Calamity Jena (Invertary Book 4) (12 page)

“Call him.” His voice rumbled through her. “I’ve been wondering why he hasn’t been to see me. Figured he’d want a statement. Seeing as I was run off the road by a negligent driver.”

Megan paled. Joe looked astonished. “Shit, man, that’s the most I’ve heard you say at one time in about five years.”

“Don’t faint yet,” Grunt told his friend. “I ain’t done.” He leaned across the table towards Megan. “You want to keep this whole business from your brother, and that fits in with my plans, so I’m gonna to give you that. I’ll keep things to myself. But I want something in return for helping you out.”

Claire had trouble swallowing. She didn’t need to be clairvoyant to know what he wanted.

“What?” Megan demanded.

“Claire.”

Yep, and she was right.

Megan slapped the table. “You can’t have her, King Kong. She’s a person. Not a card you trade.”

“Done dealing with you.” Grunt cut off her sister by turning in his seat towards Claire. His eyes softened. “Gonna be straight with you, baby. I like what I see and I want more of it. Never had a reaction like this before.” He gently cupped her cheek, and, to her disgust, a tiny sigh escaped her lips. He smiled, soft and delicious. “Want more of this. Want more of you. You give me a chance to get to know you and I don’t talk to your brother. What do you say, baby? I’ll treat you right. You got my word on that.”

“I don’t even know you,” she whispered.

“Gonna fix that for you, babe.”

“Claire. Resist the insanity.” Megan’s voice cut through the little world she’d fallen into. The one where only Grunt existed. She blinked at her sister as though coming out of a daze. Megan’s mouth hardened. “You’re suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Fight it. Don’t get sucked in by his blue eyes and Dwayne Johnson shoulder muscles.”

Joe laughed. “I like you, sugar, but to suffer from Stockholm syndrome you have to be kidnapped for a while. My buddy here has only been holding your sister for ten minutes.”

“Feels longer,” Megan snapped at him.

“This is between you and me,” Grunt said softly to Claire. “Give me a chance.”

“No,” Megan wailed.

“Yes,” Claire whispered.

She felt every muscle in his huge body vibrate against her. “Not gonna regret that, babe.”

Claire bit her bottom lip as she eyed her sister. Her very furious sister. She smiled weakly. Megan wasn’t impressed.

“Listen up, King Kong,” Megan said. “I’m watching you. You hurt her—you die. You make her cry—you die. You pressure her into anything—you die. Why you couldn’t have asked her out on a date like a normal person, I don’t know. I do know that you’re walking a fine line with me. One where you die if you cross it.” She leaned over the table. “Don’t be fooled. We might look like members of Charlie’s Angels, but we’re capable of a whole lot more than roller-skating and flipping our hair. You hurt her and you hurt me too. You don’t want to hurt both of us. Am I clear?”

Grunt nodded solemnly. Although the only thing clear about Megan’s threats was that they were empty ones. If Grunt wanted to, he could snap the twins like a couple of twigs.

Megan picked up her menu. “Let’s eat. Consider this your first date. Impress me with your behaviour.”

Claire smothered a grin—Megan should have been the one to study kindergarten teaching. She watched Megan stiffen as Joe trailed a finger over her shoulder.

“Just so you know. I don’t need to kidnap a woman to get a date.”

“Good for you.” Megan flicked his hand away. “Just so
you
know. Nothing will happen between you and me. Ever.”

“Gotcha.” Joe looked more amused than rejected.

Claire’s attention was torn away from the entertainment on the other side of the table when Grunt held her tight and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Samuel Dayton,” he said. “People call me Grunt. You don’t. You call me Samuel, or Sam.” He smiled against her cheek, sending shivers through her body. “Nice to meet you, Claire.”

“We are in so much trouble,” Megan muttered.

Claire blinked up at Grunt and felt her brain freeze. Oh yeah, they were in trouble all right.

With a slow smile, Grunt lifted the menu and opened it in front of both of them.

“Got to feed my baby,” he said.

“Does anybody else find his behaviour really creepy?” Megan asked loudly.

Grunt ignored her sister and smiled at Claire. “What do you fancy?” he said.

And yet again, Claire felt like the monster’s pet. Only in her head he’d morphed into one of those cute, cuddly monsters that you found on
Sesame Street
.

Yep, she was in serious trouble.

13

Jena was uncharacteristically silent during the short drive to her house. The light that normally shone from her had dimmed. It made Matt want to go back to Bob’s house and kick him some more.

She climbed out of the car before he could help her and picked her way up the broken and overgrown path to her door. The stiff set of her shoulders gave out the clear message that she didn’t want him near, so he stayed close behind in case there were any more accidents. But he didn’t touch. Even though his fingers were burning with the need to comfort her.

The door swung open and the light came on. A bare bulb casting the hallway in sharp, unforgiving light. Jena turned to him. Her eyes didn’t make it to his face; they focused somewhere in the middle of his chest.

“I’m off to bed.” If she was aiming for a light-hearted tone, she was nowhere near it. “See you in the morning.”

Before he could stop her, she turned to the bare wooden staircase and started the climb to her room. Hurt radiated from her. He hated it.

“It’s still early,” he said. “How about a warm drink in the kitchen? Or on the sofa? I make a mean hot chocolate.”

She turned and smiled. It was a shadow of her normal smiles. The ones that lit up a room. The ones that made people smile in return—whether they wanted to or not.

“Maybe tomorrow. It’s been a long day. I’m tired.”

Matt clenched his fists as she continued her slow ascent. This was wrong. She shouldn’t be alone. She’d had a shock. And she’d had to deal with Bob. He ran his fingers through his hair. His feet wanted to follow her. His arms wanted to hold her. Hell, even his lips wanted to whisper words of comfort.

