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"Where is Nathan?" My heart felt as if it would jump out of my throat and I swallowed hard. Why was this happening to me?

"Something came up that needed his attention so I offered to take you out. He sends his apologies."

"You don't have to trouble yourself." I bit my lip nervously and his eyes followed that action.

The corners of his lips tilted up in a smirk. "Are you scared of being alone with me?"

I held his gaze with all the strength I had. I wasn't going to show him that he affected me in ways that scared the hell out of me. "Why would I be?"

"Well, considering what happened that night maybe you're scared."

Jerk. I flushed in embarrassment. He was right, of course. I had thrown myself at him so shamelessly.

I took a deep breath. I needed to get it over with quickly. "Look, I...I want to apologize."

He raised one eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"I shouldn't have kissed you. I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing. I would never kiss you in my right mind. ...." I trailed off when I saw the smirk on his face. "What's so funny?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Is that an apology or an insult?"

"Take it however you want. That's the only thing you're getting from me." I tried to control my anger but couldn't.

"You were ready to give a lot more that night." He drawled lazily as his smirk deepened.

Blood rushed to my face but I needed to know. "Did we do anything else?"

He stared at me like I was crazy. "What?"

"I don't remember much." I muttered impatiently.

"We only kissed, Kate." His voice held amusement as he studied me with those blue eyes.

"Oh thank God."

He thrust his hands deep in his pockets and flashed me that trademark smirk again. "If I wanted to I could have done more, you know."

I couldn't believe his arrogance. "Have you always been such a conceited jerk?"

"Do you always throw yourself at men when you're drunk?"

I stared at him incredulously. Did he think I was some kind of a tramp?

"So it has only been me." He correctly interpreted the expression on my face. "I'm flattered." His tone was mocking, goading me into fury.

"Listen you pompous jerk, I wouldn't have even touched you if I wasn't drunk." I bit out furiously. "Even if you were the last man on earth I wouldn't go near you."

"Is that so?" His voice was dangerously low.

"I was wasted and thought you were my fiancé. I was thinking of him the whole time." A lie necessary to bring his sky-high ego down a notch or two. "Do you really think I would kiss you in my right mind?" I deliberately kept my tone insulting.

His eyes narrowed instantly, a muscle jumping in his jaw. My breathe caught at the sudden change in his demeanor. He looked pissed off, so intimidating and dangerous, his blue eyes turning icy in a matter of seconds.

He suddenly took a step towards me and instinctively I took two steps back. Fear trickled down my spine as I stared at his furious face. He looked as if he wanted to punch something. Or someone.

He continued moving towards me until my back hit the wall. I caught a whiff of his cologne, and my senses filled with the intoxicatingly male scent.

"What...what are you doing?" I stammered pressing my body further into the wall.

"Calling your bluff."

His hand wrapped around my nape and pulled me against him. My eyes widened in shock as our bodies touched. Before I could say or do anything he crushed his mouth to mine.

My breath caught in my throat as his lips moved roughly over mine. His teeth captured my lower lip and when I gasped in shocked pleasure, he expertly slid his tongue inside.

He tasted like fresh peppermint as though he had just chewed a piece of gum. I knew I should have pushed him away, but my brain stopped functioning completely. All I could do was feel.

He kissed me like he owned me. There was nothing gentle about it. It was a harsh, punishing kiss that was terrifying in its intensity, sending waves of passion spreading through my body.

He had one hand fisted in my hair, anchoring me as he ravaged my mouth. The other and the other arm wrapped around my waist tightly. When I felt the hard ridge of his arousal, I couldn't prevent the moan that rose in my throat. Heat pooled between my legs and I was helpless to resist him anymore.

I had no control over what happened next. My arms moved of their own accord around his neck and I arched into him, kissing him back. With a groan, he pushed me against the wall roughly and ground his hardness into me. It was sheer excruciating pleasure.

But then suddenly he pulled back from me and it was over as soon as it had begun. If it hadn't been for the support of the wall I'd have stumbled backwards.

I blinked, disoriented by the abrupt loss of his touch. My heart was pounding in my ears and I shook my head to clear the hazy desire clouding it.

"Were you thinking of him just now?" He bit out his eyes flashing.

The words brought me crashing back to reality and I felt as if I had been doused in cold water. Shame filled me as I realized what I had just done, what I had allowed him to do.

The arrogant smirk on his face triggered something in me that I didn't know existed. The guilt and self-hate I was feeling morphed into anger within a split second, and without thinking, I drew my hand back and slapped him hard across the face.

