The Scale (Martha's Way) (6 page)

With
the door acting as a shelter, Minka took her time going about her business, in
an attempt to regain some self-control. She needed to put an end to this
derailed train before things got carried away. After a few minutes passed and
somewhat poised, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the restroom. She’d politely
thank Jason for being courteous and make a quick getaway. She would go back to
her hotel room and dream of how different her life would be if she were built
like Keely. The reality was men like Jason didn’t seek her out.
 

She
found him leaning against the door with his phone in his hands. When he noticed
her, he slid the phone in his pocket before extending his arm to her.

“I’
m
fine. You don
’t have
to do this.”

He
didn’t respond to her protest. Instead, his gaze came to rest on her face
before moving slowly over her body. Not one to spend hours in front of the mirror,
Minka had grabbed a pair of matchstick jeans with a silk crepe blouse, nothing
extravagant or sexy. If anything, she was aware the jeans were probably a
little too snug around her hips. Feeling uneasy under his watchful eyes, she
crossed her arms over her chest.

“I
want to.” His voice was deep and husky, and he sounded almost aroused. “Are you
going to allow me to buy you another drink?”

Minka
shook her head. “
I don
’t
think I should continue drinking, not if I want to drive back to my hotel.”

“I
can drive you back to the inn,” he offered.

“I’m
not staying at the inn.”

A
look of surprise swept over his handsome features at that revelation but he didn’t
probe. “I can still drive you.”

She
raised an
Are you kidding
me?
eyebrow
at
him, and he smiled. She didn’t trust him. Everything about him screamed bad boy,
avoid him at all costs, and …damn, he was so sexy.

“Do
you drive all the women home for a quickie?” She momentarily closed her eyes in
horror. Did she just say that?

Jason
chuckled with amusement. “Are you offering a quickie?”

A
flush of adrenaline tingled through her body. This gorgeous of a man was openly
flirting with her. She shook her head.

“You’re
not offering a quickie?”

“No.”
She shook her head again, voicing the denial, “I mean yes.” God, her thoughts
were fuzzy, she shook her head again. “God, I mean no.”

“Is
it my beard?” he continued, still in a good-natured voice. “I can shave.” His
voice filled with humor while gently stroking his facial hair. The act forced
Minka to look at his face, his eyes and his lips. Those were kissable lips.

He
leaned in to close the space between them. Everything told her to run because
nothing good could come of this. Yet, she remained standing there, watching
him.

Was
he going to kiss her?

Oh God
. A part of her desperately
wanted him to.

She
ran the tip of her tongue over her lower lip; his eyes followed the movement
and he smiled. Almost as if he read her mind, one long finger came to rest
under her chin to lift her face toward his. In what felt like a slow motion
scene between Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler, he lowered his head toward her
until their lips were inches apart. Minka stood still, frozen, waiting,
yearning.

“I
want to kiss you.”

Chapter Four

“A system is in equilibrium when the forces constituting it are
arranged in such a way as to compensate each other, like the two weights
pulling at the arms of a pair of scales.”

Rudolf Arnheim

“Oh…” Minka whispered. Lost in the closeness of his face to
hers she was unable to come up with any other word but
Oh
. He was too close, his lips inches apart from hers, too
gorgeous. He smelled of water sprinkled with drops of lemon or orange—she
wasn’t sure. Either way, it revitalized her senses, making it laborious to
think clearly.
Yes, kiss me
.

Minka took a slight step back, putting a small distance
between her and Jason. Space was good. It would help her regain some of her
thinking ability.

“I…you.”
Her words stammered.

Okay, so maybe her brain was no longer functioning. Then
again, she reminded herself men didn’t go around telling her they wanted to
kiss her, especially hot, sexy men with piercing blue eyes and tattoos. Nope. Things
like that didn’t happen to her.

Keely?
Always.

Lily? Yes.

But not her.

That reality allowed her to give herself a pass for having
lost any ability to come up with anything more intelligent to say other than
Oh. I. You.

“I really must leave.” There, that was better, change the
topic to something that didn’t involve kissing. If her sudden switch of topic
surprised him, he didn’t let it show. Instead, he flashed her that sweet,
seductive smile again. Her legs wobbled.

A hint of amusement flickered in his eyes, evidence he was
aware of the effect he had on her. How she wished she could dig a hole in which
to bury herself until he disappeared.

“Are you okay?” His voice filled with concern.

“Um…I…”

So she couldn’t articulate anything at the moment. Somehow
standing so close to this man had turned her brain to putty. His gaze never
left her face, which only worsened the situation.

One long finger touched the tip of her nose. “Perhaps a
little tipsy,” he offered lightly. “Where are you staying? I will drive you.”

He thought she was inebriated, but she wasn’t.
At least not from alcohol consumption.
His presence was
doing wonderful, strange things to her head and body.

“I’m not drunk.” There, a complete sentence readily
available. The only words she had been able to verbalize since they’d started
this conversation. Though he didn’t look convinced by them, he didn’t push the
topic. Instead he extended his hand to her. It dawned on Minka he had no
intention of leaving her side. He thought she was drunk.

Okay, she admitted to being a little tipsy but not drunk.
She was sober enough to realize he was breaking their connection and the
kiss
topic was closed.

She placed her hand in his. Rough, scratchy fingers closed
gently around hers. A working man’s hands, she thought. She liked the feel of
him. He ran his thumb over the back of her palm, sending chills dancing up and
down her spine. She was without a doubt intoxicated by his presence.

“I almost believed you.” The words slipped out of her mouth
unexpectedly. Where did this sudden boldness come from? Perhaps she was a little
more than tipsy.

