Brenda Jackson The Westmoreland Series Books 16-20

by Brenda Jackson

  He glanced over at Pam and thought at that moment he really didn’t care, since Ramsey’s message had interrupted the most passionate kiss of his entire life. Never had a kiss left him with his senses spiraling out of control and his entire body feeling like it had been torched into flames.

  He knew Pam had been as affected by the kiss as he had. She seemed to be trying to pull herself together. They had done more than just grasped the moment, they had taken total control of it in a way that had them both still scraping for breath.

  He watched as she slowly moved away from him to return to the window. She gazed out and he couldn’t help wondering if she had reneged and now had regrets. He tensed, refusing to let her off his hook that easily. “Come to my hotel room tonight, Pam.”

  She swirled around and met his gaze but before she could open her mouth to say a single word, he reached out, pulled her back into his arms and took control of her mouth all over again.

  The last time, he had kissed her with a need. This time it was with desperation. He refused to let her incriminate herself in any way, and if kissing her was the way to keep it from happening, then so be it. He would stand here and ply her mouth with his kisses forever if that’s what he had to do.

  A short while later, when he finally released her mouth, she looked somewhat dazed and her lips appeared slightly swollen. He lifted his hand and pushed her hair from her face, tempted beyond reason to sink his mouth onto hers again. Just the thought of doing so made his hand tremble. He hoped she knew this wasn’t the end. Just the beginning.

  And to make sure of it, he repeated the words he’d said earlier. “Come to my hotel room tonight, Pam.”

  Again she looked up and met his gaze. Her lashes fluttered just seconds before she replied, “No.”

  But before his heart could drop to the floor, she added, “Mr. Davis, the owner of the hotel, knows me, so that won’t be a good idea. However, my drama school is only a few blocks away on Durand Street. Will you come there?”

  He nodded quickly. “What time?”

  “Eight,” she said almost in a whisper. “I have a class tonight and everyone should be gone by then.”

  A moment of silence purred between them and then she searched his eyes. “So, will you come?”

  A smile touched his lips and he reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, leaned closer to her and responded in a low, husky voice, “Sweetheart, nothing short of death is going to keep me away from you tonight.”

  Six

  Pam glanced around at the excited faces of her students. Practice had gone perfectly, with all of them knowing their lines. There was no doubt in her mind that nine-year-old Shauna Barnes had an acting career in her future. Everyone was gearing up for the play Dream Makers Drama Academy would be presenting next month, Charles Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol.

  “Do you need me to stay behind and help you straighten things up?” Cindy Ruffin asked a short while later, after all the students had been dismissed and were rushing out the door. It hadn’t rained as Pam had predicted, but a light layer of snow flurries were coming down.

  “No, I’m fine,” she said smiling.

  Cindy had been a godsend. Her husband, Todd, had been a classmate of Pam’s and, like her, Todd had left Gamble for college. He’d played pro football until an injury ended his career. A few years ago, after Hurricane Katrina, Todd had decided to move his family from New Orleans and back to his hometown. Everyone in town was glad for Todd’s return and within a year had talked him into running for mayor.

  “I think the kids did an awesome job at practice tonight, don’t you?” Cindy asked as a bright, cheery smile touched her lips.

  “Yes, and I have to thank you and Marsha for it. You’re the ones who have been working tirelessly with them while I’ve been dealing with paperwork,” she said.

  “Yes, but having you here is such an inspiration to them since it shows how successful you can be with hard work. You graduated from high school and went off to California to pursue your dream of acting. Do you miss it? All the glitz and glamour of Hollywood?”

  Pam thought about Cindy’s question. A part of her did miss it, but since she hadn’t yet become a part of the “Hollywood crowd” there wasn’t a lot she’d had to give up. She had gotten parts in a few low-budget movies, and her dates were mostly those planned by her agent for publicity purposes. She’d spent most of her free time studying her lines for auditions.

  “No, I really don’t miss it,” she said honestly. “At least not as much as I thought I would. I have so much going on for me here.”

  “Yes, I can see that,” Cindy said, glancing down at Pam’s engagement ring. “You didn’t make an official announcement about your engagement, but I gather a wedding is coming soon. Have you set a date yet?”

  Pam swallowed deeply as she looked down at her hand. She had put the ring back on after Dillon had left. Whenever she thought about the kiss they had shared, she could feel her eyes glaze over and her cheeks burn. She had never been kissed that way before. Never.

  Clearing her throat she said, “No, not yet.”

  After a few minutes more of conversation, Cindy left, leaving Pam all alone in the spacious residence that now housed the acting school. Several of the bedrooms downstairs had been converted into office space and classrooms, and the walls had been removed from the entire upstairs area to transform it into one vast studio.

  The huge basement had been transformed into a mini-movie-set where scenes could be filmed. It was here at Dream Makers that she had starred in her first low-budget movie for the Gamble theater group. She would always appreciate her very humble beginnings here.

  She glanced at her watch. It was a little past seven. She would have a chance to be by herself for a while before Dillon arrived, she thought.

  Dillon.

