He growled, the low sound calling out to everything feminine within me as he took advantage of my surprise. With a hard sweep he parted my lips further, dipping past them to slide his tongue along mine. A slow, erotic dance that heated my blood as I kissed him back. I didn’t care where we were, or who was watching. Even that I’d paid for him to accompany me this evening. He’d made it fairly clear before we’d gotten into the car that the job tonight was totally separate…to anything else that might happen.
He nibbled and kissed, sipping from my lips in an erotic banquet that had me thirsting for more. More of his kisses, more of his hard body pressed against mine, more of the stiff cock, preferably not pressed where it currently was, but sliding into me inch by delicious slow in—
“Oh my god—Eloise? What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Pete’s voice broke through the sensual haze, the mixture of fascination and horror managing to reach through the spell Jared had woven around me. Belatedly, I froze as Jared lifted his head. The hint of a smile curved his lips as he brushed a thumb tenderly over my cheek. I couldn’t work out if he’d know Pete was there, or whether he was just pleased with his performance.
Either way, I didn’t care. Didn’t care that he’d kissed me so thoroughly that I’d forgotten totally where we were, or that most of the night’s guest list had seen us. Didn’t care that it wouldn’t have taken much for me to throw caution to the wind and gone for it there and then on the hood of the car.
Instead, all I cared about was the man who held me tightly, his embrace a combination of protective and possessive as he smiled down at me. Amusement flitted across his face as he cocked an eyebrow, his expression easy to read. How far did I want to take this?
Look before you leap. My Nanna’s favourite saying came instantly to mind. Almost immediately the thought was mugged and dragged off into a darkened corner of my mind by temptation. How far did I want to take this, in front of smug-bastard Pete? All the fucking way, baby.
I blinked as though just coming to and smiled as I stroked a finger down the open V of Jared’s shirt. The slight hair on his chest tickled my fingers as I played with the button, threatening to pop it. His expression tightened at my coy look up through my lashes, feral heat flaring in his eyes.
“Down boy, we can play again later. Be nice now,” I murmured, wondering where the hell the smoky-husky voice had come from. I sounded like a cross between Jessica Rabbit and a phone sex-worker.
Jared played along, dropping his head back and closing his eyes for a moment as a shiver wound through his large body. When he looked back at me an amber ring outlined his eyes, the first evidence I’d seen of the other side of his nature. I wanted more. Way more.
“Eloise! Explain yourself!”
The sharp demand brought my head around with a snap. Pete stood just shy of the rear bumper of Jared’s car, his hands on his hips. Pushing forty, he prided himself on keeping in shape. The usual middle-aged spread caused by erratic hours and an on-the-go diet was blunted by his endless workouts. Old taunts about my weight flitted through my mind, all sneered in his somewhat nasal whine. I ignored them. Compared to the lean, mean hunk of man who effortlessly wrapped an arm around my waist as I moved, Pete was nothing more than a vain bully who projected his own failings onto others.
“Explain myself?” My voice dripped ice. Jared chose that moment to lean in and nuzzle along the soft skin of my throat but apart from tilting my head to allow him greater access, I ignored him in favour of glaring at Pete. “Whatever for? It may have escaped your notice, but we’re divorced. I don’t have to explain myself to anyone, much less you.”
“B-b-b… This is an outrage!” he spluttered, his colour rising in ugly red splotches across his neck and cheeks, reaching up under the thinning hair across the top of his head. Red under bleached blond? Not a good combo.
“Oh, I quite agree.” I hid my smile as I made Jared put me down and slid my hand onto his arm again. “You’d have thought they’d have started this thing a little later to give us all time to…ahh, get ready.”
One thing could be said about Pete: he wasn’t unintelligent, or slow on the uptake. His gaze flitted between me and Jared as he drew the conclusion that I wanted him to make; that I’d dragged Jared away from bed to attend.
“Hey babe, can we go inside?” As though he’d read my mind, the werewolf at my side moved closer and slid his arm around my waist, effectively cutting off my view of my spluttering ex. “The quicker we show our faces…the quicker we can leave and I can get you out of those clothes.”