Page 46 of Blindsided By You

“If anyone asks, you’re updating me on the electrical work,” she says with a sly smile. “And don’t panic, Geordie.” My anxiety must be obvious despite my attempts to appear calm. It’s not the other guys jogging away from us I’m worried about—I’m shit scared her father will see us talking. “I’ve got Dad sorted.”

To see that relaxed face, no longer ravaged by the aftermath of a migraine, sends a surge of tenderness inside me. This girl, she spends her life protecting others—her father, her clients, me too now—but I want to protect her, save her from bad things, including the fucking headaches like the one that stole her away from me for a whole two days. This arrangement of ours may not last. She could call time in a day, or a week—or when the November deadline lures her back to Glasgow—so I want to make the most of every day I’ve got.

“He’s going to be late. I dropped him down at Kevin O’Keefe’s garage to pick up the car.” The one flashy thing that marks outRobbie Sharpe as having money, besides the ridiculous sprawling house he bought for just two people and a small dog, is his electric blue Range Rover. I’ve seen the glow of affection on his face as he climbs into it. He loves that damn car. “And don’t expect him to be in a good mood,” she says with a deep sigh. “One of the mechanics brushed the wall with it as he came back from a final test drive. It’s just a graze in the paintwork, but Dad’s furious. I left him nailing Kevin down about when he can drop it back for them to sort out a repair.”

“Best he doesn’t arrive to find me talking to you, then.”

“Probably not.”

“It’s good to see you, anyway. I thought about you all day.”

“You can see a lot more of me if you want.” She tilts her head and raises one provocative curved brow, her mouth curled in a flirty smile. Her invitation is clear and my cock immediately stiffens a little in my shorts. “If you want to come over after practice, that is?”

Her voice has dropped to a breathy whisper, a sexy bedroom voice that only feeds my inappropriate hard-on. How the hell am I going to bind onto the side of a scrum with a fucking tent-pole in my pants?

“Do you think I’ve got a death wish, Jen? Even if I get past Andy, I’m not stealthy enough to make it past your father. Those high-tech hearing aids of your dad’s give him superpowers.”

The lads in the team have all learned Razor’s keen ears are quick to home in on any muttering amongst us, so we keep our mouths shut whenever he’s around. The modern technology makes it feel like he’s virtually privy to our thoughts. Fuck, if he is, I’m definitely a dead man.

Jenna laughs, low and throaty, brown eyes fixed on mine. I lose myself in them, commonsense trickling out of me by the second, overruled by a brain and a body that both want her so badly I’m already ignoring my own words of protest the moment they fall from my mouth.

“He won’t be home. He’s going to Grant’s after practice. Laura is cooking a late dinner for the pair of them. She’s been looking out for Dad while I was sick. Then they’re settling in to watch their favourite mid-week sports programme.”

“But now you’re well, won’t they be expecting…”

“I begged off. Said my stomach’s not dealing with food too well yet and I need to go to bed early. The second part isn’t a lie.” She dips her head coyly, a gesture I haven’t seen from her before. It’s sweet and hints of the soft compliant girl that lies behind the face the world sees when they look at Jenna Sharpe. “You’ve still got the key?”

The words, so simple, have a seductive edge, an invitation in them.

I nod, glad I forgot to leave the key behind when I hustled out of her place this morning, fixated on getting hold of Nathan and staking a claim on his spare bedroom.

“Well, you know how to get in and you know where to go. And what you can do with me when you get there.”

There’s no doubting the meaning behind the smokiness in her voice, and there’s that fucking look again. That blatant offer that I can have Jenna when I want and how I want.

I’ve never felt attracted to submissiveness before, but it’s an unexpected turn-on. I grew up surrounded by confident women and I’m naturally drawn to them. Maybe it soothes my insecurities when one invites me into her bed, knowing there I’ll still measure up under thescrutiny of someone capable. They’re like fire, both mesmerisingly attractive, and yet there’s the threat they’ll burn.

But this thing with Jenna, this strong-minded woman saying, “Behind that bedroom door, I’m your plaything,” has me wanting to take her up on the offer with such desperation I feel guilty at the wanting. The thrill of having so much power over her almost seems wrong; like it goes against everything I’ve been brought up to believe about respect for women.

Yet it’s a power that’s still hers to give and also to take away, and she knows I understand that. She offers it because she knows she can call a stop to it at any time. If she chooses to take back control, all it takes is one word, and it’s hers.

“OK, see you around eight,” I stutter out, excitement and fear gripping my throat so hard it strangles my speech.

“I’ll be waiting,” she singsongs, with a girlish giggle.

I hope like hell none of the guys approaching the twenty-two, on the opposite side of the field, catch the wink Jenna tosses at me before she turns to head for the exit from the stand. I’m watching the sway of her hips, in my mind already following them towards her bedroom, when the image of a certain black demon springs to mind.

“Hey, Jen,” I hiss, wanting to yell but not daring. “What about Andy? I don’t want to bleed all over your sheets.”

“With Dad,” she calls back. “You’re safe.”

That’s a relief. If I die tonight, when Razor finds me in his daughter’s bedroom and comes at me with a shotgun, at least my body won’t be lying on the slab with ankles mauled by that vicious little bastard.

Trying to look casual, I jog the width of the field, my heart pounding in time with my feet, and merge back into the pack alongside Nathan.

“I don’t know if you’re brave or stupid, mate,” he says with a grin.

“Both,” I say, “but she’s worth it.”

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