Alec Page 3

“What are you laughin’ at?”

  Jas, our Russian head of security, outright laughed this time. “You gone into love tornado now. One married, one engaged, one came out, your turn now. You plan to have baby first like Dillon?”

  My jaw clamped down, and I snorted out my nose. If we’d been in a cartoon, hot steam would have blown out my ears.

  “Back off, Jas. You’re out of line.”

  That brought a laugh from both of the men in the front seat, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “I barely know the girl. Don’t stir up shit you don’t know about.”

  The men chuckled some more, but they fortunately didn’t say anything else.

  The car slowed, pulling up outside a huge apartment building that was crumbling at the edges.

  Oh crap.

  “Not what you were expecting?”

  Not one tiny bit. Shit. I didn’t even stay in places like this when I was a broke muso.

  I didn’t answer them out loud though, just opened the door and pulled out my bag. Law had brought some clothes in for me at the hospital, but I had no idea what was in the bag or if I would wear them.

  If things develop with Jo, maybe I won’t need them at all.

  I frowned at my own thought. I was totally confused by that chick. She hadn’t wanted me when I talked to her last night at the bar, yet she’d helped me when no one else did. Had she not stepped up, anything could have happened to me. Now I was staying at her place.

  Why? Because she felt guilty for not stopping those blondes from drugging me? Or because she actually liked me?

  No one had ever helped me for no reason, so naturally, I was suspicious. But also I was grateful for the help.

  The doctor had said Rohypnol could kill. I was bloody lucky.

  I shivered and pulled the duffel bag over my shoulder. Too many foreign emotions had my still tender stomach churning.

  Jo opened the front door in a white tank and old jeans, her long brown hair down around her shoulders.

  Fuck, she’s beautiful.

  I signaled goodbye to Jas and Phillip and headed for the front door.

  “You made it.”

  She gave me a gentle smile, and I returned it, unable to make a joke while she looked so sweetly perfect.

  “Yeah, thanks. You sure about this? You know if the papers find out I’m here they’ll be swarming you like a beehive.”

  She shrugged her shoulders and waved to the men behind me. “No one will find you here, and I kinda feel like I owe you.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck prickled up.

  “Ah, so it is just ‘cuz you feel guilty. Cool.” I pushed through the front door, brushing past her and looked around for the lift.

  She pointed to the stairwell. “Third floor.”

  I nodded and stormed up the stairs. If that’s the way she wanted it, then so be it. I knew I shouldn’t be feeling shitty at her, but something inside me wanted her to want me to stay with her for more than altruistic reasons.

  Dammit. I like her.

  My legs burned, and the air I was sucking in was aggravating my sore throat. I tried to hide the fact I was panting.

  “This way.”

  My eyes ran down the back of Jo’s body as she brushed past me to push open the front door to her apartment. She had a great arse, round and perky, and long legs that would feel amazing around my hips.

  I walked into the smallest apartment I’d ever seen.

  “It’s tiny, I know. You can take my bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  “I can’t take your bed.”

  My eyes roamed over the well kept, homey room. The kitchen was quite new, and the floors looked recently done. The room in which I stood was the kitchen, dining room, and lounge all in one, and there was obviously a bedroom and bathroom somewhere else. The furniture was careworn, and on one wall rested an antique book case full of books.

  I’d been expecting dirty student digs, and I was completely wrong. Her home was lovely.

  “You have to. You’re like, a foot taller than me and you’ll never fit on the couch. It’s totally fine. Whenever my family visit they stay in my bed and I sleep on the couch—it’s quite comfortable.”

  She picked up my bag where I’d dropped it on the floor and took the three steps to a door, opened it, and disappeared.

  I walked around the living room for a moment, suddenly feeling a little claustrophobic. I didn’t know how to cope with this. My bathroom was bigger than this whole living room.

  Suck it up, princess. It’s only for a few days.

  I took a deep breath and followed after Jo. The warmth and intimacy of the small bedroom hit me instantly.

  “Thank you for this. I really do appreciate you hiding me while this blows over.”

  She played with the light sheer curtains for a moment, then sat down on the—shudder—double bed, facing me.

  “I read over some stuff this morning. I can’t believe what they’re saying about you.”

  I moved around the other side and sat down on the bed, too, trying to not get too close to her, but at the same time, aching to reach out and kiss her.

  “Our publicity team wants me to just ignore it and say no comment, but I’m dying to set the record straight. Especially about me hitting a woman—that really got my goat. I don’t care about the drugs and alcohol stuff.”

  “I know you didn’t hit her, although to be honest, she’s lucky she didn’t get a swat from me when I found you. Stupid bitches.”

  The vehemence in her voice surprised me.

  “Thanks.”

  She reached over and put a hand on mine, her fingers soft and warm, making my skin tingle and my breath catch.

  “I’ll leave you to settle in. I was just about to put some lasagna in the oven. Do you want some?”

  On cue my stomach grumbled, and I stood up, covering the offending organ with my hand. “Yeah, that’d be great. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to eat though. My gut still isn’t right after them pumping it.”

  Her eyes shifted over my chest. “You don’t have a no carbs rule or anything like that?”

