Page 13 of Zane

"What?" She blinked and stopped as she started to move forward.

"What if I got rid of the tats? Would that make a difference?"

"No. And why would you want to do that?"

"To impress you." He eased off the vehicle and started forward.

Kara forced herself to stay where she was, even though her heart was beating fast and her knees were shaking.

"I don't want- Please stop."

He did, right in front of her. When he lifted a hand to brush back her hair from her forehead, she went as still as a statue. His finger lingered, trailing down her cheek and sending heat coursing through her.

"What're you doing?" She hated that her voice was thin and wavery.

"Satisfying my curiosity. Your skin is even softer than I imagined."

"Please stop touching me."

"You might be interested to know that's not all I want to do." He was close enough for her to see the flecks of green in his tawny eyes. "I've been curious since I got an eyeful of you when your vehicle broke down at the bike stop. It's the damnedest thing. Heck of a situation we got here, counselor. I want to see more of you, and I have to tell you, I do not give a damn about your so-called boyfriend/fiancé." He picked up her left hand and brought it to his lips. "No rings on this finger, which means I'm free to throw in my hat. I'm curious enough to want to open those buttons."

Everything inside her went still, except the blood rushing to her head and making her dizzy. He topped her by several inches, even with her wearing heels, and his touch was like a brand of hot poker walking over her skin. She could not break the spell he seemed to have woven around her, and right there in the public parking lot of the courthouse, she felt herself melting.

Zane felt the unusual thudding of his heart and the blood beating inside his body like a drum. Her nearness, the feel of her satiny skin beneath his fingers, the very essence of her, the perfume filling his nostrils, all combined and went straight to his head, turning his brain into pure mush. He was going to kiss her. Had to taste those lips, and he knew instinctively that one taste would never be enough. Not likely to be enough. His hand cupped her cheek as he drew nearer to her and could feel the texture of her lips on his.

Kara swayed and would have molded herself against him, except for the sudden burst of laughter from nearby. The spell snapped and dissolved, and with it, the daze that held her in its grip. Mortification at what she had almost allowed did the rest and had her tearing out of his arms.

Without a word, she raced toward the vehicle and, with a lack of control unfamiliar to her, jerked the door open and got in.

He stood there, watching as she peeled out of the parking lot.

Going over to his bike, he dropped down, his limbs still shaking, heart still thundering. "Jesus. Jesus Christ," he whispered feelingly. Dragging his hands through his hair, he fisted his fingers in the strands violently enough to have his scalp burning. The need inside him was burning so hot, he was jumping.

He wanted her, and dammit to hell, that was too tame a term for what he was feeling. He was craving a woman he had just met, and he hated to admit that he had never done that before. He should walk away. Common sense and self-preservation warned him to walk away. She wasn't his bloody type. She had a guy; she had made a point of telling him so.

But damned if he could. His body and his intellect had decided for him. He was sticking. She might not like his damn tattoos, but he wasn't going to stay away.

"Well, Ms. Saunders." He reached for his helmet and dragged it on. "Let the pursuit begin."

*****

She took the sandwich she had brought with her and went to the park. It had always been her go-to place whenever she had no idea how to feel and what to do. So, leaving the vehicle under the towering oak tree, she sat on a bench facing the duck pond and tried eating the sandwich. Ham and cheese with olives and pickles on rye. Her favorite. Only this time, she couldn't drum up the appetite for it.

She had almost let him kiss her. If the person or persons approaching had come by a minute later, she would have locked lips with him. A stranger, a man who wasn't even her type. A man who sported tattoos and rode a bike. A man who was the son of a multibillionaire and who hung out with seedy characters. She felt the immediate shame that she was stereotyping. She didn't know these people, and it was wrong on every level to label them.

But she was a smart, sensible individual. She was good, she thought fiercely. He had called her "buttoned up" or whatever. Nothing was wrong with that. The fact that she wasn't a wild partygoing type wasn't cause for shame.

She had her career and loved the person she was. And that person had almost allowed a complete stranger to kiss her in a public parking lot where other lawyers and court officials parked their vehicles. That's how rumors got started. She wasn't one to court scandals. She avoided them like the plague and, like it or not, she was involved with William.

William! Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back. She had maintained two years of the relationship without even feeling the slightest bit curious and eager to go to bed with him in all that time. And one moment with a stranger, and she had been ready to shuck all of her values.

Tears burned the backs of her eyes and had her pressing her lips together. Well, honey, she mused shakily. This is a lesson learned. Folding up the wrapper on the sandwich, she shoved it into her purse and sat there watching the ducks gliding along before getting to her feet and walking toward her vehicle.

*****

He deliberately stayed away. He had enough to keep him occupied, after all. There was the legal clinic where he put in hours free of cost, much to the immense gratitude of the couple who ran it, and he had decided to take up his parents' pet project and make it his.

It would require a hell of a lot of work, and it was just what he needed to get his mind off her. Not that it was working that well, but at least his mind was occupied. Almost fully.