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“Mind the fireplace,” she ordered before the front door banged shut in his face. And if the insensitive cod thought she’d wait on him hands and foot, he had another thing coming.
ChapterTwelve
“Need any help?” Reece’s deep voice asked from above her nape. His warm breath tickled the tendrils escaping from her ponytail.
Jess flinched, though she couldn’t say if this was due to his sudden nearness after he’d spent quite some time seemingly happy to watch the television sitting on the futon, or because little ripples of pleasure ran down her spine, stirred by his breath.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump.”
“It’s okay,” Jess returned without taking her eyes off the sauce she was mixing. As strange as it might seem, given their cramped confines, she’d been so absorbed in her musings, she’d forgotten Reece entirely.
“Here, let me do it,” he offered, taking the wooden spoon from her hand, continuing the circular motion inside the bubbling pot.
“That’s not necessary,” Jess feebly protested, still avoiding his eyes.
“You went out in this weather to buy the food, the least I can do is help you with dinner. Besides, apart from watching meaningless television shows, there’s not much else to do around here.” At that Jessdidlook at him.
“I know, I know,” Reece smiled self-consciously, making her heart flip-flop at the rakish expression on his handsome face. “You’ve already pointed all this out to me before, nonetheless I still believe in pulling my weight around here. Off you go to rest a while,” he finished good-naturally, caressing her cheek with his crooked forefinger.
Her breath caught in her throat, her body stiffened, and to her utter disbelief, her nipples made two distinct indentions against the front of her tracksuit. Reece pretended not to notice her reaction, and turned his attention back to the simmering sauce, but within, he was smiling. Her pointed nipples were a sure sign she liked to have him around. She might be pissed with Johnny and LeeHanne for having forced her into this predicament, and was undoubtedly furious with him because he’d gone along with their plan, but was madder at herself for liking the fact he was there. He only hoped Jess would come to terms with it and start accepting the situation soon, because his already limited patience was running thin, and Reece couldn’t tell for how long he’d be able to sustain her catty comebacks, before losing his resolve, and ruining any chance he might have at straightening the situation.
Without turning, Jess moved far from him, until her hands blindly touched the nearest chair, grabbing hold of the back for support. Her stare never left his broad shoulders, not sure of what Reece would do should she let down her guard. Contrasting emotions played riot inside her heart. Her head was in turmoil. She was glad he’d come, but determined to get revenge on both him and LeeHanne for going behind her back, making her look like a gullible fool. She was wary of him, and wished to kick him out of the cabin, but was also thrilled by the cat-and-mouse game he was so fond of playing with her.
Watching him stir the sauce, Jess knew he was just biding his time. He’d done the same after dragging her away from The Signature Room. He’d left her standing in the middle of his kitchen for a while, before moving on to her. Why would it be different now? Jess knew she’d probably wounded his ego by leaving him a note on her front door, because Reece was a man who liked to call the shots. When he showed up at the cabin this afternoon, he’d claimed he was there because they needed to get to know each other, but Jess was sure something else was boiling in the kettle.
Too keyed up to rest like he’d suggested –though she’d walked down each aisle of the supermarket three times to spend at least two hours away from the meager, claustrophobic space of the log cabin, and from his cumbersome presence, Jess returned the suitcase she’d left on one the chairs to its rightful place near the wardrobe, then decided to set the table.
“I told you to rest. Why don’t you watch some television or read a magazine? Don’t bother with the table. I can deal with that while the pasta cooks,” Reece suggested when he saw her move around the small kitchen.
“The sauce is almost ready, the water is almost boiling, and as you pointed out earlier, there isn’t much else to do around here,” she rebuked, challenging him to find something wrong with that.
After a cursory look that Jess stoically sustained, Reece turned back to his task.
Her voice was cold, when she next addressed him. “Can you please move aside? The silverware is in the drawer right in front of you.”
Reece complied, but without moving far enough away for her liking, he thought, amused.
Standing next to him, the open drawer between them, Jess stretched her arm as far as possible to retrieve two forks and knives, careful not to brush against him.
Reece was sorely tempted to move to his left and “inadvertently” bump into her, but restrained himself, set on enjoying her actual discomfort, instead of providing her with a new one.
“We need some sliced garlic bread to go with the pasta,” he said over his shoulder once she moved back to the table.
Jess bit her tongue to prevent herself from answering him with the scalding retort he deserved. What did he think that she’d started to cook yesterday? Lucky for him, the bread knife was still in the drawer.
“Ready,” Reece triumphantly announced a few minutes later as Jess was opening the refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of wine to go with their dinner.
“Bring it to the table, so I can open it while you dish out the pasta,” he suggested.
Enough. She had had all she could take of his patronizing.
“I can open a bottle of wine,” she snidely retorted, and from a drawer near the refrigerator, took the corkscrew, and deftly uncorked the bottle.
Behind her the bathroom door banged shut.
Since Jess had pointedly avoided looking at Reece, determined to ignore his presence as much as possible, she’d missed the murderous expression crossing his dark eyes seconds before he rushed into the bathroom. But she was delighted, sure he’d retired in there to avoid a direct confrontation, which could only result in one of them leaving the cabin –namely Reece, thwarting his plans whatever they were. She was starting to grate on his nerves just as much as he was grating on hers.Good, Jess thought,it evened things out.
Humming, she took one dish and filled it with pasta. She was filling the second dish when Reece left the bathroom and moved to the table to sit. Jess dared a quick, assessing look at him. He seemed perfectly composed, like he’d gone to the bathroom just to wash his hands, but his face was expressionless, andthatwas a sure sign he was keeping a tight rein on his temper. He was about to explode and freely vent his wrath on her, the only other person present.
