Page 32 of Misadventures And Ms. Demeanor

A car whizzed by and honked its horn.

Tigger hopped up into my lap, gave a quick hiss, then bounded over the arm rest and into the back. Both of us turnedour heads to stare after the satanic animal as it pranced into the back bedroom.

"I thought Esther took that thing with her," JT muttered, breathing hard.

My heart rate was at stroke point, my adrenaline coursing through my veins so fast I was sweating.

JT turned his head to look at me. I looked to JT. Our faces were only a few inches apart, our fast breathing loud in the cabin.

"Are you okay?" he asked. The scar in his eyebrow was so pale in contrast to the little hairs. The whiskers on his cheek were on the way to being a beard. His eyes were so dark, almost black and they dropped to my mouth.

And then it happened. JT leaned in and kissed me, his lips warm and soft, his tongue dipping in as I gasped in not only surprise, but lust. It was unclear if it was the adrenaline that drove the insanity or perhaps the constant baiting, but the kiss definitely made no sense. But it felt...fabulous. I sighed and settled in, lifting my hands to tangle in his hair. He turned his head slightly and took the kiss deeper. When I made a little moaning sound at the back of my throat, JT pulled back. Stared at me. "Um...wow," he murmured, his voice rough. "I shouldn't have done that."

"I know," I panted. "Do it again."

Although I pulled his head in for more, JT quickly took over, kissing me the way he wanted, deep and lush licks, little nips on my bottom lip, thumbs caressing my cheeks.

After who knew how long, we both pulled back. The look of surprise on his face could be from either almost dying from impalement or the kiss. Both were adrenaline inducing, both brought about butterflies in my stomach, both made me a little sweaty all over.

"What was that for?" I whispered, ignoring his question. His lips were red and wet and he tasted...so good.

"I just...I just needed to know." He tugged on my messy ponytail.

"Were you kissing Daphne or Silky?"

He met my gaze, held it. "You. I kissed you."

That didn't answer my question at all because I didn't think he knew who I really was. A kiss didn't solve anything—it felt incredible, adrenaline inducing in its own special way—so I let the moment pass. Turning, I looked at the object lodged in the windshield, the glass a spiderweb of cracks around it. It was George the Gnome. The top of his pointy hat had pierced through the window and he was turned to face me, grinning.

JT undid his seatbelt, then ran his hand through his hair, over the back of his neck and stared at the gnome.

Eventually, he climbed from his seat and made his way to the back and peeked into the bedroom. The cat hissed and meowed and JT pulled the door shut behind him. Claws scratched at the door before they stopped, another angry hiss, then nothing.

"I told you that cat was feral. Holy crap, I may have peed my pants." I took a deep breath.

"Don't open that door."

Like he had to tell me that.

"Is there a reason why there are condoms scattered all over the bed in there?" He thumbed over his shoulder.

"Condoms? What are you talking about?"

JT shrugged. "All I know is that there are about thirty condoms strewn all over the place. Some box must have been overturned when we stopped short."

I bit my lip. "Goldie. Crap. Of course, they're Goldie's. I've heard she makes up boxes for people. Remember I told you about the one she made for her daughter-in-law, Jane. Matchmaking."

JT's eyebrows went up. "That's a lot of matchmaking. If we make it through all of those, I'd say we were well matched."

"If?" I asked.

"When, then. When we make it through all of those?—"

"JT," I groaned. "Don't forget Tigger. How would you even get to them?"

He frowned, then grinned. "That cat's a cock blocker." He made his way back to the front, leaned forward and tugged at the gnome. "It's jammed in there good."

"Let's not take it out. We won't be able to drive with the air blowing in and I haven't seen any duct tape."