“This sure as hell better be on the up and up,” she said, “or there will be hell to—”

Hugh cupped the back of her head and brought her mouth to his. His lips were dry, frigid and stuck together. They tasted a little salty, like beef jerky.

After a couple of seconds, his lips softened and relaxed. His eyes closed as they made deeper contact. And damn if that didn’t send a rush of warmth to everywhere she was cold. She’d forgotten how the gentle glide of lips could make her entire body feel wanted. Needed. Cherished. She’d wanted a kiss so badly tonight and now it meant more than she ever could have imagined.

He moved his hands down her back to settle them on her hips, and pulled her tighter. She shimmied closer, her breasts meeting his chest while her hands slid down the car and curved around his shoulders.

Her eyes fluttered shut. They settled into a tender kiss, their mouths grazing one another with the lightest, yet most significant touch. The stubble lining his jaw and upper lip was softer than she’d imagined. She liked it, enjoyed the texture that was all Hugh. The feel of him would forever be etched in her memory. And cause an eternity of torment.

Reminding herself this was a cure and not a real kiss, she started making a mental list of all the things she hated. Liver and onions. I hate liver and onions. People who don’t say bless you when you sneeze. I hate those people. Filling my car up with gas. I hate that. Missing the perfect wave. That sucks. Blisters. I hate those bloody things, and I’m feeling one on the bottom of my foot right now. Stupid borrowed shoes. Stupidity. I hate stupidity. And what I’m doing right now is so stupid.

Oh hell…

Hugh parted his lips and hers immediately followed. His tongue swept into her mouth and swirled around in such a delicious way that she forgot about everything she hated. Forgot about what day it was, what year, what name she’d been given. Everything inside her turned pliant, soft, agreeable.

One other man. Tess had only kissed one other man like this. And it was nothing like this. Bliss braided its way through her, explosive and terrifying. Every pain she’d endured over the years disappeared from memory. Their mouths made a seamless, perfect fit. Every tilt, every breath, every tangle of their tongues was as if she’d found where she belonged.

She pressed her mouth firmer to his, the tenderness they’d started with giving way to a more heated connection. She felt him gaining strength, could sense it in the pressure he kissed her with, but also in the way his body perked up. His slouch vanished, his chest puffed out, his grip on her tightened. And his very hard length pressed against her.

Tess almost jerked away, his arousal bringing her too close to losing the thread of control she had left. But the satisfaction, the knowledge that she had turned him on when he’d been so close to death, rendered her unable to stop. She opened her eyes and saw color had returned to his cheeks, sweat no longer dotted his forehead.

The kiss was working.

A smile spread across her lips, and his eyes flew open. The cloudless sky blue hue was back. Passion and recklessness too. They gazed at one another for a few more seconds before her eyelids closed, catapulting her back to the euphoric state of saving his life.

She moved one hand to the back of his head where her fingers ran through the soft hair curling just above his jacket collar. Her other hand moved down to his chest, where she spread her palm to feel the strong beat of his heart.

He kissed her harder, faster, deeper. His mouth opened wider and his tongue grew more playful, the tip of it moving back and forth around the inside of her lips, then slipping in deeper. Tess imagined his mouth attached to other parts of her body and tingles like fireworks on the Fourth of July settled deep in her belly. Lower.

She wanted to grind against him, wanted to feel his rock hard length more intimately, to hell with whoever was watching. But she fought it, kept her physical wants in check. It had been too long since she’d had sex. Her body’s betrayal stemmed from lack of intimacy, she told herself. It had absolutely nothing to do with Hugh.

Nothing to do with his sexy mouth taking hers like it was the last kiss he’d ever have.

His hands roamed possessively up her back, around to her sides, and grazed the outside swell of her breasts. A moan escaped his lips, a turned-on gasp left hers. The kiss grew more fevered, more urgent. His hands continued to her thighs. The dress had crept up further and tingles hot and potent pulsed at the juncture there. Sweet sensations and anticipation as to his next move overwhelmed her.

And then before she was ready—before she was willing—he pulled away.

He fixed her with appreciative eyes before a warm, closed mouth smile spread across his well-kissed lips.

Her breathing ragged, and the job done, she quickly regained her composure lest anyone see how the kiss had affected her. “You look better.”

“I feel better.”

“Guess I’m a good dose of medicine.”

A gulp made its way down his throat. “Nothing’s more dangerous than a cure with curves.”

Not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, she rose to her feet, making sure her dress was back in place. Then she willed herself to look away from the man who’d just made her feel more in two minutes than she had in twenty-eight years.

“I think it worked,” she called across the street to Dane. She was glad he hadn’t been hovering while they kissed, even though it wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“Looks like it,” he answered, crossing the road and nodding toward Hugh.

Tess turned to find him standing. He looked a hundred times better with only a hint of discomfort evident in his furrowed brows. He ran a hand through his hair.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Ever again. She needed to forget that kiss. Forget how hellishly good it felt. Now that she’d saved him, she had a job to do.

“You good to go?” Dane asked. “No lightheadedness, nausea?”

She put her hands on her hips. “You mean after all that sucking face, you still don’t feel good?”

“No worries,” he answered, “I feel good, but I’ll feel even better in an hour or two.” His gaze took her in from head to toe before he moved his eyes to Dane. “What did you find out?”

“Don’t you want to send her on her way first?”

“I am standing right here. And I think I just proved that you don’t have to worry about talking in front of me.” She spoke to Dane, afraid to look at Hugh after the perusal he just gave her. Was he looking at her that way because he wanted her with him in an hour or two? She shivered at the thought.

Dane ignored her, choosing to raise his eyebrows at Hugh.

“I’ll leave when I’m ready,” she added, wanting to make a deal with Hugh before she went anywhere. The muscles in her back tensed and she blinked furiously. She didn’t think it was possible, but the situation bloomed a weird sensation of wanting to belong inside her.

“And when will that be?” Dane asked in a boorish tone.

Hugh stepped by her side. “That’s enough, Dane.” His firm voice left no room for a retort.

She treated Dane to another one of her winning smiles while the rest of her body relaxed. Hugh’s show of camaraderie drained the blood from Dane’s face. The victory caused a flutter in her chest.

But then Hugh said, “We had a deal.” And putting an arm around her, he steered her to the car door. “It’s time for you to go.”

“Oh come on,” she said, wiggling out of his grasp. “I think that deal is null and void now. You owe me.”

He opened her door and nudged her toward the driver’s seat before relaxing his arm over the window. “What do you want?”

Tess shrugged and tried to ignore their close proximity. “Just thought I’d throw out an arrangement that I think will benefit both of us.” She looked over his shoulder to Dane. “I’d like it to be private, though,” she whispered, hoping Dane wasn’t using his keen sense of hearing.