Just for Today...

“Yeah. And ribbons,” he grumped.

He glanced over and Jess met his eyes. She was smiling, more than a trace of amusement in her expression over his fondness for his car. But it was kindly meant—and after a day with his family, Sean definitely knew the difference.

“You’re a writer, huh?”

“Yep.” She was the first person all day to ask him about his work. It was probably just as well, as the big news he wanted to share wasn’t nearly final enough to make public. When he finally did make his announcement, he wanted it to be a big occasion—he wanted to be there to lord his triumph over his parents, see the recognition of his achievement light up in their eyes.

“What kind of books do you write?”

“This and that.” He’d learned it was better to be vague with most people. Unless they understood his genre, they tended to be dismissive, if not insulting. Better not to get into it at all. “What’s your favorite animal?”

“Huh?”

“Being a vet and all, I figure you must have one.”

“Not really. I like all animals.”

“What’s your least favorite then?”

She paused a moment before answering. “I guess I’m less keen on reptiles. I’m more of a dog and cat person. But at my clinic I look after all kinds of house pets, and that occasionally includes snakes and lizards and the like.”

“What happens when you get a snake and a pet mouse in to see you at the same time? Do you have a dividing wall in the waiting room or something?”

“Generally people don’t just bring their snakes in and sit them on their lap,” she said drily.

“But surely the potential is there for chaos.”

“Not in my waiting room.”

No. He could see that. She’d accused him of being overly confident, but there was a strength to her that he could see just from the brief interaction they’d had so far. She seemed very “together,” compared to other women he knew.

He glanced across at her and their eyes met and held.

One of her eyebrows arched. “Shouldn’t you be watching the road?”

“Probably.” But it took him another few moments before he pulled his eyes from hers and turned back to face the windscreen. Jessica Alexander was seriously hot. And making him feel the same. He dearly wished he’d thought to remove his tux jacket before he’d gotten in the car.

Jess shifted in her seat and from the corner of his eye, Sean watched her skirt fall open again. She wasn’t wearing stockings or panty hose—the bare skin of her legs was a pale pinky-gold that he just knew would feel like silk. Her fingers grabbed the fabric and she tugged on it to pull it back into place.

“Don’t.” Sean covered her hand with his. The contact sent a warm thrill through him. He wanted to touch her all over. The arousal that had been echoing faintly through his body became an ache at the thought.

Jess halted and looked down at their hands and her bared thighs before sending a smile his way. “Hmm. You sure I won’t distract you from driving, sitting here like this?”

Sean tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, doing some quick mental navigation. “We’re only ten minutes from where I’m staying.”

“And that’s where we’re going, is it?”

“Well, it would solve the distraction problem.”

“Hmm, I see what you mean.”

It wasn’t much of an answer. “Unless you have another suggestion?” Sean took his eyes off the road for a moment to get a quick read on Jess. He wanted to end this evening with those gorgeous legs wrapped around him—he very much hoped she wanted the same thing. And, in addition to that seductive image, she was right. Her bare skin, her soft floral fragrance, the ideas that were circulating through his head—none of it contributed to totally focused driving.

“How long are you in Melbourne for?”

He frowned at the question. “Not long. Why?”

One shoulder lifted and then dropped in a nonanswer. “Hailey said you don’t stick around anywhere for very long. Where to next?”

“Sydney. I’m probably heading there tomorrow or Monday.” He had to be somewhere with a solid internet connection by Monday evening. For one of the most important meetings of his life. It’d make sense to set off on the ten-hour drive the next day; stop overnight somewhere halfway so he was fresh when he arrived.

“Is that a problem?” he asked when Jess remained silent. It was better she understood now that this wasn’t the beginning of something more than he could offer.

“No, no, it’s not a problem.” Her voice was a little faint.

Sean steered onto an off-ramp and turned into a side road. As soon as he could, he pulled the car over to stop on a low embankment. He turned to face her and, before she could protest, lowered his lips to hers.

It was a gentle kiss, just lips and breath and the warm rich scent of her skin. Their noses and chins rubbed together as Sean kissed either side of her mouth, before settling on her lips again to just barely caress them.

He pulled back just far enough to watch as her eyes drifted back open, her expression dazed.

“Wow,” she whispered.

“Yeah.” He grinned, knowing it would be goofy, but that one kiss had been enough to make him absolutely positive about what he wanted next. He cupped her chin with one hand. “Jess? I really like you. I’d like to spend the night with you—if you’d like to spend it with me.”

Jess wet her lips nervously but her eyes didn’t move from his. “That was direct.”

He gave a small shrug. “Best to be up front about these things, I’ve found.”

Jess didn’t answer. Her eyes were round and her porcelain skin pale in the sulfuric glow of the streetlight.

“You look a little scared.”

She gave a weak laugh, shifting in the seat to pull away from him. Sean dropped his hand to rest on her thigh.

“I’m not scared,” she said. She met his eyes, a curious determination visible in them.

“If you don’t want to, that’s cool. Seriously. We’ll head back to the reception now.” It was the right thing to say, but he hoped to hell she wasn’t going to take him up on it.

She still looked nervous, but the smile she gave him was sure. “No, I was over the wedding anyway. Let’s go.”

* * *

“I THOUGHT we were going to your hotel?” Jess asked as Sean turned onto a suburban street. She had a sudden sinking feeling about exactly where they were headed. And her nerves sang. He’d accused her of being scared—he was way off the mark. Terrified was more like it.

And that was why she had to go through with it. That and the urgent ache low in her belly that his kiss had only magnified.

“I said we were going to where I was staying.”