“Oh.” She gulped, wondering how she felt about her options. And about this very strangedate.
But she had to remember she had her own agenda, which was the only reason she’d agreed to this crazy plan in the firstplace.
“Do you want another?” she asked, stalling for time, trying to decide what she didwant.
“Another what?” She’d never known a man who could stay so focused on her, despite the noise of their surroundings, the comings and goings, the women strutting by them. He wasn’t glancing around every five minutes to see if there was someone he knew or someone he’d like to get to know. He made her feel that she was the most interesting woman in the room. And, whether or not he’d picked up the tip in some ridiculous book, she found it flattering. Andunusual.
“Drink.”
“No. Let’s get out ofhere.”
She nodded. “I kind of overdid my workout today. I think I need an earlynight.”
When they hit the parking lot, the quiet struck her. Her ears still seemed to pulse with the sultry jazz and the talk and laughter of the Friday-nightcrowd.
“Don’t overdo the workouts or you’ll hurt yourself,” Lukesaid.
“I’m not in bad shape. I’m just toning a bit for the wedding,” she told him, feeling suddenly shy as she faced him and ridiculously intimate with just the two of them alone in an asphalt parking lot. What could be moreromantic?
A stray breeze lifted her hair and blew a few strands across her face. He lifted them off her cheek and tucked them behind her ear, making the gesture both friendly and more. “I’d like to see you again,” he said, and steppedcloser.
“You would?” She felt breathless. Option One was about half a step away and she found herself anticipating the feel of his mouth onhers.
“Willyou?”
Maybe he needed a book for the really heavy stuff, but at light flirtation and conversation, Luke was terrific. She did want to spend more time with him. She felt the pull between them and wondered how his kisses were, prepared to be generous in her evaluation. “Yes,” she said, and her lips parted and her eyes drifted to half-mast.
“Good.” He sounded matter-of-fact. “I’ll callyou.”
“Call me.” She heard her own words soft and sleepy and seeming to come from far away. What had happened to the kiss that hovered between them like the smell of rain just before itpours?
Then it hit her that he’d been asking her about going out again. He must be reciting lines from the book, since they had a standing Friday night date. And she’d been mistaken. Imagining he meant… Damn, that book must begood.
“Where’s yourcar?”
Refusing to act like a stuttering fool for one more second, she pulled her thoughts together, snapped her eyelids open and her lips shut. “Thisway.”
He waited at her side while she pushed the button on her key fob to unlock her car door, then he surprised her by opening it for her. As she went to slide in, he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, so she turned tohim.
“I’ll call you,” he said again, then kissed hercheek.
The gesture didn’t suit him somehow, and seemed almost deliberate. “Is that in the book?” she askedtartly.
“Yep.”
She nodded, thinking it was going to be a long and tedious four weeks, then turned to slide behind the wheel, wondering if she’d stop on the way home for a video so her Friday evening wasn’t a completewaste.
Before she’d finished the thought, she felt him whirl her body ’round and slap his lips on hers, hot and demanding. Her pulse jumped and her heart started to race. His mouth soothed and demanded, offered and possessed, so she felt dizzy with conflicting sensations. She sighed softly and leaned into him. As she’d guessed, he tasted like cold beer, but there were hints of hot male there, too. Instinctively she responded, until he pulled away, leaving her aroused andunsatisfied.
“Was that—” she beganbreathlessly.
“My owninterpretation.”
She smiled. He was obviously a quick study. “Better.”