“About what?”

“When you said you wanted to….um…kiss me.” Oh, God, did she
really say that? Who was this person talking? Quiet, insecure Minka would never
utter words like that.

Two large hands cupped her face, brushed away strands of loose
curls acting as a curtain from her eyes, breaking the defensive wall they
served.

“I wasn’t joking. I want to kiss you very much.” He
continued to look at her. “You have the most alluring lips. I wanted to kiss
you last night.” Lust permeated his voice.

The words were so raw, so sexual. No man had ever spoken to
her that way. Everything in her told her to run. Nothing good could come of her
kissing him, much less entertaining the thoughts he was evoking. Yet, here she
was standing by the women’s bathroom with this gorgeous man and he was telling
her things she never thought she would hear from someone of the opposite sex.

He made her feel beautiful, sexy, and lightheaded.

“Oh. Okay.”
Damn it,
Minka!
This time, Jason didn’t laugh or smile. All signs of amusement faded
away and were replaced by desire. She glanced over his lips; they had to be the
most kissable lips she had ever seen.

Please kiss me
,
she wanted to say, but the words would not form. Not only because she wasn’t
the type of person who expressed words like that, but mostly because she wasn’t
quite sure where her need came from.

He studied her. She assumed it was because he thought her
judgment was clouded by alcohol. This time, she didn’t try to hide; instead she
looked fixedly back at him with equal desire.

His head lowered toward hers, closing the space between
them. Her lips immediately parted, waiting for him to take full possession. But
then, he paused and ran his thumb over the bottom of her lip, gently stroking
the outline.

Once again, she was drawn to his eyes, shocked by the raw
sexual desire in them. A stranger who had openly accepted a kiss from another
woman a few hours before, yet here she was allowing herself to believe that he
might actually want her as he claimed. Now was the time to run.

“So beautiful,” he whispered and then the space between them
ceased to exist. His faded jeans brushed against her legs, sending warm,
unfamiliar sensations down her backbone. Before she could analyze the situation
any further and conjure a plan of escape, he was kissing her. Their bodies
touched, making her quiver with an unfamiliar need.

The kiss was so soft at first Minka wondered if that was
what it felt like to be touched by a butterfly. Their lips parted but remained
inches away from each other. Her eyes fluttered open, her gaze locking onto
his.

“So sweet,” he
whispered,
his
breath hot against her face.

Then he kissed her again, a little harder this time,
silently asking for permission to invade her universe. Her lips parted in response,
giving him full access to her world.

She needed to process what was happening. Then again, her
mind was in a fog, any ability to think clearly gone. Therefore, when her mouth
parted to allow his tongue to slide inside, touching her tongue, caressing the
corners of her lips, Minka decided for once she wasn’t going to think too much.

One of his arms wrapped around her waist as his other hand touched
her face. Quickly, his body was gently pushing her back against the wall
adjacent to the bathroom door. He removed his hand from her face and planted them
both on the wall over her head.

The whole thing felt surreal. She was tangled in a
passionate kiss with a complete stranger and it felt good. So good that when
she slipped her arms around his neck and heard him groan deep in his throat,
she couldn’t help but pull him closer.

Her sexual experience was limited, but she’d been kissed
before. Not by many men, but enough to know when a kiss was intimate, to know
that a good kiss was sensual, passionate. As he used his tongue to gently lick
her lips, caressing her tongue and inner mouth, Minka had never been rocked so
hard. It invigorated her senses and made her dizzy at the same time. She wanted
more. Before she could put her thoughts into action, he slowly pulled away.

What just happened? Panic quickly settled.
Oh God!
Did he suddenly realize she
wasn’t the tiny brunette who’d kissed him earlier? Her insecurities crawling to
the surface, Minka quickly crossed her arms over her chest. She closed him out,
preparing herself for the worst.

Then he smiled. That same laid-back, sexy smile she had seen
several times during the night.

* * * *

The situation was equally intense for Jason; it shook his
very core. Having prided himself on always maintaining his composure and
laid-back attitude, he was thrown off-guard by the overwhelming desire to kiss
her; a woman he’d never met until yesterday when she fainted in his arms. Yes,
she was beautiful, but he was accustomed to being with beautiful women. Not one
of them had ever produced such a strong effect.

And all it took for him to unravel was a kiss. Who knew a
kiss could be so explosive and make him seek that deep physical connection that
left one breathless, exhausted and satisfied.

He’d never thought much of the act before. For him, the
physical contact had always been the beginning to something greater.
Sex.

Jason sensed he was slipping. He had kissed many women in
his lifetime. Some good, some decent and some so-so, but the instant his lips
touched hers the connection sent a raging sensation through the crux of his
body. If only for a second, he was taken aback by this unfamiliar feeling. He
chose not to dwell on it. He wasn’t one to over-examine a situation, at least
not anymore. He had made a decision five years ago to live his life based on
impulse, just as this kiss was.

He just didn’t think a kiss could generate so much heat.

And he still wanted to kiss her.

In his thirty years, he had been attracted to a myriad of
women, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had such a strong craving to
pull someone into his arms and kiss her, hard and deep, so that no dictionary
definition would stand a chance to describe how their lungs could be filled
with the sweetest air possible and yet still be breathless.

He exhaled and examined her swollen lips. It took all his
strength to pull away from her because he was no longer looking to get lucky
tonight. He was over that. Though he had to admit he was intrigued by the woman
with the wild curls facing him. But not just on a physical level, he wanted to
find out what made her tick, where the sadness came from, what was inside as
well as outside.