She shot him a look designed to wither and followed him down the path to the road, walking carefully. ‘You need to think about something else. Oh, Josh!’ She stopped dead, totally distracted as she saw the car parked by her cottage. It was a dark, shimmering blue sports car, long and low and completely decadent. She gave a little purr of appreciation deep in her throat. ‘It’s fantastic.’ Reluctantly dragging her gaze away from the car, she turned to him, her gaze mocking. ‘Trust you to have a car like this. Does it help you pull women?’
‘You think I need help?’ The look he gave her would have melted steel and she felt her insides jump and her stomach curl.
No. He didn’t need any help at all. ‘If you have any success at all in that direction, I’m sure it’s because of the car.’ Her tone was cool and he threw his head back and laughed.
‘You really know how to cut a man down to size. And you still haven’t told me what to do about my evil thoughts.’
She was still admiring the car. ‘You need to think about something else instead.’
‘I’ve tried that.’ He opened the door of the car for her and she slid inside, unable to hold back a little moan of delight as her thighs made contact with the softest leather. For a brief moment she closed her eyes and breathed in, just enjoying the sensation of being in such a fabulous car. Then she felt his breath on her cheek as he leaned forward.
‘I’ve tried thinking about other things.’ His voice was low and seductive. ‘I’ve tried thinking about what would have happened that day if you’d been sleeping naked.’
Her eyes flew open and she stopped admiring his car. ‘Josh!’
Without warning he dropped a brief, tantalising kiss on her mouth and then strolled around the car and slid into the driver’s seat.
For a moment she couldn’t move, shocked by the sensation that exploded through her body. Her tongue flickered out and touched her lower lip and she almost groaned aloud at the tantalising reminder of the way he’d touched her.
What happened to her body when he touched her was nothing short of scary. She was a doctor. She was supposed to know all about these things. But there was nothing in the textbooks about the way she was feeling now.
Her whole body was burning up and she felt her legs tremble as he stretched out a hand and turned the key in the ignition. The engine gave a throaty roar and he turned and gave her a slow smile. ‘Would you still have come running into my garden if you’d been naked, Kat?’
The chemistry between them was so powerful that she felt as though she was suffocating.
‘No!’ Her face felt hot. In fact, her whole body felt hot and she wriggled slightly in her seat. ‘No, I would not. And the nightdress is hardly indecent. It goes all the way to the floor.’
‘And I could see all the way to France through the material,’ he said softly, leaning forward and reaching into the glove compartment for his sunglasses. ‘And the view was amazing.’ His gaze slid to her legs again. ‘As it is now. That is a fantastic dress and I love the fact they were short of material when they made it.’
Her cheeks flaming, she tugged at the hemline but the dress wasn’t designed for trips in sports cars. Her legs were on display to mid-thigh.
She should have worn the green.
Her hands still on the dress, she glared at him. ‘You could look the other way.’
‘I could, that’s true.’ His grin widened and he gave a boyish shrug as he slipped on the shades, obscuring his expression. ‘But why would I want to do a thing like that?’
‘Because it would be the gentlemanly thing to do?’
‘Ah…’ He gave her a sexy lopsided smile that was enough to make her forget her own name. ‘But I’m not a gentleman. Do you want me to put the top up?’
He wore a linen shirt, open at the throat to reveal a hint of bronzed skin, and she found herself staring and staring.
‘Kat?’
‘Sorry?’ Flustered by the way he was looking at her and feeling thoroughly out of her depth, she looked at him blankly. ‘What did you say?’
‘The car,’ he said patiently. ‘It’s a sunny evening but we’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us and having the top down will mess up your hair.’
She frowned. ‘I don’t care about my hair. What’s the point of driving this fabulous car if you don’t have the top down?’
He stared at her for a long moment and then cleared his throat. ‘My sentiments exactly.’
‘So why ask?’
‘It’s just that women usually worry about their hair.’ He seemed to shake himself. ‘Obviously you’re not one of them. Right. Let’s go, then.’
He drove along the coast road, taking the corners like a racing driver, his large hands firm on the wheel, his movements brief and economical as he got the most out of the road and the car.