“Really, which part? When you accidentally packed snow into a hard ball, or when you accidentally threw it at me?”
“I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”
“Why did you hit me at all?”
He thought a moment then said, “You were there.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s brilliant, Nick.”
“It’s the truth.”
“I’ll have to remember that next time I see you in a crosswalk and my foot gets a little itch to mow you down.”
His smile showed his straight white teeth. “You’ve become a regular smart ass since you’ve been away.”
“I’ve become my own person.”
“I think I like it.”
“Gee, I guess I can die happy.”
“Kind of makes me wonder what else is different.” He reached out and flipped up the tab of her zipper. The cool metal hit her collarbone and rested against her skin.
Delaney took a shallow breath but refused to look away. He raised his gaze from her throat, and she looked up into his eyes. Within the space of a second, he’d gone from being a somewhat regular guy to the ornery boy she’d grown up with. She’d seen that silvery glint too many times not to know he was about to stomp his foot and yell boo and make her run like crazy. Make her think he was going to throw a worm on her, or something equally hideous. She refused to let him intimidate her. She’d always let him win, and she stood her ground now for all those times she’d lost. “I’m not the same girl you used to antagonize all the time. I’m not afraid of you.”
He lifted one black brow up his tan forehead. “No?”
“No.”
His gaze locked with hers as he reached for the metal tab of her zipper again. He slowly eased it half an inch down its silent track. “Are you afraid now?”
Her hands clenched at her sides. He was testing her. He was trying to make her flinch first. She shook her head.
The tab moved down another few teeth then stopped. “Now?”
“No. You’ll never scare me. I know what you are.”
“Uh-huh.” The zipper slid another inch, and the heavy zebra collar fell open. “Tell me what you think you know.”
“You’re full of bull. You’re not going to hurt me. Right now you want me to think you’re going to strip me naked while people walk by my big window. I’m supposed to get all uptight, and then you can go away and have a really big laugh. But guess what?”
He pulled the tab to the gold satin rose that closed the front of her bra. “What?”
She took a big breath and called his bluff. “You won’t do it.”
Delaney’s mouth fell open, and she looked down at the front of her sweater. The black ribbed cotton lay undone, the edges gaping an inch apart, revealing her leopard print bra and the inside swells of her breasts. Then before Delaney knew how it happened, she found herself picked up and plopped back down on top her appointment book. The soft fabric of his jeans brushed her knees, and the green Formica top felt cool beneath her thighs. “What do you think you’re doing?” she gasped as she clutched the front of her sweater.
“Shh…” He touched his finger to her lips. His gaze was pinned to the big window ten feet behind Delaney. “The owner of the bookstore is walking by. You don’t want him to hear you and press his nose against the glass, do you?”
Delaney glanced over her shoulder, but the sidewalk was empty. “Let me down,” she demanded.
“Are you afraid now?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you. You look like you’re about ready to jump out of your skin.”
“I’m not afraid. I’m just too smart to play your games.”
“We haven’t started to play yet.”
But they had, and he was one man she didn’t want to play with. He was far too dangerous and she found him far too alluring. “Do you get some sort of warped thrill out of this?”
A slow sensual smile curved his lips. “Absolutely. That leopard bra you’ve got on is pretty wild.”
Delaney let go of the front of the sweater long enough to zip it up again. Once it was closed she relaxed a little. “Well, don’t get excited. I know I’m not.”
His deep quiet laughter surrounded her. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
His gaze drifted to her mouth. “I guess I’ll have to see what I can do about that.”
“It wasn’t a challenge.”
“It was a challenge, Delaney.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek, and her breathing became a little shallow. “A man knows when he’s being challenged by a woman.”
“I take it back.” She wrapped her hand around his wrist.
He shook his head. “You can’t. You already put it out there.”
“Oh, no.” Delaney lowered her gaze to his strong stubborn chin. Someplace safe, away from his hypnotic eyes. “No. I never put out anything.”
“Maybe that’s why you’re so uptight. You need to get laid.”
Her gaze snapped to his and she forced his hand from her cheek. “I don’t need to get laid. I get laid all the time,” she lied.
He slanted her a doubtful look.
“I do!”
He lowered his face to hers. “Then maybe you need someone who knows what he’s doing.”
“Are you offering your services?”
His mouth lightly brushed hers as he shook his head. “No.”
Delaney’s breath got stuck in her throat. “Then why are you doing this to me?”
“It feels good,” he said barely above a whisper and placed soft kisses at the corner of her lips. “Tastes good, too. You always tasted good, Delaney.” He brushed his lips against hers. “All over,” he said and opened his mouth wide over hers. His head tilted to one side and in an instant everything changed. The kiss turned hot and wet like he was sucking the juice from a peach. He ate at her mouth and demanded she feed him in turn. He sucked her tongue into his mouth. The inside of his mouth was warm and slick, and she felt her bones melt. She was helpless to stop him now. She let herself go and kissed him, matching his hunger. He was so good. So good at making her feel like this. Making her more than happy to do things she had no intention of doing. Making her breathless. Making her skin itchy and tight.
His hands moved to her knees and he pushed them apart. She felt the brush of his Levi’s as he stepped between her thighs, felt his grasp on her wrists as he lifted her hands to his shoulders. One of his hands cupped her breast and she moaned deep in her throat. Her stomach clinched and her nipple tightened. Through her sweater and satin bra, she felt the heat of his palm. She arched toward him, wanting more. Her hands slid across his wide shoulders to the sides of his head. Her thumbs brushed his jaw, and she slipped her palms down the sides of his neck. She felt the heavy thumping of his pulse and uneven pull of air into his lungs, and pure female satisfaction poured through her. Her fingers moved to the front of his shirt and went to work on the buttons. Ten years ago he’d seen almost every inch of her naked body, and she hadn’t gotten even a glimpse of his chest. She opened the flannel to satisfy an old curiosity. Then she pulled back from the kiss for a good look at him and wasn’t disappointed. He had the kind of chest that inspired women to shove money down his pants. Dark brown nipples and corrugated muscles, taut skin and black hair that trailed down his flat stomach, circled his navel, then disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. Her eyes lowered to the front of his pants and the thick bulge beneath his button fly. She raised her gaze to his face. He looked back at her from beneath lowered lids, his mouth still wet from their kiss. Her hands slipped across his chest, and her fingers made furrows in his soft hair. Beneath her touch, his muscles bunched.
“Be still a minute,” he said, his voice all husky, like he’d just gotten out of bed. “Unless you want the blue-
