Selena laughed and he turned his head, wanting to see those blue eyes sparkle.
“No one gets used to this kind of heat,” she assured him. He put a hand to the small of her back, not because she needed assistance, but because he wanted to touch her again.
“So why don’t you move? Find some place where the summers aren’t a miserable marathon of humidity and dread?”
Another laugh. Reid realized he could really get used to hearing her laughter. “Well, the summers are horrible here in Virginia, but remember, Washington, D.C. was built on a swamp. So it’s not surprising that the weather during July and August and…yeah, sometimes June and September…is so bad.” He opened the door to a black Land Rover, gesturing for her to get in.
Before stepping into the soft leather of the SUV, she tilted her face to smile up at him and her beauty took his breath away. His gut tightened as anticipation hit him hard. It took all of his concentration and self-discipline to hear her next words.
“Wait until autumn arrives! This area might be bad in the summer months, but in the spring and fall, the DC area is the most glorious place to live!”
And she slipped gracefully into the seat. He stood there, watching with rapt attention as she pulled her legs in. Strong legs, he noticed. He couldn’t see her thighs, because her dress came down to just below her knees, but her calves were strong and lean, well muscled. Sexy as hell! Damn, she was gorgeous!
Yeah, he had a thing for legs. And her legs were…extraordinary!
But still, his reaction to her was so out of character! This sudden and intense attraction wasn’t normal. Perhaps he was jaded, but while women were pretty and enjoyable, none had ever made him feel this…he wasn’t sure how to describe what he was feeling. But the sudden urge to pound his chest like a caveman was ridiculous!
He looked up, realized that she was waiting for him to close the car door and smiled slightly. And yes, he glanced down at her legs one more time before he closed the door.
“What would you like to eat tonight?” he asked as he pressed the button to start the engine. He turned, sliding his arm behind her seat to look at her, noting the dilated irises and the pulse pounding at the base of her throat. Perfect! She felt it too.
“Umm…anything is fine with me.”
“Thai? Mexican? Something less ethnic?” He admired her arms, bare from the shoulders, noticing even her arms were muscular. Yeah, that turned him on too.
“I love Thai!” she exclaimed, her shoulders straightening with excitement.
“Thai it is. I know of a great Thai place over in Fairfax. Well, more of a hole in the wall really. I think there are about six tables total, but it’s worth it. Promise!”
Decision made, he backed the SUV out of the parking spot. If he leaned into her a bit, getting a whiff of her perfume, that wasn’t a crime. It took a moment for him to recognize the scent as their signature perfume, “Rembrandt”, which smelled more erotic on her than he ever would have expected! Yes, he knew that the oils and other ingredients mixed with a woman’s individual body chemistry. But the spicy, feminine scent hit him hard and fast. The scent wasn’t cloying, or overly sweet, like some perfumes. It was made to be light, almost airy, but with a floral scent mixed in with a bit of cinnamon and vanilla. He’d heard from other customers that they enjoyed the scent because of the different layers, but on Selena, those layers became a siren call.
Selena folded her hands in her lap, not really sure what to do. The man smelled…amazing! He smelled like fresh air, pine, and male. How was that possible? Rembrandt Cosmetics didn’t sell a male product line, but sitting in the close confines of the SUV, she thought that this particular scent should definitely be bottled.
Turning slightly, Selena tried to suppress the scorching desire, reminding herself that she was a professional. “So, if you don’t like Virginia in the summer time, why are you here? Is there some secret product release that we’re getting soon?”
He controlled the vehicle easily and with confidence. The traffic was heavy, but he wasn’t one of those arrogant drivers who cut people off in order to get ahead of one vehicle. He took the back roads, avoiding the main arteries of the Four-Ninety-Five beltway or Interstate Sixty-Six that took residents from the edge of Washington D. C. all the way out to edge of suburbia and beyond. Both of those routes would be parking lots at this time of the day. Instead, he took the less known roads.