The Billionaire's Matchmaker(66)

She gasped as his arm reached out and yanked her close. Her flashlight and leash tumbled to the ground. Knocked off balance, she had little choice but to grip the front of his jacket with her free hand, fingers twisting in the worsted wool. She felt his erection against her hip. Instead of setting off warning bells, the knowledge he was aroused fueled her own arousal. The hunger unfolded from a place deep in her soul, as though the lessons from five years ago never happened. She was once again wanton, needy.

“So long,” she heard him whisper. He might as well have been reading her mind. When his lips brushed hers, she sighed and allowed him access.

His tongue swept into her mouth without warning. Jenny moaned. He tasted of mint and coffee. She clutched his jacket tighter, pulling close, her hips seeking friction. In the back of her mind, she knew this was a mistake, but the voice of reason couldn’t be heard above the rush of blood in her ears. Unable to stop herself, she mewled and clung to him as his hands slid down her back, cupped her bottom.

From far off, she heard a dog barking. Lulu. Charlie. Their baying reached where common sense couldn’t and she came back to earth. What was she thinking?

She broke free of Nick’s grasp.

“I—I—”

Unable to form words, she turned her attention to fumbling for Lulu’s leash. If it was any consolation, Nick appeared to be as dazed as she was. The minute she pushed away, he’d stepped to the edge of the path. He stood there now, silently watching her while Charlie weaved around his legs. Jenny could hear his ragged breath mixing with hers.

What had she been thinking? For years she’d managed to behave herself, to keep the needy, desperate side of her personality in check, and now here she was, practically climbing up a stranger in the woods. She couldn’t get off the property fast enough.

Finally, she located the end of Lulu’s leash. Forget getting a ride from his driver. Calling him would take too long. Grabbing the leash as well as her flashlight, she stood up. Her legs were still shaking, and she had to hold her arm out to steady herself. This caused the light’s arc to swing wide. The beam shone straight at Nick. For the first time, Jenny saw the face of the man she’d so wantonly kissed.

She gasped.





Chapter Four



It was like looking at one of those cartoon villains with two different faces, only this was no cartoon. The right side of Nick’s face was marked by a thick darkened blotch that started at his hairline and continued downward, beneath his collar. A thick cord of a scar divided the discoloration into two. It, too, looked like it ran from hair to jaw; its route interrupted by a black eye patch.

The right side of his face, however… The photos she and her friends discovered online didn’t do him justice.

His good eye stared at her with such heated blue intensity, it sucked the air from her lungs. What upset her the most, however, wasn’t the scarring he’d so clearly tried to hide. It was the renewed ache between her legs. Seeing the flashing heat in his gaze and knowing the passion with which he kissed, she was more aroused than before.

“I…” Dear God, would she ever be able to form a coherent thought again?

No. Not so long as they were here alone in the woods, and he was looking at her like that.

She dragged Lulu down the path before she did something foolish.

…

“You just left?” Mia Roth gave her a look from over the rim of her coffee cup. “Without saying anything?”

“I blanked,” Jenny told her. “I didn’t know what to say.”

She, Mia, and their friend Gabby Wilson-Shepherd were in Mia’s kitchen the next morning. They were there to look at photographs from Mia’s wedding. Jenny had told them about her encounter with Nick. How, as a result of dropping her flashlight, she’d discovered Nick’s disfigurement. She left out the reason she’d dropped the flashlight. Bad enough Nick’s touch haunted her all night. The way she lost herself in the kiss horrified her. Like some animal starved for affection. Had Charlie and Lulu not barked her back to reality, he could have taken her then and there.

“Found it,” Gabby announced. Having heard the story, her friend had borrowed Mia’s laptop to find more information. “I can’t believe we missed this the first time.”

“Because we were looking for photographs, not news articles,” Jenny said.

“Not to mention we’d had a pitcher of margaritas,” Mia added. “I’m surprised we effectively searched for anything. What does the article say?”

Gabby turned the computer.

“Industrialist injured in lab explosion,” Mia read out loud. “Oh, the poor man.”

The article described how the heir to Bonaparte Industries had been touring a recently-acquired facility when an explosion tore through the laboratory. Nick was attempting to pull one of his employees to safety when a section of the burning wall collapsed on them.

“Wow,” Gabby murmured when they got to that paragraph.

Wow indeed, Jenny thought. She skimmed the rest of the paragraphs until she reached the part about Nick’s injuries. Didn’t say much, other than the fact Nick suffered extensive burns to his face and body.

“No wonder he’s a recluse,” Gabby remarked. “I would be, too, if I had half my face burned off.”

“The scars aren’t that bad,” Jenny replied. Then again, she’d been turned upside down by his kiss. Maybe she wasn’t seeing straight.