‘He told me I was a ball-breaker, a control-freak-psycho. It was messy and a big failure... I don’t like mess and I don’t like failing.’

She didn’t like being out of control, and being a perfectionist was a pain in the ass sometimes. Jess repeated the thought to Luke and he grinned.

He reached for the bottle of wine and topped up her glass while Jess draped her arm over the back of the chair. ‘Anyway, to come back to my conversation with Nick... My family are desperately trying to find a villa to rent in Cape Town, so they can be near me over that long weekend. So that we can spend some time together... And my father—sorry—wants to see St Sylve. My family are wine-oholics. They’ve asked me to keep my ears open for a place to rent that will fit the entire family. Including Grandma,’ Jess continued.

‘You won’t find a place to rent at such late notice. They are usually booked quite far in advance,’ Luke told her as he drained the pasta.

‘I know.’ Jess looked glum.

Luke stared at her for a long minute and Jess frowned. ‘What?’

‘Being with your family is important to you, isn’t it?’

‘Yes. Very. My brothers alternate Christmas with us and their wives’ families, so we’re never all together at Christmas. This weekend is one we’ve kept sacrosanct. We have to have a damn good excuse to miss it, and so far my mother is not buying mine.’

Jess saw the deep breath Luke pulled in.

‘Invite them to St Sylve.’

‘What?’

‘The manor house will sleep twelve adults upstairs and another two downstairs.’

What a perfect solution. She could have her family close and work when she could, or after they all went to sleep.

‘Eleven adults. Five kids under five. Is that a serious offer?’

‘It’s sitting empty,’ Luke pointed out as he dished up their supper.

Jess stared at the plate he’d put in front of her, her brain whirling. ‘I’ll only suggest it to them if we pay to hire it.’

Luke considered her words as he grated Parmesan cheese on top of her food. ‘I wish St Sylve was in a position to say no, but it’s not. I’ll do some research tomorrow and give you a daily rate.’

Jess bit her lip and wiggled in her chair in excitement. ‘Oh, I could just kiss you.’

‘Feel free,’ Luke quickly replied, and Jess blushed.

She would, but she suspected that would lead to more kissing.

And then her food would get cold and sticky and she was starving.

‘No?’ Luke filled up their wine glasses. ‘Damn. Well, then, let’s eat.’

SIX

The next day, Jess watched as Luke carelessly and confidently steered a hugely expensive superbike into the spot Sbu had designated and pulled off his helmet, sending a warm glance to the blonde giraffe sitting on the wall that separated the beach from the road. The sun was setting, the model had a bottle of St Sylve Merlot and two crystal glasses in her hand, and a sexy come-hither look on her very expensive face.

Jess ground her teeth. She knew she wasn’t acting...nobody was
that
good. Luke strode over to the model, cupped her neck and tipped her chin up with his thumb. Their kiss was way longer than necessary, and Jess was sure she’d have no molars left by the end of this shoot. Sbu eventually cut the scene and Luke lifted his head. He really could look as if he was enjoying this a lot less, Jess thought, glaring at him as he grinned down at the giraffe.

Jess shivered and wished she had a cup of coffee in her hands. She was cold, tired, and she wanted a hot bath and to curl up in her favourite pajamas. She wanted a chick-flick and popcorn, a romance novel and chocolate... She did
not
want to accompany Luke to a wine-tasting hosted by one of the most well-respected food critics in the country.

Maybe the giraffe could go with him?

Luke was not amused when she put the suggestion to him five minutes later.

‘I’d rather jump off Table Mountain than be forced to listen to her babydoll voice all night,’ Luke retorted. He tipped his head to one side. ‘What’s your problem? You’ve been like a bear with a sore head all day.’

‘I have not!’

‘Please—your expression could curdle milk,’ Luke said. ‘You haven’t been your normal bubbly self.’

You didn’t have to watch yourself kiss her,
Jess told him silently, and wrinkled her nose. So this was what true jealousy felt like. Jess twisted her lips. She didn’t like it. It was so high school...

‘Are you—?’

‘I swear if you say it I’ll swat you,’ Jess warned him. ‘I am
not
jealous!’

Luke grinned and his eyes danced. ‘Really? Good to know. Except that wasn’t what I was about to say.’

Jess desperately wanted to curl up into a little ball and whimper with embarrassment. ‘What were you going to say?’ she asked, forcing the words out between clenched teeth.

Luke’s smile widened and Jess really wanted to slap it off his face.

‘
Are you
...interested in a cup of coffee? I was going across the road to order some from that bakery over there.’ Luke nodded to the bakery across the street.

Jess wanted to toss her head, blithely refuse, but she was chilled to the bone. ‘Thank you.’ She sent him a stiff smile.

Luke grinned, turned and walked across to the bakery. Jess wished there was a wall she could bang her head against. What was wrong with her? She didn’t get jealous or snarky or grumpy...she wasn’t the type. Why was she feeling possessive about Luke? They weren’t dating or sleeping together, and a couple of sun-hot kisses didn’t mean anything. Shouldn’t mean anything...

