Burned

But it was too late for all of that.

‘Just drop me off and go back to the blonde.’

‘You don’t need to be jealous. She’s a colleague.’

‘I’m not jealous.’ But I was, and I hated that. I hated the fact that he made me feel that way after all this time. ‘Fuck you, Hunter.’

And I had, of course. If there was one thing we’d been good at, it was sex.

His knuckles were white on the wheel.

His head turned briefly and his gaze met mine again.

It was like the collision of two tectonic plates. I felt the tremor right through me from the top of my scalp to the soles of my feet and for a moment I was back there in the madness of it, my mind twisted by the ferocious sexual chemistry that only happened when we were together.

With a soft curse, he dragged his gaze from mine and shifted gears in a savage movement that made me flinch. ‘You saw those guys looking at you and yet you just walked out and let them follow you.’

‘I’m not responsible for their bad behaviour. A woman should be free to walk where she likes without fear of being accosted by losers.’

‘You put yourself in a position where those losers could have hurt you.’

‘So you’re saying it’s my fault they behaved badly?’

He clenched his jaw. ‘No, I’m not saying that.’

I kept my hands clasped in my lap because the craving to touch him was scarily strong. ‘I didn’t know they were behind me. I wasn’t paying attention. I was upset.’

‘Because that guy told you to learn to bake cakes?’

No, because I’d seen him. All I’d wanted to do was run.

I was a coward. I prided myself on being gutsy and strong and I’d fled like a rabbit being chased by a fox.

‘I didn’t see any point in prolonging the evening. I’ve had a long week.’

‘Did you run because of me?’

‘Oh, please....’ Now I was doing a Brian, leaving my sentences unfinished, but in my case it was because I didn’t want to tell the truth and I was a hopeless liar.

Hunter didn’t bother inserting the words I hadn’t spoken. He didn’t have to. He already knew the answer to that one. He’d always been able to read me. We probably could have had an entire conversation without opening our mouths.

Keeping his eyes fixed on the road, he drove past the Houses of Parliament up to Buckingham Palace and then drove through Hyde Park, headlights bouncing off trees and sending a shimmer of light across the Serpentine pond. I didn’t own a car. For a start, I didn’t have the money to run one, but in London there was no point. Why spend the whole day sitting in traffic?

Hunter reached into a pocket in the car and handed me a dressing pad. ‘Your head is bleeding.’

‘It’s nothing.’ A bit of blood was the least of my worries. I had bigger concerns, like the fact my heart was hammering. It didn’t feel normal to me. ‘I had the situation under control. You didn’t need to help out.’ I took the pad, ripped it open and pushed it against my forehead, wondering what else he carried in this car. I hoped he had a defibrillator, because I was pretty sure I was going to need one.

‘If I hadn’t arrived when I did, you’d be a crime statistic.’

‘I was doing just fine.’

‘Your balance was wrong. You need to watch the way you drive your leg. You’re straightening too soon and losing power. You need a ninety-degree angle. You need to bend more. And turn your hips.’

I was trying not to think about my hips. I was trying not to think about any part of my body, especially not the parts that were near my pelvis. I was worried I was about to catch fire.

For a moment I wondered if I was the only one feeling this way and then I saw his knuckles, white on the wheel, and realized he was struggling, too.

‘Why did you follow me?’

‘Because I knew you were upset. I wasn’t going to leave you alone in that situation.’

‘Why? You left me without a backward glance five years ago, so it’s a little late to develop a protective streak.’ I thought it was hypocritical of him to pretend he cared about my well-being when he’d once left me in a million pieces bleeding. Maybe that’s a little dramatic, but that’s how it felt.

His shoulders tensed and I realised that, far from seeming indifferent, I’d just revealed a wound the size of a continent.

CHAPTER THREE (#u49863e35-3646-5479-9426-42eb5f25e88a)

Oh, crap.

The first thing our mother taught us was never to show a man you’re broken-hearted. I’d virtually dropped the pieces of mine in his lap.

‘What I mean is, I’ve learned to look after myself.’ I realized we were in Notting Hill and felt unnerved. ‘How do you know where I live?’

‘There are some things we need to talk about, but first I want to check that head of yours.’

I wanted to check my head, too. What had possessed me to climb into a car with Hunter Black? Obviously I had a concussion. I needed a health check, or at the very least a reality check.

‘We don’t have anything to talk about, but I do want to know how you have my address.’

He didn’t answer me. Instead he took a right and then a left into the leafy, tree-lined street where I lived with my sister.

Our apartment was on the top floor of a lovely brick building, with views over the rooftops toward Kensington Gardens. If you stood on tiptoe and stuck your head out of our bathroom window, you could see Prince Harry (only kidding, sadly). We were right in the middle of shops, restaurants and the market. I loved it. Of course, since Hayley and Nico got together—you probably felt the ground shake—I’d had it to myself quite a bit. I didn’t mind that. It meant I could practise in the living room without accidently kicking her or getting yelled at when I knocked a lamp off the table. Normally coming home soothed me. Tonight I was officially freaked out.

‘Good night, Hunter. Thanks for the lift.’

‘Is Hayley home?’

‘How do I know? And why do you care?’

‘You had a blow to the head. I’m not leaving you alone.’

‘I want you to leave me alone.’ I was fumbling with my seat belt, fingers slippery and shaky with nerves. Turned out I couldn’t even do that without help and I felt the warm strength of his hand as it covered mine.

His fingers were warm, strong and totally steady and it irritated me that he had so much control when I had none.

He leaned forward and his jaw, dark with stubble, was only inches from my eyes. I looked at the sensual curve of his lips and the urge to press my mouth against his was almost painful.

And then he looked at me and I knew he was fighting the same urge.