Tempting the Negotiator. Zana Bell
sounded breathless, but there was no sign of injury. There was, however, teasing laughter in those green eyes.
“You rat!” Relieved, Sass thumped him hard on his chest, causing him to jackknife. “I was worried, and you played dead on purpose!”
“I didn’t,” he protested. “I was just getting my breath back when you came and ripped off my helmet.”
“Well, I can see you’re fine,” she said, trying to reclaim her dignity in this ridiculous situation. She rose, intending to climb back up to her gun, but her stupid pumps skated on the loose earth and this time it was she who slipped. Jake made a grab for her but it was too late, and they both fell off the ledge, rolling in a tangle down the last part of the slope and landing with a whump at the bottom, Jake plastered on top of her.
For a second both were too taken aback to move, then he pushed himself up on his arms, his weight still pinning her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
She knew she ought to get him off her, but it was as though the scene had been put on pause. Looking into his face, she saw his concern being replaced by something else. The sun behind his head lit his tousled mop like a halo, but there was nothing saintly about the catch in his breath. She felt the thud of her heart, heard the rasping of a cicada close to her left ear. The sun was hot on her shins, but her face was protected by Jake’s shadow. She could smell his sweat and the dust that coated them both. There was also a faint scent from one of the bushes they had crushed.
His weight bore down on her and—no, she was not going to think how wonderful it felt. Slowly his face came down to hers, and she felt his breath on her cheek. She lay absolutely still. It seemed an eternity before his lips reached hers in a soft kiss. Sass closed her eyes and almost dreamily parted her lips. The kiss deepened and the world dissolved around her as his weight, his mouth on hers, invaded all her senses. Then she pushed up, twisting with her hips, and he relaxed, allowing her to roll him so that now she lay on top. Burying her fingers in his hair, she took her turn exploring his mouth, surrendering to glorious, mindless, animal instincts. His hands tightened across her back, and as her hips pressed against his, she became aware of his arousal. Somehow this fact got through to her stupid brain.
This was all wrong.
With a wrench that was almost physically painful she pulled back and slipped sideways off his body. He gave a muffled protest and his hands caught at her, then let her go. She wasn’t sure whether this was out of respect for her wishes or because he, too, was coming to his senses. She was surprised that not knowing bothered her.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” she said.
“No.” He cleared his throat and blinked. The sun must’ve blinded him because he shut his eyes again. “Sorry.”
“It must be the heat or the adrenaline or something. You don’t have to apologize.”
“Not for kissing you. For startling you in the first place.” He smiled, eyes still closed. “Mind you, if I’d known it would provoke such a response, I’d have done it sooner.”
Her heart tripped but she said, “We ought to be getting back to the game.”
“Yeah.” He rolled over and sat up, shaking his head. “Pity we aren’t allowed to take prisoners.” He rose and put out his hand to pull her up, too.
“Why? Who’d be the prisoner, you or me?” Sass asked as she came to her feet, her head not very much lower than his.
“Good question. I’d be happy either way.”
“This doesn’t change anything,” she said. He looked down at her and she looked steadily back at him. “It shouldn’t have happened. I’d appreciate it if you would forget what just took place.” She’d never had her brain say one thing and her treacherous senses something quite different.
He hesitated, eyes narrowed and searching her face. “Would you? Well, if that’s how you want to play it…”
“I don’t mix business with other stuff.”
He nodded. “Other stuff would certainly complicate matters.” His expression and tone had both hardened.
She stuck out her hand as though to bring some professionalism into this absurd moment. “Then we are agreed. This incident never happened.”
“Agreed,” he said, taking her hand. But instead of shaking it, he turned it over to kiss her pulse, which, unforgivably, skipped. “It’s forgotten already.” Swinging his helmet up in one hand and his gun with the other, Jake disappeared into the bush.
Sass was left staring at the trees that had closed about him. Why did she feel desolate? She held her wrist. Had that been a caress or a challenge? One thing she knew for sure, from now on she’d be keeping a close eye on him—and herself.
CHAPTER FIVE
JAKE BARELY SAW SASS the following day. He took the boys to a regional competition, and though he made a rather ungracious offer to include her, she declined, saying she’d rather read the books Rob had lent her. They’d returned home late and saw no sign of her other than the kitchen looking unusually clean and tidy. She must have accepted his invitation to help herself to whatever she fancied. Funny how even when not seeing her, he could somehow sense her presence all around him.
On Monday morning, Jake dropped her off in Whangarimu to do some shopping, while he met Rob and Moana for coffee at a waterfront café. He tried to relax, but when a text message from Sass arrived, his temper, uncertain all morning, ignited.
“Of all the ridiculous—where the hell does she think she is?”
“What’s up?” Rob asked.
“It’s from Miss Pain-in-the. She doesn’t want a lift home, says she’ll find her own way back.” His voice was loaded with sarcasm.
“How?”
“She doesn’t say. She probably thinks she can catch the subway or some daft notion. If she takes a taxi, it’ll cost her a fortune.”
“Text her and find out what she’s planning to do,” Moana suggested.
The answer winged back.
“Oh my God, she’s rented a car! Now I’ll find her in a ditch somewhere after driving on the wrong side of the road. What the hell is she trying to prove?”
Moana shrugged. “I don’t see what the big deal is. She only wants a bit of independence.”
“She’s doing it,” said Jake, “to get at me.”
“Oh, come on. Hiring a car is not a personal insult.” Rob stirred sugar into his coffee. “I don’t see why you’re getting so het up about it.”
“It’s a symbol,” said Jake darkly.
Moana laughed at this, tossing her hair back over her shoulders as she rocked the pram where six-month-old Jacob lay sleeping. “Of what? I don’t get what’s going on between you two. I thought the paintball was supposed to improve international relations, but you were both even frostier on the way home than on the way out. What’s Sass done to rile you so much?”
Rob cocked an eyebrow. “Anything happen at paint-ball that we should know about?”
Jake forced a short laugh. “C’mon, you were there. Where was the opportunity for anything?”
Rob’s eyes narrowed. “Is that an evasion?”
He was rescued from interrogation by Jacob, who woke at that moment with a yell. Jake never lied to Rob, but somehow he couldn’t begin to say what had happened out there. He’d lost his mind temporarily—it was the only explanation. As for the American, he must surely have imagined that momentary, unbridled passion. It couldn’t really be lurking under her impenetrable calm. Jake wasn’t used to being given the brush-off,