by Sara Orwig
“I have no intention of flinging challenges at you.”
“Tell me that you haven’t enjoyed the evening.”
“You know the answer to that one, so don’t be smug about it.”
“I wouldn’t think of it.”
“When you finish dealing with this mansion and the things inside, what will you do?” she asked.
“Go back to my regular life, running the family company, which is a full-time job and one I like.”
“Then you understand how I feel about my work.”
As he talked, they reached the gates of the mansion. With a wave to the gatekeeper, Jared drove to the rear of the house. Landscape lights illuminated the area, and Jared draped his arm across her shoulders as they walked inside.
They entered through the back hall into an entryway, and then he directed her to the kitchen.
“We can have a nightcap, cocoa, wine, coffee. What’s your preference?”
“Just ice water,” she answered, setting down her purse on the granite counter.
They sat in the living area adjoining the kitchen and talked, innocuous conversation about first one thing and then another, things she knew she wouldn’t even remember in the morning. Underneath the conversation was a running current of awareness that they would kiss good-night.
Anticipation built until she stood and told him that she needed to call it a night. He followed her upstairs and stopped at the door of her suite.
“You know I had a great evening. Thank you for dinner,” she said. When he placed his hands on her waist, her heartbeat quickened as she looked up into his eyes.
“I remember some words about kisses tonight. So at least I can kiss you good-night.”
“Against all sensible judgment. We shouldn’t, and we both know it,” she whispered, though she wanted the opposite of her words.
“I know no such thing. Let me show you that you really don’t, either.” He slid his arm around her waist to draw her closer, then he bent down and paused, his gaze on her mouth.
She inhaled, trying to catch her breath. She expected his kiss, wanted it, her body thrumming with anticipation as her lips parted. “Jared,” she whispered.
Then he edged closer to brush her lips with his.
The moment her mouth touched his, she closed her eyes. All she could hear was her drumming heartbeat. She wound her arm around his neck. At last...the kisses she had dreamed about, had tried to forget.
Kisses that were even better than she remembered.
Four
She opened her eyes to look into his. In those depths of green, desire blazed, making her heart pound. While heat filled her, she went weak-kneed, clinging to him. The six years since their last kisses seemed to vanish.
She wanted him as if it were still that long-ago night when they had made passionate love for hours. She had wanted him then because he was the most exciting man she knew, the best looking, the most fun to flirt with. She hated to admit to herself that he still fit those descriptions. They had fire when they were together, an electrifying passion she had never found with anyone else.
As he leaned over her, his arm tightened around her, and he kissed her hard.
With a pounding heart, she kissed him back, holding him tightly. His hair, slightly coarser than hers, was sensuous as she ran one hand through his thick locks. Desire built to an extent she hadn’t dreamed would happen. Couldn’t happen. Not this time around. She was older, wiser. He was a man off-limits. A few kisses shouldn’t shatter all her preconceived notions about how kisses could be kept under control.
Moaning softly, she struggled for self-control. Pleasure and desire tore at her resolve until she surrendered. Yielding to the moment, she poured herself into kissing him.
His hands roamed slowly down her back and over her bottom, then up again, each stroke heightening her breathless need. As his fingers slid beneath the open neck of her dress, she could not stop him. He filled his hand with her, caressing her, causing streaks of pleasure to radiate from the light brushes of his fingers.
From somewhere deep inside her brain, she heard the voice of reason cautioning her. If she let him go any further, she wouldn’t be able to stop.
“Jared,” she whispered and moved away in a last-ditch monumental effort for self-control. While her heart pounded, she gulped for breath. “I don’t want to get more deeply involved. Not at this point in my life. Six years ago I was young, having fun and that was a fling at a party. I have a job to do now, and I want to stick to it.”
“First of all, you’re still young and you can still have fun. And you don’t work at night, and the kisses we just shared have nothing to do with the job you’re doing.”
“Let’s stick to business. I don’t need an affair right now,” she said, though she wanted more than anything to step back into his arms. His argument tugged at her. The look in his eyes seduced her. The past few minutes spread heat and need through her. “Your kisses are devastating.”
“Damn, Allison,” he whispered, frowning. “You’re saying contradictory statements while every inch of you is conveying pure desire. You liked kissing me, and you want to make love,” he said in a thick voice that heightened her conflict.
“You’re right, but you have hired me to do a job that I intend to stick to with a narrow-minded purpose.” She drew in a deep, steadying breath. “Good night. It’s been a great evening. Thank you.” She entered her suite, closing the door and half expecting him to stop her.
Memories of his body, his hands and mouth on her and the ecstasy in their wake, tore at her. Hot, frustrated, she let out her breath and walked into the room.
She couldn’t continue working with him during the day, going out with him at night and kissing passionately before they parted. If she did, there wouldn’t be many nights until she was fully involved with him. And that was not going to happen.
