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Shit.
Exactly what she knew he’d say.
And goddamn it, it was true. Still… She had a lot of liability to muddle through here. So she reasonably said, “Jude, that’s not what this is about.”
“I beg to differ. If we’re going to this party together, Kate, it will be a real date.” He sipped whatever cocktail he was drinking, then added in his darkly sensual tone, “And you can be damn sure I’ll have you begging before the evening’s over. For everything you want me to give you.”
The sizzle between her legs was wholly distracting so that Kate couldn’t think straight. Her pulse beat erratically, throbbing at the base of her throat, where she suddenly craved to feel Jude’s lips. Sweeping over that vital spot. Nipping softly with his teeth. Soothing the bite with his tongue before gliding along her skin. Upward toward another erogenous zone for her, behind her ear.
A faint moan slipped from her lips.
“Jesus, Kate,” Jude murmured. “You’re driving me wild. You know how much I want you.”
“Jude… It would just be sex. For both of us. For you to get me out of your system, as you stated. And for me to…” She shook her head as her voice trailed off.
“To what, Kate?” he heatedly probed. “What do you need?”
The sizzle spread through her entire body, making her deliciously uncomfortable. Restless in an erotic, insistent way. Kate pushed out of the chair she’d been sitting in when Jude had returned her call. Her manicured nails trailed over the glass-topped desk in her home office. She wanted to trail them over Jude’s skin, his sculpted muscles, that intricate tattoo covering a portion of his shoulder and biceps. An intriguing design that held her curiosity hostage…and turned her on.
Hell, everything about the man turned her on. Even his damaged soul.
But Kate needed to retain that perspective she’d thought of earlier. She had no interest in romantic entanglements. Yes, one night of absolute reckless abandon with Jude McMillan would rock her world and likely right her axis, given it’d been a small eternity since she’d had sex. But again, that’s all it would be. And regardless of whether or not it went that far between them, it was only fair she be open and honest about that from the onset.
In a quiet voice, she said, “I don’t have a stable of potential dates to select from, Jude. I don’t date. I don’t get involved. I don’t fall in love. But I do have to appease the most important people in my life. That means bringing a handsome and successful man to this party.”
“And what do you intend to tell them about us, Kate?”
“I haven’t thought that far in advance, truthfully. This just sort of…happened,” she confessed. “Of course, I’d never mention you’re a former patient. That’s none of their business and I’d never betray your confidence in such a—”
“Kate. I fucking know that already,” he irritably said. “If they know you don’t date, how are you going to explain me?”
“I… I’m not certain… I don’t know, Jude.”
She sighed. And crossed her office to the wet bar. Cradling her cell between her ear and shoulder, she pulled the cork on a nice bottle of red and poured.
After a couple of sips, she contended, “They’ll find it typical ‘Kathryn’ behavior for me to be vague. So don’t worry about any of that. Just… Tell me if you’re available on Saturday evening. Seven-thirty. The Plaza. A cocktail reception, followed by a five-course meal, followed by extensive champagne toasts. Oh…and dancing.”
“Totally over-the-top?”
“You can count on it. Lots of society types and one astoundingly charismatic bride-to-be who will steal your heart. You won’t be able to help adoring her.”
“Pretty sure I won’t even notice her,” he said, his voice a bit strained.
She heard rustling on his end…as though he was undressing.
“Jude?”
“I took a shower at the gym after my workout earlier. Now I need a different kind of shower, Kate.”
She gasped. His words seared her insides.
“Jesus, Jude.” The visual that flashed in her mind—of Jude naked and stroking himself while he thought of her—heightened the restlessness within her.
Kate splashed more wine in her glass. Took a long drink.
In an erotically edgy tone, Jude said, “I had a shit day, but talking with you has made my night much better, Kate. And thinking about Saturday—you in a curve-hugging dress…and out of it—is making me hard.”
Her stomach flipped. “Jude.”
