by Maggie Cox
‘Anyway, what has any of what you’ve just said got to do with what I’m doing, Lia? Why are you digging up old news about Jake Sorenson?’
‘Why? Because I want you to know what you’re getting yourself into that’s why’
Lifting her mug of coffee to her lips, her friend agitatedly put it down again without taking so much as a sip.
‘As your best friend, I can’t help feeling responsible. The people in the business you’re getting into are open to all kinds of temptations and bad behaviour. They certainly don’t seem to exhibit much loyalty towards each other. I’d hate for you to be associated with the band and have it all backfire on you if the press decide to dig up that kiss and tell story and speculate over if you’ll do the same, should anything go wrong.’
‘But I’m not having a personal relationship with Jake, am I? I’m only singing with the band he’s managing. Plus, I wouldn’t dream of selling my story to the press even if I had one! I’m twenty-six, remember? Not some gullible teenager. I can absolutely take care of myself.’
But Caitlin’s heart still raced. Nothing Lia had said before had remotely indicated what her friend really felt about her decision to join the band. Up until now she’d been so positive…so encouraging. ‘Follow your passion,’ she’d said. ‘Don’t let anything get in your way.’ Now Caitlin didn’t know what to think.
It wasn’t any of her business what had or hadn’t happened in Jake’s marriage. In fact it explained why he sometimes seemed a little aloof. As well as destroying any trust you’d once had for a person, to have your spouse sell their story about your marriage to the papers must have been truly demoralising. But at the end of the day Jake’s personal life was nothing remotely to do with her.
‘Okay, so if it’s true that you can take care of yourself then what about Sean?’ Lia’s brown eyes sparkled.
Caitlin could hardly believe what she was hearing.
‘That was below the belt, Lia,’ she murmured. ‘Okay, so I’ve made some wrong turns in my life. Haven’t you? Hasn’t everyone? It doesn’t mean that everything I do is doomed to failure or disaster, does it?’
‘I shouldn’t have said that. About Sean, I mean.’ Lia sniffed. ‘I’m sorry, Caitlin. I should know better, considering the business I’m in, shouldn’t I? It’s just that sometimes it’s hard to put wisdom into practice when it comes to someone you care about. You know what men can be like. They’ve got a one-track mind when it comes to women like you, and I mean that as a compliment. You’re beautiful and talented, with a sweet and trusting nature. They’re bound to try and take advantage and here you are—going off into the wide blue yonder with five of them!’
‘Well, you’ve got to try and stop worrying, Lia. I’m going to be just fine. I’m doing what I want to do, right? Nobody is forcing me. If I can trust that everything will be okay, then why can’t you?’
Abruptly rising to her feet, Caitlin carried her empty mug over to the sink. Then she rinsed it out and turned it upside down on the drainer.
‘I’d better get back upstairs and relieve Nicky so that she can have her lunch. Today’s my last day at the shop, so let’s not spoil it by having an argument.’
‘I’m sorry. I’m just feeling a bit on edge because you’re going. Don’t be mad at me?’ Lia pleaded as she got to her feet.
‘Don’t be silly!’ Grinning, Caitlin fondly ruffled her hair. ‘How on earth could I be mad at you for caring? Since that particular commodity has been sadly lacking in my life for quite some time, I can assure you I’m open to all the TLC I can get!’
But even as she laughed off her friend’s concern Caitlin couldn’t help dwelling on what she’d said about Jake. The revelation about Jake’s former marriage perturbed her. She didn’t often read the celebrity gossip that littered the newspapers and social media, and right now she was glad that she didn’t. Whatever had happened between Jake and his ex-wife, it must have been painful for both of them, she reasoned. She should just focus on singing with the band and not concern herself with how Blue Sky’s manager might or might not conduct himself in private.