Jealousy suggested an emotional connection which was unacceptable on so many levels. She wasn’t ready or willing to get involved again, and neither was he. They were both rational adults, in charge of their choices and their feelings. Theoretically.

Jess sighed. Maybe it was because she was spending too much time with him: familiarity breeding fondness.

Her mobile rang in her coat pocket and Jess pulled it out to see ‘Mum’ on the display. She greeted her mother and listened to the weekly family update. It was more rambling than usual and Jess, who knew her mother really well, wondered what her mother was up to.

When Liza finally ran out of trivia and didn’t say goodbye Jess knew that she was about to be set up. Since her mother’s and grandmother’s choice of men was always dodgy, Jess rolled her eyes.

‘He’s a second cousin, spends his weekends in Franschoek. Lee. Darling, you have to remember him!’ Liza pleaded after telling her that Lee was in set design in Cape Town. ‘You spent a day on the beach together when you were about five!’

‘Mum, I can barely remember the people I spent the day with on the beaches of Thailand, and that was last year! And, no, I’m not interested in dating.’ Jess watched as Model Girl tottered across the road to help Luke carry the coffee and scowled at the warm smile he gave her. He might not like her voice, but he sure didn’t mind sharing his sexy smile with her. ‘Mum, just hold on.’

Jess thought for a moment. Maybe it would be a good idea to dilute Luke’s overwhelming presence by spending some time with another man—give herself some distance, some perspective.

Jess could think of at least ten reasons why Luke shouldn’t even blip on her radar: she was a city girl, he was a farmer. Being open and sunny herself—today, admittedly was the exception—she wasn’t mad about brooding, private types. While he occasionally mentioned his grandfather and great-grandfathers, he refused to discuss the immediate past history of St Sylve, or explain why he and his father had been at such odds. He refused to discuss his father at all.

But there was still something about him that called to her. Jess knew that she was intrigued and curious, which was more dangerous than the sexual heat she experienced around him. She could shrug off the heat but it wasn’t so easy to ignore what was underneath the sexy package. His intellect, his dry humour, the well-hidden vulnerability in the tough, hard-nosed, reclusive man.

She wasn’t going to be stupid enough to fall for him because, really, she wasn’t a stupid girl.

The distraction of dating another man might give her some of that much-needed distance and perspective.

‘Set it up, Mum.’

Jess had to grin at the shocked silence. It was the last reaction her mother had expected and it took her a minute to take it in. ‘Are you pulling my leg?’

‘Not this time,’ Jess replied, taking the cup of coffee Luke held out. ‘Give him my mobile number and get him to give me a call.’

Jess saw Luke’s frown and ducked her head.
Impulsive behaviour again, Sherwood?
She didn’t want to date anyone else. She wanted to date Luke. But in her mind he was undateable, and she
did
need distance.

Jess tucked her mobile back into her pocket and blew across the surface of the hot coffee. She stared out to sea, knowing that Luke was staring at her.

‘You’re going on a date?’

His voice was silky-smooth and she winced internally. He didn’t sound happy...

Jess hedged. ‘Not a
date
date. Dinner with a second cousin...it was my mother’s idea.’

‘You allow your mother to set you up with men?’ Luke continued, in that cool, concise voice which hinted at the calm before a very big storm.

‘No—yes! Look, it’s just dinner with someone I used to play with!’

‘Then why can’t you look at me?’ Luke asked, moving to stand in front of her.

He grasped her chin in his hand and forced her eyes upward. Jess’s eyes slammed into his and she gasped at the emotion she saw churning within them. Need, power, annoyance...

‘No.’

Jess wasn’t sure whether her ears were working properly. She thought she’d heard him telling her what to do.
Nobody
told her what to do...

‘Excuse me?’

‘If you want to date anyone, it’s going to be me. Because we both know where you and I are heading and I don’t share.
Ever.
So, if you want to do the dinner-and-dating thing before we sleep together, I’m it.’

Jess, having lived with men bossing her around her entire life, didn’t appreciate Luke going all Head Boy on her. ‘You’re delusional if you think you can tell me what I can or can’t do.’

Luke’s eyes were thin, very green slits. ‘Try me. Don’t test me on this, Jess.’

Jess tossed her head. ‘And how do you think you can stop me?’

Luke grabbed the lapels on her coat with one hand and yanked her towards him. Jess held her ground and briefly wondered if she hadn’t miscalculated by challenging him. She could see that he was grinding his teeth. His lips had thinned and his jaw was set.

Luke cursed and slanted his lips over hers in a kiss that was as powerful as it was sexy. She didn’t go for the dominating, take-me-now type of embrace, but this was wild and crazy and more than hinted at the depths of Luke’s passion. He wanted her, and he’d leave her and everybody else in the Southern Hemisphere in no doubt about that.