  She couldn’t think about him without remembering the kiss they had shared earlier that day. And every time she did sensations too numerous to count would invade her body, sending a thrill through her. She’d heard of a man pushing a woman’s buttons but, in Dillon’s case, he not only pushed them, he had leaned right on them and pretty heavily at that. He had pressed them into another zone. She still felt wired up.

  He had left her home shortly thereafter, saying he thought it would be best if he did so, fearing if he were to stay he might not be able to control himself. So she had watched him leave, Jay’s journal tucked under his arm, while flutters of desire had overtaken her stomach.

  Fletcher had called before she’d left home to tell her he had arrived in Montana safely but wouldn’t be returning to Gamble at the end of the week as he’d planned. The insurance company was being difficult, so it would be the first of next week before he got back.

  He had asked about Dillon, wanting to know if he was still hanging around town, and she had been upfront with him. Pam had informed him that Dillon had been invited back to dinner and had come to the house to finish going through the items in the attic. She could tell from the tone of Fletcher’s voice he hadn’t been pleased.

  She had dropped by Lester Gadling’s office before arriving at the academy and asked him to recheck her father’s papers to make sure he hadn’t missed something the first time. The attorney had seemed agitated by her visit, and had told her that he would do as she requested, but was confident that nothing would change. She had been hoping that somehow he had made a mistake.

  After phoning in and checking on her sisters to make sure everything was okay and all their homework was done, she began walking through all the rooms, tidying up as she went along. As it got closer to eight o’clock, she began to feel a nervousness tugging at her insides. And that same outlandish bout of desire that had overtaken her earlier that day was working its way upward from her toes to her midsection.

  There was no doubt in her mind that tonight she and Dillon would do more than just kiss. She knew they would be sharing passion of the most intense kind. They would both give, they would both take and s
he was truly counting on neither of them having any regrets. Now that she’d thought everything through and was comfortable in her decision, she would admit that she needed him tonight. She wanted him. And she intended to have him.

  * * *

  After pulling into the empty parking lot, Dillon switched off the ignition and checked his watch. Noting it wasn’t quite eight o’clock, he decided to stay put for a while.

  Adjusting the car seat to accommodate his long legs, he stretched them out in front of him as he released a deep sigh. It seemed as if time had done nothing but drag by since he had seen Pam earlier. He’d nearly gone crazy waiting so he had tried reading more of the journal. So far all Jay Novak had written was information about the dairy business and how well he and Raphel worked together. Apparently, Jay hadn’t been suspicious of the relationship between Raphel and Portia.

  Dillon’s thoughts shifted back to Pam. On the drive over from the hotel he had given himself a pep talk. Getting hyped up over a woman wasn’t his typical style, but he’d discovered nothing about him was the norm when it came to Pamela Novak. From the moment he had first laid eyes on her, she had touched him in a way no other woman had ever done before, and that included Tammi.

  He checked his watch again and as each minute ticked by so did his need to see her, be with her, hold her in his arms once more. He wanted to run his hands all over her and to taste her with his lips and tongue. He shifted in the seat as he felt his body get hard. It was cold outside, but the inside of his car was getting pretty damn hot.

  Dillon tried to switch his concentration to something else, anything else, as he waited. His thoughts drifted to the conversation he’d had with Ramsey a few hours ago regarding the text message he’d sent. Ramsey had gotten an angry call from Carl Newsome. It seemed that Bane was hanging around the man’s daughter again and making her dad downright unhappy to the point he’d threatened to do bodily harm to the youngest Denver Westmoreland if he didn’t leave Crystal Newsome alone.

  Dillon shook his head. For as long as he could remember, Crystal Newsome had been an itch his baby brother just had to scratch. If Bane didn’t wise up and leave Crystal alone, that scratch might get him into hot water.

  Dillon checked his watch again and after releasing a long breath, he opened the car door and got out. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d sneaked around to meet a woman under the cover of night, but as he headed toward the entrance to the Dream Maker Drama Academy, he had a feeling that tonight such a move would be well worth it.

  * * *

  Pam’s feet had touched the bottom stair when she heard the knock on the door. Without wasting any time, she moved in that direction. It was exactly eight o’clock.

  As she got closer to the glass door, she could see Dillon through it. He was standing there staring at her with an intense look on his face. That look sent ripples through her body and made her shiver, although the temperature was warm inside. She nervously licked her lips as she opened the door and shivered even more when she felt a blast of cold air.

  She quickly stepped back when Dillon walked in, and when he closed the door and gave her his dimpled smile, she felt heat bubbling up inside of her. As usual, he looked good. He had changed clothes and was now wearing dark slacks and a blue buttoned-up shirt. In place of his long coat he now had on a black leather bomber jacket.

  She felt ridiculously happy to see him and for lack of anything else, she said, “It didn’t rain today like I thought it would.”

  “No, it didn’t rain.” The warmth of his response matched the look in his eyes. As she stared deeper she saw that his dark depths seemed more hot than warm.