CHAPTER FOUR
AT THE END of an emotionally fraught day, Caitlin sank back into a hot steamy bath and exhaled a heartfelt sigh. Flickering candles cast dancing shadows on the walls of the small, once shabby bathroom she’d sought to transform with some pink paint, pale blue curtains and accessories. She was genuinely pleased with what she’d achieved.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in the exotic perfume that filled the air from the scented candles and her favourite aromatic bath oil. Trailing her fingers idly in the water, she let her thoughts whirl. Electing to leave her job, she hadn’t exactly burnt her bridges, she reflected, because Lia had promised she could have a job with her any day. But it was still a scary thought to realise that she was giving up something relatively stable and secure for something that was its direct antithesis.
Splashing a handful of water across her shoulders, Caitlin opened her eyes and absently watched the droplets roll down her warm, scented skin. Frowning, she thought about the afternoon’s rehearsals and how Jake had regularly berated her for lack of concentration—not to mention for pretty much everything else. He’d yelled at her so often that the rest of the crew had cast each other quizzical glances, as if to ask, what’s going on?
Was he behaving like that because he regretted kissing her? She hadn’t asked him to kiss her! Her concentration might well not have been what it should, but despite the rights or wrongs of that inflammatory kiss how did the man expect her to react when she’d just left the job that she’d been devoted to for the past five years? It just wasn’t that easy to detach herself from a person or a place she cared about.
At least Rick and the others had been more understanding. They had even brought along a bottle of champagne to celebrate her ‘release’, although Jake had declined to join them in their impromptu toast during the break. Instead, he’d collected his leather jacket and gone out for a while… ‘To get some fresh air,’ he’d tersely explained.
‘Blast you, Jake Sorenson! I’m doing my best here. Give me a break, can’t you?’
Grabbing the innocent plastic yellow duck bobbing about on the water, she flung it down in temper. It made a very sad little splash. Not nearly enough impact to vent the anger that was bubbling up inside her.
Then, as if on cue, the doorbell rang.
Caitlin cursed out loud, determined to ignore it. But when it rang for a second and then a third time her resolve crumbled and she hauled herself out of the bath, grabbed the blue terry robe off the peg behind the door and struggled into it, littering the air with vague mutterings of irritation as she did so…
Stomping through the living room, then down the cold linoleum-covered stairs, she wondered who could be so inconsiderate and foolhardy enough to disrupt one of her favourite pastimes.
‘Jake.’
All the strength seemed to drain from her limbs as she came face to face with her unexpected visitor. His lean, athletic frame was clothed entirely in black, and his long legs and broad shoulders were outlined by the filtered orange glow of a nearby street lamp. No other man had the power to disturb her as much. Jake had a presence that scrambled her thoughts into a muddled tangle and almost made it hard to breathe. All compelling lean angles and shadows, his gorgeous cheekbones were almost impossibly perfect.
Meeting his bold gaze, she asked, ‘What is it? Is something wrong?’
‘Can I come in?’
Because the request had caught her off guard, Caitlin found herself nodding. Then she stepped back into the dimly lit hallway, with its unfortunate flocked gold wallpaper and worn red carpet, to let him enter. The damp hair that she’d screwed up so carelessly into an improvised knot hung loose and heavy behind her head and several long ebony strands had worked free to glance against her cheek. Beneath her robe her body was still slick with moisture because she hadn’t had time to dry herself. And she was stark naked beneath that robe…
It was a fact that did little to add to her confidence. Not when Jake edged past her with an enigmatic little smile that made all the strength ooze out of her limbs like sherbet through a straw.
‘Up the stairs,’ she instructed weakly as he turned and waited while she closed the front door.
Glancing briefly up the narrow staircase that led to her flat, he said, ‘You go first.’
Caitlin had been afraid he might say that. With her face burning she squeezed past him, inadvertently inhaling the heady scents of cedarwood and leather and the fresh smell of the outdoors that clung to him as her body brushed briefly against his. It was like coming into contact with a power supply, she thought as she began to ascend the stairs. There wasn’t a cell in her body that hadn’t felt the effect.
