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  The softness in her voice was enough to bring any man to his knees. She honestly wanted to do a good job with this day camp. You would think she was initiating world peace or something by the amount of importance she was putting on this. Still, Jake was a sucker for those eyes. And that almost pleading tone in her voice. "I know. I need to feed Lucy. She's getting ready to breed, so I need to be sure she's healthy." Feeding Lucy could have waited until tomorrow. He was still stalling.

  Josie let him lead the way into the lab. He watched her brace herself, clinging to the door as he opened it. He flipped on the lights and it took a few seconds for the fluorescents to come on. His lab was a plain lab, but he wished it were cleaner tonight. It was basically tidy yet cluttered with tiny notepads and instruments. And snakes. Ten cages were occupied and five others were stacked one on top of the other in a corner. Three tables lined the three walls opposite the door. One of the tables housed a cage filled with mice.

  "I thought you studied snakes," she finally said.

  "I do."

  "Then why do you have a cage full of mice in here?" She stood in the doorway with her arms folded, still insistent upon not entering the lab.

  "What do you think they eat?" He had noticed her obvious dislike of the place. She hadn't even fully set foot in there yet. He watched as her perfect lips formed an "o". She hadn't realized what snakes ate, he guessed. "You gonna come in or let the bugs in?"

  "I'm sorry." She stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her, keeping one hand on the door.

  "They won't bite," he smiled. "They're in cages."

  "Can they get out?" she widened her eyes as one of the snakes began to rattle.

  "Not unless I let them out," he assured her.

  "Are you sure?"

  "I swear." The sincerity in his voice was meant to calm her nerves, not to gain an icy stare from him. "Come on. I promise you they won't get out. I wouldn't have let you in here if they would."

  "Why is it doing that?" she wrapped her arms around herself tightly.

  "It senses that we're in here. They do that. It's a warning to their enemies. To scare them off."

  "Well, it's working."

  "They won't hurt you," he said softly, leaning against the table that held the offensive snake.

  * * * *

  Josie wanted to believe him, but she was still a little wary. "Okay." She dropped her hand from the door and leaned against the desk that sat there. Thankfully, it was covered with paper and not cages.

  "This is Lucy," he indicated the nearest cage. "She is not aggressive. I've raised her from a baby."

  "How does she eat?" she only gave Lucy a quick glance. She was more concerned with the snake next to Lucy who was still rattling and who was now curled up.

  "Do you really wanna know?"

  She nodded slowly.

  "They strike, using their fangs to paralyze it." He watched her eyes widen.

  "P-paralyze it?" Her fingers were gripping the desk now.

  "Yes. They use it to destroy the victim's blood or to paralyze the nerves," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm going to have to open Lucy's cage to feed her. She's completely harmless."

  "You're not going to take her out, are you?" she asked warily.

  "Not unless you want me to."

  "I don't," she said quickly.

  "Then I won't. I'll even leave the cage closed until I get there with the mouse. I promise, it will be over before you know it." He shot her one last smile before turning his back to head toward the mouse cage. He could practically hear her breathing. She was really scared to death here. A twinge of guilt swept over him. Had he caused her to have such a tremendous fear?

  "I'm going to open it now," he warned. "Do you want to go outside?" She shook her head fiercely, though her fingers were digging in to the desk now.

  Lucy's tongue was already hissing in and out, and it was sliding across the side of the cage.

  "Lucy, honey, I have dinner," he cooed to the snake.

  Josie watched as he tossed the mouse in and then replaced the top of the cage. The snake hadn't as much as looked her direction. It was focusing on the scurrying rodent that was looking for an exit. Within a few seconds, the snake had struck, using its powerful jaws to crush the mouse's head. Well, so it probably crushed its throat, but its attack was precise.

  "See, nothing to it." His voice brought her attention back to him. She looked spellbound, both curious and horrified, at Lucy's attack on the mouse. Lucy was a precise snake, so dinner was an effortless meal. Some of the others would toy with their prey for a while before moving in for the kill. He was thankful they had all been fed last week. He didn't think Josie could handle watching a display such as that.

  "Nothing to it," she repeated, forcing a smile. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "No reason," he shrugged, trying to pretend that the little black dress she wore hadn't been wrecking havoc on his brain all night.

  "Well stop then," she let out a nervous laugh.

  "I can't," he admitted.

  "And why not?" She wrapped her arms around herself again.

  "That dress you're wearing. It's almost see through." He stood to his full height and moved toward her.

  "No, it isn't."

  "Have you seen it on yourself?"

  "That's just your imagination." She lifted her chin, but the defense wasn't enough against the look he sent her way.

  "I have a very vivid imagination. After having you in my arms earlier, I can image all of your curves beneath it. You know, snakes and people are a lot alike." He inched toward her, giving her a chance to bolt past out the door if she wanted to. Instead, she stood her ground, raising her eyes to meet his heated gaze, her cheeks flushing either from embarrassment or interest. He was betting on interest.

  "How's that?" she ran her tongue across her bottom lip.

  "They can sense heat. That's how they capture their prey." His voice was coming from somewhere deep inside. He grew hard at her nearness. That dress combined with those lips was enough to send him over the edge. And he hadn't even tasted her yet. He reached out a hand to capture a stray curl and she moved her face away from him.

