Hate to Love You(4)

Unable to resist a peek at the idiot who’d fallen for Caroline, I had checked James out on Facebook. There was no picture, but his comments about people he called “the underclass” were exactly the sort you’d expect from a snobbish, supercilious lawyer.

I frowned at my tatty clothing. The red crop top was too tight and without a bra, my nipples were clearly outlined. Well-worn jeans courtesy of the charity shop hugged my thighs and my shoes were boring flats. Shrugging, I turned my back on the mirror. Mr Posh would have to take me as I was.

I paused at the dingy wall stain halfway down the stairs to listen to Caroline and my parents in the kitchen.

My father sounded impressed. “That’s a car and a half parked out front, Caroline. Do you think James would take us for a spin after tea? They’ll never believe I was in a Lamborghini down at the yard.”#p#分页标题#e#

Ugh. Was James so keen to show off his wealth he’d bring a car like that to a neighbourhood like ours? I walked into the front room, my mind made up to meet, greet and beat it.

James had his back to me when I entered, perusing our family photos. Dark and tall with a muscular build. He threw me a smile over his shoulder but didn’t look straight at me. It was just as well. When the full impact of that one casual smile hit me I got a mental rush akin to gulping down a triple shot of Cuervo. I didn’t even have time to recover before he turned around.

I gaped at James like an idiot, my lips parted and my eyes fixed on his. They were jade green with little flecks of gold, bright with intelligence and humour—and something else I felt stab through my stuporlike wild fire. I was mesmerised, lost in the expanding black of his pupils, reading him effortlessly while my heart pounded in my ears. The air between us charged as the frenzied atoms zapped his thought straight into me, possessive and indisputable.

<<Mine.>>

James broke the spell by looking at me as if I’d stolen his sports car and gone on a joy ride. What the hell was his problem? My mind was annoyed but my body didn’t care. It tightened in awareness, especially my super-sensitive nipples. They hardened under my thin cotton top.

Oh... Crap.

I’ve got to tell you about those little suckers. I am cursed with the longest nipples in the world. Even Marcia says so and she’s seen them in all shapes and sizes at the hospital. Mine are ginormously freakish. They sit on a large circle of dark pink and just wait for me to brush against something or get cold or...

I looked at James.

Aroused.

He stood casually, his hands fisted in the pockets of his dark trousers, exuding self-confidence. I told myself I couldn’t possibly be turned on. It was crazy, yet there was no mistaking my reaction to him. A physical response to a gorgeous man, yes, but so much more than that. My mind felt more alive than it ever had; my body so eager for his touch I could feel his hands against my skin.

“I see you’ve met Paisley,” Caroline said, dragging me back into the faded grey sitting room. She brushed past me and stood next to James, eyeing my skimpy top and exposed midriff with distaste.

“Not quite,” James said.

His voice was hoarse. Constricted. He tapped his chest a few times and cleared his throat. Pleased that I’d almost provoked a coronary in the man who’d just wiped my canvas clean, I wanted to say something witty or unforgettable.

“O’right mate?” I squeaked.

Caroline made the formal introductions and I felt James taking my measure. I didn’t know why but I wanted to pass his assessment more than anything I’d wanted in a long time. Knowing Caroline, I was sure she’d painted a bad picture of me. Hell, what other kind would she? And everything James saw seemed to confirm her words. Even so, his thoughts were a slap in the face.

<<The slutty little sister.>>

I narrowed my sapphire blues. <<The arrogant prick.>>

James frowned, then schooled his features into a neutral mask and walked toward me, hand extended. My palms were sweaty and my entire body trembled with the need to touch him.

What the fuck? Men usually got hot and heavy over me, never the other way around. Our hands touched and we yanked them back. If I looked down I knew I’d see my nipples poking out like little beacons, all because I’d been zapped by six foot one or two of kiss me right now.

His eyebrows lifted and I clamped a hand over my mouth.

Oh my God, had I said that out loud?

“Paisley’s not very articulate in the evening,” Caroline said, slanting me a venomous look behind James’s back.#p#分页标题#e#

She led him to the sofa and then my parents came in, eager smiles on their faces. They talked about James’s work trip to Australia the next morning and the upcoming wedding, while I stood there, shifting on my feet like the embarrassing relative nobody wants to claim. When I made a move toward the door, Caroline turned her artificially cultured voice in my direction.