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He’d have to go back and ask the Three Stooges what their definition of “get together” was. Did he just have to take her out once? Date her for a certain amount of time? Sleep with her? That would be awkward to report back to the boys. He decided, even without the bet, getting to know Kate would be on his radar.
“I didn’t realize it would be so late when we got back. Could you drop me at my house instead of taking me back to my car? I’ll get a ride to pick it up tomorrow.”
“Sure, put the address into my GPS, will ya?”
Ten minutes later, he pulled into the circular driveway that led to her stone-faced, Tudor-style home. It was a lot of house for one person and a tiny dog. Real estate had apparently been good to her. He got out and followed her up the steps.
“Thanks for everything today,” he said. “I know it was work, but I had fun.”
“Yes, we got a lot done and were very productive,” she said, setting Luna’s carrier on the ground and then digging through her purse for her keys.
“Kate?”
She looked up, eyes wide, trying to ignore what was coming. But also, he hoped, anticipating it.
CHAPTER NINE
“Kate, I want to kiss you,” he stated with a bold look. When she didn’t say anything, he rephrased. “Kate, can I kiss you?”
She panicked. Number one on her to-do list was “come up with a solid list of reasons she shouldn’t get involved with Adam,” but she hadn’t gotten to it yet. And trying to come up with something on the fly was useless. Masculinity and pheromones must muddle the brain, like strong paint fumes.
“I don’t know if that would be such a good idea,” Kate said.
“I can see it’s dangerous for you, but if the government trusts me, maybe you could too?” He smiled, knowing she’d get theTop Gunreference.
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “It takes a lot more than just fancy talking. Kissing is overrated. Do we really want to jeopardize our working relationship over it?”
“Overrated?” he said. “You’ve obviously never been kissed properly.”
“Hmph. I’ve been kissed plenty,” she said, smoothing her already smooth hair and turning up her nose.
“I said properly.”
She gave a one-huff laugh. “Kissing is kissing.” He apparently took that as a challenge.
“Come here,” he said in a menacing tone.
“What? Why?” She hesitated. Where was this heading? And did she want to head there?
“Kate, I’m going to kiss you. Properly.” He raised his eyebrows to indicate that while it may have come out as a command, he was asking, and she could say no.
At that point, any ability to reason had fled and taken common sense along with it. There were a million reasons to say no, but the bundle of hunky arrogance in front of her had her inadvertently licking her lips instead. She was dying to find out if he could make good on his promise.
“Fine,” she said. “Only to prove I’m right though.” She took a step toward him.
He met her halfway and put one hand on each side of her head, threading his fingers through her hair and pushing it back slightly. He locked eyes with her, tilted her head one way and his the other, and slowly leaned in. Tortuously slow. Just as he was about to put his lips on hers, her eyes fluttered shut involuntarily. The first brief peck was soft. His lips as soft as the kiss. Then he kissed her again. And again. Each kiss increasing in pressure and length. He lightly licked her lip, and she opened a little to him.
She waited for him to thrust his tongue into her mouth, but he had more finesse than that. He made a humming noise, pulled back a bit, and licked his lips.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” he murmured before kissing her again. This time she did the humming.
He was waking up a part of her that had been long-dormant, and when he parted her lips with his tongue, she met it with her own. He tasted like spearmint and testosterone. He urged her to open further, and before she knew it, she’d taken over and was putting her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She tipped her head back farther and initiated a deeper kiss. He groaned and followed her lead, pushing her up against the door and flattening his body to hers.
Right when she was about to invite him in to give this the attention it deserved, he broke the kiss, gave her a cocky grin, and said, “See?”
And then he turned and walked away, leaving her on the doorstep, eyes half-closed, breathing heavily, and, she was pretty sure, drooling. She didn’t know what kind of game he was playing, but damned if she didn’t want to play.
***
