Jazz Baby by Tea Cooper Page B

then tossed it back neat.
    â€˜How long are you going to draw this out, Jack? If there’s something important I need to know, fine. Fire away. If not, I’d like to go back into the Blue Room and finish off what I started. Apart from anything else, according to Alice I get to keep the tips.’
    â€˜If you need money you only have to ask.’ Jack’s spirits lifted. Money would be the easiest way to stall this. He could tell Ted in all honesty he was looking after Dolly and buy some time until Ted was ready to face her.
    â€˜I don’t need your money. I want to earn my own. Stand on my own two feet. Why is it so difficult for you to understand?’
    He didn’t find it difficult to understand, nevertheless there were better ways of doing it than singing in a brothel. When her brother found out he owned the brothel Dolly worked in, all hell would break loose. He poured another drink.
    â€˜Well?’ Dolly stood up and stepped across the room, her hands on her hips — the last thing he needed.
    With the soft light of the Tiffany lamp behind her he could see every curve beneath her dress. Her fragrance, a delightful mixture of roses and sun reminded him of innocence and a life long forgotten. The silence hummed between them and he clenched his teeth in a vain attempt to control the sharp thrill shooting through him. His fingers itched to touch her but it would be the biggest mistake he could make. The woman standing in front of him was not the little girl he’d carried on his shoulders and there was nothing the slightest bit brotherly about the sensations scoring his body. He rubbed at his forehead, wishing away the incessant pulse throbbing in his temples and closed his eyes. Dolly remained before him, filling his vision, tantalising him. He smothered a groan and dragged his hand down his face.
    The next moment he was standing. It took only one step to bridge the tiny space between them. He reached out and tugged her into his arms. He cradled her soft cheek in his hand as he explored her face with his fingertips, then his restraint crumbled and he pushed aside the last remnants of his hesitation and crushed his mouth against hers. Her lips parted and the tip of her tongue flickered against his as she pressed her body to him. She tasted of honey, golden and sweet. Her soft groan and the push of her hips quickened his breath. He wanted to devour her. Bury himself in her. Forget everything except the delight her body promised.
    Dolly’s arms came up, cool against his neck, the peaks of her pert breasts grazing his chest. Fire shot through his gut spreading outwards as his brain and body vied for control.
    â€˜Jack.’ Her mouth moved beneath his and his sanity returned. He pulled back, convulsed with desire and livid at his lack of control.
    Her blue eyes met his with a defiant twinkle and he tried for a reassuring smile. He had just made the whole situation ten times more difficult. A tear glistened on her long eyelashes and his gut clenched. ‘Dolly, don’t cry. Everything will be fine.’
    â€˜I’m not crying because I’m frightened or hurt, Jack. I’m crying because I am happy.’ Her words caressed his mind as softly as the silk of her dress beneath his fingers.
    Jack pulled her back into the circle of his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head, willing his body not to respond to her closeness. Not now, not yet, not until he proved himself worthy to Ted. His gut gave a nervous twinge at the thought of facing her brother. Kissing Dolly was a foolish mistake. Now he’d tasted her lips one kiss would never be enough.
    A blast of music and a high-pitched shriek of laughter made him pull Dolly closer into the security of his arms. His thumb traced the neckline of her dress, down to the rounded curves of her full, firm breasts. Beneath his palm he could feel the hard peaks of her nipples and the pattering of her heart.
    â€˜Well, excuse