and anger sparked between them, creating a nearly electric current. It crackled between their bodies, and he noticed her chest was heaving with anger and emotion as she struggled to control her breathing.
“Who’s the pot and who’s the kettle here?” he said, inching even closer, until one of his legs was between hers and their hips grazed. He ignored that, towering over her. “Sounds to me as if you’re projecting your own behavior.”
“I’m not shaking my tail under some guy’s nose and playing the poor-hopeless-girl-can’t-kick-a-ball role to try to get his attention,” she snarled, not backing down one inch.
They were so close, they shared each breath. Fire snapped in her eyes, and her voice shook with emotion.
“No, you’re just playing the creamy filling for a guy sandwich, sitting between two dudes who’ve been taking turns looking down your shirt.”
She gasped audibly, and fisted her hand to punch him. Typical Lulu. Chaz instinctively reacted, reaching up and grabbing her wrist before she could take a swing.
They glared at each other for a loaded moment, and then, somehow, their mouths were together and they were kissing with anger-driven hunger.
Chaz didn’t think, didn’t plan. He acted on tension and instinct, just wanting to shut her up, to win the argument, to taste her and stop the crazy wondering that had been tormenting him since last week when he’d followed her up the stairs to her apartment.
He moaned, or she did, and suddenly her arms were around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair and holding him tight. He dragged her body against his, lifting her off her feet and wrapping his arms around her waist. Their tongues tangled wildly as they gave and took, demanded and received.
The kiss affected him from head to toe. The feel of her soft, curvy form against his drove him slightly mad, and he pushed her up against the wall, loving the way her legs instinctively snaked around his until he was supporting her entire weight. The spandex was slick in his hands, but he had no problem gripping her taut ass, hoisting her even higher until they were lined up at just the perfect angle for wild, intense, up-against-the-wall sex, just as he’d envisioned having on Halloween night.
It made no sense. That night, he’d been with a stranger who’d driven him wild with lust. But this was Lulu, a girl he’d known forever. How could she possibly be even more exciting, more arousing to him than his masked mystery woman?
Kissing Lulu was like leaping willingly into a volcano, aware you might get burned but also sure you’d be in for a hell of a ride when it erupted. It was pure, raw excitement, born out of anger, but quickly exploding into sexual frenzy.
Only the fact that they were erupting in a bar filled with their friends finally brought him to his senses. He ended the kiss, releasing her and staggering back one step. She did the same, her eyes wide and wild, her face red and her whole body quivering. She looked shocked and aroused, but her expression quickly segued into embarrassed confusion.
“What the hell was that?”
He thrust a hand through his hair, which was tangled from her tight grip. “Damn it, Lulu, I didn’t mean...”
“Don’t. Just don’t say another word. This is bad enough.”
“Uh, is there a problem?”
They both jerked their attention to the side and saw Schaefer, who’d just emerged from the men’s room.
“No, there’s no problem,” Lulu insisted.
“I don’t mean to intrude,” the other guy said, “but Lulu, you seem upset.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I could...”
“Back off, Ludwig,” Chaz snapped.
Schaefer’s eyes rounded into circles and his pale face lost what little color it had held. His spine stiffened, and he looked as though he had been slapped. Chaz closed his eyes, dropping his head, feeling like a complete heel. What the hell was it about Lulu that made all his brain cells dry up and blow away?
Lulu had obviously heard. “Ludwig?”
“You dick,” Schaefer said, glaring at Chaz before pushing past them and heading straight to the exit. Chaz knew he owed the guy an apology, since he’d promised not to reveal his real name. But right now, that goofy name, and Schaefer’s swishy diva walkout, relieved the tension and enabled him and Lulu to recover from their crazy kiss.
She broke first, starting to snicker, and then to laugh.
Equally relieved, Chaz joined her in the laughter. “He’s never gonna forgive me.”
“His first name is Ludwig? Seriously?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I think his parents had a Beethoven fetish along with their hippie lifestyle.”
“Poor guy,” Lulu said, leaning back against the wall, her laughter fading until just a faint smile remained. “No wonder he goes by his last name and keeps the first one a secret.”
When a more comfortable silence descended, he murmured, “Lulu, I’m sorry.”
She didn’t look at him, merely nodding. “Me, too. That should definitely never have happened.”
She was a little too quick to agree that they had no business kissing.
Of course, she was right. He’d wanted to get to know her again, but they did have no business kissing, or doing anything else, for that matter. Not only was there the family issue, there was also the fact that Lulu was new to D.C., soaking up every experience she could get, dedicated to her new job and her friends. She was starting the whole single-in-the-city phase, and the last thing she needed would be to get seriously involved with anyone—especially someone who jetted around the world without even telling his loved ones when he was heading into a war zone.
And he just couldn’t see them being involved casually. He might fantasize about taking her home and having steamy sex with her, but considering she lived a few doors down, it sure would make for some awkward mornings after. Not to mention some tense trips home for the holidays. He could just envision the two of them sitting with both their families around a Christmas tree, trying to pretend they hadn’t explored every inch of each other’s bodies with their mouths.
His own went dry at the very thought of it.
No. Not happening.
He had to forget it and move on. She’d been right the first time when she’d shut the door in his face. There was no point in even thinking about that kiss again...even though he was damn sure he would never forget it.
Their stares locked, and Chaz managed to keep his focus strictly on her eyes. He didn’t drop his gaze to those well-kissed lips, or to the amazing body all hugged by spandex.
“Things are way too tangled for us to even consider letting this go anywhere,” she said, reading his mind.
“Yeah. Momentary insanity.”
“Definitely.”
“Never to be repeated.”
“Absolutely not. God, if things got so bad with Sarah and Lawrence, can you imagine how it would be for us?”
He didn’t really appreciate the comparison, considering their siblings had gone through their nonsense as high-schoolers, but he understood the sentiment. “It could be bad” was as far as he was willing to go.
It could also be good. But neither of them was ready to find out.
“So it can’t go anywhere.” A tiny sigh preceded her next comment, and she suddenly looked wistful. “I finally feel like you and I are starting to be friends, Chaz. I don’t want to screw that up.”
That hadn’t exactly been his intention, but he agreed. While they’d known