5- Nothing can hurt you
Before he could respond or guess what she intended, she upended her drink
over his head. Fortunately, it was mostly water and melting ice by now, but the
splash of frigid liquid against his burning skin was a shock.
Hazel was already up and dancing away by the time he caught his breath.
Mr. Lee was on his feet in a heartbeat, fighting indignation and—to his own
surprise
—laughter.
“You are in such trouble,” he said.
“Mighty tough wordsfrom a man who’s dripping wet,” she taunted. “I did
you a favor. Try to keep that in mind.”
“Oh, I have no intention of forgetting what you did,” he said, regarding her
with a deceptively lazy look as he halted his pursuit.
He waited until she stopped backing nervously away, gave her time to grow
complacent, then moved so quickly she didn’t have time to react. He snagged her
wrist and hauled her into his arms.
He captured her gasp with his first kiss, then settled in to discover exactly
how she tasted, exactly how her lips felt beneath his. There was a lingering
sweet taste of orange soda to her mouth, a willing pliancy to her lush lips.
Her body fit against his as if they’d been made for each other. Between the
dousing his clothes had taken, the dampness of hers and the skyrocketing heat of
that kiss, he was surprised they weren’t enveloped in steam.
It took a very long time—too long, by his own rigid standard of ethics—for
him to discover everything he’d wanted to know about the taste and texture of
her mouth. He released her suddenly and with tremendousreluctance, muttering
a curse under his breath.
Wide-eyed and open-mouthed, she stared at him for a full minute and then
the heat rose in her cheeks right along with a flash of temper in her eyes.
“You had no right to do that,” she snapped.
“No,” he said mildly. “You’re right. I didn’t. I’m sorry. It was a mistake.”
His admission and his apology seemed to throw her off stride.
“If you think that’s good enough to make me forget what just happened here,
you’re crazy.”
Despite himself, he chuckled at that. “Yes, I imagine it will take a good deal
more to make me forget it, too.”
“That is not what I meant, and you know it,” she said with a scowl.
“Okay, let’stake a step back and reassess what just happened,” he suggested
reasonably.
“Oh, don’t use that lawyerly tone with me. We both know what happened.
You kissed me.”
“You provoked me.”
“I dumped water on you. If anything, that should have cooled off your
libido, not inflamed it.”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I obviously have a perverse streak.”
“How about saying ‘I’m sorry, it will never happen again,”’ she suggested. “I’ve already apologized.” He met her gaze. “And sadly I can’t promise it
will never happen again.”
“You have to,” she said, sounding a little desperate.
“Why?”
“Because it’sthe right thing to do, because you have no business kissing me,
because I have no business kissing you.” She frowned at him. “You think I’m a
criminal, for heaven’s sake. Are you beginning to get the picture?”
Unfortunately, Mr. Lee was, though he doubted it wasthe same picture she
was getting. The one in his mind had him carting her straight off to bed to finish
whatthey’d started. Given his belief that she was a thief, he figured that was a
really, really lousy idea…and way too tempting at the moment. His very recent
lapse in judgment was proof enough he couldn’t be trusted within fifty feet of
her.
He reached in his pocket, took out her car keys and tossed them to her. She
regarded him with surprise.
“How are you getting back to town?” she asked.
“The old-fashioned way,” he said, turning his back on her and striding away.
“Mr. Lee, you can’t walk all the way back,” she protested, chasing after him.
“You’ll die of heat stroke.”
“Thanks for your concern, but I’ll be fine.”
“You will not be fine. Don’t be stubborn. I’ll drive you back.”
He faced her. “How do I know you won’t try to ravish me the second we get
to my motel?”
She gave him a wry look. “Oh, I think I can pretty well guarantee that you’re
safe.”
He shrugged. “Okay, then, I trust you.”
She regarded him skeptically. “Oh, really?”
“About that, anyway.” He tapped a finger against the sunburned tip of her
nose. “We’ll have to see about the rest. I’ll think it over while I’m walking.”
“I don’t suppose you could keep on going all the way back to New York and
ponder the evidence there?” she asked wistfully.
“Not a chance.”
Hazel heaved a resigned sigh. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”
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