“That was beautiful,” she said when the saxophonist ended the song. Like others, she stood to applaud, and Jonas’s gaze automatically lowered to her legs. What a pretty-damn-stunning pair of legs they were. He had never considered himself the leg man in the family—everyone knew that was Eli. His favorite part of a woman’s body usually was the middle. Specifically, what lay at the juncture of her legs. All the others parts—the legs, the breasts, the thighs, hips and backside—just whet his appetite. And as he continued to stare at Nikki’s legs he could feel not only his appetite being whet but also himself becoming fully aroused in one hell of a way.
“Wasn’t that just great?” she asked him, sitting back down.
“Totally tantalizing,” was his response. He knew she was talking about the jazz instrumental that had just been played. He was talking about her legs and her curves in that short dress.
When the waiter came and refilled their water glasses and brought more lemons, he settled farther into his seat. He would stay, enjoy the rest of the show and at the same time enjoy the woman…at least enjoy the company of the woman. He’d learned his lesson with women who thought they could change their thinking that a wedding came before the bedding. Nikki might think she had it down pat, but deep down she would still look for wedding bells. There were really no sure converts when it came to that sort of thing. Just the pretenders.
He’d run into several of those in his lifetime. And the last thing he wanted to do was get mixed up with another. He glanced at his watch, thinking it was time to bring this evening to an end. But for some reason, he couldn’t. At least, not yet.
Nikki ran her fingers through her hair as she walked beside Jonas to her car. It was close to midnight and he had hung with her longer than she’d thought he would. She had figured he would leave at some point during the evening but surprisingly, he hadn’t. In fact he genuinely seemed to have enjoyed the music as much as she had.
But she wasn’t fooled into thinking that he hadn’t been trying to size her up, figure her out. More than once during the course of the evening, she had glanced across the table in the semi-darkened room to find those green eyes leveled on her. It had been during those times, when her heart would beat like crazy in her chest, that she wished she had something stronger to drink than just water.
She was convinced there weren’t too many men like Jonas Steele, then quickly remembered there were six of them, four still single. But each was different in his own way, although when it came to women there were definite similarities.
When he led her straight to her car, she glanced up at him. “How did you know this car was mine? I didn’t tell you what I was driving, and it’s different from the last one I had when we worked together before.”
He smiled. “I knew it was yours was because I saw you when you got out of it, although I didn’t know it was you at the time. I recognized the legs later.”
She stared at him, saw he was dead serious and couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’s so funny? “
If he didn’t know… “Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. She pulled the key from her purse. “Well, I’ll be seeing you.”
“I’ll follow you.”
She lifted a brow. “Why?”
“To make sure you get home okay.”
She looked at him like he had a visible dent in his brain. “You don’t have to do that. It’s not like we’ve been out on a date or anything.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ve spent the evening together and it’s late. There’s no way I’ll not make sure you get home. I wasn’t raised that way.”
She let out an exaggerated breath. “What if I get your number and just text you to let you know that I made it home?”
“Unless you deleted it, you already have my number from the last time we worked together. But texting me won’t work. I removed that feature from my phone.”
“You did? Why?”
He shrugged. “I was getting too many unnecessary messages.”
“Yeah, I bet.” She brushed a curl back from her face. “Look, Jonas, your wanting to make sure I get home safe and sound is thoughtful but truly not necessary.”
“Your opinion, not mine. Ready to go?”
When she saw there was no use standing in the middle of the hotel’s parking lot arguing with him, she opened her car door to get in. She then watched in her rearview mirror as he crossed the lot to his car. As she turned on the ignition, she shook her head. He had recognized her legs. Of all things.
She pulled out of the parking lot and another glance in the rearview mirror showed he was right on her tail. Right on her tail. That same heat she’d been battling between her legs all evening returned at the thought. Okay, she was an intelligent and sensible woman, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get tempted every once in a while. Just as long as she didn’t ever yield to such temptation, she was safe.
Still in the mood for jazz, she turned on the CD player in her car and the sound of Miles Davis flowed through, bringing back the mood that had been set earlier. Good music and the presence of a handsome man sitting at her table. It hadn’t been a date, she reminded herself, although it had appeared as such.
It took twenty minutes to get home and she tried not to think of the man following her. Every time she would look in her rearview mirror he seemed to be staring back right at her. And when she pulled into her driveway she was surprised when he pulled right in behind her. It would have been fine if he had parked on the street.
Her throat tightened when he joined her on the walkway. “You don’t have to walk me to the door, Jonas.”
His lips curved into a wide grin. “Yes, I do.”
She eyed him, one brow arching. Did he have an ulterior motive for wanting to walk her to the door? Was he hoping she would invite him in? Did she want to?
