sideswiped his knee and she tugged hard on his
arm. His breath whooshed out and he
collapsed onto her soft, soft body. Sweet feminine breath gushed out, caressing his lips before dispersing
into the air.
“Nice of ya to drop in like this.” Her eyes sparkled up at him like big jewels
enticing a man to lose his soul to possess such desirable riches.
He let his forehead rest on hers as he tried to recall all the
reasons why he shouldn’t hold her down and give her exactly what she claimed to
want. A hard, fast ride that would leave
them both exhausted, but satisfyingly sated. At least physically.
Mere inches separated their faces. Their mouths.
“Still dragging men into your bed, I see,” he accused, but his
voice was gentle. How could it be
otherwise when her lips parted and her heart raced beneath his?
“Just the lucky ones.”
He laughed in spite of himself, knowing she had to feel him
pressing into her pelvis. He was
probably showing up on radar across the country. Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. Jason Kelly is near the one woman who rocked
his world in oh so many ways.
“Not that I haven’t already asked, but why are you here?”
“First tell me if you’re involved with Annie.” She batted her impossibly long lashes. “You never did explain what services you were
providing to her.”
None yet, but he’d hoped to nurture a relationship with
Annie. She was a good, responsible woman
who loved children and seemed to be looking for the same things out of life as
what he wanted. A home and family. Stability and calmness.
All things Tabitha wasn’t.
“She’s a client, and we’ve gone out a few times.”
He hoped their relationship would grow into something more,
though.
“Mixing business with pleasure, how unlike you. Have you slept with her?”
That was Tabby, direct and to the point. “No.”
“But you’ve thought about it.”
It wasn’t a question. Just as if two years hadn’t passed, she read him like a book.
“Maybe.” More and more
lately. Annie met all his criteria of
the ideal wife. Almost. If only he felt a spark. One like he felt for the woman beneath him
would do just fine. Only problem was no
woman affected him like Tabby. Never
had, probably never would. Although
perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing, because wanting a woman so much just set
a man up for all kinds of trouble.
“So,” Tabby’s lips pursed, “why haven’t you put the moves on
her?”
Blunt as always.
“I’d planned to wine, dine, and sixty-nine her tonight, only you
interrupted.”
Her green gaze darkened, narrowed. “You’re lying.”
It pleased him that her pitch was higher than before.
“Alright, I’m lying.” Was
he? He had thought about it. Asking Annie to stay, taking their relationship
to that next level. “She’s a nice girl,”
he added, as much for himself as Tabby.
“Meaning I’m not?” She
flung at him.
“Nice?” He snorted. “Not on your best day. Someone forgot to add the sugar and all
things nice when they made you. Just
dumped the whole bottle of spice.”
Her forehead creased and something deep inside yearned to smooth
the furrows away.
“You have no commitment to her, then? Other than a business one?”
“I may in the near future. Not that my life commitments are any of your business.”
“But you don’t now?” She
looked pleased, but not quite ready to let the subject drop. “Not at this moment?”
“No,” he conceded, worried that her smile had come back full
force.
“You’re not in love with her?”
Love? Was she kidding?
“I tried that once only to have the woman I loved tell me to go
to hell and stay there.”
Her smile faded.
“Jason, I—” Her mouth
closed and emotions flickered across her face. Blinking her uncertainty away, she clasped her hands around his neck and
buried her face in the crook.
Was that regret he’d