Kiss the Tiger (4 page)

Chapter Seven

“I like this one, flirty but not
too trashy. What do you think?” Nessie held out the lacy hem of her dress, the
third one she’d tried on but definitely the best.

“It’s cute. Peach suits you.”

She smoothed her hands over the
bodice. “Is it tight enough on top? Should I add more padding?”

“Do you want your date to feel
like you’re conning him?”

“Hmm. Good point.”

“Want me to do your hair?” I
asked, as I finished pinning my own into a loose bun. The evening was still
warm, and I couldn’t imagine any guy finding a sweaty neck alluring enough to
kiss. But then again, what if one or both of them turned out to be total jerks?
Would I still allow my neck to be kissed, if it meant my sister could be with the
man of her dreams? Yeah, probably. It had been a while, but in the grand scheme
of things, what difference would another entry on my fuck-to-forget list really
make? I’d been celibate far too long, waiting for another Josh to enter my
life.

“I’m going to wear it down. Men
like long hair.”

“Where did you hear that one?”

“I read it in one of Mum’s glossy
magazines.” Her face creased into a frown. “Is that your outfit?”

Securing my favourite necklace
around my neck, I glanced down at my white, broderie anglaise top and denim
shorts fastened with a silver belt. “Yes. Why? Don’t you like it?”

“It doesn’t exactly shout
come
get me
.”

Good. I had decent legs and I
liked to show them off, but I also liked to keep my booty safe from wandering
hands, particularly as yet unknown ones. “Well, it’s what I fancy wearing,” I
said, slipping on a pair of silver sandals. “And I’m ready when you are. Let’s
get this over with.”

***

The short walk into town took
about fifteen minutes, five less than we thought. We were early.

I wasn’t sure what I’d expected,
but either our venue was one of the more popular hangouts, or the bars to clientele
ratio in town was extremely low. The booths that edged the room all appeared to
be full and standing room was minimal. I hoped our dates had already found
seats for us. My sandals were new and I could feel the sting of a blister
forming.

Nessie scanned the room. “I don’t
see them. Do you?”

Christ, she could be dim at
times. There must have been more than fifty possible suspects. “How would I
know?”

She palmed her forehead at her
own stupidity. “Duh! I’m such a blonde. Might as well get a drink while we’re
waiting.”

I leaned over the bar, trying to
attract the attention of the barmaid, but clearly girls were not her preferred
customers. After five minutes of euro waving, I was ready to give up. “This is
a waste of time. We’re never going to get served.”

Nessie punched my arm. “They’re
here,” she said, almost inaudibly.

A brief glance over my left
shoulder was enough to spot Nessie’s huge grin, before…

“What can I get you?”

Finally!
“Two rum and colas,
please.”

“On me,” an English accent
shouted.

The barmaid studied me through
her lashes, as she squirted cola into the glasses and pushed them forward. I slid
one over to Nessie and took a sip from mine. A bit of Dutch courage wouldn’t
hurt. I turned to thank my date, and I would have taken a second sip had the
sight before me not made me totally misjudge where my mouth was. Rum and cola
trickled down my cleavage. Nessie reacted quickly, grabbing a napkin from the
holder on the bar and pushing it down my top.

“You should rinse that off before
it stains,” she said.

But her words barely registered.
My top was the least of my worries. It didn’t even get a glance. My anger
bubbled, and I felt like a champagne bottle ready to pop, as I stared at the
man who was now taking his time kissing my sister’s cheek. I’d hoped to never
see his face again. Time had altered him slightly, giving him a more manly
physique. His hair was a lighter shade of brown than I remembered, and he now
sported a goatee, but none of that changed the fact that he remained five feet
eleven of complete bastard.

Life was such a bitch.

I wiped my chin and faced up to
him. “I trust you enjoyed feasting on my sister because that’s the last time
you’ll be going near her.”

Nessie narrowed her eyes. “Amy,
don’t be rude. He was only saying hello.” She pulled me to her and spoke
through clenched teeth. “Remember the plan. Be nice.” Then sporting a toothy
grin she trailed a finger down her date’s chest. “Take no notice. She has a
weird sense of humour. You’ll get used to it.”

