Therese Beharrie – Tempted By The Billionaire Next Door (страница 7)
But she was still out of breath when Dylan returned.
‘It looks like a geyser burst. A quick fix, though I’m not sure we can say the same for the ceiling. There’s some water damage—’ He broke off and frowned at her. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, fine.’ She waved a hand. ‘I’m just not used to not being able to do normal things like dry the floor.’
‘Why don’t you rest for a bit? I’ll finish up here and make the necessary calls.’
‘No, you don’t have to.’
She stepped onto the towel in front of her to pick up the one just beyond it, but it slipped under her feet and she felt herself falling before she fully realised what was happening. A strong arm went around her waist and drew her up, and then Jess found herself staring into Dylan’s eyes.
There was concern there, but she could also see the faint light of anger at her refusal. But seconds passed and neither of them looked away, and soon his eyes changed. The concern, the anger, faded and was slowly replaced by interest.
By attraction.
That was the word for it, she thought. And it was a dangerous thought since something instantly sprang inside her chest at the prospect, at the recognition of what had caused her fantasy about Dylan earlier. She swallowed as the attraction changed to desire, and more seconds passed as she realised that that change was because of whatever he saw in
Because being reminded about the fantasy she’d had about him earlier had made her body go hot. Had made her tingle, ache. Now she was pressed against the chest she’d spent days admiring, her hands braced against it, and she could feel his heart thudding against her hand. She should move, she told herself.
But she couldn’t bring herself to put distance between them. The only movement she wanted to act on was to press herself even closer against him. To feel his muscular body tight against her, and have him feel the softness of her body. Her belly would get in the way, but she could—
The thought stopped her imagination abruptly, and shame took the place of desire. How
There was no way she could entertain these fantasies. She couldn’t think about Dylan in any way other than as Anja’s brother, the uncle to the child she carried. Getting involved with him had no benefits. It would probably hurt her best friend. It might even hurt the baby.
And though she wasn’t the biological mother, while she carried him or her,
Her relationship with Anja was important to her. More important than anything else. She would
‘It’s not damaged?’ he asked her quietly, taking a step away from her.
‘It’s in the lounge. The water didn’t get there.’
‘Okay then.’
With careful steps, Jess made her way to the lounge. There would be no repeat performance of the last ten minutes.
Not now, not ever.
BY THE TIME Dylan was done clearing up, the plumber had arrived and confirmed his suspicions: the geyser
Was it because of the way things had ended between them the day before? Maybe, he thought. But then he remembered the way things had crackled between them when he’d saved her from falling. The way his body had reacted to her body’s proximity, and the shame he’d felt when she’d pulled away.
She was pregnant, for crying out loud. There was no circumstance in which that didn’t make her off-limits. He needed to remember that, he thought, when his heart stuttered as his eyes rested on her.
But, damn it, there was just
He told himself to pull back, to control himself, and went over to talk with her.
‘The insurance is sending out their own evaluators this afternoon,’ she said, and he saw the fatigue in her eyes.
‘Figured as much when we realised the plumber we called wasn’t on their list of approved service providers.’
‘I’ve told them what the plumber identified the problem as, and gave them the details of the geyser. I doubt they’ll arrive with it—wouldn’t want to waste their money in case it wasn’t what we said—but it should be replaced by the end of the day.’
‘And the ceiling?’
‘They’re sending someone out for that and the rest of the damage today, too.’
He nodded. ‘I don’t think the ceiling will be too much of an effort. Might just be a paint job. The rest will have to dry.’
‘It’ll probably take a good solid two days,’ she replied. ‘And the water will probably be off for today. The painting should be done tomorrow, but the fumes might keep me out for at least another day.’ She bit her lip. ‘It might end up being more than two days.’ She rested a hand on her stomach, and the action did something strange to his insides.
‘Do you have somewhere to go?’ he asked, his thoughts making his words gruff.
‘No,’ she said softly.
‘Where do you live when you’re not living here?’
‘I just bought a place that isn’t ready for me to move in yet. And the lease of the one I rented before is up.’ She sighed. ‘Anja and Chet are letting me stay here until my flat’s ready.’
He processed the information. ‘What about the father of the baby?’
She hesitated. ‘He isn’t an option right now.’
‘So he doesn’t care where the mother of his child is?’
‘That’s not—’ She broke off. ‘He isn’t an option. But this isn’t your problem, so don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.’
‘I
‘I’ll be fine.’
‘Jess—’
‘Why are you pushing me?’
‘Why won’t you accept my help?’
‘I
‘Not if I leave you to figure things out by yourself,’ he argued. ‘Letting someone help you isn’t going to rob you of anything, you know.’
‘Not in my experience.’
He paused. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Nothing,’ she said immediately, shaking her head. ‘It doesn’t mean anything.’
He studied her. Couldn’t bring himself to look away from her. Not when her expression was so captivating. She’d been hurt before, he saw. And realised that hurt had made her lose something of herself.
Though he barely knew her, Dylan found his fists curling and his mind fantasising about being alone with whoever had hurt her. And since she was pregnant and didn’t want to turn to the father of her child for help, Dylan was willing to bet he knew who he’d like to hurt.
He forced himself to relax. ‘Okay, how about you get some of your clothes and come over to my place for breakfast? You can figure it out there,’ he added over the protest he could sense would come from her.
But, instead of protesting, she said, ‘That would be great, thanks,’ surprising him. He watched as she got up—resisting the urge to help her when her movements looked the slightest bit sluggish—and waited in the passage leading to the front door while she packed.
He used the time to look at his sister’s house. Just as he’d told Jess the day before, he preferred the décor here to that of his own house. Though the architecture was much the same, the bright colours made Anja’s house look more homely than his own. When he’d told Anja as much, she’d told him that if he’d been there, maybe he could have made sure his was homely, too.
It had been the first sign of the crack in their relationship, but of course, he’d ignored it. It had been easier to do than facing the fact that he should have been home...
Jess came out then, just in time to stop those thoughts from spiralling. He wordlessly took the small suitcase she had, and turned towards his place. He was almost surprised to see how sullen the sky had become, though he shouldn’t have been. It was autumn, and the warmth of the past few days had been more of a fluke than the grey sky.
He opened the door of his house to an excited dog, who became even more excited when she saw Jess behind him. Though he could still see the fatigue in Jess’s eyes, she dutifully gave Daisy the attention the dog wanted and then followed him into the kitchen.
It was strange having her in his house again. Which itself was strange, considering that he’d only been living in that house for eight days himself after being away from it for two years. And since the décor had changed while he’d been away, it was almost like living in a new place.
‘You can have the guest room,’ he told her, leading the way. ‘My housekeeper comes in every second day, so the room should be okay to stay in. There’s an en suite bathroom, too, so it has everything you need.’