Why did her lips have to be so soft?
Why did she have to taste so darn good?
And why wasn’t she resisting him?
Those questions rammed through Zeke’s mind as his heart banged brutally in his chest at the feel of his mouth on Sheila’s. He pushed those questions and others to the back of his mind as he deepened the kiss, took it to another level—although his senses were telling him that was the last thing he needed to do.
He didn’t heed their advice. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Sheila’s waist to bring her closer to the fit of him as he feasted on her mouth. He knew he wasn’t the only one affected by the kiss when he felt her hardened nipples pressing into his chest. He could tell she hadn’t gotten kissed a lot, at least not to this degree, and she seemed unsure of herself, but he remedied that by taking control. She moaned and he liked the sound of it and definitely like the feel of her plastered against him.
He could go on kissing her for hours … days … months. The very thought gave him pause and he gradually pulled his mouth from hers. Hours, days and months meant an involvement with a woman and he didn’t do involvements. He did casual affairs and nothing more. And the last thing he did was mix business with pleasure.
Sheila’s first coherent thought after Zeke released her lips was that she had never, not even in her wildest dreams, been kissed like that. She still felt tingling in her toes and her entire body; her every limb and muscle felt like pure jelly, which was probably the reason she was quivering like the dickens inside.
She slowly drew air into her lungs, held it a moment before slowly letting it out. She could still taste him on her tongue. How had he gotten so entrenched there? She quickly answered her own question when she remembered how his tongue had taken hold of hers, mated with it and sucked on it.
She muttered a couple colorful expletives under her breath when she gazed up at him. She should not have allowed him to kiss her like that. She’d be the first to admit she had enjoyed it, but still. The eyes staring back at her were dark and heated as if he wanted a repeat performance. She cleared her throat. “Why did you kiss me?”
Why had he kissed her? Zeke asked himself that same question as he took a step back. He needed to put distance between them or else he would be tempted to kiss her again.
“You were talking,” he said, grabbing the first excuse he could think of.
“No, I wasn’t.”
He lifted a brow. Hadn’t she been? He tried to backtrack and recall just what was taking place between them before she’d stormed across the room to get in his face. When he remembered, he shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. You would have said something you regretted and I decided to wipe the words off your lips.”
Sheila frowned. “I suggest that you don’t ever do it again.”
That slow, sexy smile that she’d seen earlier returned, and instead of saying he wouldn’t kiss her again, he crossed his arms over his chest and asked, “So, what brought you inside? You said you were going to wait outside.”
He had changed subjects and she decided to follow his lead. “Your car began beeping loudly as if it was going to blow up or something.”
His smile widened to emphasize the dimples in his cheek. “That’s my fax machine. It’s built into my console in a way that’s not detectable.”
She shook her head. “What are you, a regular James Bond?”
“No. Bond is a secret agent. I’m a private investigator. There’s a big difference.” He glanced at his watch. “If you’re ready, we can leave. My truck is this way.”
“What about the fax that was coming through?”
“I have a fax in the truck as well. It will come in on both.”
“Oh.”
She followed him through a spacious dining room and kitchen that was stylishly decorated. The living room was also fashionably furnished. Definitely more so than hers. “You have a nice home.”
“Thanks, and if you’re talking about the furniture and decorating, I can’t take credit. It was a model home and I bought it as is. I saw it. I liked it. I got it.”
He saw it, he liked it and he got it. She wondered if that was how he operated with everything in his life.
“Where do you want me to put these boxes?” Zeke asked, carrying two under his arms. One contained a baby car seat and the other a baby bath. He hadn’t wanted to tell her, but he thought instead of purchasing just the basics that she’d gotten carried away. The kid would only be with her for two weeks at the most, not two years.
“You can set them down anywhere. I’m going to stay up late tonight putting stuff up.”
After placing the boxes in a corner of the room, he glanced around. The place was small, but it suited her. Her furniture was nice and her two-story home was neat as a pin. He could imagine how it was going to look with baby stuff cluttering it up.
“I’m going to call the hospital again to check on Sunnie.”
He bit down on his lips, forcing back a reminder that she had called the hospital less than an hour ago. And before that, while they had been shopping in Target for all the items on her list, she had called several times then as well. It was a good thing she knew the nurses taking care of the baby, otherwise they would probably consider her a nuisance.
While she was on the phone, he went back outside to get more boxes out of the truck. Although she didn’t live in a gated community, it was in a nice section of town, and he felt good about that. And he noticed she had an alarm system, but he would check the locks on her doors anyway. Until he discovered the identity of the person who’d tried to extort money from Brad, he wasn’t taking any chances. What if the blackmailer tried to kidnap the baby back?
He had made several trips back and forth into the house before Sheila had finally gotten off the phone. He glanced over at her. “Is anything wrong?”
She shook her head. “No. Sunnie awakened for a short while, but she’s gone back to sleep now.”
Hell, he should hope so. He glanced at his watch. It was after nine o’clock. He should know since they’d closed the store. He figured that kid should be asleep by now. Didn’t she have a bedtime?
“Okay, all the boxes are in, what do you need me to do now?”
Sheila glanced over at him, tempted to tell him what he could do was leave. He was unnerving her. He’d done so while they’d been shopping for the baby items. There was something about a good-looking man that could get to a woman each and every time, and she’d gotten her share with him today. Several times while walking down the aisles of the store, they had brushed against each other, and although both had tried downplaying the connection, she’d felt it and knew he’d felt it as well. And he smelled good. Most of the men at the hospital smelled sanitized. She was reminded of a real man’s scent while around him. And then there was that kiss she was trying hard to forget. However, she was finding it difficult to do so each and every time she looked at his lips. His mouth had certainly done a number on her.
She
