The Gift Read Online Free PDF Page B

back?
    Because, even without physical force, he still seemed to be holding her. Those dark eyes constrained her just as securely. They were softer now, and mellower, but still as compelling.
    She stared at him for a long moment, unable to look away from his grey gaze. Why did he suddenly seem so familiar? Not the face, but the eyes. They looked like … no … that was impossible. It was just a trick. There was no real similarity at all between the kindly, shaggy, almost angelic boy of fifteen years ago and the battered militaristic man of now.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, his voice raw, ‘I didn’t mean to frighten you …’ He paused, and she noticed again how beautifully long his eyelashes were as they flickered, completely at odds with every bit of the rest of him. ‘But you’ll need your shoes before you go anywhere, won’t you?’
    Her feet looked pale and vulnerable against the grass, but the sight of them sent a frisson of sensation speeding through her, an echo of his fingers caressing her instep. And other places. And not just his fingers.
    Without asking whether she wanted it or not, he put his jacket around her shoulders again, and as she grappled for self-control, Jay retrieved her shoes. A second later they were doing the ‘take my arm while you dress yourself’ dance again. Stubborn independence whispered to her to flop down on the seat again and put the hated shoes back on unaided, but it was just easier not to fight, and accept his help.
    ‘I’m sorry that I took advantage of you.’
    The words took Sandy by surprise, and for a moment she wondered what he was talking about. Then she remembered in a flash of heat as Jay made an eloquent gesture with his strong, tapered fingers and his mouth quirked slightly in a way that could have been accidental but which was probably deliberate. ‘It’s just a strange night … sort of like magic …And hot.’ A smile appeared, and that was definitely deliberate. ‘Well, figuratively speaking …’
    Sandy’s heart thudded slowly, thumpety-thump. He was arrogant, and he seemed dangerous, and he did frighten her. But she couldn’t turn away, couldn’t flee. There was an aura of excitement about him, like a net, a thrilling bondage. She hadn’t had this sense of connection with a man in a long time. Perhaps never. Maybe now was the time to reach out and make the most of it?
    ‘I’m sorry too.’ It came out on a total impulse, but it was true. He hadn’t hurt her, had he? In fact he’d given her pleasure, unselfishly, taking nothing for himself. ‘Wh-what you did for me … It was lovely. More than lovely. I feel as if I owe you. In fact I do owe you something in return.’ Trying to be surreptitious, she glanced down at his crotch, to see if he was still erect. But the way he stood, his back to the lighted windows, created shadows. She looked up again, and found him tracking her every tiny movement, like the Terminator.
    ‘Don’t worry about me.’ His voice was shockingly brusque after the gentleness of his apology, but he immediately modified it. ‘We’ll get to that. Let’s have a drink for starters, eh? A real one. I’ve got whisky in my room, if you’d like some?’
    Disquiet flared again. His room? It was too risky, too much his domain. She needed to keep at least a semblance of control over the situation. And herself.
    ‘Er … no … but why don’t you come to my place? To the café? We could have a cup of tea, and there are some of Kat’s special mince pies left, still nice and fresh.’
    What? He almost certainly wants to fuck me and I’m offering him tea and a mince pie?
    The amusement in Jay’s face almost banished his scars altogether, and his grin was white and wicked in the frame of his dark immaculate beard.
    ‘Well, that’s different. But why not?’ He laughed softly, then nodded in the direction of the Lawns Bar. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be socialising though?’
    ‘I was … but I only really came here to find out