Read Online Torn by Gilli Allan - Free Book Online Page B

everything covered in flea powder as if the place is infested! I don’t even know for sure if he’s got fleas, though from the amount of scratching …’ She shrugged. ‘It was just a precaution. Don’t you like cats?’
    Danny looked up, eyes serious. ‘I’m not disgusted, Jess. I like animals. I sometimes think I like them more than people. But I’ve a problem with cats. I’ve got asthma. Cats aggravate it. I try to avoid them.’
    â€˜Oh! Asthma!’ Like Rory. Only his was not exacerbated by dust mites or animal fur. ‘What do you want to do? I’ll put Tubs outside.’
    â€˜That’ll help, but won’t make a lot of difference.’
    â€˜So, do you want to leave? I’ve had too much to drink to give you a lift to …?’
    â€˜This side of Warford. Of course I don’t want to leave, but it’s not going to be very comfortable for me to stay. I haven’t got an inhaler with me.’
    Time to come clean then. Why worry? After all, this wasn’t an encounter likely to develop into anything significant.
    â€˜Is Ventolin any use? I’ve a couple of spares in the bathroom cupboard. My son, Rory, has asthma.’ Jess watched his face as she casually delivered the information. She saw no flicker of concealed surprise, just a relieved smile.
    â€˜My boss’ daughter, too.’
    â€˜There’s a lot of it about. So, will you stay?’
    â€˜If you want me to.’
    â€˜Good!’ Jess exhaled a sigh. Even if she had no faith in the staying power of this embryonic relationship, they had come this far and there was no point in not making a night of it. ‘Now I need a drink. Bugger the coffee. How about you?’ But Danny declined to join her in a slug of McAllan’s – the only alcohol she had in the house – he even refused a cup of coffee, and drank instead several glasses of water.
    â€˜Where is Rory tonight?’
    â€˜Don’t worry. He isn’t here. He won’t jump on you first thing in the morning.’
    â€˜I knew he wasn’t here. I don’t have you down as the kind of mother who’d leave a youngster on his own, without a baby sitter.’
    â€˜I’ve to collect him tomorrow … I mean today. He’s at a sleep-over.’ Danny’s assumption that she could not be an irresponsible mother only served to rekindle her conscience about palming Rory off onto someone he hardly knew. Still, in for a penny in for a pound. There was no point now in not taking full advantage of the situation. Her drink hardly touched the sides. Sean would have thought this casual gulping down of his favourite single malt whisky a sacrilege.
    â€˜OK. Let me show you the bedroom.’ Jess opened a door from the kitchen onto a steep staircase. It led straight up into the main bedroom.
    â€˜The bathroom’s in there,’ Jess pointed. Then she indicated the second flight of stairs. ‘And that’s Rory’s room, up there under the eaves. If he had a full-sized bed I could offer you that to crash on, but … And mine isn’t the most comfortable in the world. As you can see it’s virtually antique. As for the cat, well he’s not allowed up here so it shouldn’t be too bad, although he does sometimes circum … circ … uh, get past me.’ Aware she’d gone into motor-mouth mode, Jess couldn’t stop herself. Danny took her hands and drew her towards him, effectively stemming the tide.
    At some point during the kiss they arrived on the bed. Thinking back later, she couldn’t quite work out how it happened – whether he’d pulled her down, or whether she’d overbalanced, tipping them both over. Some kind of mini, alcohol-induced blackout she supposed. Whatever the reason, it was this plunge, from the vertical to the horizontal, which was the catalyst. She’d lost control; her body