She drifted around the suite, unable to settle down, knowing sleep might not come for hours. Memories taunted her while longing made her body hot and prickly. How could she say no to him—even one more time? She thought about the life he wanted, the wild pursuits he had. Emotionally, she did not want to deal with loving a man who constantly risked his life. A man who would not settle down and marry and raise a family. Jared was definitely not the man to love.
A cold shower did not help. Water splashed over her while she ached for his touch.
She tried working. Far into the night she sat there writing, trying to concentrate on her notes, cataloging and taking pictures of everything in her suite. It was almost dawn before she fell into a restless sleep.
* * *
When she went to the kitchen in the morning, the cook was preparing food for the day. Marline turned to smile at her. “Good morning,” she said. “Orange juice is in the pitcher and coffee in the pot. Food is on the counter and on the table. Also, I can cook you some eggs.”
“You go ahead with whatever you’re doing, thank you,” Allison told her politely. She was relieved the cook was present, and she would not be alone with Jared. “I’ll get my breakfast, and there’s plenty here already fixed.”
“Mr. Jared said to tell you that he had some business that came up. He will see you this afternoon. I will be finished working at noon and away for the weekend. I have plenty prepared, so just help yourself to whatever you want.”
“Thank you,” Allison replied. “Does he usually let you off for the weekend?”
“Yes, he does. But just so you understand, I’m only here to cook while you’re working here. I hadn’t set foot in this place until the day before you came. I work in Dallas, with Edith, the housekeeper.”
“You’ve both been helpful and nice. Thanks for what you’ve done.”
“We came a day early to get the place ready so you both could stay here while you work.”
&n
bsp; Feeling relieved there would be a few hours she wouldn’t have to cope with her attraction to Jared, Allison poured coffee and orange juice and toasted a slice of bread. She hurried through breakfast so she could get more work accomplished while he was away, glad she wouldn’t have distractions.
By the afternoon she had finished four rooms, taking pictures, writing brief notes and relying on the snapshots to convey the inventory. She wasn’t as thorough as usual, figuring she could complete the tasks when she was back in her office and away from all temptation with Jared.
She was so absorbed in the work she nearly jumped when she heard a voice drawl from the open doorway.
“Miss me?”
“Actually, I’ve managed without you,” she said, turning, trying to keep things light even though her heart tripped when she saw Jared. He had already shed his suit jacket and tie and unbuttoned his white dress shirt at the neck. As he entered the room, he rolled up a cuff, and she couldn’t stop watching him.
“Shucks, I was hoping you had missed me and couldn’t work without me,” he said, grinning at her. Her racing heart beat faster as he continued approaching her, his green eyes holding her transfixed. “I’ve missed you every minute since we parted last night, and I’ve wanted to pick up where we left off,” he drawled in a deep voice. “If not that, then at least kiss you hello,” he added softly, stopping inches in front of her and placing his hands on her waist.
As if trying to come out of a daze, she shook her head. “I don’t think so, Jared.”
“No fun, Allison,” he whispered, looking at her mouth and making her breath catch. Her lips parted, and she wanted to lean toward him, close her eyes and let him kiss her.
Instead she shook her head again and held up her notebook between them. “I’ve done nine rooms so far. We should walk through them so I can get your comments about the things in each.”
He looked amused. “All right. We’ll continue this discussion after dinner tonight.”
“Jared—”
“You have to eat. We enjoy being together. This job won’t last long, and it may be a lot longer than six years before we see each other again. Matter settled. I’ll take you to dinner tonight. We can go two-steppin’ at a fun honky-tonk.”
“You are so incredibly sure of yourself.”
“I know what I want, and I think I know what you want. Right?”
“Let’s look at the rooms.”
His smile widened as he nodded. Exasperated with him, she leaned closer and tapped his chest with her finger, looking into his green eyes.
“So if I stop fighting you, we’ll have a full-blown affair?”
“Why do I think you want this as much as I do?” he asked, his smile vanishing as desire flared in the depths of his eyes.
“Not this time. I have responsibilities I didn’t have before. And if did, you can kiss your friendship with Sloan goodbye. He’s rather unforgiving sometimes.”
“I don’t think your brother has to know everything that you and I do.”
“No, he doesn’t, but he’s already called.” At Jared’s look of surprise she added, “In good conscience I told him that you were at work. But don’t worry, he’ll keep up with both of us while this job in happening. You know I’m right.”
Frowning, Jared stared at her. “Sloan is in Dallas, and we’re far away in Houston. He has his own family now to worry over. You’re no longer eighteen years old. Yet I shouldn’t be surprised because he called me, too. I think he was overjoyed that I was at work.”
“As a matter of fact, he’s glad the job is going well. And he’s extremely happy you’re working on your own business matters.”
“Does he do this all the time with you?”
“Not at all. You bring this on. He knows you too well.”
“Thank goodness you don’t take everything he says to heart.”
“He hasn’t realized I can make my own decisions. I’m not worried about Sloan, and I don’t think you really are, either.”