“I don’t think she’s joking,” he said
with mild amusement, stroking her arm. “Looks like J.J. might have a wildcat on
his hands.”

My head was a hot tub of
emotions. How could she touch him? How could she let him touch her? Surely, he
must know who I was, and if he did, why was he still here? He must enjoy
confrontation. That was it. Well, he was going to get a whole bucket load of it
if he didn’t leave immediately. He was a dirty, lying scumbag who hadn’t even
given Nessie his real name. He and his brother could go…

Shit!
My legs went weak. I
slugged back the rest of my drink and turned to hang on to the bar for support.
His brother… J.J.
Shit. Shit. Shit
. J.J. His initials! How had I not
thought of it? I was going to be sick. I cupped my head in my hands and
concentrated on the wooden surface. Was he here? Was I ready to face him? Was he
the guy I was supposed to hand over to my sister? And if he was, could I do it?

In the cocoon of my vision,
another rum and cola slid into view. Nervously, I lifted my head.

Josh was leaning against the bar,
cool as you like, and sexy as hell.

I willed him not to recognise me,
as the breath left my lungs. Every nerve in my body prickled to attention in recollection.
I wanted to look away but I couldn’t. I just stared. Over time, my memory had
distorted his features until they were just a vague impression of reality. How
I’d missed the straight slope of his nose, with the little bobble on the end,
and the heavy brows shading his beautiful eyes. I would never have believed it
possible, but the past year had actually improved his looks. His once short, black
hair was now mussed-up and tumbled over his forehead in tousled spikes. My
fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and slip through the soft waves. Slight
stubble peaked through the seasoned tan on his chin and begged my lips to taste
the roughness. He looked as if he’d just crawled out of bed. I pictured it
being mine. And there they were…those lips. The lips I’d kissed a thousand
times in my dreams; the lips that had kissed me back, every which way but
Sunday. And they were opening. Was he really going to speak his first words to
me?

“I was kind of hoping you’d punch
him. You should have. I could do with a laugh.” His eyes, a swirling pool of
blue and green, brushed over me. I felt the blood rush to my face, and my heart
hammered into my throat. He nodded at the drink he’d given me. “Try to get it
in your mouth this time.”

Huh?
I looked down. The
soggy napkin was still wedged between my boobs. Great. I felt his eyes on me as
I pulled it out, screwed it into a ball, and stuck it in an empty glass.

“You missed a bit.” He reached
out one pumped to perfection arm and peeled a piece of wet tissue from my skin.

Oh God. Oh crap. Oh holy let’s
get naked right here right now
. My body tightened as the point of contact
burned its way straight down to my groin, and I clenched with longing. Every
muscle tingled in anticipation of his next move, and my legs threatened to give
way altogether, as if they wanted me on my back right there and then, in the
bar. My breath returned, hot and heavy. His touch held every bit of magic my
imagination had conjured up. And I wanted more.

“Better,” he said, eyes lingering
on my heaving chest.

I should have been used to the
way men ogled my boobs; they’d been drawing attention ever since my mum bought
me my first trainer bra at the age of eleven. But this was different. This time
it was Joshua Jackson paying attention.

Say something, Amy. Anything.
No, not anything. Don’t say something stupid and fuck this up. And for God’s
sake, stop staring!
“Hi.” I forced out the word. It was the best I could
come up with.

“I don’t usually agree to blind
dates. I was ready to be short changed.”

I couldn’t decipher his tone. Was
he saying he thought he had been? Perhaps, I should have worn a skirt, or
better still, a top
without
a huge brown stain. I almost didn’t dare
ask. “And?” Feeling awkward, I returned to leaning over the bar and nervously
twisted my ring, my usual confidence deserting me as I awaited his answer.

He slid nearer, closing the
inches between us. He smelled of coconut and…what was it…pine needles? It
invaded my senses and shot up the charts to become my new favourite scent. His tiger
tattoo pressed against my arm and I could have sworn it bit me. “I wasn’t,” he
said. He licked his bottom lip, and I chewed on mine in an attempt to conceal
the effect of our skin connecting. “Although I do prefer my dates to smile.”