His arm slipped around her back and she felt the power in it as he pulled her closer up to him as his kiss deepened. Thoughts, feelings, emotions pummelled her as he took exactly what he wanted from her mouth, her kiss. Then Luke did something to her mouth that short-circuited her brain. Maybe it was the scrape of his teeth against her lip, the long slide of his tongue that had her womb melting.

Jess was thoroughly into the kiss when Luke dropped his hand and took a step back. She licked her top lip and blinked hard, trying to get her eyes to focus, felt Luke grasp her chin and eventually found the courage to meet his stormy eyes.

‘Do not test me on this, Jessica,’ Luke said again in a hard voice before dropping his hand and heading towards his vehicle parked on the opposite side of the road.

Jess closed her eyes and staggered over to the wall, ignoring the smirking looks of Sbu and the crew. They could think what they wanted...she just needed to get her breath back.

Breath, brain, composure... What the hell was that? She’d never been kissed like that before—an explosive mixture of furious and frustrated. Jess blew her breath into her cheeks and waited for her heart to stop galloping.

Thank goodness she was leaving for home on the red-eye flight tonight...some time away would be a good thing, she thought. That distance-and-perspective thing again.

Jess watched as Luke climbed into his car, his mobile at his ear, looking cool and collected and seemingly unaffected by their kiss. The man didn’t stop working. She knew that filming took a lot of time away from St Sylve and his other business interests, but instead of whining or moaning he just made the best of the situation. He followed instructions, did what he needed to do, and in between shoots and set-ups, he jumped on his laptop or mobile to do what else needed to be done.

She knew that he was under enormous pressure, but nobody would suspect it. Luke just put one foot in front of the other and kept moving forward without fanfare and without drama. He did what he needed to do and she respected that—respected him.

D.I.S.T.A.N.C.E.

Pers...pec...tive.

She now had two mantras:
No acting on the attraction
—ha, ha! As if
that
was working—and
Keep your distance, find your perspective.

She didn’t think saying mantras was working. Stupid New Age thinking.

* * *

Three hours, a shower and a smart suit later and Luke was still annoyed. And his annoyance concealed a healthy layer of panic. Where had his caveman response to her dating someone else come from? It had been basic, automatic, primal...a reflex rather than a chosen thought...and he didn’t like it. Hell, he hated it.

He’d never felt so jealous, so out of control, so plainly
ticked
as he had...did...at the thought of Jess with another man. He hadn’t enjoyed the illogical reaction he’d had to the idea—hadn’t appreciated the instinctive roaring in his head that had said this was
his
woman,
his
mate. Millions of years of evolution and he was still dragging his knuckles on the ground.

Maybe it was life jabbing him in the ribs? He’d been amused at the thought of Jess being a little green-eyed over the model—it had certainly stroked his ego. He hadn’t once thought that he might be equally...okay, a thousand times more jealous.

Dammit to flipping hell and back.

But date someone else? He didn’t think so.

Luke scowled and took a sip from his glass of ’87 Merlot. Jess, dressed in a short, ruffled black dress and do-me shoes, was across the room, talking to Piers Hanson the food critic.
Flirting
with Piers Hanson the food critic... It was, Luke decided with a scowl, as natural to her as breathing.

And enough to make him go all caveman again.

There was no way he was going to watch her flirt with anyone else, he decided, even if the man was old enough to be her grandfather. Luke took a last sip of his wine, placed it on the table next to him and excused himself from the group of men around him—friends of his father who were recounting stories that he didn’t want hear.
He was a great vintner, an excellent raconteur, the life and soul of the party...

Yeah, you didn’t have to live with him, dude.

Luke walked between the guests, exchanged comments but didn’t get drawn into conversation. He approached Jess from behind and put a hand on her lower back, loving the feminine dip where her back met her buttocks. She knew his touch, Luke decided with satisfaction, because she instinctively stepped closer to him before remembering that they weren’t talking to each other.

‘Luke—Piers was just telling me that he’d love a tour of St Sylve,’ Jess told him, and he saw the warning in her eyes.
Be nice, agree. He’s important.

Luke nodded. ‘You’re welcome at any time, of course, but it’s winter and the vines are resting. St Sylve is beautiful in spring and summer.’

‘I think it’s stunning year-round,’ Jess said fervently.

Luke heard the truth in her voice and felt warmth in his gut. He knew it had nothing to do with him. He’d often caught her looking at the buildings, touching the doorframes, staring at the mountains.

Piers tipped his bald head and his bright blue eyes were shrewd. ‘You don’t look like your father.’

Here it comes,
Luke thought.
Another worshipper at the altar of Jed Savage.

Be polite,
Luke reminded himself.

‘It’s said that I look more like my mother.’

‘You do. Your mother was a beautiful woman,’ Piers replied and Luke felt his heart clench.

It took a lot to keep his face impassive. ‘You knew my mother?’