She wondered what kind of game he was playing with her now, and more importantly, why she was letting him. She’d given him her answer regarding working with him again—a decision she figured she would regret in the morning.
In a way she was already regretting it. But her sanity and peace of mind were more important and she was certain working with him again would rob her of both.
“Your key, please.”
She blinked when his request jerked her back to the here and now. She looked up at him. They were at her front door. “My key?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you want my key?”
“To see you properly inside.”
Yeah. Right. He wouldn’t be the first man who tried testing her, and she knew he wouldn’t be the last. But then she also knew that this was Jonas Steele, a man who’d probably perfected his game. And for some reason he intended to try his game on her. Did she have something plastered on her forehead that said, Try me?
“Thanks, but I don’t need you to see me inside, properly or otherwise,” she said, using the key to unlock the door herself. “This is where we part ways.”
“Do you really want to do that?” he asked, easing closer to her, too close for her comfort. His cologne was getting to her. His very presence was getting to her.
“Why wouldn’t I? Besides, we both know I’m not your type.”
He chuckled. “And what is my type?”
She blew out a breath, feeling herself getting annoyed. “Someone who enjoys playing your kind of games.” She’d thought that she would, had convinced herself she could handle a man like him if she began thinking like he did, but she saw that wasn’t working.
He inched closer. “And you don’t enjoy playing my sort of games, Nikki?”
That answer was easy. “No, I’ll pass.”
“You’re really not going to invite me in?”
He actually looked crushed, but she knew it was a put-on, just one of t
he many faces of Jonas Steele. He played whichever one worked at the time. “No. Sorry. Usually a woman invites a man inside when she offers him coffee, tea or something else to drink. I’m plum out of everything. I didn’t make it to the grocery store this week.”
He leaned against her door front. “We do pretty good on just water.”
“I don’t have any lemons,” she said quickly
“We’ll find our own pucker power,” he said, easing a little closer to her. He had taken off his suit jacket and tie and was standing there, under her porch light, looking laid-back, cool and calm. And it didn’t help matters when his gaze roamed over her. He was up to something and she felt she deserved to know what.
“Okay, Jonas, what’s going on?”
“What makes you think something is going on? And what kinds of games do you think I like playing?”
Another simple answer. “Musical beds, for starters.”
He nodded slowly. Then a smile touched his lips. “Are you worried about your fair share of my time in the bedroom?”
The man was impossible. Now she saw she’d done the right thing in turning down his offer for that job. “I wouldn’t have been the one who needed to worry,” she said snappily and regretted her words the moment they’d left her lips. Of course he would see it as a challenge. The notion was written all over his face.
“Umm, that would be interesting.”
“Not if you can’t even remember a kiss,” she muttered under her breath and then wished she hadn’t when he stared at her, letting her know he’d heard her.
“Oh, I definitely remember it, Nikki.”
She waved off his words. “Whatever.”
“Um, maybe we need to go inside and talk about that kiss.”
She shook her head. “No, we don’t. We can say our good-nights right here.”
“Not until we talk. Evidently we aren’t on the same page.”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” she lied.
“It does to me. It won’t take more than five minutes to clear this up.”
There really was nothing to clear up, but she figured she would be wasting her time trying to convince him of that. Besides, deep down she was curious about what he had to say. Men could talk their way in or out of anything. But what concerned her now more than anything was why he was coming on to her after all this time.
“I’m going to ask you again, Jonas. What’s going on? Why are you trying to do me?” A girl couldn’t ask any plainer than that.
He inched even closer. “Because the thought of doing you has been on my mind ever since that kiss.”
She stared at him. Did he honestly think she would believe that? There was no way he could convince her that that kiss had meant anything to him. It wasn’t like they lived in separate towns and it wasn’t as if she was hard to find. Her best friend was married to his oldest brother, for heaven’s sake.
Besides, if a Steele wanted a woman he strategized things to his advantage and went after her with no time wasted. Eighteen months had gone by and he hadn’t made a move. They had run into each other at several functions and he’d deliberately gone out of his way to avoid her. She wasn’t stupid.
She must have worn the look of disbelief well because he then said, “You don’t believe me.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t believe you. Good night.”
He stuck out his hand to block her entrance inside. “What about another kiss? One for the road.”
Nikki drew in a deep breath because deep down, she wanted another kiss. No joke. All she had to do was look at his mouth and remember the taste of it. Good Lord, how could she think of such things and especially with this man? The man who had a player’s card with no expiration date.
“What would another kiss do, Jonas?”
“Prove you wrong.”
