“Excellent taste in champagne,” she said.
“Your lips are damn tempting.”
Her teeth sank briefly into her bottom one. “That really has no bearing on the conversation.”
“I suppose not. Does it matter?”
“I suppose not.”
She continued to gaze at him, sensing the crackle in the air around them, feeling the electric current arc between them.
She dared to ask, “How was your shower?”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a roguish grin. “You were sensational.”
Heat flared in her stomach. She waited for it to burst on her cheeks, but it didn’t. There was no cause for a blush. She knew what she was doing with this man, knew the fire she was playing with.
Jude McMillan was but another complexity in her life, for various reasons. Yet…here they were. And she wanted very much to embrace the situation for what it truly was.
Kate needed a date for this party, yes.
Kate also needed…Jude.
One night. One time.
That was all he’d indicated he required of her. And all Kate could manage, honestly.
A win-win, right?
So she inquired of his most recent fantasy, “How’d you take me?”
His eyes darkened even more. The heat within her turned downright scorching.
“Against the wall, from behind. You enjoyed every second of it.”
Her breath caught.
“Do you want to know why I’m sure you’d enjoy it, Kate?”
She couldn’t speak around the air lodged in her throat.
He said, “Because I’m not apologetic about wanting you. And I know you want to surrender to me… Right?”
6
He didn’t wait for her response. His head dipped. His lips glided over hers.
A whisper of a kiss. So soft and tantalizing. Yet wildly electrifying.
The cords of her neck pulled taut. Her chest swelled with the sudden full intake of air as all of her most sensitive parts ignited.
For a fleeting moment, she recanted her earlier summation of their “win-win.” This was dangerous on so many levels. Trepidation skittered through her.
“Jude. We really shouldn’t—”
“Change the entire dynamic of our association?” His brow hitched. “We don’t pretend with each other, Kate. Remember?”
“No, we don’t.” A fact she couldn’t escape.