Every step she took in her slim bare feet with their scarlet-painted toenails was pure agony because she was acutely aware of Jake, just inches behind her. The belt round her waist had been fastened so tightly he couldn’t fail to be apprised of her shape beneath the perfectly innocent terry robe, and Caitlin squirmed inwardly all the way up into her living room.
‘Come in,’ she invited.
His heart thudding, because his senses were still infused with the memory of their kiss the other night, Jake trained his gaze on his surroundings in a bid to divert his aroused recollection.
He immediately registered what had once been an ornate Victorian fireplace that was now home to a small electric heater that surely wasn’t big enough to heat the whole room. There was a large pink ceramic vase with palm fronds in it just to the side of the hearth, and a large squashy red sofa with multi-coloured cushions arranged against the wall. Above it was a large gold-framed print of Flaming June by Frederic Leighton. The vivid orange of the lady’s dress was clinging like a sunburst to her pale reposing figure.
Jake absorbed all of this in just a few short seconds, but inevitably his gaze was helplessly drawn back to Caitlin. In her charming state of dishabille, how could it not be? What was that scent she was wearing?
With her face scrubbed clean of make-up, her silky black hair escaping all attempts at confinement, and wearing nothing but a plain terry robe, to Jake she was temptation personified. If she had the power to make him hot when she was dressed in tight jeans and a T-shirt it was nothing compared to the effect she was having on him in her present get-up. He just prayed that her pretty green eyes wouldn’t stray far south of his stomach, because right then he was fighting a losing battle to keep his lustful stirrings to himself.
So much for his promise to maintain a professional distance. He’d already broken that vow by stealing that incendiary kiss the other night. One taste of pure, unadulterated heaven had ensured that sooner or later he would be back for more. He’d already had to make himself scarce once this afternoon, because two hours of Caitlin up on the stage wiggling her hips as she sang, her breasts bouncing ever so slightly in her hot pink T-shirt, had almost made him crazy with want. Professing a need for some fresh air had just been a handy euphemism for what he really needed…a cold shower so icy it would freeze an ordinary mortal into a cryogenic trance.
When Jake didn’t immediately speak, Caitlin nervously wiped her hands down her robe and motioned vaguely towards the sofa. ‘Why don’t you sit down? I just need to go and dress. I was having a bath when you rang the bell.’
‘Don’t get dressed on my account,’ her visitor drawled, making no discernible move to sit down.
Her face flamed red.
‘I’m still wet,’ she gulped, immediately wishing she could take back her innocently meant remark, because Jake’s glance was all but stripping her naked. Want, need and lust swirled between them. ‘I mean I need…’
Caitlin’s hand trembled as she saw Jake’s eyes grow tellingly dark. Now his glance was focused on her mouth, on the soft, plump lower lip that her tongue had just innocently dampened.
‘What are we going to do, Caitlin?’ he asked softly, his gravelly voice reeling her in with its disturbing undisguised intonation of heat and sex.
‘Do about what?’
‘About us. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. For God’s sake, the kiss we shared the other night when I walked you home was no innocent kiss goodnight. I got the distinct impression that you enjoyed it as much as I did. Was I wrong?’
‘Look, I really need to go and put some clothes on. If you wait here I’ll make us some coffee once I’m dressed and then we can talk.’
Jake smiled. She was gazing at him as though hypnotised. As she studied him her bewitching emerald eyes were dazzled—glazed, almost. Whatever she felt about him, she couldn’t deny there was a combustible attraction between them. And he couldn’t think of another woman who had the ability to send his pulse sky-rocketing and his libido raging with just a simple glance.
It wasn’t just her beauty that drew him to her. There was a refreshing innocence about Caitlin. Having met so many women whose hunger for fame and success made them employ any means possible to get what they wanted—his ex-wife being a case in point—he found Caitlin was like a breath of fresh air. Jake had never wanted a woman more in his life…wanted her with an ache that was the sweetest agony from the moment he woke up in the morning to when he lay down to sleep at night.
‘Good. Because it won’t go away,’ he continued. ‘Sooner or later we’re going to have to deal with it.’
Caitlin’s already pink cheeks flushed even pinker. Then she turned and fled into the bedroom to get dressed.