Could it? She doubted it. But…
She studied his features. There was a look in his eyes that was more intense than the way he’d been staring at her in Mavericks. She let out a frustrating sigh. That’s another reason she thought she wasn’t cut out to be in the fast lane. A woman could get gray hairs trying to figure a man out. “A kiss and then you’ll go away?” she asked softly, feeling her resistance to him slipping away.
“Yes. Scout’s honor.”
She stared at him for a moment and then said, “I’m taking you at your word.” She opened the door and moved inside with him following quickly on her heels as if he thought she would change her mind.
Jonas closed the door behind him as both desire and tension stirred deep in the pit of his stomach. He glanced around. She had left a light burning on a table in the foyer, and he figured chances were she wouldn’t invite him in to see the rest of the house, which was fine with him. All he needed was the area where they were standing.
She was in front of him, looking agitated and annoyed, ready for him to kiss her and get it over with. His jaw twitched as irritation filled him. First she turned down his job offer, and now she was trying to rush him off like he was a bother. And she even had the gall to tap her foot.
She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “Well?”
“Well?” he countered, moving a little closer to her.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked, lifting her chin.
“For you to get your mind in check.”
Sighing, Nikki doubted that would happen. Her mind would never be fully in check when it came to Jonas. She really didn’t understand what the big deal was. Why was he taking so long to kiss her? He was the one who suggested they do it again. She would have been perfectly satisfied with her memories.
“You have beautiful eyes, Nikki.”
She blinked and her heart began beating a little harder when she noticed he had eased even closer to her. When had he done that? “Thank you. You have beautiful eyes yourself.”
His lips curved into a smile as he took a step closer. Instinctively, she took a step back. He reached out and gently grabbed her around the waist. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Nowhere.”
He towered over her, but his face was close, almost right in hers. His breath smelled of lemons and she recalled what he’d said about pucker power. “Why are you taking so long?”
“Nikki,” he said in what sounded like an exasperated tone. “Some things you can’t rush. Be patient. Besides, I’m thinking about a few things.”
She cocked a brow. “What things?”
“Like how much I enjoyed kissing you the last time. How your taste remained on my tongue for days, months, and how no degree of brushing could get it off.”
She looked stunned. “That’s impossible. You left, almost knocking over my trash can in your rush to leave.”
He reached out and lifted her chin. “It was either that or I stripped off your clothes and took you right there where you stood.”
He spoke the words low and all but breathed them against her lips, making her pulse quicken and her heart rate increase. “I don’t believe you,” she whispered as a shiver of desire ran all through her.
“Then maybe I need to make a believer out of you.”
He advanced. Instinctively she backed up again until she noticed the wall at her spine. She also noticed something else. He had braced his hands on the walls on both sides of her head, caging her in. When he shifted positions the lower part of him rubbed against her middle. He was hard. Extremely hard. Diabolically hard.
“Why is your heart beating so fast, Nikki?” he asked, moving his lips even closer.
“It’s not.”
“Yes, it is. I hear it. I can feel it.”
She swallowed, thinking he probably could. When she’d decided to go ahead with the kiss she’d figured it would be an even exchange. It was someth
ing they both wanted. But now she had a feeling she would be paying a bigger price than he would.
She stared into his gaze and he stared back, but there was something in his look that gave her pause, made her heart, which was already beating like crazy, thump even faster. And was the floor actually moving beneath her feet?
“Place your hands on my shoulders. Both of them.”
His words were whispered across her lips, and automatically she lifted her arms to comply. The air between them was electrified, charged. She didn’t just place her hands on his shoulders; instinctively her fingertips dug into his shoulder blades. If he was bothered by it, he didn’t let on. Instead his gaze moved from her eyes to her mouth and she watched as he gave her a soft smile.
She focused her attention on the shape of his lips and wondered about their texture. Their taste. And then before she could take her next breath, his mouth lowered to hers.
Chapter 4
Jonas felt as if he’d come back to a place he should never have left. Never had kissing a woman made him feel that way before. The memories he had of their last kiss hadn’t done it justice. His lips felt like a magnet, fused to her in the most intimate way. The heat that had blazed to life the moment his mouth touched hers had his body quivering inside.
He was taking her mouth with a hunger that he felt all the way down to the soles of his feet. This was no mere kiss. This wasn’t even about reacquainting their mouths. This was the forging of fires in the broadest sense of the word. He didn’t want just to play on her senses, he wanted to dominate them. His mouth was relentless, untiring and filled with a hunger that had him devouring her as his tongue mated fiercely with hers.
A man with his experience could pick up on the fact that moisture was gathering between her legs. The scent was being absorbed in his nostrils. He wanted to touch her there. Taste her there, like he was tasting her mouth. Mate with her there, the way his tongue was mating with hers. He was consumed by an urgency, an insatiable hunger.
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