  I laughed at her. “I eat everything I can find. I work out so that I can eat pizza every day if I want to.”

  She smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Awesome, was a bit worried you’d be super strict or like … on some weird diet.”

  I laughed, images of my hoovering everything in sight since I turned sixteen flooding my brain. “I just need lots of it. I’ll get some food delivered here tomorrow or I can give you money for groceries if you want. Otherwise I’ll just eat you out of house and home.”

  She glanced down, her embarrassment obvious. Money seemed to be a bit of a problem. “Whatever you want is totally fine by me. See you soon.”

  She closed the door, and I allowed myself to look around her room.

  There were no fancy clothes draped over hangers, no massive pile of makeup in front of an equally abhorrent mirror. It didn’t even have a dressing table. There was a bed, a small cupboard, and a desk full of books.

  I stepped up to a framed photo on the wall, a montage of school and family photos by the looks of it.

  It was tacky but totally authentic and perfect.

  I sighed and ran a hand over my skull trim.

  I didn’t think I had a single non professional photo up in my apartment, and they were all of me and the band.

  How vain could I be?

  I needed a shower.

  I stripped off my t-shirt that still stank like the hospital and pulled off my jeans.

  The door swung open.

  “I, ah…” Jo stood gaping in the doorway.

  I froze.

  Jo’s eyes roamed up and down my body, and I let her look. I was no Einstein, that was for sure. If I had anything to work with to get a woman like Jo, it was my body. If Jo liked it, she could look as much as she wanted.

  The silence stretched on, and neither of us moved. I had to say something, but what? The wrong thing would make this week
unbearable for both of us.

  “I was just going to have a shower, you know. Wash off all the hospital smell.”

  I smiled at her, and she flew into action, flapping her hands about.

  “Oh, yeah, of course. Sorry! That door over there, towels are under the sink.” She pointed to a door next to what must be her wardrobe and closed the bedroom door as quickly as she’d opened it.

  A grin spread along my face, and I glanced down at my rising cock. She was hot, even when she was surprised.

  I stepped into the shower and enjoyed the zings of lust running through my blood, pushing the last of the drug out of my system and making the adrenaline in my body pump with each thump of my heart.

  Now that’s what I’m talking about!

  Chapter Four

  Joanne

  Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh. My. God!

  He has the most beautiful body I have ever seen! I’ve never even seen a man in real life who has a body like that! Such huge shoulders, muscled abs and his … oh, shit.

  When his dick, which was already long and kind of hot, had started to get hard and rise up from simply looking at me, all of my common sense had drained away. My body was still throbbing. I ached between my thighs, and other than taking myself into a room by myself for ten minutes, I didn’t know how to make it stop.

  A vision of Alec’s body surfaced as the solution, and I huffed out a giggle. Yes, that man was sure to cure the ache my long starved body was feeling.

  I checked the lasagna in the oven, and the cheese was going brown and the pasta edges were curling up crispy. It wouldn’t be long now. I chopped up a salad and set the small table in the corner of the room.

  Fifteen minutes later he surfaced, smelling of my body wash, dressed in a black tank and tight jeans.

  I smiled at the way he hunched his shoulders. Why did he look so uncomfortable?

  “These aren’t my clothes. Law brought them into the hospital for me, and they’re a bit small.”

  I grinned at him this time. “You look great, don’t worry about it. It’s only me.”

  He straightened to his full height, which was at least six foot three against my five foot six, and his shoulders seemed to fill half the room. “Just you I want to look good for.”

  Then you need to be naked because the clothes don’t do you justice.

  I cleared my throat and fluttered my hands at him. “Sit. You want a glass of wine or something?” I turned away to hide my burning cheeks.

  Having this man in my house all week was going to be a major problem for my self-imposed male ban. I’d been concentrating on study and work so hard lately I hadn’t wanted the interference.

  “Water please. After last night I don’t think my poor liver will cope with wine for a long while.”

  I poured two glasses of water and rolled my eyes at myself. “Sorry, that was a pretty stupid question. You were drugged twenty-four hours ago. You look so well I keep forgetting.”

  And I prided myself on being a smart woman. Pre-med my butt!

  “No stress. Any other night I would have loved a glass of red to go with my lasagna. Smells incredible by the way.”

  I placed the salad bowl on the table and took the lasagna out of the oven, quickly serving two portions onto plates and carrying them across to my guest.

  “Thanks so much.”

  He took his plate with hungry eyes and a massive grin on his face. He was so much more real and down to earth than I’d expected.

  We tucked in to the creamy sauce, well seasoned meat, and mouth watering cheese. Browned on the top and crispy around the edges, just the way I liked it.

  “Yum.” I patted my tummy and reached for the salad.

  “There’s not any more is there?” Alec looked around the corner of the kitchen towards the oven.

  I nodded, took his plate and filled it up with the other half. One lasagna would usually last me four meals. If this was how he was going to eat every day I was definitely going to need to accept the offered money for groceries.

  “Here you go.”

  I watched in awe as he downed the rest of the pasta. Incredible.

  He groaned as he finished and swallowed the whole glass of water like a pelican. Just opened his mouth, threw it in, and it disappeared.

