Not that he could have done anything remotely shock-inducing if he’d wanted to, he reflected wryly. He was too weak to pounce on anyone, even someone as slightly built as Jenny.

Alex’s eyes followed her as she tidied up the room, noticing the long, sooty lashes and the fullness of her lower lip. Even the bulk of the dressing-gown couldn’t disguise her slender, feminine body. She was incredibly beautiful, he decided, especially now when she didn’t know that he was watching her. He struggled with an impulse to drag the dressing-gown off and discover if the rest of her was as good as her legs.

She finished tidying and glanced at him. ‘You should get some sleep,’ she said softly. ‘I’ll leave the door open so that you can call if you need me.’

He felt a pang of disappointment that she was no longer going to sleep on the end of his bed. And then he realised that what he really wanted was for her to sleep in the bed.

With him.

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. What the hell was the matter with him?

Jenny wasn’t his type.

Not because she wasn’t blonde but because she wasn’t the sort of woman that played by his rules. Jenny didn’t even know how to flirt. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was still a virgin. Something had to explain why she always looked so shocked and uncomfortable whenever the subject of his sex life was raised.

She disapproved heartily of his wicked ways and the sooner he booted her out of his house, the safer for her.

And him.

* * *

Alex returned to work three days later despite Jenny’s strenuous attempts to persuade him to stay at home.

‘You’ve been really ill,’ she protested as they ate breakfast together, and he shot her that impatient look that she was getting to know so well.

‘You’re being wifely again.’

She bit her lip. ‘I just don’t think you’re ready to go back to work.’

‘If I collapse you can resuscitate me,’ he promised, flashing her a wicked smile that made her catch her breath. She couldn’t stop her eyes drifting down to his mouth.

What would it be like to be kissed by Alex?

Exciting…

‘Stop looking at me like that, Red Riding Hood,’ he said hoarsely, the expression in his sharp blue eyes telling her that he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. He drained his coffee and put the mug down on the table with a thump. ‘Let’s get out of here before we both do something we’ll regret.’

This time she didn’t argue.

She’d never been so confused in her life. This was the man who treated women with a carelessness that appalled her. He went through life avoiding any sort of commitment. He was totally wrong for her.

So why was she suddenly noticing every small thing about him? Like the way he teased old ladies and showed the utmost patience with people who were frightened and in pain? And the way he waded in confidently, determined to do his utmost to save a mother and her unborn child? And the way his cheeks creased when he smiled and the way he always seemed to have the beginnings of stubble on his hard jaw? Why did she suddenly want to run her fingers through that glossy black hair, just to see how it felt?