Sighing, Jake dropped down onto the squashy red sofa, picked up a cushion, then angrily jettisoned it onto the floor. Just what the hell did he think he was doing? He’d called in on her because he’d wanted to apologise for being so uncompromising at rehearsals, but as soon as he’d set eyes on her in that innocent terry robe of hers he’d known immediately that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it. Somehow his rigidly imposed self-control had gone out of the window and all he’d been able to think about was how soon he could get her into bed.
He wanted to bury himself so deep inside her he’d assuage every ache he’d ever had…hers too. Yes, he’d had the odd one-night stand since Jodie had done the dirty on him—how else could he satisfy a healthy libido—but nothing could have prepared him for a hunger so primal, so insatiable, that it threatened to consume him body and soul if it wasn’t satisfied.
Dragging his fingers through his hair, Jake slowly shook his head. To add to his frustration Caitlin’s provocative scent lingered in the room, tormenting him. Where was she, for goodness’ sake? How long did it take to throw some clothes on? Longer than it would take him to tear them off that was for sure…
Restless, he got to his feet, his long legs taking him to the other side of the room and back again as he paced the floor. The living room was ridiculously small—almost oppressively so. A few family photos sat on the mantelpiece, along with a small glass jar full of assorted coloured crystals.
Jake was far too distracted to examine the photographs more closely, so he turned away to survey the rest of the room. A large pine bookcase dominated an entire wall, and there wasn’t a shelf on it that wasn’t crammed to bursting point with books. He barely stole a glance at the titles he was so keyed up, but he couldn’t fail to notice that most of the literature dwelt on self-development or philosophy.
Had Caitlin been interested in those subjects before or after her catastrophic relationship with the drug addict? Jake was curious. Clearly she must have been driven to seek out some sort of guidance after such an ordeal. Somehow he felt chastened. Living with a drug addict and alcoholic would certainly be no picnic. He himself had had friends and associates who’d been drawn down a similar destructive route. He’d told Caitlin that the music business was full of such casualties.
But she’d confessed to him that she’d lost everything, including her home. That must surely be the reason why she was living in this rabbit hutch. Jake would go stir crazy, living in such a confined space. Being the grateful owner of spacious ho
mes in London, New York and LA—which were admittedly empty most of the time, due to his peripatetic lifestyle—he doubted he would manage even half as well if he had to live the way Caitlin did. Even his room at the quaint Pilgrim’s Inn was three times the size of this one.
Without realising it, his hands had curled into fists down by his sides.
He’d remarked to her that addiction was a disease, not a weakness, but by God he’d like just ten minutes with the jerk who’d ripped her off so badly that she was reduced to living in two shabby rented rooms.
‘What would you like to drink? Tea or coffee?’
Caitlin’s voice took Jake by surprise. Turning round, he avidly noted her long shapely legs, which were encased in soft worn denim, and the pretty pink top she’d donned, which was fastened at the front with little pearl buttons. In her apparent haste to get dressed the top two buttons had been left undone, inadvertently revealing the creamy cleft between her breasts, and the arresting sight made him catch his breath.
But she might not have left the buttons undone deliberately—she hardly needed to resort to feminine wiles to get his attention. All the woman had to do was glance at him with those bewitching emerald eyes and Jake was all hers.
‘Neither,’ he answered. ‘Why don’t you just come and sit down so we can talk?’
Caitlin acquiesced, her brows puckering when she noticed that one of her multi-coloured cushions was lying on the floor. Inside her chest, her heart was galloping at what felt like a worrying breakneck speed.
When Jake had asserted that sooner or later they would have to ‘deal with it’, had he been saying that it was inevitable that they had an affair? Because if he had then he hadn’t reckoned with her iron will. It didn’t matter how attracted she was to the man, she wasn’t the type to jump thoughtlessly into bed with him. Sean was the only man she’d ever been intimate with, and to be honest it hadn’t been anything to write home about even when she’d foolishly imagined herself in love with him.