mind?” and tried to shoo him away from her car. From the corner of her eye
she saw Adelaide, Lila, and Nate approaching them.
“Who exactly is Griffin, anyway?” he asked her.
Ellie hid her
surprise. Adelaide knew Griffin was her brother. Guess she didn’t pass that
on to Alex, Ellie thought. Her stubborn streak kicked in. Well, after
the silent treatment the last few weeks, I’m not in the mood to enlighten him.
“I really am
in a hurry, Alex,” Ellie answered brusquely. Why on Earth did he decide that
the one moment he wanted to talk to her was the one moment she couldn’t? And
why talk to her about this ? She risked touching him, pushing against him
to try to move him out of the way. She was tempted to let her hand linger on
his arm. It felt warm and rock hard. And touching him at all just seemed so
intimate, so right. A strange yearning settled somewhere in her heart.
Alex stared
into her eyes so intently, Ellie felt almost trapped. She couldn’t turn away
even if she’d wanted to. Her breathing accelerated along with her heart rate.
It was the kind of look a man gave a woman he wanted. Knowing. Sensual .
Slowly, he obligingly scooted aside. Still caught in his gaze, Ellie just
managed to yank open her car door in an awkward motion and flop in. Turning the
key, she revved the engine. Alex signaled her to roll down the window, and she
took a deep breath and complied.
He leaned down
as if to speak with her, but then he suddenly popped his head through the
window and placed a light kiss on her unsuspecting lips. Ellie gave a little
squeak of surprise and stared at him with wide, astonished eyes.
With a sexy
grin he said, “Just giving you one more thing to think about.” And with that
mystifying comment, he turned and walked over to where his siblings were
waiting.
Ellie sat for
a moment, gathering her chaotic thoughts and emotions. Holy crap, he just
kissed me ! Quickly followed by, Who the hell does he think he is?
Sheesh! The guy completely ignores me for six weeks, and then
wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am !
Finally it
registered that maybe Alex Jenner wasn’t indifferent to her after all, and a
bubbling excitement fizzed through her entire system, threatening to explode.
But Ellie
squashed her growing excitement. One kiss didn’t make him any less of a jerk.
And as much as her body wanted to focus on that amazing moment, Ellie had more
pressing matters to deal with at the moment. She put her car in gear, and with
a slightly dazed wave in the general direction of her friends, she headed home.
*****
Alex watched
Ellie as she drove away. He didn’t even hide it now. Adelaide, Lila, and Nate
had all seen him kiss their friend. Adelaide smiled serenely, while Nate and
Lila gave him incredulous looks.
“What the heck
was that all about?” Nate demanded.
Alex just
shrugged. Mentally, he swung back and forth between a crazy satisfaction at
that kiss, and feeling like a complete fool. He’d been thinking about her
almost non-stop for weeks. He’d blown off their runs, and then stopped contacting
her completely. He’d thought he was doing the right thing. Saving her from…
from a lot of things, not the least of which was the possible danger they were
in. He didn’t blame her for being mad at him at all. But then she’d basically
given him the cold shoulder, her mind obviously elsewhere. And he’d thought, I’ll
give her something to think about , and something had snapped. He’d wanted
her focus solely on him, and he’d kissed her.
Jeez, Alex,
you’re such a jerk , he mentally berated himself. But as he thought more
about it, something in his head clicked. It’d been brief, but he had felt her respond, had seen something spark in her eyes, confirming his hope
that she wasn’t as indifferent to him as she seemed. He didn’t think he could
ever forget the look she’d given him afterward. Part fury, part stunned
surprise, part sparkling need. He’d seen the mutual desire in her
she saw Adelaide, Lila, and Nate approaching them.
“Who exactly is Griffin, anyway?” he asked her.
Ellie hid her
surprise. Adelaide knew Griffin was her brother. Guess she didn’t pass that
on to Alex, Ellie thought. Her stubborn streak kicked in. Well, after
the silent treatment the last few weeks, I’m not in the mood to enlighten him.
“I really am
in a hurry, Alex,” Ellie answered brusquely. Why on Earth did he decide that
the one moment he wanted to talk to her was the one moment she couldn’t? And
why talk to her about this ? She risked touching him, pushing against him
to try to move him out of the way. She was tempted to let her hand linger on
his arm. It felt warm and rock hard. And touching him at all just seemed so
intimate, so right. A strange yearning settled somewhere in her heart.
Alex stared
into her eyes so intently, Ellie felt almost trapped. She couldn’t turn away
even if she’d wanted to. Her breathing accelerated along with her heart rate.
It was the kind of look a man gave a woman he wanted. Knowing. Sensual .
Slowly, he obligingly scooted aside. Still caught in his gaze, Ellie just
managed to yank open her car door in an awkward motion and flop in. Turning the
key, she revved the engine. Alex signaled her to roll down the window, and she
took a deep breath and complied.
He leaned down
as if to speak with her, but then he suddenly popped his head through the
window and placed a light kiss on her unsuspecting lips. Ellie gave a little
squeak of surprise and stared at him with wide, astonished eyes.
With a sexy
grin he said, “Just giving you one more thing to think about.” And with that
mystifying comment, he turned and walked over to where his siblings were
waiting.
Ellie sat for
a moment, gathering her chaotic thoughts and emotions. Holy crap, he just
kissed me ! Quickly followed by, Who the hell does he think he is?
Sheesh! The guy completely ignores me for six weeks, and then
wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am !
Finally it
registered that maybe Alex Jenner wasn’t indifferent to her after all, and a
bubbling excitement fizzed through her entire system, threatening to explode.
But Ellie
squashed her growing excitement. One kiss didn’t make him any less of a jerk.
And as much as her body wanted to focus on that amazing moment, Ellie had more
pressing matters to deal with at the moment. She put her car in gear, and with
a slightly dazed wave in the general direction of her friends, she headed home.
*****
Alex watched
Ellie as she drove away. He didn’t even hide it now. Adelaide, Lila, and Nate
had all seen him kiss their friend. Adelaide smiled serenely, while Nate and
Lila gave him incredulous looks.
“What the heck
was that all about?” Nate demanded.
Alex just
shrugged. Mentally, he swung back and forth between a crazy satisfaction at
that kiss, and feeling like a complete fool. He’d been thinking about her
almost non-stop for weeks. He’d blown off their runs, and then stopped contacting
her completely. He’d thought he was doing the right thing. Saving her from…
from a lot of things, not the least of which was the possible danger they were
in. He didn’t blame her for being mad at him at all. But then she’d basically
given him the cold shoulder, her mind obviously elsewhere. And he’d thought, I’ll
give her something to think about , and something had snapped. He’d wanted
her focus solely on him, and he’d kissed her.
Jeez, Alex,
you’re such a jerk , he mentally berated himself. But as he thought more
about it, something in his head clicked. It’d been brief, but he had felt her respond, had seen something spark in her eyes, confirming his hope
that she wasn’t as indifferent to him as she seemed. He didn’t think he could
ever forget the look she’d given him afterward. Part fury, part stunned
surprise, part sparkling need. He’d seen the mutual desire in her
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