  "That doesn't make them like us," she protested, taking a step backward.

  "Oh?" he raised an eyebrow as he closed the distance between them with one final step. He saw the flash of panic in her eyes as her backside made contact with his desk. "I think it does. They feel heat. We feel heat." He placed her hand on his chest. "You feel that?"

  "No."

  "I think you do. I think you could find me with your eyes closed. Blindfolded even." He smiled down at her, the idea sounding very appealing.

  "I don't want to find you."

  "But you have." He pressed against her, watching her eyes widen as the proof of his arousal made contact with her skirt. "Snakes have incredible sensors." He lowered his lips so that they were almost touching hers. "In their jaws. Here," he let his lips brush against hers, unprepared for the shiver the contact sent through his body. "They can feel," he brushed her lips again, "a candle flame," and again, "from thirty feet away."

  Jake groaned audibly as he bit down on her bottom lip, letting his tongue slide inside of her. Snake venom had nothing on Josie. It may be one of the most complex mixtures on earth, but the toxic form of her saliva had entered his bloodstream as surely as if it were a neurotoxin. He couldn't move; he couldn't think. All he could do was take and take. He felt her flush against him, soft in all the places he was hard. Wanting in all the ways he wanted. She met the kiss with the same kind of intensity that he gave. He had intended to trap her, to scare her a little. She had captured him, though. And the kiss rocked him to his soul.

  "I can't do this." She finally broke the spell, pushing away from him a little, panting in an attempt to catch her breath.

  "Can't do what? Kiss me?" He held her arms firmly, not allowing her to escape. When her protest died, he let his tongue slide down her neck, stopping to nibble at the base
where her shoulder connected.

  She straightened. "I can't do any of this. Please, Jake," she begged.

  He didn't want to stop, but something in her voice, the urgency, made him pull away. "I want you, Josie." He ran the back of his hand along her cheek and tried to control himself when she closed her eyes and shivered against him. "From the second I saw you tonight I wanted you. And I know that you want me."

  "No, I don't."

  "If you didn't, you wouldn't be fighting so hard." He reached down and squeezed her hand, which had been drawn into a fist. "See, you're fighting it even now."

  "I don't even like you," she protested.

  "You don't have to like me to want me. It's not a requirement." He smiled, but then he released her hand. "But I'd like for you to," he admitted before he could stop himself. "That's why I'm not going to push you."

  "Why is it so important to you now?"

  "What? That you like me?" He tapped her bottom lip with his thumb. "Because I want you to."

  "That's not an answer." She closed her eyes.

  "Because I want you to like kissing me, then."

  "Jake, none of this can happen, okay?" This time she moved away from him enough so that he couldn't reach her to tempt her anymore.

  "Okay," he shrugged. "You can't blame a guy for trying, though, can you?"

  * * * *

  For some reason, his answer didn't make her feel any better. That fantasy that she had wanted earlier was standing in front of her, practically hers for the taking. And she realized that she wasn't as bold as she had thought.

  She should have felt elated that she had made it out of the lab intact, neither having been attacked by a snake nor continuing to kiss Jake. Instead, she was battling with herself all the way to her car. Jake Moore had no right to pop back into her life and shake it up in a matter of hours. She didn't even like him, she repeated to herself. Still, leaving him standing in that lab after those heated kisses was one of the most difficult things she had ever done.

  She had mumbled something about having to go and slipped away, hiding, she knew. Hiding from him, from her, most of all from that feeling of desire she had felt starting in her lips and finding its way into her chest and finally pooling between her thighs. How long had it been since she had been genuinely turned on?

  That was her problem, she decided. She hadn't been kissed by a man since Brian and just didn't know how to react to one. Especially one with sapphire blue eyes and soft, full lips. Not to mention a mesmerizing smile. Broad shoulders. An incredible dancer. She shook her head. She wouldn't think about him all the way home. She wouldn't think about him later tonight or toss and turn wondering what might happen if...

  The plans for day camp. She had totally forgotten about them. She turned the key in the ignition. She wouldn't go back in there now. No amount of wanting or fear of failure or anything else could force her back in there. She would just have to wing it come Monday morning. She would do just fine without whatever suggestions Jake Moore might have. He may be the snake expert, but she would run this show her way. That decided, she headed home toward a sleepless night.

  * * * *

  Jake stood by the door long enough to be sure that she had made it to her car. He had a clear view of the parking lot from his lab. He had wanted to follow her to the car, but he got the feeling that it was important to her to be the one to walk away tonight.

  He couldn't help but smile as he watched her hips move. She had tried to walk away quickly and simply, but every move she made had an underlying sexual tone. Maybe it was just the fact that it had been a long time since he had been with a woman. He doubted it, though. Everything about her told him that she was built for the kind of sin he had in mind. All he had to do was prove that to her.

  There would be a way to get to her. He would find a way to make her admit that tonight had to do with more than just a couple of stolen kisses. She wanted him, like him or not. And he had every intention of having her before the summer was up.

