Now in his arms, she stopped struggling. He purposefully loosened his grip, half-expecting her to run, the primal part of him looking forward to the chase. She stood rigid, watching him; her chin raised stubbornly, her hands balled at her sides. Her eyes flashed with heat and excitement. Her curvaceous body stayed close to his, her heat and perfume surrounding him, her soft smooth skin enticing him.

Every now and again, the lights from a passing car flashed by, illuminating both of them on the roadside. In the recesses of his mind, a thought dared to form to tell him to pull back. Retreat.

Kasie licked her lips, the movement of her tongue on her lower lip drawing his attention to her beautiful lips. A red flag to a bull.
Her action extinguished the retreat signal in his mind. In its stead was...Load...Engage...Fire.

The world faded. Michael couldn’t really explain his reaction to this woman. Why she rattled him so much. He knew what he was about to do was probably extreme. But all he could hear was the whoosh of blood pumping in his ears, his heart dancing to an erratic tune.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he heard the tremors in her husky voice.

He ignored her question and asked one of his own, “Are you going to apologise for your behaviour today?”

He was still a cultured man who didn’t harm women. He wanted to give her an opportunity to apologise. Of course he’d let her go if she did. It was only fair. So he waited, expecting the words of remorse from her lips.

Shoulders straight, she tilted her chin up, her brown eyes flashing insolently.

“I have nothing to apologise for. If you think you can scare me with your macho man act, you’ve got another think coming.”

Her body trembled yet she stood her ground, her eyes and words daring him to do his worst. A warm fuzzy feeling permeated the crazed fog in his mind. He admired her courage. Not many people would look him straight in the eye and dare him to do his worst. His worst had involved taking lives in the name of his country. If she knew what he was capable of, would she still dare him? The thought was like a splash of cold water on his face, sobering him up.