Read Online Lessons in Rule-Breaking by Christy McKellen - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Christy McKellen
Ads: Link
protect her hit him like a hammer to the chest.
‘You can’t stay here. There must be somewhere else available?’
‘There isn’t. I looked. Everywhere else is fully booked or totally out of my price range.’
‘Isn’t the magazine stumping up for your accommodation?’ he asked.
She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. ‘There isn’t the budget to put me up somewhere expensive. I’m just a junior staffer,’ she said sheepishly, clearly worried he’d be offended that they hadn’t sent their top reporter to interview him.
The flash of vulnerability did something to his insides, making him squirm in sympathy for her.
‘Pack up your stuff. You’re staying with me.’
She blinked at him in surprise. ‘What?’
‘I have four spare bedrooms at the villa. It’s ridiculous for you to stay in this dump when there’s so much room at my place.’ He held up his hands, palms forward, when she frowned and started to shake her head.
‘Rosa’s there most of the time and the bedrooms have locks on the doors so you don’t need to worry about me taking advantage of you.’ He flipped her a grin in the hope she’d believe him. He couldn’t in all conscience let her stay here any longer. The place was disgusting and he hated the thought of her having to put up with it for a moment longer when it was no skin off his nose for her to stay with him.
‘But don’t you want your privacy?’ she hedged, rocking back on her heels.
He flapped a casual hand at her. ‘There’s enough room at the villa for us not to feel like we’re in each other’s pockets. You’re going to be spending most of your time there anyway, right?’
She took a moment to think it over, staring down hard at the floor.
‘I’ll wait for you in Reception,’ he said, moving back towards the door. ‘Rosa’s making breakfast so we’d better get back there soon.’ He hoped his authoritative tone would tip her into action. He suspected she needed quite a bit of pushing to get past her stubbornness.
After five minutes of pacing up and down in the reception area, he finally saw her appear out of her room, now fully dressed, and walk down the corridor towards him wheeling a small suitcase, her shoulders drawn forward and her head dipped with tiredness.
The dull grey, shapeless linen trouser suit she’d put on today did nothing to express the feistiness he’d seen the previous night—it swamped her frame, diminishing her impact with its banality. Why on earth did she choose to dress like that when she had such passion inside her?
He wondered idly what her body looked like underneath those baggy layers. Soft and inviting and too tantalising not to touch, he imagined. He’d love the opportunity to find out for sure.
‘Okay. I’d like to take you up on your kind offer,’ she said, coming to a halt in front of him, her chin tipped up defiantly as if she was afraid he’d think less of her for appearing so vulnerable. On the contrary, the fact she was daring enough to accept his help only made him like her more.
‘Great, give me your bag and I’ll meet you outside,’ he said, taking the suitcase from her. She didn’t stop him, clearly too tired today to put up a fight.
He waited outside by the car while she checked out, feeling the warmth of the early-morning sun seeping into his skin. Just being away from the city was already having a positive effect on him. The pace of life here was calming and he could feel the tension beginning to drain away. All he needed to do now was to utilise the growing sense of calm and the little flashes of inspiration Jess seemed to incite in him whenever she was around, and he could start to rebuild the confidence in his work he’d been missing.
He couldn’t even begin to explain to himself why she had such a big effect on him, but, hell, it didn’t matter, as long as the inspiration stayed around long enough for him to begin to create something he was proud of again. Already the sketches he’d
‘You can’t stay here. There must be somewhere else available?’
‘There isn’t. I looked. Everywhere else is fully booked or totally out of my price range.’
‘Isn’t the magazine stumping up for your accommodation?’ he asked.
She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. ‘There isn’t the budget to put me up somewhere expensive. I’m just a junior staffer,’ she said sheepishly, clearly worried he’d be offended that they hadn’t sent their top reporter to interview him.
The flash of vulnerability did something to his insides, making him squirm in sympathy for her.
‘Pack up your stuff. You’re staying with me.’
She blinked at him in surprise. ‘What?’
‘I have four spare bedrooms at the villa. It’s ridiculous for you to stay in this dump when there’s so much room at my place.’ He held up his hands, palms forward, when she frowned and started to shake her head.
‘Rosa’s there most of the time and the bedrooms have locks on the doors so you don’t need to worry about me taking advantage of you.’ He flipped her a grin in the hope she’d believe him. He couldn’t in all conscience let her stay here any longer. The place was disgusting and he hated the thought of her having to put up with it for a moment longer when it was no skin off his nose for her to stay with him.
‘But don’t you want your privacy?’ she hedged, rocking back on her heels.
He flapped a casual hand at her. ‘There’s enough room at the villa for us not to feel like we’re in each other’s pockets. You’re going to be spending most of your time there anyway, right?’
She took a moment to think it over, staring down hard at the floor.
‘I’ll wait for you in Reception,’ he said, moving back towards the door. ‘Rosa’s making breakfast so we’d better get back there soon.’ He hoped his authoritative tone would tip her into action. He suspected she needed quite a bit of pushing to get past her stubbornness.
After five minutes of pacing up and down in the reception area, he finally saw her appear out of her room, now fully dressed, and walk down the corridor towards him wheeling a small suitcase, her shoulders drawn forward and her head dipped with tiredness.
The dull grey, shapeless linen trouser suit she’d put on today did nothing to express the feistiness he’d seen the previous night—it swamped her frame, diminishing her impact with its banality. Why on earth did she choose to dress like that when she had such passion inside her?
He wondered idly what her body looked like underneath those baggy layers. Soft and inviting and too tantalising not to touch, he imagined. He’d love the opportunity to find out for sure.
‘Okay. I’d like to take you up on your kind offer,’ she said, coming to a halt in front of him, her chin tipped up defiantly as if she was afraid he’d think less of her for appearing so vulnerable. On the contrary, the fact she was daring enough to accept his help only made him like her more.
‘Great, give me your bag and I’ll meet you outside,’ he said, taking the suitcase from her. She didn’t stop him, clearly too tired today to put up a fight.
He waited outside by the car while she checked out, feeling the warmth of the early-morning sun seeping into his skin. Just being away from the city was already having a positive effect on him. The pace of life here was calming and he could feel the tension beginning to drain away. All he needed to do now was to utilise the growing sense of calm and the little flashes of inspiration Jess seemed to incite in him whenever she was around, and he could start to rebuild the confidence in his work he’d been missing.
He couldn’t even begin to explain to himself why she had such a big effect on him, but, hell, it didn’t matter, as long as the inspiration stayed around long enough for him to begin to create something he was proud of again. Already the sketches he’d
Similar Books
