Page 17 of Strictly Forbidden

Staring wasn’t my normal habit, yet it was impossible not to gawk at the vision in front of me. I’d been around some incredibly handsome men in my life, including a few cowboys in Colorado after I’d moved. But this man was… Whew, baby was all I could say in my mind. Almost instantly my face felt flushed, the heatwave coursing through my body starting with my inner core.

I hadn’t experienced this kind of reaction to a man. Ever.

The fact he was wearing a tight pair of blue jeans that managed to highlight all the good things God had put into a man, a dark tee shirt accentuating his carved chest, and a leather jacket that made him appear just a tad bit dangerous was truly delicious.

Add in the guy had to be at least six foot five, his shaggy blond hair the kind you wanted to run your fingers through, and I was shocked the other female shoppers weren’t lining up to provide him with their phone numbers.

Or their panties.

My eyes were drawn to two other items he was wearing, one being his very expensive watch. The other was his rugged yet incredible cowboy boots. He held an aura of money yet not one of arrogance. Often the two went hand in hand.

Maybe I’d been wrong and Max had been whining about something else. All I had to do was to look down at my pup to realize that no, he was locked into the stranger. Why? Granted, the guy was delicious in every way but certainly not something we’d run into since Max’s adventure had begun.

As my bad luck would have it, the man realized someone was staring at him, slowly lifting his head. Almost instantly a look of amusement formed in his eyes as he shifted his heated gaze all the way down to my tennis shoes before sliding his eyes to Max. When a grin crossed his face, I was certain the sun had come out.

And Max was now thumping his tail wildly against the floor.

“What’s gotten into you, sweet boy?” I asked him as I found myself pushing my basket just a little bit closer. The furry boy remained quiet even as the stranger walked closer, a curious look on his face.

When he was a foot away, I realized just how tall and brawny the man truly was. I’d never felt like a dwarf in my life but around this man, I was tiny.

He laughed and lifted a single eyebrow. “I must admit, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a beautiful woman stare at me.”

“I’m sorry. That was rude of me.” I tried to laugh but I was nervous as a kitty cat in a very good way. My nipples were aching, my pussy throbbing, and in my mind, both were a good sign. Maybe the real woman inside hadn’t shriveled up and died as I’d believed.

“Nonsense. I call it making my night. Hell, maybe my month. And who is this beautiful boy?” He tipped his head, obviously reading the wording on Max’s vest.

“This is Max, my new buddy.”

“Ah, Nice to meet you, Max. I see your mother buys you Frosty Paws.”

For all the times I’d seen such a reverent face on Max, his fascination for almost everything a source of constant joy, to see his adoration for the man meant the stranger reminded him of his trainer. “Nothing is too good for him. I didn’t mean to interrupt. It’s just… Well, Max is only trained to make a sound when he’s hurting, I’m in distress, or there is a dangerous situation around us.”

“I hope I didn’t interfere. I understand such a huge responsibility. I’ll move away.”

“Nonsense,” I told him. “You did nothing wrong. I think Max is just getting used to crowds. He was horribly abused at one point in his life, but a very special man took care of him, training him to be a good boy. I think he had a little memory of that man just now. Maybe you look a little like him.” I was unable to help myself, scratching behind the pup’s ears. I was doing everything wrong tonight, which would ultimately derail Max’s training, but I wanted him to feel comfortable.

“Heavens, I hope not. My daddy used to tell me I looked like an ox who’d been run over by a tractor.” He laughed and it was the first time I noticed his eyes were the color of the most intense emeralds. Holy shit, the man was sinfully perfect.

“That’s terrible and your father is dead wrong.” I slapped my hand across my mouth, unable to keep from laughing. I would never, ever have been this forward with a man before Max came into my life. What in God’s name had happened to me?

He planted his hand on his chest, bending over as if bowing. “Quite a compliment and I thank you. I might even tell him.”

“You should do that.” A moment of common sense finally kicked in and I felt awkward. I wasn’t flirtatious even before the attack, always shy even growing up. Why I felt comfortable around this man must have everything to do with Max. Still, I wasn’t ready to attempt anything outside of my normal routine. “I should get going.”

“Understood.”

“It was lovely to meet you…” I instinctively held out my hand as normal people would do, not that I would ever be normal again of course.

The stranger eyed my hand before accepting and instantly the crackle of electricity shared between us shocked the hell out of both of us. Instead of jerking my hand away as I would normally do in a situation such as this, I found myself leaning further into the man, as if I wanted him to kiss me.

Which was the most ridiculous aspect at the moment.

“Kage with a K.”

Did he just say his name was Kage? It was absolutely perfect for a man of his… virtues. Holy shit was all I could think. What remained of the bad girl inside of me couldn’t filter out the filthy images suddenly floating through my mind. At least I had a face to put with the name of my next villain. Or maybe he could be the hero. Up to this point, they hadn’t looked like him. Whew.

“Kage with a K,” I repeated. We were still shaking hands, the current refusing to back down.

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