Page 4 of Kissed in the Dark

It’s been a long time since I let any man take care of me. I don’t need that. I can take care of myself. But I have to admit that it made me feel good to have him looking out for me.

The wheel jerks under my hands and my eyes widen. “What the hell?”

“Pull over, Red! Now!” I’m fighting the wheel and he moves over, snarling. He’s so close and he smells so damn good! My head reels and he growls, “Let go of the wheel, Heather! I’ve got it!”

I drop my hands and he smoothly pulls the car over to the side of the road, barely flinching at the jerk of the wheel. He shuts off the car and immediately drops back into the seat, his big hands shoveling into his dark, ruffled hair.

“You blew a tire, baby. We better get your spare on and get back on the road before that storm hits.” He points to the gathering clouds that seem to be getting darker by the minute.

I nod my head and grab my key, opening the door and stepping out into the approaching storm. “Damn!” I howl as the wind rips the door out of my hand and I stumble, the door slamming back into me.

“Hey! You alright?” Jude stands in front of me, his big hands bracketing my hips as he blocks the door. My eyes look up into his and it feels like the whole world tilts. His dark eyes heat with something I’ve never seen before and his hands tighten on my hips, digging in until I gasp slightly.

Immediately he backs away and helps me close the door. “Let’s get that tire.”

He rushes around to the trunk and waits for me. My fingers tingle and shake. I wish I could tell myself that it’s because of the storm or the door, or anything but what it is.

My whole body is tingling and that old familiar fire is flaring to life in my soul.

I want Jude McHenry just the same as I always have. My heart trips and I suck in a deep breath, slowing my body down deliberately. I need control or I’m gonna do something damn stupid like climb Jude like a tree and wrap around him until there’s no way to tell where I end and he begins. Until I can feel him so deep in me that we’re finally the one that we were always meant to be.

Alarm bells clang in my head and I shiver. He’s standing in front of me holding out his hand for my key and I hand it overquickly, desperate not to touch him or I might do every damn thing I shouldn’t.

He pulls out the cover and then he glowers at me. “Heather? Is there something you want to tell me?”

I lean over him and suck in a breath, closing my eyes and dropping my head to his back, barely feeling the heat from his body. “Dammit,” I grumble. “I forgot that I used the donut about six weeks ago when I replaced one of the other tires.”

He throws the cover and jack back in and then slams the trunk shut. He moves close to me and I back away until he grasps my shoulders and spins us, backing me into the back of the car. “Well now, Red. That’s gonna be a problem.”

The wind whips around us and a slow furl of heat builds inside me, begging me to reach out and touch him.

“I’m sorry, Jude. I forgot. I had a tire that blew over a month ago. I should have replaced the donut but I forgot.”

His firm lips twist and his dark eyes blaze into mine. “You are a menace, Red. You can’t look after yourself at all, can you? You need a keeper.”

I stand up straight and poke him in the chest. “Hey, it was an accident. I just forgot.”

He leans forward until we’re so close I can feel his breath on my cheek. “Accidents happen because you don’t take things seriously. You always did fly by the seat of your pants, Red. It drove me nuts.” His heated glare dips down to my lips and that coiling heat boils over until I’m shaking with hunger. I want to grab his head and drag him down until his lips touch my own. “It still does.”

Like he can read my mind, he dips down and his lips take mine, hard, insistent, punishing. His mouth claims mine. It’s brutal, harsh and so damn perfect.

I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders and cling to him tightly, my hands sinking into his soft, dark hair. His tongueslips out and runs along the seam of my lips. I gasp and he storms inside my mouth, running his tongue along my teeth, twisting and twining with my own.

“Fuck, Red. What the hell am I doing?”

He yanks back and I stumble, almost falling to the dirt. His calloused, rough hands catch me and hold me for a second, his dark as midnight gaze capturing mine like a spider does its prey. I can’t look away.

But his gaze rises to the sky and he twists around, pushing me ahead of him. “Get in the car, Red,” he grits out.

Like a lamb to the slaughter, I meekly let him push me back in the car on the passenger side and then watch as he runs around to the driver’s seat.

He sits down and as soon as the door closes, the car is rocked and sheets of rain blast down, blocking out everything but his darkness and my confusion.

JUDE

Ican’t catch my breath. I kissed Heather Reed. Kissed her and she liked it. Her full, soft lips under mine parted and the taste, the feel of her is driving me crazy.

She tasted like passion and home. Berries and cream. Sweetness and light. Everything I could ever want all rolled up in one gorgeous, passionate package.

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