Chapter 4

Jo's automatic "Yes, sir" was drowned out by the acceleration of General Mansfield's car's engines as they drove down Eureka's main road. Jo just stood there in shock and a maelstrom of warring emotions. As the car sped away, she slowly turned and, in a complete daze, walked back the way she and the general had come. If his point had been to completely throw her off, then he had succeeded completely. His words, which were, in fact, her father's lessons that she had never forgotten, echoed in her thoughts. And on top of all the feelings that it brought up, had he actually been suggesting that she was … that she and Zane were … ?" Her head was spinning.

"Hey, you okay," Zane asked breaking through her cloud of confusion and reflection as she sat down next to him. She looked up into his cool, blue eyes full of curiosity but also concern. Wary of seeming inappropriate in public, he had laid a gentle hand on her shoulder for several long moments. He was looking down at her trying to catch her eye but being careful not to be too much in her personal space. "Was he pulling his usual stick-up-the-ass, overseer routine? Man, that guy is never satisfied. He has got to get more fiber in his diet." His joke fell flat under the circumstances and his worry deepened as Jo's stunned expression remained firmly intact.

Jo's head was still swimming but after connecting with Zane in just those few moments, it all instantly fell into place. General Mansfield was right. She was smart and fearless and she went after the things that she wanted. And right now, what she wanted was to grab Zane and drag him back to her house so that she could have her way with him.

She finally relaxed and let out a calming breath. For the first time in a long time, she felt like things were going to be okay. It was a beautiful day, she had a job she loved, and she was about to let herself fall in love with a smartass, trouble-making, charming, completely irresistible mad scientist - for the second time. Not caring who might be watching, she smiled brilliantly up at him. "You wanna come over to my place and hang out?"

Zane's concern quickly turned to playful skepticism. "What did he say to get you all worked up?" he asked grinning down at her. "Not that I'm complaining." She would never admit it to him but she loved how he could turn up the cocky charm at the drop of a dime.

"I'll fill you in but let's get out of here," she said grabbing their empty lunch containers for recycling."

He joined her cleanup efforts although he was a bit disturbed by how she had him feeling a little off balance. The quizzical glances he kept sneaking at her were certainly not going unnoticed. But he had to admit that the cool breeze gently lifting her long hair off her face and the bright sun reflecting off her her flushed cheeks was hitting him right in the libido. "Whatever you say, JoJo. I'm at your service." He discarded the last of their things and sat back beside her on the bench while she shut down her tablet. "I'll even be the perfect model of decorum as I walk you to your car. The good citizens of Eureka will be none the wiser about our illicit affair," he assured her with a saucy wink and a grin.

Jo cocked her head to the side marveling at his irreverence but stopped pretending that it didn't turn her on a little. Of course, two could play at that game. "No need to be a perfect model," she replied in her best sultry drawl. "I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

His mouth dropped open slightly at her implication. To his credit, the look of shock on his face was fleeting but it was pretty clear that she had gotten him good. Not to be outdone, he was quick to rebound with tentative enthusiasm. "Why Josefina, are you suggesting that if I were to, I don't know, gift you with a post-lunch peck on the mouth, you wouldn't freak out on me?"

A small grin passed across her lips as she slid closer to him on the bench. "You're the resident thrill seeker, why don't you find out?"

He wasn't going to mess around waiting for further incentive as he gently grasped her waist with one hand, nudging her further towards him. Smiling down softly at her with sincerity and affection, he gently lifted her chin and brought his lips down to meet hers. The feel of her steady hand as it came up to rest against his chest along with her instant response to him was electric. The addictive taste of her mouth on his wasn't bad either. He lingered for a few moments and released her, willing his senses to return to him and his heart to cease its hammering in his chest.

While their kisses had always inspired excitement in them both, for their first kiss in public, it was incredibly anticlimactic. No one had paid much attention to their little afternoon tryst, so involved in their own pleasures and realities.

Zane reached down and took hold of the hand that had been resting against his chest, pulling her to her feet. "Would I be pushing my luck if I held your hand while I walked you to your car?"

Jo, flushed with pleasure and unable to hide her adoration, as she let him lead her around the bench. "Hadn't you heard? Today's your lucky day, Donovan," she replied intertwining her fingers firmly in his.

And in their newfound contentment, they sauntered lazily across the grass each quietly reveling in the other and the brilliance of the afternoon's radiance. On the way to her car they received a few double-takes but they ignored their nosy neighbors and went about their business. Jo unlocked the driver's side door and Zane held it open for her as she stepped around to get in.

"So I'll see you in a little bit?" he asked.

"Don't forget the Rocky Road." Her parting smirk made him want to ravish her right there in the open. Instead, he watched her slide into the driver's seat and he closed the door securely after her, grinning from ear to ear as he walked backwards towards his bike a block and a half away.

"Lucky day," he muttered to himself, smiling widely. "That's what I'm talking about." He quickly mounted his bike, helmet in place after double checking that his mini cooling unit stocked with a pint of Rocky Road ice cream was still snugly stored in his storage compartment. His last thought before driving off after Jo was to wonder how he knew that particular purchase would come in handy tonight.

The End.

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