Chapter 1
ONE
A WOMAN
James
It was a strange kind of winter’s morning that had me, a man who couldn’t talk with ease, waiting on a woman I’d never met before.
I made balls with my fists, clenching them tight and jamming them under my armpits against the chilly February dawn, all the while staring down the dark city road.
To my left, Callum spoke in low, urgent tones to the woman he’d met last night. And had fallen head over heels for. He wanted to see her again and, by the sound of things, he was having some success persuading her.
I moved a few steps away, giving them privacy.
My mentor and I were leaving London today, heading home. But first, we were waiting for Mathilda’s—his new friend’s—ride. Leaving couldn’t come soon enough for me. Even on the hotel’s deserted back road, I couldn’t settle.
I rolled my shoulders, my muscles aching from a hard workout this morning in the hotel gym, but it wasn’t that which had me edgy. Something bothered me. A sense of foreboding, or perhaps anticipation. But of what?
From the end of the road, a red car sped towards us.
I tensed, monitoring it as it neared. It drew to a halt alongside, and a woman—with thick brown curls, and big eyes in a pretty face—sat back in the driver’s seat. She grinned, then called out a greeting to Mathilda, and cast an appreciative eye over Callum and me.
“You didn’t say there were men here. Whoa, mama.”
“Beth,” Mathilda said. Her tone held a warning.
“Be right back,” the driver replied, and she accelerated away.
“Gentlemen, meet Beth. Don’t be alarmed,” Mathilda said.
Alarmed? Why should I be? Where was she going? My sense of unease grew, a wariness descending over me.
At the end of the road, the woman—Beth—performed a neat U-turn. She revved the powerful engine, and I stood taller, my attention fully on the car.
With a roar, the vehicle punched forwards.
“I—” I started, my throat tight. Callum grabbed hold of my arm, keeping me still. “What is she—?” I tried again. Then I stopped.
She reached us, too fast. Far too fast.
Fear clawed its way up my throat. A shout came out as nothing but a choked-off cry.
The car spun in the road, bright lights, brakes squealing. It was coming right for us. A one-eighty turn. Nearly on top of us. About to crash. And then…
It stopped, rocking. Engine off. Neatly and perfectly parked in the narrow gap.
I gaped.
But it wasn’t the woman I saw beaming out of the window. I saw red. Tasted blood. Heard the crunch of tearing metal. My skin slashed, the scars burning with the memory. The grating cries—
“What in God’s name— What the hell did you do?” I yelled, my voice a surprise to me, the ease with which I spoke.
Callum muttered something from beside me, his grip firm, but I couldn’t hear. White noise filled my ears.
Then the woman was approaching me, her features twisted in regret, but I couldn’t…
I just couldn’t.
Like a bereft child, I turned and fled.
The automatic lobby doors opened into the dark interior of the hotel.
I paced inside, heading to the coffee shop.
Locked inside my head, my torment sent image after image of all I’d tried to forget.
My skin crawled, and my breathing shuddered on the inhale.
But the farther I walked, the more my sheer fright from the flashback melted, instead morphing into embarrassment.
I hated being like this. Damaged inside and out.
Light footsteps drummed behind me. “Wait. Hey! Stop a second.”
I turned, already feeling irrational. Overdramatic. Beth arrived beside me. I raised my chin to the woman, trying to summon words.
Her gaze took me in. “I’m sorry. About the stunt? I’ve done that a million times and it’s so safe. Just a haul on the handbrake, floor the gas, spin the wheel, and bam.” She winced. “Not bam. I mean, a nicely parked car, facing the right way.”
She dropped her gaze, and I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm. To remember how to make my mouth work. “It’s fine,” I forced out.
The woman dragged her fingers through her hair, sweeping it over her head, revealing a shaved side, hidden under the weight of curls. “It isn’t. I didn’t think. I just saw two big, handsome men, and I got all stupid.”
Handsome?
The panic receded further, and a new, unexpected emotion replaced it. A twist of something…more. A warmth in my veins.
“You’re not to blame for my behaviour. You knew your own skill. I was ignorant of it.” My voice came easier this time. I blew out a breath. Tried to force the stiffness from my limbs.
Then the woman raised her eyes, and our gazes met.
Collided.
The warmth in me flickered, a flame trying to ignite.
“I, er… God, let me start over. I apologise. I’ll never do that again,” she said, her brown eyes wide, a stunned expression on her face. “You have really beautiful eyes.” Then she gave an awkward laugh and took a step back. “Shut up, Beth,” she muttered to herself.
My strange feeling…it was desire. The woman in front of me was striking. Very much so. Her features, animated in her embarrassment, fascinated me. The flush on her cheeks had me thinking words like adorable and charming.
Why, I had no idea.
“Want a coffee?” she asked, changing the subject.
I blinked then swung my gaze to the bemused-looking barista waiting behind the counter a few feet away. “Yes. I could, I mean, if you wanted…”
“Great.” Beth cocked her head to one side. “I’m buying. Call it an apology.”
She grinned at the barista. “Americano, please. Black. Nothing fancy for me. Something sweet for him. He needs it for the shock of meeting me.”
I wanted to laugh, but that was a step too far. My life had many complications, and no matter how I readied myself to face them, nothing had prepared me for this—the confusion that went with attraction to a hot-blooded woman. It didn’t mix with the irritation still grating on my memories.
Drinks in hand, we left the hotel, emerging back into the light.
Beth stumbled at the door, her Americano sloshing. I caught her, earning a beaming smile from her red lips.
Then she hugged me.
I’d been hugged before. Callum and his brothers were a physical family. A punch to the arm for a job well done. A bear hug after time apart. That was nothing like this.
Beth’s hair smelled good, and the way she lingered, holding me sweetly, soothed the rough edges of my nerves. Arresting in the sense of peace I gained. It was…enjoyable.
But just as I relaxed a tiny degree into it, it was over. Beth darted to the car, got in, waved, and drove her friend away. All in the space of time it had taken me to touch the place on my chest where she’d laid her head.
Callum loomed beside me, a grin transforming his hard exterior. I was far more used to him being stern. Grumpy, even.
“Women, eh?” he said with a laugh, then slung an arm over my shoulder, leading me to the concierge so we could check out.
Women.
“Good luck with that,” I replied, brushing off the thoughts, even if I could still feel her touch. I had no time to sort through the mess relationships brought, the hassle Callum seemed to be seeking. Besides, it wasn’t for me, this way of finding a partner.
My path had long been laid out. No shock to the system was going to change anything. No lass with dark eyes and dark hair and attention-seeking habits.
I stuffed the new sensations into the back of my mind and got on with my day.