Love Lust by Unknown

Paula’s flavor than mine,” I said, all at once jumping to the conclusions that he might bejumping to as well. Was I gay? Was I with Paula? “What are you up to?” Sounded too casual. Forced. Damn it.
    “Just pulling off the freeway, actually.”
    “Hope you have your earpiece in. I hear it’s a wicked fine if you get stopped talking on your cell phone in Cali.” I was fishing hard.
    “Nah. Besides, I like a little danger.”
    No bite on the “Cali” bait. I scrambled through my muddled thoughts for something brilliant, something sexy to say, but my nerves were too tightly bundled. The fact that Paula kept making smoochy make-out faces at her beer, tongue and all, didn’t help matters. “Sorry about leaving like I did.”
    “Don’t worry. I actually thought you might sneak off.” He paused. I heard an engine rev, some tires chirp. “It’s why I haven’t called you. I figured you needed space. Maybe you follow that whole three-day rule or whatever it is nowadays.”
    “Three-day rule? Only guys do that,”I said and had to wonder why my heart’s tempo went staccato.
“Some.” The engine went quiet.
“I’m at my stop. Can I talk to you in a minute?”
Paula stuck her tongue down the beer’s throat.
“Uh, yeah. Of course,” I said. “Absolutely.”
The line went dead and I dropped my head into my hand. Fuck! I totally blew it. Where the hell had my sexy gone? My cool?
“Straighten up and sit pretty fast, Liv.”
    I looked up at Paula who had her eyes focused past my shoulder. “If you’ve spotted someone you think will interest me, forget it. I don’t want someone else.”
    “Good to know,” a deep, masculine voice said, sending familiar shivers through me.
    I spun in my chair, warm in all the right places, hot in my cheeks. “Justin!”
    “Hey, you.” He sidled up to the high top table, introducing himself to Paula. She gave me that telling look of friends in the know the world over. I could’ve kicked her under the table. “So, what brings you two out to Santa Fe, aside from stalking me?”
    I choked on my gulp of beer, spewing it over the table. I tried to explain, but the words came out as coughing nonsense. My throat burned.
    “I had a job offer and Liv came out with me to check it out,” Paula said.
    “Oh? And? How do you like it?”
    My body grew hyperaware of him. The warmth of his shoulder touching mine. His cologne mingled with the scent of his essence. The way, inch by inch, he seemed to stand closer to me.
“It’s not really my speed. I turned down the offer.”
“It’s an acquired taste. So. When are you heading back?” he directed this at me, his gaze burning with intensity.
Paula shrugged. “Whenever.”
    I licked my lips, tasting the lime from the beer. He watched. Unspoken questions seemed to pass between us. Was this okay that I was here? That he was? Were we scaring each other off? Or, did he get the strange feeling deep inside, too, that this might be meant to happen? Fated.
    I tried to shake off the silly notion. Fate didn’t include digging around for a license in the dark then driving hundreds of miles to accidentally meet. But, he had said on his voicemail that he’d moved. Maybe it could be that he was meant for me.
    Paula cleared her throat, making it obvious Justin and I had been doing little more than staring into each other’s eyes, grinning. “Another round?” she asked.
    Justin and I nodded and the second she left for the bar, his mouth came down on mine. His kiss was fevered and hungry. I thrilled over it. And my last worries about appearing desperate fled to the recesses of my lust-fogged mind. I didn’t care any longer. He was here and he wanted me again and that was all my body and my naïve heart cared about.
    He broke our kiss. “Stay with me,” he said.
    I nodded, my hands finding the edge of his shirt and climbing under the material. His skin was hot and smooth. The muscles twitched under my touch. I kissed him, demandingly, entwining