She flashed a glance at his face, then down to his arm. “I suppose you’d know how that feels now. Anyway, the discipline was good for me, however much I hated it.”
“So why did you leave?”
“I never really got used to taking orders, especially from total assholes. I made sergeant twice and got busted down again. Then Jake—he was an officer in my unit—left and started up Knight Security. He offered me a job, and I took it. End of story.”
“You sleeping with him?”
“With Jake?” She snorted. “You have got to be kidding.”
“Why not?”
Basically, because even if he’d been interested, and maybe back before he’d met Kim, he might have been, she had given up on men. And she hadn’t wanted to lose Jake as a friend. He was one of the few guys she respected. Also, she’d tried sleeping around and always ended up comparing them to what she’d had with Declan and been devastatingly disappointed. But she didn’t want to share that little piece of information. “Jake’s married to my best friend,” she said instead. “He’s been in love with her forever. But he’s been a good friend and a good boss.”
“So are you seeing anyone now?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Baby, you just gave me a blowjob, I think that makes it my business. But I’m guessing there’s no one and hasn’t been for a while.”
Now she did try and tug her hand free, but his grip tightened. “And why would you think that.”
“Because you felt like a virgin.”
“Have you had lots of virgins, Declan?”
He cast her a sideways glance. “Only one. But I remember it well.”
She swallowed. So did she; the night they first made love was indelibly imprinted in her dreams. He’d made her come with his mouth until she was so wet that he had pushed in with ease, only causing her the slightest hitch of pain.
“But it wasn’t only that. You were desperate that day in my office. I’m guessing there hasn’t been anyone for a while.”
She wanted to argue that she hadn’t been desperate, but it would be a lie and she wanted to keep lies to a minimum. “Maybe. I told you, I’ve been quite happy with my vibrator, so what the hell would I need a man for?”
“I thought you were looking for a ‘nice’ man.”
“That’s only recent. I joined a dating agency.” Though she was still waiting for her first offering since Kim had doctored her questionnaire. It made her wonder what her friend had put down.
Declan turned to face her, brows drawn together. “I’m not sure I like the idea of you dating other men.”
She had a fuzzy, warm feeling at that, which terrified the life out of her. Christ, she wasn’t even dating Declan. “Well, get over it. Because it really isn’t any of your business.”
Without waiting for him to answer, she headed back. They didn’t speak again. When they reached the car, she spoke to the driver. “Drop me off at the office, on the way.” She’d get a cab from there. Suddenly she was filled with the need to be alone. She wanted to be away from Declan because his words had confused her. It was nothing to do with him who she dated. This was about sex. Nothing else. She wouldn’t allow it to be about anything else.
They sat in silence as far apart as they could get, but strangely it was a peaceful silence. He didn’t speak until she was climbing out of the car. “Thanks for the blowjob. Maybe next time I’ll return the favor.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” Next time wouldn’t be for an age; she had plans for the rest of the weekend, though she was doing her best not to think about those plans too closely. But then something occurred to her and she leaned back into the car. “Are you serious about wanting some…fun?”
He quirked a brow. “What do you have in mind?”
“Meet me at the O2 Arena tomorrow morning at ten. And dress casual.”
“Why? What—”
But she straightened, slammed the door, and walked away.
…
The car pulled up just inside the gates, and Declan sat for a moment staring out of the window and trying to decide what Jess was up to. What she had planned. From the amusement in Steve’s eyes, Declan was pretty sure his bodyguard knew what was going down, but if so, he wasn’t sharing.
Declan had done a lot of thinking last night after she’d left him. In many ways she was right; they were totally unsuitable. Back then, they would never have made it long-term. They’d both been young, impressionable; the affair had been cut short and so attained far more importance than it ever should have. Now, he suspected he was drawn to her because of the whole unfinished-business thing.
He’d never admit it, but those first months after he’d left her had been hell. He’d asked his father to keep an eye on her, to tell him if she needed anything, to pass on his number if she got in touch—he’d never meant to cut her off completely. He’d thought perhaps they could have been friends. Friends with an ocean between them to keep him from temptation.
And every single day he’d waited for a call.
A call that never came.
So he’d done what he always did and ignored his feelings, locked them up inside and immersed himself in what he had to do.
Of course, now he knew that she’d gone to see his father. Something his dad had failed to mention and one day soon they’d have a discussion about that. But maybe his dad had done the right thing, because if Jess had called, he would have gone running. And as she’d pointed out, they’d have been a disaster together.
So keep that in mind. This was about closure. And sex. Christ, he wanted her again. He wondered whether her idea of fun this morning would involve them getting hot, naked, and sweaty together. He hoped so, but considering the location, somehow he doubted it.
He climbed out of the car and glanced around. In front of him was the huge white dome of the arena. In front of that, a small crowd milled around what looked to be some sort of bright orange crane device that reached high in the sky. He searched for Jess in the crowd, but couldn’t see her until a movement to the side drew his attention. She was walking across the space between the building and the crane, wearing black jeans and a matching long-sleeved T-shirt. She caught his gaze; her face was pale and her lips held in a tight line.
He strode across, came to a halt in front of her. “Are you okay?”