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He stepped through the shadows like a masked fantasy. He’d left off the cape this time, but was still wearing those thigh-hugging leather pants, soft cotton shirt and the mask.
Liquid heat seeped through her body, making her muscles lax, her brain soggy. It also made her nipples hard and pooled in damp desire between her legs. Oh, yeah, caution be damned.
It was the mask that turned her on the most. Maybe it was the air of danger it carried? Or—she sucked in her bottom lip and let her eyes slide over the planes of his cheekbones and jaw—maybe it was as simple as the sexy hero angle? Here was a guy who could sweep her off her feet, whisk her away and make all her fantasies come true.
Preferably before he flew off into the sunset this time.
“I’m not sure that you’re quite up to fulfilling my needs, if you know what I mean,” she pointed out with a little sniff. “If I recall, you left me hanging and quite unhelped last night.”
“Why do I doubt you weren’t able to take care of any frustrations I left you with all by yourself?” he murmured, a naughty smile tugging at a corner of his lush lips.
Zoe’s own mouth twitched, but she refused to smile. She needed to keep in mind that, beneath her nerves, she was pissed at him.
“So, what? Do you provide batteries for all your hookups? You know, so they can relieve the sexual tension after you’ve left them all hot and bothered?”
He stepped closer. Close enough that she could almost make out his features in the darkened hallway. So close his scent filled Zoe’s senses. She breathed in the subtle cologne, her mouth watering just a little for a taste of him.
“Were you hot and bothered?” he asked in a low, husky tone that sent a different kind of shiver through Zoe’s body.
“Maybe warm and irritated,” she shot back.
Her knees went weak when he grinned through the dark. Determined not to let him know, she cocked her hip to one side, tilted her chin and lifted a brow. She’d have pulled her shoulders back, too. But the move would have pressed her breasts against his chest and, damn it, he was going to have to work for that thrill. After all, he’d left her high and dry the night before.
Then he reached out and tucked a curl behind her ear, his fingers brushing against her cheek, and she damn near purred.
“Maybe I can get rid of that irritation?”
Irritation schmirritation. She’d get rid of anything he wanted her to for another taste of those lips.
“And the warmth?” she asked, her gaze locked on his mouth.
“I’m gonna heat that up to blazing hot,” he told her as he leaned one hand against the wall behind her. He still didn’t touch her, but the move made her feel deliciously trapped.
“And then?” she asked. She wanted nothing more than to let him, but some perverse part of her brain refused to let go of the insult of his leaving the night before.
“Did you want a play-by-play outline of my moves?” he asked, laughter dancing in his brown eyes. Something about his eyes nagged at Zoe for a second, but he moved, just a little, and her gaze dropped back to his grinning mouth.
“I guess I don’t quite trust you,” she admitted with a little shrug. The move brushed her shoulder against his forearm.
“Do you trust anyone?” he asked, a smile still curving his lips but his tone shrewd.
Unsure how to answer, Zoe pressed her lips together. Lying was never a pretty thing. But admitting she couldn’t trust was the equivalent to ripping off all her defenses and giving him a peek into her neurotic soul. Definitely not a sexy thing.
“Trust is earned,” she finally said. Then she shot him a mischievous smile and suggested, “Maybe you should let me chain you to the bed until I have my way with you?”
He closed his eyes and let out a low groan, then shook his head and gave a rueful laugh. “You’re killing me.”
“Only with temptation.”
With that in mind, she reached out and traced her palm over the hard muscles of his shoulder. The soft cotton of his shirt felt like silk beneath her hand as she smoothed over the hard muscles. Her nipples hardened at the delicious sensation, pressing against the tight constriction of her heavy winter coat. Suddenly Zoe felt so hot, she could strip naked and throw open the little window at the end of the hall and she knew she’d have steam coming off her body.
He took her hand and linked his fingers through hers. Holding it up to his mouth, he brushed those gorgeous lips over the backs of her knuckles, his breath tickling her flesh and making her wish she really were naked.
She rubbed her thumb over his lip. He grazed it with the edge of his teeth. Then, gently, he moved her hand to his against the wall, where he bracketed her wrist, holding her hand prisoner.