  He glanced around and sensing his curiosity, she said, “Come on, let me show you around.” She started to reach out and take his hand and then thought better of it. If she were to touch him now, any part of him, she would probably lose the little self-control she still had. For the next five minutes she took him on a tour of the academy and she could tell he was impressed with everything he saw.

  “And the woman who used to live here was once a teacher of yours?” he asked, after she had completed her tour of the upstairs and was ready to show him the basement.

  “Yes. Louise Shelton used to be my drama coach and was instrumental in my getting a scholarship to attend college in California. She died within a few months of my returning home after my father died. When she died she willed this place to me, with stipulations.”

  He lifted a brow. “What kind of stipulations?”

  “That I could never sell it and that it would always be used for what it was intended, which was to be a drama academy. I don’t have to stay here and run the school per se, but I have to make sure it is managed the way I know Louise would have wanted.”

  He nodded as he kept walking beside her. A part of her was aware they were wasting time when they both knew exactly what they wanted to do and why they had arranged to meet here at eight o’clock. She was willing to draw things out if he was; however, she doubted he had any idea of how being close to him, walking beside him, was messing with her senses and was stretching what little self-control she had to the limit. When they reached the basement stairs he slowed his steps to let her go first, and she could feel the intensity of his gaze on her again.

  It took all she had to put each foot in front of her, being careful not to slip, knowing he was so close behind her, watching her every step. When she reached the bottom floor she turned to wait for him to join her.

  And to kiss her.

  She had a feeling he knew it. He probably had detected that fact by the way she was breathing, or by the way she was now looking up at him as he moved down the stairs toward her. No doubt it wasn’t just one, but all of those things. And really, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was intuitive enough to pick up on what she wanted and needed, and as soon as he joined her on the bottom floor, he placed his hands at her waist and pulled her into his arms. Before she could draw in her next breath, he leaned down and connected his mouth to hers.

  * * *

  Dillon figured he could stand there and sip on her all night.

  Then, maybe not.

  Plummeting into her mouth, tasting her like this, with such intensity, such greed and hunger, was making his entire body throb. Desire as thick as it could get, was spreading through him at a rate he could barely control.

  He shifted his body, needing her to feel how aroused he was, which equated to just how much he wanted her. And just how much he needed her. He knew she was getting a clear picture when she wrapped her arms around his neck and shifted her body, adjusting it to his so that his erection was resting between the juncture of her thighs. And damn, it felt just like it was where it belonged, he thought.

  Well, not quite.

  Where it really belonged was deep inside of her. Hell, he was a man, a Westmoreland at that. He knew his male brothers and cousins that he’d grown up with, and he had met the male cousins from Atlanta. So there was no doubt in his mind they all had something in common when it came to basic primitive instincts. They all enjoyed making love to women.

  He could imagine taking her all over the place. He wanted to make love to Pam in every room and every single position he could think of and then some. He could certainly get creative rather quickly. But first, this way, starting at her mouth, kissing her with a yearning that made him wonder where in hell a damn bed was when you needed one.

  As if she sensed his agitation and the reason for it, she pulled her mouth away, took hold of his hand and led him through an area that looked like a soap-opera film set. They walked through a living room and dining room, caught a glimpse of a kitchen before going around a movable wall that led to a bedroom, one that was decorated with billowy white curtains at a fake window.

  On a shuddering sigh she stopped by the bed, and Dillon gazed deep into her eyes. He could tell that she was about to get all nervous on him and decided to say the same words he’d spoken earlier that day. Words she seemed to understand and
accept. “You give. I take. No regrets.”

  She stared at him for a moment and then he watched as her mouth curved into an easy smile. They would go through with their plans for tonight. No questions asked, no discussions needed. The main thing on his mind was getting inside of her, feeling her wetness surround him, clench him and milk him, which made him decide there was one subject open for discussion and he would initiate it. Birth control.

  “I brought condoms,” he said, patting the pocket of his slacks. There was no need to tell her just how many since it might scare her.

  “And I’m on the pill.” She bit nervously on her bottom lip and then added, “And I am not sleeping with Fletcher. I’ve never slept with him, in case you’re wondering about that for health reasons.”

  Fletcher.

  It was only then that he remembered the other man, which made him glance down at her hand. She had taken the ring off again. He wondered why she and her fiancé had never been intimate. Not that he was complaining.

  He truly believed she was not a woman who could be in love with one man and sleep with another. That meant there was something about her engagement to Mallard that wasn’t on the up-and-up. Sooner or later he intended to get some answers. But not now.

  The only thing he wanted to get right now was some of her.

  He suddenly detected that her scent had changed and, like a man acutely honed on the woman he wanted, he breathed her into his nostrils, a potent blend of perfume and body chemistry. It was an aroma that could drive a man wild and would make him want to get inside of her real quick and explode all over the place. But only after making sure she was ready to detonate right along with him.

  For a long time after Tammi had left he had kept his guard up around women, and had only dated when he got a physical urge to mate as a way to relax, relieve stress and keep his abundance of male hormones in check. But there was something different about Pam, something he’d picked up on the first moment he’d seen her.