4

Well, Jasmine, strut your stuff, he silently challenged as a long rippling mane of very lustrous brown hair rose from the driver's side, the kind of hair that would look good on a pillow. Feel good, too. A tingle of temptation touched his fingertips. He clenched his hands to wipe it away. This was not the time to let a woman get to him. So she had great hair. No big deal.... The workings of the brain under it probably had no appeal at all.

She turned to close the door and lock the car. Collins' attention was galvanized. Leonard hadn't lied. He hadn't even exaggerated. Jasmine Leclaire was a stunner. Helen of Troy came to mind. Here was a face that could definitely launch a thousand ships.

It seemed to simmer with sexual promise, aided by the erotic positioning of a deep pink flower over her right ear.

The tingle in his fingertips moved to his groin and there was nothing physical he could do to remove it. He tried willing it away. Impossible mission. She moved to the back of the car to join up with her sister and the full view of her was enough to blow any willpower right out of Collins head. Even his side vision was affected. Favour Leclaire blurred.

Only jasmine remained in sharp focus.

She had a mesmerizing hour-glass figure, mouth-wateringly lush femininity encased in a slinky little black dress with a short flirty skirt that barely reached mid-thigh on long shapely legs that Chloe thought would feel fantastic wrapped around him. She was tall—tall enough to wear flat black shoes, though they looked like ballet slippers with straps crossed around her ankles. Somehow they were erotic, too, more so than kinky stiletto heels.

His gaze leapt back to her fascinating face as she came nearer. A slight dimple in her chin, a sultry full-lipped mouth, straight nose, angled cheekbones that highlighted the unusual shape of her eyes, more triangular than almond, amber irises, glinting golden between their black frame of thick lashes. Cat's eyes, he thought, but they didn't conjure up the image of some tame domestic cat, more an infinitely dangerous panther, capable of clawing him apart.

And why he should find that idea exciting he didn't know. Didn't think about it. It just was. He fell something dark and primitive stir inside him, wanting to take up the challenge she was beaming at him, wanting her submission to the desires she aroused, wanting to possess every part of her until he'd consumed the power she was exerting over him.

______

A Class-A hunk, Jasmine thought when she first saw Leonard's friend.

Tall, dark and handsome with a body brimful of strong masculinity, his tight black jeans and the short-sleeved, open-necked white shirt showing off his impressive physique. Lots of surface sex appeal, but undoubtedly a bloated male ego to go with it.

"Oh wow, look!" Favour murmured approvingly. "Leonard's friend sure measures up."

Probably worked out at a gym in front of mirrors. Jasmine was determinedly unimpressed, yet as they strolled towards the two men, a flutter started up in the pit of her stomach. It was the way he was looking at her, she argued to herself, assessing her female assets which, unfortunately, were on blatant display in Favour's dress.

She hadn’t eared earlier, even letting Favour put the silly pink flower in her hair. It matched the spray of pink flowers featured on the black fabric of the dress, spreading diagonally from the left shoulder to the hem of the skirt. Favour was into flowers in her hair this summer, using them as accessories to her outfits, but it wasn't Jasmine's style. Not that it mattered tonight, except...she hoped Leonard's friend wasn't seeing it as some flirtatious come-on.

On the other hand, if he wasn't too full of himself, he was certainly attractive enough to flirt with. Though that could be a dangerous play.

She wasn't used to partnering with a powerfully built man, and as she got closer, this man seemed to emanate power, the kind of big male dominant power that suddenly sent weak little quivers down her thighs. Robert was no taller than herself and his physique was on the lean side.

His attraction lay more in a quick silver charm than sheer physical impact. Jasmine had always found eye contact and conversation sexier than actual bodies. All the same, she couldn't stop her eyes from feasting on this guy. He had an undeniable animal magnetism that tugged out a wanton wondering about what it might be like to have sex with him.

Different, she decided.

Not quite civilized.

Dark and intense.

Like his eyes...now that he was looking directly into hers.

Jasmine sucked in a quick breath as her heart skipped into a wild canter. This guy had it in spades. With one searing look he burnt Robert right out of her mind and stamped his own image over the scar. It was a stunning impact.

Jasmine hadn't even begun to recover from it when she heard Leonard start the introductions.

"Favour....Jasmine...this is my friend, Collins Templeton."

Another stunning impact.

She knew him. Or rather, knew of him. Who didn't in the computer graphics business? Collins Templeton was already reaching legendary status for what he had achieved in special effects. He produced amazing stuff. And he was Leonard's friend...her blind date?

Very white teeth hashed a winning smile. "I'm delighted to meet you both. And I wish you a very happy birthday, Favour"

He offered his hand to her first—a perfunctory courtesy as Favour thanked him—just a quick touch— then to Jasmine, who found her hand captured by his for several seconds, making her extremely conscious of the warm flesh-to-flesh contact.

"I appreciate your giving me your company tonight, Jasmine" he said very personally, his voice pitched to a low, deep intimacy.

Her stomach flipped. She'd thought of Collins Templeton as some clever computer nerd with a weird creative genius, occupying some planet of his own. Yet here he was, right in front of her, so dynamically sexy she could scarcely breathe. It was a miracle she found the presence of mind to produce a reply.

"My pleasure." she replied.

His smile was quite dazzling, given the dark tan of his skin. He had a strong nose, strong chin. His eyebrows were straight and low, his eyes deep-set, somehow emphasizing their penetrating power. His hair was a mass of tight, springy black curls which should have had a softening effect, but perversely added a sense of wound-up aggression.