Chapter 7

Her eyelids fluttered even as they were closed. Sebastian could've sworn Jane shivered as he touched her skin. He didn't know what came over him whenever they were in close proximity, but it was strong and it prevented him from having any rational thought.

"Do you want me to kiss you, Jane?" He'd asked her. He hoped to God she'd say yes because it was all he could think about since the minute he'd seen her walk into the diner.

There was something about her that attracted him, something raw and unusual. Sebastian had never felt so strongly about a desire before, especially not one that was based on lust. He didn't understand it; he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to.

Suddenly she pulled away from him, letting his hand on her lap fall to the blanket. Sebastian took a few minutes to come back to his senses. He ran the hand roughly through his hair, needing to hold something to prevent himself from reaching out and touching her again. What was he doing, for Christ's sake?

"I'm sorry." Sebastian said, getting on his feet too. He made no move, not trusting himself. His body felt rigid as hell. "Fuck. I don't know what came over me."

She didn't respond, only stared him, her breaths coming out in heavy pants. Her brown hair flowed around her slim shoulders in waves and a ridiculous urge to touch it overtook him.

Calm down, he told himself. Calm the fuck down.

"What the hell was that?" she finally let out, her eyes sharp. Sebastian was sure that gaze had made big men run for the hills with their tails between their legs. Hell, he was about to run himself.

"Okay, you can stop looking at me like I killed your cat. I just got carried away for a second."

If anything, the chill in her gaze became more piercing. "I'm leaving."

He stared at her retreating back, not regretting for a moment how close he'd gotten to tasting her. He had wanted to kiss her and he could bet she'd wanted to kiss him too. She was holding back and it was probably for the best. One of them had to be reasonable and it definitely was not going to be him.

The woman was a pain in the ass most of the time but she was damned beautiful.

***

"Ahhhhhh!" Jane screamed when she was sure Sebastian was out of hearing distance. How dare he make her feel so…wanted. He didn't have any right to touch her, how dare he. The man made her so angry she wanted to rip her hair out.

He'd been mocking her; she was sure of it. He was probably trying to assert his sexuality and showing her he could make her hot and bothered was the best way to do it. Sebastian had apologized but he hadn't looked remorseful in the slightest. In fact, he'd looked like he wanted to do it again. She was going to have to be careful. There was a huge chance this entire thing was planned and Jane was not going to be made a fool of.

But she'd liked it. It'd felt like he'd paid so much attention to her body and how she'd responded to his touch and it'd been so long she'd felt so beautiful under a person's gaze. Sebastian had this way of looking at her like she was the only thing he could see. She didn't feel small when she was with him.

His touch on her skin still burned and she could still feel his eyes on her. When she'd decided to run away from her wedding, she never anticipated meeting another man. From her father to her brother to her so called fiancé, there was only so much testosterone a woman could handle. Men made life complicated.

Jane looked up and saw that she was outside the clothing store. Claire spotted her almost immediately.

"Jane, hi!" The energetic girl said with a wide smile when Jane entered the store. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

Jane smiled back. "Me too. Like I said, I have a lot of free time on my hands so I just thought I'd drop by and see how you're doing."

"Thank you. I actually feared I'd scared you off. My mom says I'm too chatty for my own good." The pleasant look in Claire's eyes warmed her heart. Jane realized why she took an instant liking to the girl; she reminded her of her sister. Grace was a quiet, cynical sixteen-year-old when in the presence of their parents. When they were alone, she was a different person. Jane figured Claire was a person who didn't know how to hide who she was and Grace could use a little of that. She longed to call her sister but she wasn't ready to be found just yet. Her father was probably already doing everything he could to locate her ad calling home would only help him achieve that faster.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, Jane wondered if she'd made a mistake by running away. But when she thought of her fiancé with one leg and maybe a few broken bones, she told herself she'd done the right thing.

"Well, you didn't. I quite like your chatty nature. Reminds me of home." It was the closet she'd come to telling anyone anything about her family and someone it wasn't half as terrible as she thought it'd be.

"I'm looking for a job," Jane said. "And I've been told to ask Mrs. Rose down at the diner, but I haven't got around to doing that yet."

Claire nodded. "You should. She knows everyone," she said. "A job, eh? That means you're staying for a while?"

Jane nodded. "I think so. Well, I have to go. That job won't find itself. I'll see you around."

"You too."

Outside the store, the morning sky was a dark grey. Jane hoped it would rain. Maybe, just maybe, it'd wash away the tingling feel of Sebastian's touch from her skin.