First Time For Everything

“Just the part where your carefully planned flash mob was ruined by a dance move.” His lips twitched, as if suppressing a grin. “Perhaps next time you’ll plan your routine more carefully.”

The hint of restrained humor was annoying, and she said, “And perhaps Officer Brown will learn to lighten up a little?”

His eyebrows shot higher as the gray eyes grew dark, holding her in their power as he leaned closer. She’d obviously stepped on a nerve.

“I can assure you, Ms. Lee. When it comes to people who break the law—” his voice was deadly soft, and his proximity brought her attraction back in full force “—both Officer Brown and I take our jobs very seriously.”

Trapped by the force of his gaze, Jax’s heart rapped harder beneath her ribs. Getting beyond the thickly fringed, hypnotizing eyes was difficult, but she finally allowed her gaze to skim down the angular planes of his face, landing on his mouth.

Oh, great…he had lips just the way she liked them. Full. Sensual. The kind that could kiss a girl senseless and make her forget she’d sworn off men forever. Or at least until she found one who didn’t think she was certifiable.

And Superman here, with the eyes of steel, clearly wasn’t the type.

As their staring contest continued, another heated flush slowly crept up her face, but she refused to feel ashamed. Because regret would keep her tethered to the past, unable to move on.

Relying on an innocent expression to tone down her statement, she said, “Are you lecturing me?” She lightly scrunched up her face, as if she didn’t already know the answer. “Because this is beginning to feel a lot like a lecture.”

Amazingly, his lips twitched. “Not at all. But since you now have several charges filed against you requiring your attention, you should learn to follow advice.”

Advice? Pressing her lips together, Jax turned her gaze to the window, drumming her fingers against the leather seat. Advice seemed a tame description for 007’s fetish for control. Not to mention those disturbing shoulders that were so broad you’d need a map to kiss your way from one side to the other…

Shoulders currently encased in a tuxedo—a blatant reminder of how he’d sacrificed his plans to help her out, and here she was taking issue with his every word. She curled her hand into a fist.

Oh, perfect—guilt. Just what she didn’t need.

She let out a sigh. “Look, I know you had plans.” She took in the strong, stubble-free jaw and the crisp, horizontal precision of his black bow tie. “And I’m sorry I ruined your evening.”

The look he gave her revealed little. “That’s debatable.”

“Debatable I’m sorry or that I ruined your evening?”

His forehead crinkled in suppressed humor. “I can’t attest to your capacity for remorse. But rest assured…” He paused before going on, the lines fading from his brow. “It was a dinner function I was happy to miss.”

“Then why were you going?”

His tone grew vague, as if briefly stumped by the question. “Responsibilities, Ms. Lee.”

Curious, Jax paused. The air conditioner kicked on, and cold air hit. Her tank top and cutoffs, perfect for a flash dance mob under the Florida sun, now left her feeling exposed. And next to the sinfully sexy lawyer and his limousine of luxury, she felt positively scruffy. Tugging on her frayed hem, she tried to cover more skin. It was hopeless, so Jax resorted to rubbing her arms to overcome the chill.

Blake glanced at her and then flipped the AC switch, cutting off the blast of air. “Next time you plan on risking arrest, maybe you should choose a more suitable outfit.”

She suppressed a groan. “Can we just agree it wasn’t my finest moment and leave it at that?”

“Since I’ve just met you, I’ll have to take you at your word.” His gaze drifted down to her chest, and the everpresent tension expanded to a level that made the air crackle like the night sky over Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Heat filled her gut as her heart thumped loudly in response, and she prayed her body wouldn’t betray her attraction.

He lifted his hand to point at her tank top. “And you still have some mud from that less-than-fine moment stuck to Paul McCartney’s face.”

Startled, Jax glanced down. A light brown streak was smeared across her tank top emblazoned with the Fab Four. Paul’s forehead covered her left breast and was smudged in a golden-brown color. Humiliation flared as she repeatedly swiped at the spot with trembling fingers, her bracelets tinkling. She knew Blake was watching her, and the tight knot of desire grew. Until her breasts gave her up, the tips pebbling.

“I’m afraid you’re only making it worse,” he said, his rumbling voice tinged with an unidentifiable emotion.

She gritted her teeth, and her bracelets continued their musical sound as she rubbed harder. Please, God, let him be referring to the smudge she’d smeared bigger with her efforts.

Blake leaned forward to shed his coat, his white shirt pulling tight against a wall of muscle that short-circuited her brain. Which was the only reason she dumbly let him slip the jacket around her shoulders.

It was warm. Heavy. With a seductive scent of a fresh sea breeze. Enveloping her like an embrace…

Oh, heck, no. “I’m fine, thank you,” she said with a tight smile, and lifted her hand to remove the jacket.

His fingers encircled her wrist, stopping her movements, and the skin-on-skin contact sent a wave of heat up her cheeks.

“Quit being stubborn.” His usual gray gaze had gone slate, his voice low. “You’re cold, so leave it.”

Flickers of electrical energy continued to skitter out in concentric circles from his touch, until Blake released her wrist to unbutton his cuffs and push up his sleeves. As if he wouldn’t allow further debate.

Brother of her new friend or not, his attitude was hard to take.

“Look,” she said as patiently as she could, “I know I’m not the kind of woman you typically associate with, but—”

“You haven’t known me long enough to determine the kind of women I associate with,” he said without looking at her.

Jax let out a quiet grunt. “Time enough to know all I need,” she muttered.

He lifted his gaze to hers. “That’s highly unlikely.”

Every muscle in her body tensed. There it was again. The same überconfident, master-of-all-he-surveyed look. And right then and there she realized that even attempting to keep the peace was no longer an option.

She folded her arms tight across her chest. “Shall I tell you what I think?”

Leaning back, he studied her carefully. “You appear committed to sharing your every thought,” he said, his voice now laced with amusement. “Why stop now?”

His tone pricked a nerve. Without a doubt, it was time she provided him and that God complex of his with a much-needed reality check. Anticipation soaring, Jax twisted in her seat to face him.

“You choose your clothes to impress.” She paused, remembering the restrained impatience as he’d shoved up his sleeves. “Not necessarily because you like them, but as a symbol of your success. To convince the masses you’re good at—” She crinkled her brow. “What exactly do you do?”

“I’m an assistant U.S. attorney.”

“Impressive.” She avoided the cool eyes watching her expectantly. “You wear your hair conservatively short, but leave it longer on top to avoid looking too militant.” Her fingers itched to dig into thick waves and muss them up, just to see what he’d do. “What are you? Thirty? Thirty-one?”

“Thirty-two.”

So nine years, numerous tax brackets and an alternate reality separated them.

She briefly inspected the deliciously bared forearms lined with muscle and sinew, irritated that his lethal sensuality was so utterly intoxicating. She avoided the tall, dark and disturbingly intense type, but this man had the heat rising in her body like hot oil in a lava lamp.

And the reemergence of a sense of humor made him vastly more appealing.

“I’d bet big money those muscles are courtesy of your home gym equipment and not from a love of sports.” From the look on his face, she knew she was right. “You keep in shape as part of your image. The self-discipline thing and all that,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, her bracelets tinkling again.