A Little Dare - Brenda Jackson [25]
He took a sip of coffee and responded, “Jared thinks that whatever we decide is the best way to handle letting AJ know I’m his father is fine as long as we’re in agreement. But he strongly thinks I should do whatever needs to be done to compensate you from the time he was born. And I agree. As his father I had certain responsibilities to him.”
“But you didn’t know about him, Dare.”
“But I know about him now, Shelly, and that makes a world of difference.”
Shelly nodded. She knew that to argue with Dare would be a complete waste of her time. “All right, I have a college fund set up and if you’d like to contribute, I have no problem with that. That is definitely one way you can help.”
Dare leaned back in his chair and met her gaze. “Are you sure there’s no other way I can help?”
For a moment she wondered if he was asking for AJ or for her. Could he detect the deep longing within her, the sexual cravings, and knew he could help her there? She sighed, knowing she was letting her mind become cluttered. AJ was the only thing between them, and she had to remember that.
“Yes, I’m sure,” she said softly. “My job pays well and I’ve always budgeted to live within my means. The cost of living isn’t as high here as it is in L.A., and my parents aren’t charging me any rent, so AJ and I are fine, Dare, but thanks for asking.”
At that moment the telephone rang; she hoped he didn’t see the relief on her face. “Excuse me,” she said, standing quickly. “That’s probably the agency calling to let me know my hours and clients for next week.”
As Shelly listened to the agency’s secretary tell her what her schedule would be for the following week, she tried to get her thoughts back together. Dare had stirred up emotions and needs that she’d thought were dead and buried until she’d seen him two days ago. His presence had blood racing through her body at an alarming speed.
“All right, thanks for calling,” she said before hanging up the phone. She quickly turned and bumped into a massive solid chest. “Oh.”
Dare reached out and quickly stopped Shelly from falling. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, his words soft and gentle.
She took a step back when he released her. Each time he touched her she was reminded of the sensual feelings he could easily invoke. “I thought you were still sitting down.”
“I thought it was time for me to leave. I don’t want to take you from your work any longer.”
She rubbed her hands across her arms, knowing it was best if he left. “Is that all Jared said?”
He nodded. That was all she needed to know. There was no need to tell her that Jared had suggested the possibility of him having legal visitation rights and petitioning for joint custody of AJ. Both suggestions he had squashed, since he and Shelly had devised what they considered a workable plan.
His gaze moved to her hands and he watched her fingers sliding back and forth across her arms. He remembered her doing that very thing on a certain part of his anatomy several times. The memory of the warmth of her fingers touching him so intimately slammed another arousal through his body that strengthened the one already there.
At that moment, he lost whatever control he had. Being around her stirred up memories and emotions he could no longer fight, nor did he want to. The only thing he wanted, he needed, was to kiss her, taste her and reacquaint the insides of his mouth, his tongue, with hers.
Shelly was having issues of her own and took a steadying breath, trying to get the heated desire racing through her body under control. She swallowed deeply when she saw that Dare’s gaze was dead-centered on her mouth, and fought off the panic that seized her when he took a step forward.
“I wonder…” he said huskily, his gaze not leaving her lips.
She blinked, refocused on him. “You wonder about what?” she asked softly, feeling the last shreds of her composure slipping.
“I wonder if your mouth still knows me.”
His words cut through any control she had left. Those were the words he had always whispered whenever