âthereâs no law against raging hormones, but I didnât come up here with sex high on my agenda.â
âAnd I did, I suppose? Thatâs why Iâm wearing this Armani dinner jacket and the Gucci loafers?â
Thin-lipped and severely handsome in his sudden anger, he laughed harshly.
She bristled. Still hoping to take charge, she said, âLook, why canât we just be friends?â
She stood facing him, the container held between them. He suddenly put it on the bridge and moved closer. She took a reflexive step backward, but the cement foundation of the pump stopped her.
âWhat are you doing?â she protested.
âI donât think you and I are ever going to be friends,â he said, so close now she could feel his breath on her face, intimately warm. His amber-brown eyes seemed to burn with a wild, carnal ardor that did indeed excite her, a tight, hot tickle low in her belly, as if her loins were toaster coils suddenly heating up.
âWhy n-not?â she stammered, ready to flee like a frightened hare.
âBecause this is always going to get in the way,â he murmured.
She didnât dare look at him. She knew if she did, she would fall prey to the hunger inside her, a ferocious emptiness that suddenly sprang to life like the fires he so valiantly fought.
A second ticked by. A long, interminable second. He didnât move. She didnât move.
If she wanted the moment to end, all she had to do was sidestep him and go about her business. There was no need to look at him, no need to address him. He was bigger than her by far, but she instinctively sensed invitation, not threat, in his proximity.
One little step aside and the moment would shatter like broken glass. She could walk across the pieces and never look back.
Instead, she made the fatal error.
She looked at him.
Her gaze locked with his and the craziness inside her took over. Invitation accepted.
His mouth came down on hers, the kiss at first gentle and enticing. She melted into it. Since Ned, no one had touched her, kissed her, seduced her. Unable to admit it until now, she realized the emptiness gnawed inside her, and Nick seemed the only one who could fill it.
Sensing her surrender, he wrapped his strong arms around her and effortlessly pulled her to him.
Like her, he became greedier. His mouth turned hard and demanding. He easily parted her lips, andshe shocked herself by responding, instead of resisting. Moaning, she accepted his exploring tongue; wantonly, almost drugged by his touch and his thick male scent, she pressed her body hard into his. Wanting. Needing. The need ran through her like a drug.
What are you doing? a horrified inner voice demanded, but she couldnât stop herself.
He took her head in both hands and deepened the kiss. His thrusting tongue licked fire all through her. Her own hands curled into balls and nestled against the sheet of the muscle on his chest. Intoxicated, she pressed even more into him, the rock between his loins delicious against her belly.
âHey, you two, get a room!â
At the unexpected sound of Kaylaâs voice, Jo nearly cried out.
Oh, God, no!
She twisted loose from Nickâs arms, flushing even warmer, if that was possible.
âIf we canât endure ten days without the comfort of a manâs attention,â Kayla said, flinging Joâs words back at her, âweâve got an addiction problem.â
She stood halfway out on the bridge, haughty and accusatory. Worse, Jo couldnât muster enough indignation to fight backâshe felt like a sneaking, two-faced hypocrite.
âWeâve got a spying problem, too,â Jo finally managed to retort. Nickâs searing kiss had left her heart pounding like fists on a drum, her throat so constricted she could barely find her voice. And Kayla must have noticed it.
âSpying schmying.â Kayla rubbed it in spitefully. âI think this proves which one of us is
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