Free Courting Jealousy by Kimberly Dean Page A

reached out to toy with a dark tendril of hair that had fallen from her up-do. “The green-eyed monster is taking root.”
    He folded his hand around the nape of her neck, and she stiffened.
    “Easy,” he murmured as he drew her in.
    Noelle’s eyes widened when she realized his intent. Her heart began pitter-pattering against her ribcage, and she drew in a surprised breath.
    It caught when his mouth settled over hers. The contact was soft and slight, a mere brush, yet it made her stomach tighten in an altogether different kind of tangle.
    He paused for a moment and pulled back to look at her. Whatever he saw on her face made him come back with a fuller kiss. Deliberately, he molded their mouths together. His tongue brushed against the seam of her lips, and the tension inside Noelle started to uncoil. He’d been tempting her all night with soft, seemingly polite touches. They’d made her sensitive, aware, and half crazy.
    She kissed him back and, by the time they came up for air, they were both short of breath.
    “That’s better,” he said roughly. He rubbed her nape lightly before catching her hand. “Now, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
    “Me?”
    “Do you see me kissing anyone else?”
    She shook her head to try to clear it. After that lip lock, she could barely remember her name. “There’s not much to tell.”
    “I doubt that.”
    Noelle ran her tongue over her lips. They were still tingling. “I’m a middle school teacher here in DC. I volunteer, and I do yoga. Pretty boring, I know. At least Barry thought so.”
    Dane lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Barry is an idiot.”
    He was looking at her so intently, she couldn’t hold his dark gaze. Shifting on her stiletto heels, she focused on the fish swimming about the aquarium. A tiny one was spying on them from a hole in the coral, with its mouth rounded into a shocked O.
    She touched her hair anxiously. She knew . That kiss!
    The pretend intimacy was way beyond what she’d expected. From the strong fingers gripping her hand to the textures that still played on her lips, she was fully aware of this man. He might be playing the game she’d asked him to play, but her body didn’t know it was a lie. She’d never been attracted to someone so quickly. There was weakness in her knees, heat low in her belly, and an ache in her nipples that she was desperately trying to ignore.
    “Why come here tonight if your ex makes you so uncomfortable?” he asked.
    Barry wasn’t the one making her uncomfortable. And it wasn’t really discomfort. It was awareness. Sensitivity. Arousal.
    “Tonight’s not about him,” she said. “Or… all about him.”
    She took a steadying breath and became more self-conscious when Dane’s gaze dropped to her chest.
    “The Aquamarine Alliance did important work in the village where I taught. I’m here to support them.”
    Her handsome date’s gaze snapped back up to meet hers. “Village?”
    “In Haiti, before I moved back. Clean drinking water is in short supply there.”
    His eyebrows rose. “Teaching… volunteering… You’re far from boring, beautiful.”
    Noelle saw movement out of the corner of her eye as someone approached, but Dane tugged on her hand and led her into the hallway that navigated the aquarium. It was darker inside, and more intimate.
    She tucked that stray strand of hair behind her ear. Beautiful? The compliment hadn’t slipped by her, nor had the gruff way he’d said it.
    He was very good at this game. Maybe too good. She was starting to wonder if the attraction she felt went both ways.
    “Barry works for the Alliance. That’s how we met. It’s how I knew he’d be here tonight,” she rambled.
    She gasped when she was swung into a darkened corner. Moving in close, Dane trapped her against the wall that had been designed to blend in with the scenery behind the glass. Soft blue light glowed from the aquarium beside her, but the tunnel was quiet. Music and chatter from the