Born to Be Wild by Donna Kauffman Page B

rocks with only his bare hands for support, skied steep mountains on a surfboard, dived off cliffs into rock-strewn waters, leapt from planes with only a triangular piece of nylon above his head.
    None of it compared to this.
    “I thought you said no funny stuff,” she said, the rough quality of her voice belying her attempt at humor.
    Zach ran a finger over her kiss-swollen lips. They were warm and damp. Damp from him. And just knowing that something of him still clung to her, made him even harder. God he wanted her so bad, he hurt. He was even more disconcerted when she didn’t move away from his touch.
    “What we just did was a lot of things, Dart. But it wasn’t funny.”
    The intensity in his voice, in his eyes, made Dara look away again. She watched the steam on the windows evaporate, wishing her mind would clear as quickly.
    “Dara?”
    His voice was gentler now, yet that only emphasized the vulnerability and fear she thought she’d heard just seconds ago. No, she must have been mistaken. Zach Brogan, scared of a little kiss? Not in this lifetime.
    It was wishful thinking on her part because she was feeling all those things and didn’t want to be alone. Worst of all was the idea that it had been just a little kiss to him. She’d kissed and been kissed by other men since Daniel. Some of them had been passionate. But this.…
    He made her feel wild and reckless, when she was no longer either of those things. No longer drawn to those traits in others. It evoked images in her mind of him jerking her clothes off, his mouth and hands on the rest of her body, of how it would feel when his bare skin touched hers for the first time.
    No. It was no little kiss.
    Praying her thoughts were not being broadcast through her eyes, she took a shallow breath and lifted her gaze to his. “What?”
    “Is dinner still out of the question?”
    She felt a small tug near her heart and smiled. “I really should get back to work.” Was it her imagination, or was there a flash of relief in his eyes? That stung more than she cared to admit.
    She shifted in her seat, taking the steering wheel withone hand and putting the other on the gear shift. “Just give me a call, or have Beaudine call, and set up appointment when you get the rest of the trip planned.”
    Another endless second elapsed, but she refused to look at him again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hand lift, then drop back in his lap. Good, she didn’t want him to touch her now. Did she?
    “I have a trip to bid on and another one scheduled to leave this week. I’m not heading it, so I should have the rest of this together no later than the middle of next week.”
    She merely nodded in response.
    After another pause, he said, “Dara?”
    Please don’t make me look at you again
, she thought desperately.
Just leave and let me regroup here
. Even as she thought it, she turned to face him. “Yes?”
    “Thanks for the ride,” he said sincerely.
    Everything would be okay, she assured herself. This had just been one of those weird moments they’d both quickly forget. She didn’t really want Zach.
    He’ll go back to teasing me and flirting with me as he does with all the women he comes into contact with. And I’ll go back to—I’ll just—
    Zach got out of the car and shut the door then leaned down, and rapped his knuckles once on the closed window. She looked over automatically in time to see him wink before he sauntered across the parking lot.
    The rest of her breath departed on a loud sigh.
Yes, he’ll go on teasing me and flirting with me
, she thought again as she watched him disappear behind another row of cars.
    “And I’ll keep being more turned on than I’ve everbeen in my entire life,” she finished out loud. She could really hate him for that. “I’m an idiot,” she muttered. Kiss or no kiss, she really didn’t want to go back to work, and kiss or no kiss, she really wanted to spend more time with Zach Brogan. A whole lot more time.