Jake reached for Char’s arm and pulled her into his body. “Um, no thank you. I’d best get my girlfriend home.”
Madame’s lips formed a pout. “Girlfriend?”
Jake’s grip tightened on Char’s waist.
“Yeah, Jake, girlfriend? I mean…” Char twisted to face him. “I didn’t know we were going to make
it official and everything.”
His nostrils flared as his eyes darted between Madame and her. “We’ll just seal it with a kiss, shall we?”
Before Char could protest his lips were on hers.
Holy crap.
He tasted like pure virile man. He parted her lips with his tongue and dove into the depths of her mouth. His lips were like velvet, perfectly formed against hers, which were not fighting but—partaking.
With a moan Char wrapped her arms around his neck—completely forgetting herself—and kissed him back. He made a sound low in his throat as his grip on her body tightened.
“This… is not a brothel,” Madame interrupted frostily.
“Could have fooled me,” Jake said against Char’s lips.
With a snort of laughter Char pulled away. “Thank you, Madame, for everything. But as you’ve just seen, my boyfriend and I need to go celebrate!”
“Well then, off you go.” Madame’s voice was high-pitched but her face was pinched at the mouth, as if she had just sucked on something really sour.
They left the store and made a run for it to Jake’s BMW. The minute Char slammed the door shut, they both burst into fits of laughter.
Jake started the car. “And I thought Grandma was crazy.”
“Right?” Char’s voice sounded a bit breathless. Great; now she couldn’t talk like a normal human around Jake. It was a kiss: one damn kiss to fend off the Cougar, nothing more.
“Thanks for that…” The car pulled to a stop at the light. “For helping me out. Had I been there alone—I’m pretty sure you would have seen me on the evening news.”
“Candy.” Char nodded.
“Huh?” The light turned green.
“That’s how she would have lured you into her bedroom. She would’ve made a candy trail to her bedroom. It’s how all the Cougars do it. Then, once you were there, she would have gotten you drunk, you would have accepted—anything to ruin memories of the night—and there you have it. Love slave. Dateline. Woman Scorned.”
Jake shook his head and snorted. “The way your mind works frightens me.”
“Hey.” Char lifted her hands in the air. “I’m just saying.”
Jake shuddered and pulled onto the freeway toward downtown. “So, drinks? I did promise and I’m pretty sure I owe you.”
After that kiss? No, it was actually she who owed him. The all-too-familiar pang of rejection washed over Char. Sure, she could go have drinks with him and then fall for all the things that most normal breathing girls fell for. He’d get just tipsy enough to ask her to come home with him. They’d share a cab, she’d say just one drink, they’d end up in his bedroom.
And she’d wake up to find a thank-you note and a twenty-dollar bill for her cab fare home on her pillow.
No thanks.
“Actually…” Char looked at her watch. “I can still put in a full afternoon at the office. Can you drop me off at the KOMO station?”
Jake nervously scratched his head and shrugged. “Sure, I mean if that’s what you want. I for one think margaritas are better than working any day.”
“Yeah.” Char put on her sunglasses. “Then again you’re kind of unemployed right now so…”