  “That was so good, and I so needed that after all that crappy hospital food. Thank you!”

  He beamed at me, and something shifted in his expression. I saw a whole new person emerging who was relaxed, happy and young. Not the smarmy rock star I’d met the other night. That man was fortunately gone.

  I took the dishes away and called over my shoulder. “What do you want to do tonight? I usually just watch a movie, study, or get an early night. After the day we’ve both had, sleep is probably in order.”

  “I agree, but I’m not quite tired enough to go to bed. A movie would be great.”

  I nodded and reached for the packets of popcorn in the cupboard. Each minute with this man was a surprise, and I was enjoying the twists and turns more than I’d enjoyed anything in my life so far.

  ****

  Alec

  I arranged myself on the couch, sliding down the soft cushions and dropping my head onto the back rest. “This couch is super comfy. I can see why you could sleep here so easily.”

  Jo put a bag of popcorn in to the microwave and pushed the button.

  “Yeah, I know. It was my parents’ couch actually. When I moved to London I took a few of their household possessions, and they replaced it all with new stuff.”

  I chuckled. “Why didn’t they just buy you all new stuff?”

  She turned and stared at me like I had two heads, her eyes wide and her pretty mouth slightly open.

  “Ah, because they’ve worked their whole lives so that they can now afford new furniture. Second hand suits me just fine. I’m starting out and am more than happy to earn my own way.”

  She lifted her chin as she spoke with pride, and something hit me right in the solar plexus. Wow, a chick who wasn’t obsessed with money and status. Who knew they existed?

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to imply anything about you or your parents.”

  Yeah, you idiot. Not everyone had money falling from the sky.

  She turned away to take the popcorn out of the microwave and served it up in a bowl. “Yeah, well. They paid for my education and got me to Cambridge. They’ve done more than enough for me.”

  I took the bowl of popcorn from her and mentally kicked myself for being insulting. I’d obviously been out of the real world for far too long.

  “So, you’re going to be a doctor huh?”

  She looked at me, her face startled. “How did you know that?”

  I grinned. “Phillip.”

  “Oh.”

  She chewed on some buttery popcorn, the smell wafting up my nostrils and making my mouth water.

  I put my hand into the bowl and stuffed some into my mouth.

  “Yeah, hopefully. What do you want to watch?”

  “Anything.” I yawned and blinked a few times. “I might not make it through a full movie after that awesome meal.”

  She nodded and selected a comedy I’d seen before. “This ok?”

  “Yeah, perfect.”

  I nestled into the couch, enjoying the quiet and how comfortable I was with Jo. I wasn’t feeling like I needed to speak, goof around, or fill the silence. It was odd. But good.

  We settled into the movie, commenting on the douche of a hero and the pretty heroine.

  I must have fallen asleep because I was watching the movie one minute and the next, Jo was shaking me awake and the lights had all been turned off.

  “Alec, wake up and go to bed. You need to get a good night’s sleep.”

  I grumbled and groaned at her but managed to pull my exhausted body off the couch and took the two steps to her bedroom. I was swaying a lot, and she stayed by my side, hovering like a mother watching her child.

  I collapsed on the bed still wearing my clothes.

&
nbsp; “I’m all good now, thanks.”

  “All right.”

  She disappeared, and I groaned again as I pulled myself up to sitting and tugged off my tank and jeans, crawling under the thin covers in my cotton boxers. I usually slept naked, but something told me I should keep that one thin layer on.

  I rolled onto my side and ignored the aching loneliness of the bed. The floral scent coming off the pillow was making me want to call out for Jo.

  I grunted and shook my head. No. Stop. I really needed to just get some sleep.

  “Can I get you anything before I go to sleep?”

  Her voice was so sweet, and my defenses were all gone.

  “Yeah, you could climb into bed and keep me company.”

  There was a stretched out silence. “That’s probably not the best choice tonight, Alec.”

  I groaned and flipped back the covers. “I just mean to stop me being alone. I’ve had so much crap pumped through my system today I don’t think I’d be able to perform, even if you wanted me to.”

  I’d got hard before when she’d looked at me, so I probably could if I had to, but the need to sleep was so much more pressing.

  Another long silence stretched and I clenched my teeth together, but I waited.

  “You just want to cuddle?”

  I would have rolled my eyes if they weren’t already shut.

  “I get lonely, and yes, a warm body next to me would feel like heaven after the day I’ve had.”

  “Just any warm body huh?”

  I would have balked at the words if the tones hadn’t been teasing. Jo moved around the bed and slid in, turning away from me so that I could spoon against her back.

  I grabbed her small waist and pulled her into me. She squeaked like a little mouse but didn’t move as I settled behind her.

  God, she feels good.

  I inhaled the soft fruitiness of her shampoo and sighed as the tendrils of sleep began to pull at me.

  “No, Jo. Not just any warm body, I like the fact that it’s yours.”

  Chapter Five

  Alec

  I awoke slowly and stretched my arms out, and my palms landed on cold sheets. Hmmm, not how I’d expected to greet the day. Where was she?

  I groaned and arched my back, testing out the muscles that had ached last night. God, my body feels better!