With a growl of frustration, he turned and strode into the living room. She didn’t want his comfort. He was just there to protect her. A job. She was a job.

Not an official job,
the small voice whispered in the back of his mind.
You’re here because you want to be here. No one is making you.
He looked back at the open doorway.
She needs you.

Matt shook his head to clear it.

She didn’t need him right now. She’d made that clear. As he made up the sofa bed, he came up with a plan. He’d leave the living room door open, and if he heard anything that worried him he’d go up and check on her.

He stripped to his boxers, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling. Straight up to the spot where Jena slept. Alone. Hurting. His ears strained for the slightest noise. One whimper was all it would take, and he’d allow himself to take care of her.

Jena stripped off the clothes she’d taken so much time to choose. The shoes thunked as they hit the floor. The dress pooled at her feet. She stepped out of it and left it there. She didn’t have the heart to pick it up. She just wanted to leave it where it fell and let it rot away. The wonderful lingerie she bought at Kirsty’s shop, before she’d run out of money, followed the dress and landed in a heap at her feet.

She tugged open the drawer to the old dresser she’d sanded and painted pale pink and pulled out her favourite pyjamas. They were years old, the cotton bottoms faded to the point where you couldn’t make out the pattern anymore. The matching vest top had thinned over time, becoming so soft she barely felt it against her skin. Once she was dressed, she headed to the bathroom, where she painstakingly removed every hint of makeup still left on her face.

A few minutes later, she was tucked under her thick duvet, staring into the darkness, wishing she could run away. But where would she go? Even if she had the money. She had nowhere to go. And running was stupid. Coming to Invertary proved that. It didn’t matter where she went; the same problem would always be there—her.

Suddenly the last thing Jena wanted was to be alone with her thoughts. Her eyes went to the door as she thought of Matt downstairs. He’d offered her comfort. She hoped the offer was still open.

Before she could second-guess herself, she slipped out of bed and tiptoed downstairs. The lights were out, but the living room glowed with moonlight that filtered through the curtains. Matt was stretched out on the small pull-out couch, the bedding pulled up over him, one hand slung above his head, the other on his stomach. His very bare stomach. Jena chewed her lip as she hesitated on the threshold. Torn between longing and unworthiness. In the end, it was his scent that made the choice for her. The room smelled like Matt. Fresh, musky and solid. And tonight she needed solid.

Her steps towards him were silent.

She stopped beside the bed. Was he asleep? “Matt?” she whispered.

“Come here.” His deep voice startled her.

A solid arm wrapped around her and jerked her down into the bed and to his side. Her cheek was singed by the heat of his chest as her head rested against him. Her hand was a fist on his stomach.

“I just want to cuddle,” Jena whispered.

“I know.” He kissed the top of her head.

Jena slowly relaxed against him. He engulfed her senses. A cocoon of muscle, strength and warmth. They lay in silence for the longest time. Aware that neither of them had given in to sleep. Jena soaked up his comfort. The sound of his heartbeat soothed her. His steady breathing gently rocked her cares away.

“I’ve never set anyone on fire before.”

Matt gave her a reassuring squeeze. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.”

She pinched his side. “Behave.”

“Menace,” he grumbled.

“So I’ve been told.” She took a shaky breath and blew it out into the darkness. “Why do these things keep happening to me, Matt?”

His hand stroked her arm as it lay on his chest. “I’ve been thinking about this. I think it’s a distraction thing. When your mind isn’t totally focused on something you get clumsy, or you cause whoever is with you to get clumsy. It’s not you. When you’re concentrating, your grace is a thing of beauty.”

She snuggled into him. “I feel really bad about Bob.”

“I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “He’s fine. You heard the doc.”

She felt her bottom lip tremble. “Are people really calling me Calamity?”

“Don’t worry about it, they don’t mean anything by it. It will pass.”

“No, it won’t. I’m a disaster.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I am. What about the other dates I’ve had? Patrick with his broken toes…”

“He was the one who forgot to put the handbrake on. Which the moron might have noticed if he hadn’t been so busy trying to get you up against his truck. It’s not your fault it ran over his foot.”

“What about Michael’s dislocated shoulder?”

Matt barked out a laugh. “He fell off the path. You didn’t push him. Maybe if he’d spent more time watching where he was going instead of trying to impress you with his knowledge of nature, he wouldn’t have fallen. Plus he knows those trails like the back of his hand. There’s no excuse for him.”

“Graeme got concussion. I did push him. It was my fault.” Matt’s warmth was beginning to lull Jena to sleep.

“The guy is a wimp. He got a nosebleed tying his shoe last week. A playful push from a wee lassie shouldn’t have toppled him.”

“You’re good for my self-esteem.”

His shoulders shook as he chuckled. “You’re not totally innocent, princess. There was the guy who fell in the loch when he took you for a boat ride. He got a fright when you screamed.” He looked down at her. “Is it true you thought you saw Nessie?”

“No. That isn’t true.” She wasn’t that dumb. She knew Nessie only hung out in Loch Ness. Hence the name. Duh. She’d screamed because she’d been Googling something on her phone and almost dropped it in the loch. But she damn well wasn’t going to tell Matt that.

“How come Frank is still in one piece? You lived with him. No. Wait. Don’t tell me. He has a thing for pain.”

She smacked his abs, making her palm tingle. Without thinking about it, she soothed the sting by rubbing her hand on his warm skin. Matt nuzzled her hair. Oh, this was nice. Maybe too nice. She decided not to think about the fact she was in bed beside a very sexy half-naked man. After all, it was only Matt. It wasn’t like she’d crawled in with a stranger. Matt was nothing more than a friend.