Forbidden Fantasies Bundle(119)
“I can’t understand why. But I was thinking while you were in the bathroom. A few days ago when I was driving out near the Chesapeake, getting lost, there was an SUV, very similar to that one tonight, and I thought it might be following me. But I’m sure it was just a coincidence. I can’t imagine why anyone would be interested in me.”
Jed studied her for a moment. He didn’t believe in coincidences. He recalled his gut feeling that someone had followed him the night of Sierra and Ryder’s engagement party. He hadn’t gotten a good look at the vehicle, but it could have been an SUV. When Zoë saw it, could it have been prowling the roads trying to find the location of Ryder’s houseboat? Or had it been following her?
“At any rate, you shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened tonight.” She paused, then added, “I might have followed you even if you hadn’t asked.”
Jed stared at her. She shouldn’t be able to thrill him by saying something like that. She shouldn’t be able to make him ache with need just by sitting there, looking at him. But he couldn’t prevent himself from asking, “Why would you have followed me? I’m a stranger.”
“I told you before. I felt this connection from the first minute our eyes met,” she said, looking slightly uncomfortable with her admission.
He forced himself to lean back against the sofa cushions. He willed his muscles to relax. “I felt the same thing.”
“Really?” She leaned forward. “Does it happen to you often?”
“No. There’s only been one woman who’s affected me this way. You.”
“Oh.” Her hand trembled again, and she set the snifter down on the table with an audible click. “I see.”
“How about you? Does this instant attraction happen to you often?” he asked.
Zoë folded her hands together in her lap. “Only twice. With you and that one other man.”
“The one you mentioned before, the one you were involved with?”
“Yes. But even with him, I didn’t ask him to kiss me the first time we met.”
Another thrill moved through him. She had to be talking about him. But he had to know. “What’s this other man like?”
She frowned a little in an expression he’d learned was habitual when she was thinking. “You’re very like him in height and weight. There’s even a strong resemblance in your facial features especially in the line of your jaw. Coloring and body language aside, you could probably pass for brothers. But beneath the surface, you’re very different.”
“Different how?” Jed asked. He was curious now and a little amused that he was quizzing her about his competition—which was himself.
“He’s very laid-back, but I think that’s partially a facade. He reminds me of a big jungle cat sleeping in the sun. He looks lazy and harmless enough, but I have a feeling he can be fast and lethal when he wants to. Do you know what I mean?”
He nodded. He knew exactly what she meant, and he was impressed that she’d seen him that clearly.
“He also tends to view life through a—” she paused to search for a word “—lens of irony. That makes him seem cynical at times.”
Jed Calhoun to a tee, he thought. “And how do you see me?”
“I haven’t known you as long. But I sense that you’re much more serious. You’re smoother, more sophisticated and very intense. One of my friends at the Blue Pepper thinks you’re a prime candidate to become the next James Bond.”
His smile was wry. “Hardly. And this other man, does he remind you of James Bond?”
After a moment, Zoë shook her head. “He’s a little harder to categorize.”
Jed wasn’t sure how he felt about that description.
“There’s a hint of danger there, but other than that he’s not really like you at all.”
“And yet you were very attracted to him?”
“Yes.”
An odd mix of pleasure and something else moved through him. Was it jealousy he was feeling because she’d been attracted to him both as himself and disguised as Ethan Blair? That was ridiculous.
But the words were out before he could prevent them. “Are you attracted to me just as much as you were to this other man?”
“Yes.”
One word. Just that one word had all of his earlier resolutions—not to kiss her again, to sleep on one of the sofas—disappearing like vapors. There would be a price to pay for this. But he’d gladly pay it.
He rose and went to her, took her hands and drew her up off the sofa. Jed had never given her much in the way of words. So this time he’d be the one to ask. “Zoë, would you let me make love to you?”