Jumping in Puddles by Barbara Elsborg Page B

laughed. “So you do have a sense of humor.”
    “I wasn’t joking.”
    “But I was about the whip.”
    “Arrgh. That was the sound of my heart breaking.”
    He walked faster, and she had to hurry to keep up. “Oh all right then. There’s always a first time. If you stand still and stick something out, I’ll try to wrap the whip around it.”
    “I hope you’re thinking of a cigarette, and doesn’t the whip usually snap it in half? Anyway, I don’t smoke.”
    “I don’t mind trying with a body part if you don’t.”
    His laugh escaped. She was funny, and despite himself he felt brighter. She hadn’t solved anything and wasn’t likely to unless he could persuade her into bed, but she amused him.
    When they reached the front of the house, she stopped at the foot of the steps, leaned on his griffin, stroked it under the chin, and sighed as she looked up. “You are so lucky.”
    “Lucky?” He gaped at her.
    “That I’m here to help.”
    Her mouth curved up, and it was impossible not to smile back, though if she knew what he wanted to do to her, she wouldn’t be smiling.
    She tucked her hands in the pockets of her shorts. “Keep your mind open to all possibilities. Can you do that? A completely open mind?”
    Jago nodded. He was open to the possibility of showing her his bed, inviting her to inspect it, demonstrating how comfortable it was with two people, but no whip.
    “Show me the whole house, top to bottom, cellars too and out buildings. Closets, bathrooms, secret passageways, dungeons, oubliettes, wine cellars, ruins, corners where the ghosts lurk, places where you chain up dragons.”
    “What?”
    She grinned. “Just testing. Tell me what needs to be done and what the obstacles are to doing it.”
    I need to fuck you, and the only obstacle is you saying no . Jago dragged his mind out of the gutter. “I can do that without showing you anything. One word. Short and simple. Cash. If I had the money, I could do everything.”
    She halted on the top step and stared at him. “Okay, imagine you had the cash and the house was renovated. Would you want to live here on your own?”
    Jago opened the front door and gestured for her to go in. “Interesting question.”
    “Got an interesting answer?”
    He closed the door behind her and headed for the stairs. “The house is too big for me.”
    “Even if some desperate woman took pity on you and you ended up with several children, four dogs, a pony, and a pet elephant?”
    He stifled his laugh. “Yes, even then. Maybe my brother and his wife-to-be will want to live here. Even if they did, there’d still be a lot of rooms unused.”
    “Why renovate them if they’re not to be used?”
    “Because…the building deserves it. It’s been left to decay, and I feel…responsible.” God, I hate that fucking word.
    “It’s not your fault,” she said in a gentle voice.
    “So what? It makes no difference whose fault it is. This is what I’ve been left with.” He flung out his arms. “This is my life. I can’t walk away.”
    “No one’s blaming you. We all do the best we can and—”
    “How much did Henry tell you?”
    “That the place had been run down by your father, and that you hadn’t spoken to him in years. That’s all. Oh and that four people lodge here at the moment, and they’re supposed to be helping with the renovations, but mostly you do it on your own. I wouldn’t let him tell me any more. I wanted to see for myself.”
    He sucked in his cheeks.
    “What about converting more sections of the house into apartments? Using the rent from one to pay for the work on another?”
    “Don’t you think I’ve thought of that? Apart from the small detail that I have no money to do it, it’s not pleasant for people living here if work is constantly going on around them.”
    “Then sell to someone who can do all the work at once.”
    Jago slammed to a stop halfway and swiveled round. “Do you work for Preston?”
    She furrowed her brow.