Her breathing quickened.
“Jasmine?”
The cautious way he said her name added to the churning in her belly.
“Off.” She shoved at his shoulders.
He sat up slowly, as if afraid to startle her. She stood and smoothed her skirt. The clock on the wall chimed. Nine o’clock. Curses zinged through her head. She’d promised Mr. Wilkins she’d be home by nine-thirty.
She ran a hand through her hair. Or tried too. The tangled mess would need more help than her fingers could give. It would have to wait. She reached for her keys. They weren’t in her skirt. She glanced under the desk. Nothing.
“Looking for these?”
“Yes!” She reached for them. He raised his hand, keeping the ring with her two keys just out of reach. “Gimme those.”
He slid his other arm around her waist and drew her against him.
“Not until you give me your name and number. I want to see you again, Jasmine.”
She swallowed hard and tipped her head back. Heavy-lidded eyes met hers. “Jazz. Not Jasmine.”
He shook his head and slid a hand over her bottom. He massaged each cheek before resting his palm on her hip. “Only in public. When we’re alone, you will be my Jasmine.”
The possessive edge to his voice left her body and mind warring. She went lax in his arms, while her instincts warned her to run. The intensity to his gaze made her feel as if she was his prey.
“Don’t look so shocked. I didn’t lie when I said you caught my interest.” He grinned at her. “You should feel special.”
Special? She wasn’t special. “I’m sorry I led you on, Rafe, but I’m not interested in a relationship with you.”
“Not interested…in a relationship.” He bent closer, urging her to lean backward. “Exactly what does that mean?”
“It means exactly what I said. I am not interested in a relationship with you. This shouldn’t have happened. I got carried away.” She held out her hand. “Now give me my keys.”
A tic developed on his jaw. “And why shouldn’t this have happened?”
“Umm, well for one, you’re a stranger. And two, I’m not interested!”
“You didn’t tell me no.”
“I…I…” Ugh. He was right. She’d wanted his kiss.
“I want another kiss. Will you tell me no, now?”
She opened her mouth. The refusal wouldn’t come out. She couldn’t lie to this man. Or herself. Instead, she shook her head.
“Stubborn.” He made a low, annoyed sound and kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth and urging her to follow his lead. She didn’t resist him. After experiencing passion in his arms, she was eager for anything he gave her. She shouldn’t be, not with a stranger, but she hungered for him.
He lifted her and carried her to the couch never breaking their lip lock.
For the first time in five years, she wanted to have sex. Just the thought of being with Rafe excited her, but the sound of a zipper being undone yanked her out of the lust-filled moment.
What was she doing?
She shoved against his shoulders. They both fell to the floor. She scrambled up and backed quickly to the door. Rafe stilled, one hand on the floor and the other on the edge of the couch.
“Rafe, I—”
“No.” He zipped his pants. “Don’t. I’m sorry. I got carried away.”
“Me too. Look, it’s nothing personal. I just don’t want to take this any further.”
He stood, a lithe move that reminded her of a dancer, and walked toward her. He brushed a few strands of hair from her cheek. “Why?”
“I’m a single mom. My kids come first. Always.” She looked imploringly at him. “It’s nothing personal. Really. It’s just the way it has to be.”
He stared at her for so long she squirmed under his scrutiny.
“A mother?”
Her belly twisted. The couple of times she actually showed interest in a guy, right after she’d moved back home and needed a lover, not a boyfriend, they’d looked at her the same way Rafe did. After dropping a lame excuse, they’d run in the opposite direction.
She sighed. “Yeah, a mother.”
“Of boys.”
It was a statement, not a question, as if he already knew the answer. He couldn’t. Then again, if he was Josh’s friend, Rafe might know more than she thought.
She nodded. “Yes. Twins.”
“Adopted.”
Another statement.
The fake birth certificates she’d paid to get had never been scrutinized. Nobody, not even Josh, had ever suspected the truth.
“No, they’re mine.”
He parted his lips on an inhale.
Her heart skipped a beat. She’d seen her boys do the same thing more times than she could count. Big cats had special sensory organs in their mouths that allowed them to taste scents. If she didn’t know better she’d say Rafe was doing the same thing, but shifters were rare. Megan was the only one Jazz had stumbled over in the years since she’d been the mother of two shifters. The odds that Rafe was a shifter too…
She moved slowly away from him.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Children are precious. I would never think of coming between a mother and her kids, but I don’t want to let this thing between us go.”
“There is nothing between us.” Jazz motioned from him to her. “This was just a spur of the moment thing. It wasn’t serious.”
“If you want to believe that, go ahead.” Rafe closed the distance between them. He tipped up her chin. “But I don’t buy it for a minute. There’s something between us. I don’t know what it is, but it’s real.”
“That’s lust. Walk out into that bar and grab another girl. I’m sure you’ll feel the same thing.”
An amused glint sparked in his eyes. She didn’t get the chance to say more. He bent his head and kissed her. Slowly. Tenderly. Tension drained from her muscles, and a shaky sigh escaped. The man stirred emotions within her she didn’t have the energy to fight.
On her tiptoes, she linked her arms around his neck and met him, stroke for stroke. After an endless moment where they worshiped each other, he