  Cinderella had left behind a glass slipper. Josie had only left behind a hint of her perfume. With it polluting the air, Jake knew he wouldn't get any more work done tonight. Not that he had planned to, but he hadn't wanted to go home either. For some reason, after sharing such a heated moment with her, home seemed like an empty prospect.

  He didn't want to settle down. But he wouldn't mind a night with Josie Mitchell. That's all it would take to get her out of his system. That's all it ever took. Women would attract him immediately, tease him with kisses and then sate his desire. End of story.

  He checked Lucy to be sure that she had eaten the mouse with no problems. Satisfied that she would be okay until Monday, he gathered his keys and headed for the door. He was just about to turn off the lights when he caught sight of that ridiculous pink paper.

  The day camp. He had forgotten all about it. Apparently so had Josie. She hadn't so much as asked about his plans. Which meant one of two things. Either she was just humoring him or she had been so wrapped up in their kiss that she had forgotten. He smiled at the thought and then realized that if she had been as swept away as he had been, she wouldn't have run out on him.

  Still, he found himself picking up that pink paper and the rest of her packet before heading out. He would come up with some ideas for her if it killed him. Something about Josie made him want to make this camp a success, even if he hadn't known about it yesterday. The fact that her phone number was at the bottom of the flyer had nothing at all to do with it.

  It had taken him half of the night, but Jake had finally come up with some amendments to Josie's day camp schedule. He didn't know much about kids, but he remembered what had fascinated him as a kid. Maybe some of those same things would inspire some interest amongst the day campers. And maybe they'd help displace the fears that Josie still had concerning snakes.

  Chapter Four

  Jake spent the morning in the reptile exhibit checking in on the spiders and amphibians that had been stuck in there because they didn't fit anywhere else. As it turned out, the zoo grouped reptiles, amphibians and arachnids together. And now they were all his. He knew enough about them all, of course. They just weren't of great interest to him. Still, he felt like it was his duty to get to know them a little before trying to show them off to the kids. For this reason, he would start the summer with the snakes and the more docile animals and would move up to the big dogs by the end of the summer.

  Considering all of this, it was almost noon before he had a chance to call Josie. He couldn't believe that his fingers were shaking as he dialed the number. He had never been this nervous about calling a girl before, but Josie made him feel completely inexperienced.

  "Hello?" her voice sounded sleepy as she answered.

  "Hey, Josie?"

  "Yeah."

  "This is Jake. Jake Moore." He twirled a pencil between his fingers and then dropped it, settling for drumming it on the desk.

  "Hi, Jake." She didn't ask what he wanted, but he could hear the "What do you want?" in her voice.

  "I, uh, you left last night before I could talk to you about the day camp."

  She flushed at the memory. She hadn't wanted him to know how he had affected her, but running out on him had pretty much guaranteed it. "Yeah. I'm sorry about that. The snakes just kind of weirded me out."

  "The snakes," he agreed. "Yeah. I'm sorry about that." His own drumming of the pencil was getting on his nerves. He finally threw it across the room. "Look, I was wondering if we could get together and talk today and...."

  "I've been thinking about that," she confessed. "I think it would be best if we just skip the reptiles this summer. You know, considering my aversion to them and all." The line was silent for a few seconds. The truth was, she didn't think she could handle being around Jake and not kissing him. And kissing him was the last thing she wanted to do. Honest.

  "I know. And I thought it would be great for you and the kids to learn more about them. You could ease their fears as you ease yours." He
had never considered that she would shut him out of the program. He hated to admit that it hurt a little.

  "I don't think so," her voice was steady even though her heart was beating wildly.

  "Come on, Josie. Kids love snakes. You wouldn't want one of them to pick up the wrong kind," he coaxed.

  He had hit her sensitive spot. She wanted the kids to be snake aware. But not like this. Oh, why couldn't she have settled for a normal job? Brian, that's why. She was doing this for him, she reminded herself. And snake education was important to him. Still, she tried to stand her ground. "You never managed to pick up the wrong kind."

  He laughed, "You didn't see me the summer of seventh grade. I got bit and almost died."

  "You did not," she protested.

  "Yeah, I did. I never told because I didn't want anyone to know how stupid I had been. I mistook a rattler for a king snake."

  "So Jake the Snake's not perfect," she quipped.

  "Never said I was. So about the day camp...."

  "I can't do it."

  "Can't or won't?"

  "It doesn't matter Jake. The point is, I don't need you anymore. Thank you for your time."

  He could sense that she was about to hang up. "Wait." He desperately searched for an answer.

  "What?"

  "Can we discuss it over lunch?" He heard an audible sigh from her line. He could tell she was thinking it over, otherwise, she would have immediately said no.

  "I'm not changing my mind," she warned.

  "We'll see about that."

  She had agreed to meet Jake for lunch. Meet. As in, not a date. Still, she found herself holding up one dress after another, telling herself all the while that a sundress was perfectly fine for a casual lunch. The last thing she wanted was to look like she was trying too hard. Even if she was trying too hard.

  She settled for a yellow sundress with tiny white flowers on it and strappy yellow sandals. Their tiny heel was enough to flatter her short legs without making her look as if she were trying to be sexy. And she wasn't. Honest.