melted, quickly soaking her panties in sheer desire.
He reached up, pulled the scarf from her head and let her hair fall loose.
“I think it’s you, Jodie. Remember, the cookies only have an effect if you are releasing attractor pheromones of your own in the first place. The cookies are only an enhancement of what your body is already feeling,” he said on a hushed breath, his lips close but not touching hers.
“Oh,” was all she could manage, focused on his mouth.
“This is a long time coming,” he said in a husky, masculine whisper. “Do you know how many times I’ve thought about it, imagined it? But you were always off-limits.”
“Still am. You, too.” She was trying painfully to get him to see reason, though she really wanted him to push her up against the wall and do whatever he desired. “We’re partners. Friends,” she said, desperately.
“Yes. What’s a kiss between friends?” he asked, leaning in closer, speaking against her mouth. The feathery touch was so sexy she moaned again and couldn’t tear herself away.
She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone, and her arms snaked themselves up around his neck, her nipples tightening to an almost painful degree as she let herself press against him, seeking some kind of relief.
This can’t really be happening, she thought, even as their mouths met and sank into a soft, openmouthed kiss that shook her to her soul.
She threaded her fingers into his hair, felt him take his glasses off even as they kissed, one arm coming around her back, the other sliding seductively behind her head where he held her steady. Without warning, he changed the kiss from a gentle seduction to a full-on penetration of his tongue into her mouth, rubbing against hers, opening her so completely that she couldn’t help but shudder from head to toe.
Jodie had been kissed by a lot of men. A lot. She wasn’t sure any man had ever kissed her this deeply, this thoroughly, or for this long.
He took his time, explored every bit of soft, wet skin. When he sucked her tongue into his mouth, moving the hand on her back to her breast, she gasped, a sudden orgasm rolling through her so easily she had to break the kiss to breathe, gasping as her head fell to his shoulder, the gentle pulse of pleasure easing over her.
“Damn,” he said roughly, sounding very unlike Dan and sexier than hell. He held her and she felt how hard he was and wanted to provide him some relief, too. Still, as the pleasure passed, awkwardness settled in. She couldn’t quite meet his eyes, her voice soft.
“Do you…?” she asked, as her hand lowered to touch him.
“No, not now. Not here,” he said, stopping her progress and tipping her face up so he could look at her. It was so unexpectedly intimate that she couldn’t decide whether to escape or ask for more.
They stood like that, amazed and frozen in the moment for what seemed like a long, long time.
“Have dinner with me tonight, Jodie. Not Jason. Me,” he said.
She was finding it hard to focus, her body still warm from coming, and her eyes wouldn’t seem to move away from his mouth.
“I—I can’t…I mean, I’ll cancel with Jason, but with Ginger gone I think I have to stay and finish what I didn’t get done today.”
“Tomorrow night, then.”
She couldn’t say no, overwhelmed with the desire to be with him. The bell over the door rang and they jumped apart, and she saw Ginger and Jason walk in together.
Jodie tried to compose herself, but it was difficult after having Dan’s kiss trip her trigger, and her body was still begging for more.
One look at Jason’s stormy expression and she knew that he’d seen them together, or at least he knew something had happened, if not what. Ginger looked surprised, too, but her mouth quirked up in a part smile. “Sorry I’m late again, Jodie…or maybe not.”
Jodie looked at her with wide eyes, and the two men stared, saying nothing. Jodie crossed the space, flipping the sign to Closed and locking the door. They were closing soon anyway.
“Jason, I’m sorry—”
“What? Sorry for crawling all over another guy when you’re supposed to be with me?”
She arched an eyebrow, a chill of anger pushing away the heat of moments before. “I am not with you. We went out to dinner, and that was it. Even if it had been more, I wouldn’t be with you. I’m not with anyone, ever,