A rumbling of thunder took her off guard. She tensed, curling her fingers around his leg. “Did you know if you count the seconds between the flash of light and the noise you can tell how far away the center of the storm is?”
“Truth or old wives’ tale?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Regardless, she’d stayed awake many nights focusing on the equation. “But thanks to you I’ve got something else to think about—at least during this storm.” She lowered her voice, conveying a deliberate hint of mischief combined with desire.
His eyes darkened to a deep blue hue. “Whatever you’ve got in mind, will it keep you from being afraid?”
She nodded and shifted so she was facing him, then placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’ll be way too preoccupied to even think about the weather.” Juliette knew she was finding bravery in the darkened car, courage in his physical and emotional strength.
“Then by all means let’s keep you distracted.” His husky voice sent awareness shooting through her veins.
The storm, her nerves and overwhelming need had her trembling. With shaking hands, she moved her fingers to the buttons on his shirt. Two buttons were already opened and her fingers brushed the coarse hair on his chest. He sucked in a breath of air and when he let it out, the sound came out a ragged groan. One Juliette felt deep in her belly and lo
wer, in the pulsing place between her legs.
Power. He’d just proven she possessed the power to affect a man physically, something she’d seriously doubted. Doug might not realize the importance of her discovery but she’d never forget this gift, this moment or this man.
She slipped the tiny white button through the buttonhole and repeated the motion with the next, then the next. All the while his heated breath whispered against her cheek and she inhaled his seductive, masculine scent with each intake of air. And a tiny moan of need escaped her throat.
Doug leaned his head back against the seat and shut his eyes tight. She was killing him by degrees—her delicate, hesitant touches, her wide-eyed stare, and her ability to put fear aside and get lost in her gentle exploration of him. He was fulfilling her fantasy and giving her back the heady power of awareness and desire, but he was also discovering he had needs of his own.
He opened his eyes when, as if she’d read his mind, she parted his shirt, pushing the garment off his shoulders, baring his chest to her gaze. Her hands tangled in his chest hair, her fingertips brushed his nipples and her lips caressed his sensitized flesh until he shook with unrestrained need.
Lightning flashed in the sky and thunder crashed around them. By the formula she’d explained earlier, they were now in the center of the raging storm. But Juliette was too consumed, creating a storm of her own, to notice. And he was too lost in her fragrant scent and the incredible sensation she created in his body to point it out. Getting lost himself wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he’d set out to ease her fear and soothe her nerves. His heart galloped faster than the horse he’d ridden earlier and desire pulsed deep inside. Strung tight, he was the one that needed calming now and he wouldn’t find the relief he sought if she continued her sensual moves.
With her damp tongue, she licked a path up his chest, lingering on his neck, and pausing when she reached his ear. “I’m distracted,” she whispered in a soft voice with husky undertones.
“I’m sure you are.” He placed his hands safely at his sides. For one thing, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t get involved this way and for another she was doing a fine job of distracting herself from her fear of storms.
She didn’t need his hands on her body, or his mouth on her lips…He clenched his teeth at the erotic, arousing, tempting possibilities.
“Am I distracting you?” She bit down lightly on his earlobe, sending him soaring to even greater heights of heaven and hell.
“We’re here, folks.” The driver’s voice sounded from the intercom system in the car. “Juliette’s stop is first.”
Somehow Doug was aware enough to realize the driver hadn’t given away Juliette’s last name. He’d protected her anonymity, a reminder to Doug of where he was and what he was doing. Or shouldn’t be doing, he thought wryly. The return to the resort had come just in time.
The car came to a stop but the driver didn’t get out to help them from the car. He was obviously giving Doug and Juliette a chance to talk. A chance Doug had forgotten about earlier in favor of helping her through her fear and enjoying her gentle but heated touches.
“I guess this is it,” Doug said.
She lifted his shirt back onto his shoulders, a mischievous grin on her lips. “It doesn’t have to be. Remember what I said before. I don’t want to go inside and leave you standing at my doorstep again.” Her words were strong but the tremor in her voice revealed her vulnerability.
“You wouldn’t be leaving me on your doorstep this time. I’d be in a dry car.” He spoke lightly, feeling anything but.
No matter how much she desired him, she’d run the other way if she knew he was the man who’d broken the story about her ex-fiancé’s partner. He wanted to give her her fantasy, but he needed to respect himself more.
He started to close his shirt buttons, needing the distraction, but she swatted his hands away and handled the chore herself—forcing him to watch her bent head as she worked, letting him drink in the sight and scent of the riotous head of curls she’d freed earlier.
She finished and rested her hands in her lap. “A real gentleman would walk me to my door. And once he got there, would he really want to let me go in alone?”
Yes. No. What he wanted didn’t matter and Doug knew damn well he was no gentleman.
Another flash lit up the dark sky. Her wide, bright eyes shone with hope, asking him not to let her down. Thunder immediately followed and Doug knew he was doomed. No way would he send her inside to face the rest of the storm and the rest of the night alone. He wondered if fate was laughing as it prevented him from doing the noble thing. Doug had never considered himself honorable yet when it came to Juliette, he didn’t recognize the man he’d become.
In answer to her question, he pushed open the door and stepped out into the rain. He wasn’t surprised when the driver practically materialized by his side or when Juliette hesitated at the edge of the car’s back seat to stare up at the stormy sky.
“You took long enough to decide. I don’t mind being alone. I’m an adult, no matter how foolish I’ve acted, and I’ve survived many thunderstorms on my own.”