Page 24 of Chasing Storm
Okay, he definitely appears smoother now than he did yesterday. I’ll give him that. Prepared suits him. He doesn’t think well on his feet. I don’t doubt for a second that Elle set this up. I slide my gaze over to her. She presses her lips together to hide her smile and turns away.
“But why would that throw you? Notting Hill is a small place.”
“It threw me because you have caught my attention, and I was thinking about you all morning.” His voice has gone husky, sexy even, and I mentally kick myself.
Don’t engage.
Back away now.
He will use you and leave you.
“Hmm,” I murmur. “Well, see you around.” I dart off like the Devil is on my tail, feeling his eyes boring into my back as I quickly drop my drink on a table and disappear down the corridor which leads to the ladies' room to gather my wits, and book an Uber to take me home. My hands are shaking, but I have no idea why. I get hit on all the time by random dudes everywhere, but there’s something about Josh that has hit my panic button. Not in a creepy way, but in a he-has-the-capacity-to-hurt-me way.
I wash my hands, letting the cool water run over the insides of my wrists to steady my slightly spinning head.
When I push the door open, I stop dead.
He is waiting for me, leaning casually up against the faded wallpaper that is peeling off the wall in places. The low light makes it too dark to be comfortable.
“Don’t run,” he murmurs. “I want to see something.”
“What?” I ask hoarsely, my palms sweating.
He swoops in, his hands cupping my face as he kisses me lightly on the lips, pressing his hard body against mine. My breath whooshes out of me as his kiss is the perfect amount of soft and firm, his tongue exploring my mouth deliciously when I open up for him. I can’t help it. I place my hands on his waist, twisting my tongue around his, getting lost in the kiss when he pulls back, his eyes full of desire.
I gulp and pull away as Cassidy comes looking for me, stopping dead when she sees me with Josh.
She raises an eyebrow, a slight smirk on her lips. “Your Uber is here,” she says and turns back to the pub, giggling away to herself as if she knows something I don’t.
Josh frowns. “You’re leaving?”
I clear my throat. “Yes.”
“Don’t,” he says, lacing our fingers together.
“I have to.”
“Let me see you again.” He traces my lips with this thumb before he cups my face again.
I shake my head and pull away. He lets me go, stepping back as I shove past him. I feel sick and hot all of a sudden.
I shove past the guy standing at the top of the corridor, catching a whiff of that expensive, unique cologne that undoubtedly belongs to JP Montgomery.
I can’t deal with him right now. Running out of the pub, knowing he is following me, I slip into the waiting taxi, relief washing over me when we pull away, putting distance between me and a potentially volatile situation.
I look back over my shoulder to see JP, Thatcher and Josh watching me drive away and wonder what in the hell that was, but glad to be away from the situation because I feel feverish, achy and flu-y and that is not a good sign. All I need to do now is crawl into my bed and ride it out until I can resurface, and hopefully, they will have forgotten all about this.
15
JP
Gaping at Storm driving away into the darkness, I turn to glare at Josh and backhand him on the chest. “What the fuck was that?”
He growls. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Narrowing my eyes, I take a breath. “You were kissing that woman.”
“And? What’s it to you?”
