She was cool from the ice cream, cool with a hint of fire. She tasted of chocolate and something that had to be her own erotic essence. He ignored the softness of her skin, the sensual feel of her mouth and the heat that poured through him.

She pulled back slightly and gazed into his eyes. “Is that the best you can do?” she asked before she put her arms around his neck and drew him in.

She kissed him back with a need that surprised him. She opened for him and then met his tongue with darting licks of her own.

She’d parted her legs, so he slipped between her thighs. Although she was much shorter, with her sitting on the counter, he found himself nestled against her crotch.

Blood pumped, making him hard. Desire consumed him. Desire for a woman he couldn’t have. Dammit all to hell.

Then he reminded himself that his reaction was to an attractive woman. It wasn’t specific. It wasn’t about Meri. As his assistant enjoyed pointing out, he’d been solitary for a long time. Even brief sexual encounters no longer intrigued him. He’d been lost in a world of work and nothing else.

He had needs. That was all this was-a scratch for an itch.

He pulled back. “Interesting.”

She raised her eyebrows. “It was a whole lot more than interesting and you know it.”

“If it’s important for you to believe that, go ahead.”

“I don’t mind that you’re not making this easy,” she told him. “The victory will be all the sweeter.” She picked up her ice cream and put the cover back. “I’m done.”

“Sugar and fat needs met?”

“I no longer need the comfort. My bad mood is gone.”

So like a woman, he thought as he leaned against the counter. “Because I kissed you?”

She smiled and jumped to the floor, then walked to the freezer. “Because you liked it.”

He wasn’t going to argue the point.

She closed the freezer door with her hip, then looked at him. “Tell me about the women in your life.”