Page 49 of Family Jewels

“I’m escaping. Isn’t that the purpose of your exercise?” I asked, proud of myself for not betraying my wounded pride but eager to get away from him before I made a fool of myself.

“That was good, but not good enough,” he said, his breath blowing my hair against my neck.

My breath came in short pants. Why was this happening? I couldn’t start something with him. Our friendship was important to me, and changing it to something else would risk ruining it. Not to mention he was on the wrong side of the law. Could I really date a criminal? Because no matter how ethical he seemed to be, James Malcolmwasa criminal. Besides, even if I ignored that not-so-minor fact, Skeeter Malcolm didn’t have girlfriends . . .

But didJamesMalcolm?

His hold on me tightened, but it felt different this time. His free hand rested on my hip and slowly slid up my waist. “You’re supposed to break free,” he said in a voice gruffer than before.

I closed my eyes, warring with myself. How had this happened?Whenhad this happened? I knew I should slip away, try to escape, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

His grip around my waist loosened, and his hand slid up over my T-shirt, stopping underneath my breast. I tensed but didn’t stop him.

“What are you doing, Lady?” he asked in a husky tone. “Why aren’t you fighting me?”

Lady. The name fit me more than I cared to admit. The Lady in Black had been both civilized and wild, rule-abiding and lawless. I’d never felt more myself than when I was the Lady. And that scared me. What scared me even more was that James Malcolm was the only one who’d ever understood that.

His breath hit the sensitive part of my neck, and I sucked in a breath of surprise, my body igniting. I became boneless, melting into him as his arms held me up.

“When you charged into this barn with your gun trained on me, you scared me shitless.”

“I was careful,” I said in short pants. “I never would have shot you.”

“I know,” he grunted, then spun me around to face him, his hand snaking around the small of my back to hold me in place. “I was proud because you knew how to handle yourself. But I was scared of what might happen if you tried that with someone more dangerous than me.”

“Is thereanyonemore dangerous than you, James Malcolm?” I half-teased.

His eyes were filled with lust, and I waited for his lips to cover mine. But then something shifted in his eyes. His hold around my back tightened, and he grabbed a handful of my hair, tilting my head back until our eyes met. “You’re supposed to be getting away.”

I couldn’t answer.

He slowly shook his head, an evil grin spreading across his face. “You had it right when you said I was dangerous. You havenoidea.”

“I don’t believe you.”

His face lowered over mine. I was sure he was going to kiss me, but then he abruptly dropped his hold and took two steps back. “You failed.”

I gaped at him in shock. “What?”

His back straightened. “It was a lesson in defending yourself, and you failed.”

“Have you lost your mind?” I demanded.

“No, butyouclearly have.” He walked over to where Muffy still lay beside my gun. She got to her feet, but he ignored her and grabbed the gun. Standing, he held it out to me, butt first. “When you broke free the first time, you should have given me a blow to slow me down. A head butt to my nose or your knee to my groin.”

Shame and embarrassment washed over me, more effective than any cold shower could have been. I took the gun and checked the safety before shoving it down the back of my jeans.

“What about what just happened?” I asked. “You’re telling me that groping me was part of the exercise?”

“It was a lesson on not becoming distracted.”

I clenched my hands into fists at my sides. “You think some random man is going to grope me, and I’mjust going to let him?” I asked in furious disbelief.

The determination in his eyes wavered.

“You think you’re so big and bad, Skeeter Malcolm!” I shouted. “But you’re just as scared as I am!” As I started out of the barn, Muffy jumped to her feet and raced ahead of me.

Thank goodness.