Page 5 of Hot Nights in Morocco
The breath catches in my throat as everything—my heartbeat included—judders to a halt…but not before the safety barrier is breached and I’m left hurtling into a void.
Unnerved, I take a slurp of my coffee, but it goes down the wrong way and I start to splutter liquid in all directions. The magazine photo hasn’t done him any justice whatsoever. His glory is only amplified a thousand times in the flesh. There are no flaws or glitches, just a fallen angel’s perfect symmetry.
Jake’s tousled black hair is scraped back off his face but as he stands there filling the doorway with all his moody machismo, stray tendrils keep escaping and drifting into his blazing brown eyes. His skin is the color of rich honey, his jaw is darkened with stubble, deliciously so, and he’s tall,reallytall. Well over six feet. Black jeans hang low off lean hips, and the sleeves of his black shirt have been pushed up to display thick, muscular forearms.
Wiping coffee off my chin, I can only gaze and gaze at him. For once, I’m all out of smart words. I’m all out of laughter.
There is nothing remotely funny about Jake Dalton.
Chapter Four
“Who the hell are you?” he demands, directing all of his bad temper at me.
This shakes me out of my stupor.
Bastard.
His voice is deeper than Max’s, with more of that upper class British drawl that drips scorn by the spadeful. Jake is a proper alpha, as well—monster ego and completely uncompromising. He’s dominating the room with his presence alone, flattening us all to the walls with his force field of menace.
“Jake, this is Charlie,” answers Rachel, shooting me a warning look. At least she’s starting to get a handle on my personality. “HR hired her yesterday as Max’s new assistant. They sent us a memo last night—”
Jake silences her with a look of his own, a considerably less pleasant one. His gaze flicks back to me, and he starts to sweep those dark, dispassionate eyes over my face. My breath hitches. I can feel my heart thudding painfully against my rib cage. He’s so intimidating, but I force myself to meet his scrutiny.
Time slows.
There’s a faint buzzing in my ears.
“What’s the problem with the set?” Max’s voice seems to be coming from a million miles away.
Jake ignores him. At the same time, a wry smile starts to tug at the edges of his lips, chasing the shadows from his face and loosening his scowl. The emerging sunshine burns my retinas and frazzles my synapses. Inhaling sharply, I take a step back. It’s a tantalizing glimpse of another side to him, and I feel my life start spinning on an unknown trajectory.Round One to Jake Dalton.
Max clears his throat again. “Earth to Jake? I believe we have a few issues to sort out?”
Reluctantly, I drag my eyes back to my new boss. How long have Jake and I been standing here staring at each other? It feels like hours.
Jake breaks the contact, too, rounding on his brother as his alpha mask slides neatly back into place. “Damn right we do. This shoot’s a fucking shambles. If you paid half as much attention to art direction as you do to costume runners we might be in better shape for tomorrow.”
Max deflects his criticism with a hapless shrug. “Everyone has their priorities.”
This makes me smile despite all the zigzagging tension in the room, which in turn earns me a withering look from Jake. He hauls Max off to an adjoining office and slams the door behind them.
I catch Rachel’s eye and a flash of camaraderie passes between us.
“First impressions?” she whispers, though we both know it’s a rout. Jake Dalton has just gone and confirmedallmy preconceived notions about him.
“Not a lot,” I tell her, but my voice is strained. The pitch is too high. The truth is, I’m reeling. My experience with men is close to non-existent, but I’m pretty sure such a visceral reaction to one doesn’t happen every day. “How old is he, anyway?”
“Just turned thirty. He hired out Chateau Marmont for the birthday bash. It was pretty wild. Everyone was there. Did you not see the pictures online?”
“I don’t really follow celebrity gossip,” I say as Jake’s office door swings open again and Max is ejected.But I have a feeling that’s about to change.
“Master Dalton will see you now,” he calls out to me.
“But I don’t work for him, I work for you,” I protest, frowning at him.
“He wants to lay down a few ground rules, apparently.” Max pauses by my desk, his hot gaze stripping me bare again. “Just remember, rules are meant to be broken, and preferably with me.”
I sidle my eyes away, thinking fast. I’m not ready to be left alone in a room with Jake Dalton, but I need to level this playing field between us. I can’t have him thinking I’m a star-stuck pushover. “Okay, fine,” I say, wondering how best to play this.Catch him off guard?Unnerve him as much as he’s unnerving me?
