‘Have you ever worn leather pants?’
Scarlett shook her head.
‘Well, you should give them a go, you might be surprised at how comfortable they are.’
‘You have leather pants too?’
He raised one hand. ‘Guilty as charged. Call it part of our uniform. But you might be pleased to know I don’t own leather shorts.’
‘That’s a relief,’ she said, but, as much as she thought leather was being worn a little too often around the club, she suspected he would look rather good in leather pants. She suspected he’d look good in anything.
He shifted in his seat and his thigh brushed against hers for the second time. Her nerve endings sparked and it felt as if all the cells in her thigh muscles were straining to get closer to him, as though they were trying to leap out of her skin. She moved her leg away from his before she could be tempted to lean into him instead.
The alcohol she’d drunk tonight had most certainly reduced her inhibitions. Not only had she voluntarily got up on stage, she was now having lustful thoughts about a complete stranger. She was planning on having fun but she wasn’t sure if her courage stretched far enough to include Jake. She should go home before she did something even more out of character. Before she could be tempted by a cute young barman who might, or might not, be flirting with her. There was no way she was going to make a move on him, well, not the first move anyway. She needed to get out of here. If he wanted to come with her that was his choice. If he chose to stay behind then she’d assume she’d read the signals wrong. There was a good possibility of that, she thought. She was hardly the most experienced woman at the table.
She’d done her duty to Candice. Surely she could leave now without appearing rude. She leant across the table to speak to Candice, ready to make her excuses. ‘I think I might head off, if you don’t mind. I had a really busy night on call before working today.’
‘How are you getting home?’
‘I’ll take a cab.’
‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Mel asked. ‘You shouldn’t go on your own.’ Hindley Street was not the street you wanted to walk down alone.
‘I’ll wait with you, if you like,’ Jake said to her. ‘I’ve finished my shift and was about to go anyway.’
‘Perfect! Thanks, Jake.’ Candice agreed on Scarlett’s behalf without any hesitation. ‘That way, Mel can stay and enjoy the rest of the evening. You don’t mind, do you?’ Candice asked, as she looked at her.
Scarlett didn’t want to be accused of breaking up the party so she did what came naturally to her and agreed. ‘Sure,’ she replied. She’d had a lifetime of experience at being the one to keep the peace, being the one to do what everyone expected of her while her sisters did as they pleased, so of course she agreed, but it didn’t hurt that she was more than happy for Jake to keep her company. She knew then that his touch had been deliberate and the thought sent a frisson of excitement through her body.
‘Jake is one of the good guys, you can trust him,’ Candice added, before she turned to Mel and whispered with a chuckle, ‘I’m not denying he could charm a nun out of her habit but that’s Scarlett’s good fortune.’
As Scarlett ducked her head under the table to put her shoes back on and search for her handbag she heard Candice say something about charm but she couldn’t catch the whole sentence. She thought about asking her to repeat her comment but when she found her handbag and looked up she saw that Jake was standing, ready to pull out her chair for her. Not wanting to keep him waiting, she decided that if what Candice had said was important she’d find out some other time.
She followed Jake from the club, aware of several women checking him out as he passed their tables, but their attention was short-lived as another dancer was on the stage and now that Jake was fully clothed there were obviously more interesting things to look at elsewhere. Scarlett didn’t mind, she was happy to have him all to herself.
There was a taxi rank opposite the club but the queue was horrendously long, stretching for half a block. Knowing it could take for ever for her turn to come, she released Jake from his obligation. ‘It’s going to take ages, you don’t need to wait,’ she said, as they joined the end of the queue.
‘I promised Candice I’d look after you.’
‘That’s okay, I won’t tell her.’ She smiled. ‘Thank you for offering but it’s busy enough. I’ll be all right,’ she said, as she slipped her shoes off. Her feet had had enough and she couldn’t stand the thought of another minute standing in uncomfortable high heels. The concrete pavement was rough but cool under her skin and was soothing in an unexpected way. She glanced down the line and saw she wasn’t the only one who’d divested herself of her footwear.
‘Come on, I’ll give you a lift,’ he said, looking at her bare feet.
‘It’s fine, really,’ Scarlett insisted. ‘I’m just not used to wearing high heels.’
‘I’m not going to leave you here and I think we’ve both got better things to do than stand on the street for an hour.’
His tone wasn’t impatient. Maybe she was reading things into his words but the depth of his voice and the low volume made it sound as though the better things he had in mind involved them both and she was tempted to dive in, recklessly, heedlessly, and accept his offer. But her natural inclination not to cause trouble made her ask, ‘What if I live miles away?’
‘Then that’s my problem. I’m not going to retract my offer. I’d look like a jerk.’
She looked up at him. Barefoot, she was now several inches shorter than he was. ‘I’d hate to have that hanging over my head.’
‘So, can I drop you home?’ He grinned and all her objections, few though they were, vanished. She nodded and slipped her sandals back on before following him as he retraced their footsteps.
He led her to an alleyway behind The Coop and Scarlett followed blindly. She knew she would feel unsafe if he wasn’t beside her but even though he was virtually a stranger she trusted him. It was an odd situation to be in, she wasn’t normally a trusting person, particularly not when it came to men, but she only got good vibes from Jake and he wasn’t really a stranger, was he? He knew Candice.
He stopped beside a dark green convertible that had been parked behind a dumpster, which kept it partially shielded from view. The roof was down and there was a cumbersome, heavy steering lock clamped to the wheel.
Jake opened the passenger door and shrugged out of his leather jacket. ‘Here,’ he said, as he held it out to her. ‘It might be a bit cool with the top down but it’s a bit temperamental and it’ll be quicker and warmer if you wear this.’
Scarlett slipped her arms into the sleeves as Jake held it for her. His fingers brushed her neck as he turned up the collar. The jacket was much too large for her but it was warm and smelt divine, a heady combination of leather and clean male. She didn’t bother to zip it, just pulled it close, wrapping it around her like a cocoon.
She sank into the low seat as Jake stowed the steering lock behind them and started the engine. The sound was low and throaty and reminded her of his voice. Scarlett relaxed. She closed her eyes and let the warmth and scent of the leather of the seats and Jake’s jacket seduce her. It was nice to have someone else make a decision for her. Not being required to think was a novelty. All her life she had been the one people turned to for advice. She had been the one who everyone relied on to be sensible, responsible, to make the hard decisions, and Scarlett’s natural tendency was to carefully consider all angles before making an informed and logical choice.
Letting a stranger give her a lift home was not the sort of thing she did. She wasn’t a spontaneous sort of person.