The sound echoed like a gunshot in the silent room. His head went back reeling with the force of it. Pain shot up my wrist, my palm stinging.

His expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief and he stared at me. When I saw the red imprint of my fingers on his cheek, I felt my gut churn. My anger evaporated as fast as it came and I stared back, horrified at my violent outburst.

"I'm...I'm sorry." I swallowed hard, half fearful of how he was going to react.

He was silent for a few seconds then flexed his jaw. "I suppose I deserved that." A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "You pack one mean slap. I think I have a mild concussion."

I had expected him to be furious and his reaction completely stunned me. He further shocked me when he reached out and took my hand, turning it over to examine my palm.

"Does it hurt?" He gently ran his fingers over my palm. Goosebumps erupted on the length of my arm. I couldn't understand him. I had hit him but he seemed more concerned about my hand.

"No." I had put all of my strength behind the slap and my palm was still stinging but I didn't want to admit it. Pulling my hand away from his grip, I wrapped my arms around myself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you. I wasn't thinking.

"Apology accepted." He looked more than a little amused. Then his expression turned serious. "And I shouldn't have kissed you."

"Is that an apology?" I asked lightly, glad that the tension between us had faded away.

"I'm not sorry I kissed you." When my eyes widened, he flashed a quick sexy grin. "I'm just saying I shouldn't have." He glanced at the black sports Rolex on his wrist. "I guess we'd better get going if we want to make the dinner reservation."

I stared at him. Did he expect me to go to dinner with him after what just happened?

He understood what I was thinking. "Don't make such a big deal out of a simple kiss, Kate. It was nothing. Let's just forget about it and move on. Besides, I promised Nathan I'd take you out to dinner."

He was right. The kiss meant nothing. My response to him meant nothing. Any sane woman would have responded to him like I did. His kiss could have brought the dead alive, he was that good. It didn't mean I was attracted to him or anything.

When I didn't answer, he sighed. "You're thinking too much. It's just dinner."

It was just dinner. I knew that. But he was my ex-boyfriend. The one who had played with my heart and broken it without a second's thought. Although, on silent mutual agreement, we both seemed to be doing a good job of ignoring our past and pretending we didn't part ways on bitter terms six years ago.

Besides, as a woman engaged to another man, the last thing I should be doing was fraternizing with an ex. Peter's face flashed in my mind and guilt settled in the pit of my stomach. Not only had I kissed Jason twice now, but here I was thinking of spending an evening with him.

"I don't think this is such a good idea." I blurted out, a trace of anxiousness in my voice.

Jason was silent for a moment, studying me intensely. "Is it because of our history?"

"Partly." Finally, we were acknowledging the elephant in the room. "You're my ex-boyfriend. It's not right to go out with you when I'm engaged to another man."

"I'm not asking you out on a date, Kate."

"I know that."

"So, being engaged means you can't enjoy dinner with a friend?"

That caught me off guard. Did he think of me as a friend? "I didn't know we were friends."

"We could be if you want to. At least for tonight." A hint of a smile touched his lips. "I never thought I'd see you again but here we are. And I think it would be nice to catch up, that's all."

His eyes showed sincerity and despite my reservations, I found myself considering it. Earlier, I had been looking forward to going out with Nathan so I could catch up with him. And the only difference between Jason and Nathan was that I used to date Jason. I could forget about that part and go with Jason like I would have done with Nathan.

He must have known what I was thinking because he smiled lazily. "And if it helps, I promise to behave."

In spite of myself, I found myself suppressing a smile in response to the wicked, teasing glance he slanted me. It was hard to stay aloof when he was being playful. "Yeah, right. Like you know how."

"Of course, I do. I can be the perfect gentleman." He grinned. "So, what do you say?"

There were still doubts but I found myself agreeing. "Okay, but I have two conditions."

"And those are?"

"You behave."

"I already promised, didn't I? And I keep my word, Kate."

"You better."

"Cross my heart." He smirked, clearly amused. "What's the second one?"

"We are not going to talk about our past."

"Deal." He agreed without hesitation and gave a quick glance at his watch and gestured towards the door. "Shall we?"

He had a point. It would be nice to catch up, as friends. Besides, the last thing I wanted was to give him the impression that I was affected by the kiss.

"Okay."

"Great. Let's go then." He smiled, flashing dimples on both cheeks and my heart gave a flutter. He really had a killer smile. I doubted there was any woman who could think clearly when he was smiling at them like that. And worse, he was definitely aware of it.