Jared’s frown disappeared. “I still want to take you to dinner and dancing. And if they happen, kisses are harmless. Even your brother won’t get worked up if he finds out we’ve kissed.” He jumped in to stave off her argument. “Dinner is still on. Enjoying each other’s company does not necessarily mean seduction.”
“Jared, you and I cannot get personal on a small scale,” she finally stated in exasperation.
He smiled and caressed her throat. “That’s what keeps it so interesting,” he said. “So how soon would you like to quit for the day?”
“I’m getting a lot done. I’d like to work until six.” Trying once again, she warned, “Dinner is asking for trouble, and you know it.”
“Not when you’re circling the room doing the two-step, it won’t be. Relax. Trust me, and I’ll show you we can have fun together, enjoying each other’s company.”
Knowing she wasn’t going to win this battle, she conceded. Getting back to work, she walked beside him and talked to him about the rooms she had done.
“I’ll help you, unless you’d prefer working alone.”
“You can help,” she said, passing a notebook and pen to him. “I’ll tell you what to write.”
“Sure,” he said. He stuck to business, which was a relief to her, and finally at six o’clock when the clock in the hall chimed, he held out her notebook. “Six it is. The witching hour. Time to get ready for our evening out.”
“We could just keep working and really get things done.”
“We could, but we’re definitely not going to. C’mon, we’ll get ready. You’ll be glad you did. How much time do you want? Meet here at half past seven?”
“Fine,” she said, picking up her things. He took them from her.
“I’ll carry these until you get to your room.”
“You know, I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear from Sloan. Or that he called you, either. Actually, Sloan’s actions don’t worry me. He’s too overprotective. Always has been. He didn’t want me to have a driver’s license until I was eighteen. Thank heavens Dad prevailed. But I didn’t drive without one of them in the car until I was seventeen.”
Jared smiled. “You’re good to put up so patiently with your brother. I have to say, the last fight we had, we were probably about nine years old. He gave me a bloody nose. Later he said he was sorry.”
She smiled. “I don’t think you’ll have to fight Sloan. At least not about us getting involved.”
No, she thought as she entered her room. The only fighting would be her fighting her attraction to Jared.
* * *
With eager anticipation, Jared waited in the library. He’d thought about Allison all day and he couldn’t wait for her to appear. When had he ever been this anxious for a date? He dismissed his worries about Sloan. Allison didn’t seem too concerned about what her brother thought, and Jared didn’t see any chance of losing his long-time friend, unless he broke Allison’s heart, which just plain wouldn’t happen. She wasn’t going to run any risk of falling in love. He thought he had allayed her fears about trying to buy their family business, something he definitely was not aggressively pursuing. Now if he could figure a way to calm her fears about his love of exciting, challenging endeavors, she would stop resisting him so strongly. The last was the stumbling block, because her family loss would never cease hurting, and she was so afraid of losing someone she loved again.
She came through the door and his heart thudded. His mouth went dry and he had to control an urge to cross the room, take her into his arms and kiss her.
“You look gorgeous,” he said, unable to keep the huskiness out of his voice. He didn’t say it, but she looked hot and sexy, too. His gaze drifted over the pale blue Western shirt that was unbuttoned far enough to give him a glimpse of tempting curves. The shirt was tucked into her tiny wais
t with a hand-tooled leather belt on jeans that were tight enough to send his temperature soaring.
He wasn’t aware of crossing the room until only inches separated them.
“Lady, you look hot enough to melt a glacier.”
“Thank you, I think,” she answered. “You look pretty good yourself, cowboy.”
Her hair fell loosely, framing her face, that yellow-blond hair that was a constant temptation to run his fingers through. He wanted to peel her out of her skintight clothes and make love to her. Instead he took a deep breath before winding her arm through his.
“Let’s go,” he said, looking down at her. Her scent was so enticing, eagerness bubbled up in him. He had waited all day to be with her, and finally she was with him for the evening. He picked up a broad-brimmed black Stetson and placed it on his head. In the hall she stepped away to get her own black Western hat. “Let’s see what the evening brings,” Jared said.
“Bushels of dancing,” she replied. “I haven’t done this in such a long time that I almost didn’t pack these clothes.”
“I’m glad you did. I’ll try in every way to make the evening memorable,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist and catching another whiff of the perfume she wore. His pulse was already doing its own crazy two-step.
He wanted to dance with her, flirt with her and come home and make love the rest of the night. She, on the other hand, wanted to stick to mere kisses, if that. What an impossible challenge, he thought.
At the car he held the door, and when she slid onto the seat, his gaze raked over her jeans that pulled tightly on her thighs. He inhaled, trying to steady his breath.
In minutes they were headed toward the highway and an evening that promised to be one of the best of his life.
* * *
At eleven o’clock they still circled the floor in a two-step. Allison could dance all night with him, and that was a better option than anything else she wanted to do with Jared. The sight of him melted her and made her heart race. Tall, lean, looking all cowboy and incredibly handsome, he was too sexy in his tight jeans and wide hand-tooled belt that rode low on his hips.
