Kinsley held her breath against the whiff of whiskey. “I imagine if you didn’t consume half the whiskey in all of London it wouldn’t do that.”
“I—I had to forget,” he said as she was able to get him to his feet, sending both of them crashing into the door. She winced as her shoulder hit the door hard, righting them as best she could. “Where are your keys?” she asked.
He grinned, a bit lopsided and very endearing. “My ‘ocket.”
“I hope that was your pocket,” she answered, reaching down with trembling fingers to touch his pants pocket lightly. Lord, the man was pure muscle. Locating a bulge in his front pocket, she reached in and grabbed his keys, pulling them out red faced. She had just felt up Jarred Maloney. Rachel just thought it was a big deal that he’d hit on her. She hadn’t touched him like this. Kinsley inserted the key into the lock and threw open the door, forcing them both to walk in. Thank goodness the layout was the same and in no time she had found his bedroom, directly opposite of hers, a wall separating them. “I hope you don’t have much company,” she said softly as she stood in the doorway, his arm slung around her shoulders. His body was close, way too close for her not to notice the warmth that was emanating from him, the way he was so solid.
His arm was wrapped around her waist lightly, but she could feel the burn of his fingers through her thin nightgown and wrap, the way he made her flustered and nervous. “I ‘ate him.”
She looked up, seeing the clench of Jarred’s jaw as he looked ahead. “Hate who?”
He looked down, seemingly surprised she was there. “My father. He’s an ass.”
“He’s also my boss,” she said, moving them forward toward the bed. She would get him in the bed and then leave and hope that he would not remember she was ever here.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Hope he doesn’t screw you over like he does me.”
“Me neither,” she answered. “Come on, let’s get you into bed.”
“He hates me,” Jarred sighed as she got him over to the bed and started to push him down. His hand reached up and grabbed hers, holding it against his chest. Kinsley forgot to breathe at the warmth of the contact, the way his heart was pounding against her hand, and she looked up, seeing the sad look in his eyes.
“He doesn’t hate you,” she said softly, resisting the urge to brush back the lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. “You’re his son.”
“I screwed up,” he answered softly, focusing his eyes on hers. “Lost a deal. He swore he would never let a screw up in his company. Told me I was a lost cause. Just like my mother…”
She winced. She didn’t know the whole story of Jarred’s mother. “You do screw up a bit” Kinsley reminded him, thinking of all the pictures on the internet. She had, more than once, heard the outbursts sitting outside of Mr. Maloney’s office about his son, how he’d gotten his lawyers involved when the pictures were, well, revealing. “But anyone can change Jarred.”
“Yeah,” Jarred breathed. “I can show him I’m not a screw up.”
“That’s right,” Kinsley answered, attempting to pull her hand away from his. It was too much, him touching her like this. It made her think things that were not possible, reminded her of what she was missing in her life. Companionship. Love. A life in general. She was missing all of that. “You can prove him wrong starting tomorrow.”
He chuckled. “When did you become so smart?”
She grinned, his words endearing. “I’ve always been smart.”
“I bet,” he murmured, making a turn to the right with his entire body, catching her off guard. Before Kinsley knew it, she was falling back and being thrown on the bed, Jarred’s heavy form collapsing on hers. The initial contact made the air rush out of her body.
If she thought mere hand holding was sparks, this was like electricity. He was like a warm blanket and her body wanted nothing more than to curl up against him and soak up the warmth. His head laid against her chest, his breath warm on her bare skin just above her nightgown. Oh hell.
“So soft,” he murmured against her breast.
The mere words made her nipple tighten considerably. Oh wow. She swallowed hard. She wasn’t supposed to enjoy this. He wasn’t supposed to make her … ache.
“I need to forget.”
“Forget what Jarred?” she asked softly, her hand finding his hair and smoothing over it lightly. He sighed in contentment and she smiled. This was absurd and strangely hilarious.
“Forget how fucked up I am.”
His words tore at her, no matter how slurred they were and Kinsley couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong between him and his father. This was a side that she doubted anyone saw of Jarred and had he not been liquored up so much, she doubted anyone would.
Hadn’t he been engaged a few months ago? How much of him had his ex seen? You two are the same. Kinsley was all work, all seriousness outside of Rachel and Jamison. She had to work to show emotion to anyone else.
She glided her fingers through his soft hair, and she could fell the beat of his heart against her stomach. She shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t be allowing this, but she couldn’t force herself to leave either. When his breathing grew deeper, Kinsley removed her hands from his hair and knew she had to go. His body was heavier now, which told her that Jarred had either fallen asleep or passed out, which meant whatever moments they had just shared were in the wind.
She wouldn’t say anything of course, one reason being she didn’t need for him to know she was right next door. What if he asked his father about it? That would be disaster. But more importantly, she didn’t want to embarrass him.
She pushed him aside and slid out from under him, falling to the floor with a thud on her bottom. Jarred mumbled something but didn’t stir as she picked herself off of the floor and stared down at his prone form. Damn, the man was gorgeous.
Long legs and broad shoulders, and he certainly filled out those jeans. Something pulled low in her belly. It had been a long, long time since anyone had touched her. Even if they were both wearing clothes. No, do not read anything into this. She just needed a good shag. Yeah, as if that was going to happen anytime soon.
“Sleep well,” she whispered, backing out of the bedroom and pulling the keys out of the door before setting them on the table in the foyer, shutting the door behind her. The hallway was blessedly empty as she moved back into her own flat, pushing the door closed before leaning against it, her body still drumming with excitement and want.
Kinsley knew she would have to be careful to stay out of sight for the next couple of days while she was here. No one would ever believe her and she could only hope that Jarred didn’t remember in the morning either.
7
Jarred lifted his head and groaned, squinting as he read the red numbers on the clock at his bedside. It was just after eight in the morning and he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened last night. Kinsley Wells’s face popped into his mind and Jarred closed his eyes, trying to rehash the last few hours. Had she been in his apartment? He vaguely remembered her hovering over him, concern on her pretty face. Her body pressed up against his, her soft planes fitting nicely into his hard ones. Even now he could feel his cock began to swell at the thought of being that close to her.