His date. Christ, I’d almost
forgotten I already had the job.
Get with the programme, Amy
. “Sorry.” My
lips twitched and curved weakly. Why wouldn’t they work? This wasn’t me. I
wasn’t shy with men. I thrived on the chase, if only to leave them disappointed
at the end of the night.

He laughed. “That the best you’ve
got? I’m starting to get the impression you’re not excited to be here.”

Then without warning, my flirt kicked
in and took on a will of its own. “What makes you think I’m not excited?”

His eyes glistened with a secret
I’d have given anything to discover. “Are you?”

The evening had turned out to be
nothing like I’d imagined, and if I were going to get through it, more alcohol
was definitely required. I picked up my drink, downed it in one, and stole a
glance at Nessie.

Jacko was stroking her arm and
talking in her ear. She flashed me a
quit stalling and get over here
look.

What was I supposed to do? I’d
agreed to play a part, but I couldn’t flirt with the guy who’d stolen my
virginity…and I couldn’t leave him with my sister. What if he forced himself on
her too? There was no way I was having that on my conscience. We had to leave.
Yes. Tell Nessie the score, and leave. That was the sensible thing to do. But
no one who knew me would ever describe me as sensible, and if we left now, I’d
lose any chance I had of being with Josh. A chance that was never intended to
be mine. Why did life have to be so complicated?

Josh’s head was cocked, studying
my inner turmoil. “He doesn’t remember.”

My stomach flipped. Shit! What
did that mean? Jacko didn’t remember
but Josh did?
In the space of two seconds
my status had dropped from
possible holiday romance
to
unmemorable slapper
who’ll sleep with any guy at a party
. It didn’t get much worse. Any glimmer
of hope that I’d end the evening in Josh’s bed evaporated with one sentence.
His next one would probably comment on how stupid I’d looked half naked amongst
a pile of coats.

It didn’t.

“This is his bar. He lives here
now. I came over for the summer to keep him company.”

“He’s the owner?”

“Technically our parents and the
bank are. He owes heaps. I think he even mortgaged his bollocks.”

I cracked a smile.

His eyes dropped to my lips.
“There it is. I knew it was in there somewhere.”

Nessie’s hands dented my
shoulders and she beamed over them at Josh. “Do you mind if I borrow my sister
for a minute?”

He cocked a brow. “Running away
already?”

“We’ll be right back.”

“Sure you will.” He picked up his
beer and took a swig, as Nessie pulled me out of earshot and whispered through
a closed tooth smile.

“Amy, what are you doing? You’re
supposed to be playing up to Adam, remember?”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

“So what’s keeping you? I’m dying
of frustration waiting to get my hands on J.J.”

You and me both!
“I
can’t.”

“But you promised.”

“I know I did, but…”

“If you don’t do this for me, you
might as well fly home with Mum, because I’m going to make your life hell for
the rest of this holiday.” Before I could utter another word, she stormed back
to the bar. I followed in time to hear her shout, “Tequila, please.”

My path back to Josh was blocked
by a group of pissed up thirty-somethings. I tried to push through and bounced straight
off them.

Sighing, I went to the bathroom
to organise my thoughts, certain in the knowledge that Nessie would be fine for
a minute. It was too early in the evening for Jacko to make a move on her. I stared
in the mirror and cursed my fair skin. My nose was bright red and tight with
sunburn. Had I really been trying to chat up my dream guy when I looked like
Rudolf? I splashed water on my face, glad that I hadn’t worn foundation. Who
was I kidding anyway? If he’d been interested in me, he’d had plenty of time to
ask me out during college. Chances were he was only paying me attention tonight
in the hope of getting his end away with a sure thing. The whole situation was
fucked up, and it wasn’t one I was willing to risk my sister’s safety for. But
where did I go from here? Was there any way I could play this to leave a
glimmer of hope with Josh and still be on speaking terms with Nessie?

I had to tell her.

I couldn’t tell her.

I had to tell him. If Jacko had
any shred of decency in him, he’d stay well away. And if Nessie knew I had no
one to keep me company, she wouldn’t leave me all alone, in order be with Josh,
would she?