A Wife for a Westmoreland - Brenda Jackson [49]
“And if you change your mind about this exclusivity thing, you will let me know? I wouldn’t find out from others?”
He shook his head. “No, you wouldn’t find out from others. I wouldn’t do you that way, Lucia. If and when I get ready to end things between us, you will be the first to know.”
He paused for a moment and then inclined his head. “So, if you fully accept those terms, please come over here for a second,” he murmured in seductive invitation.
She hesitated, still uncertain. She knew there was sexual chemistry between them, she could feel the snap, crackle and pop even now with the distance separating them. On what was probably the coldest day in Denver this year, he was sitting over there looking hotter than any man had a right to look, and he got finer and finer each time she saw him. His dark eyes were pulling her in, mesmerizing her down to her panties. And that luscious mouth of his seemed to be calling out to her, tempting her in ways she really didn’t need to be tempted; especially when she went to bed each night dreaming of him.
She would be the first to say that his offer of an exclusive affair surprised her because she knew that’s not how he operated. In fact, that was not how any of the single Westmorelands handled their business with women. So why was he treading off the beaten track?
One thing was for certain; his blatant honesty about the kind of relationship he wanted with her had caught her off guard. He wasn’t promising love, although he was well aware of how she felt about him. Instead of offering her love in return, he was offering her an exclusive affair.
Suddenly something happened that she hoped she didn’t live to regret. At that moment, she began listening to her heart and not her mind. Her heart was telling her that she loved him too much not to take him up on the offer he’d laid out to her. She would be entering the affair with both eyes open and no expectations except one. He would give her advance notice when he was ready to end things between them.
That meant that while things lasted she would spend all the time with him she desired. She would be the only woman sharing his bed. The one and only woman claiming Derringer Westmoreland’s full attention. She glanced down at her hand and accepted the fact that the only drawback was that he would never put a ring on her finger.
She glanced back up and her gaze returned to the deep, dark eyes that were staring at her. And waiting. And as she returned his stare, she was getting wet just thinking about all the things they would probably spend their time doing together as an exclusive couple.
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and watched his gaze take in her every movement as she slowly stood. And then he stood and at that moment she realized what he was doing. Something she hadn’t expected. He was meeting her halfway.
He began walking toward her the moment she began walking toward him and they met in the center. “I wasn’t sure you were going to take those steps,” he whispered throatily when they stood face-to-face, his mesmerizing dark gaze locked on hers.
“I wasn’t sure either.”
He then cupped her face in his hands and took possession of her mouth in the way she’d gotten used to him doing.
When Lucia began responding to his kiss that had liquid heat flaming inside him, he knew what they both wanted and needed. And this was the perfect day for it. He broke off the kiss and swept her off her feet and into his arms and purposefully moved toward her bedroom. Wanting her this much was the epitome of insanity, but he might as well get used to it.
He placed her on the bed and stepped back to quickly remove his clothes, sending them flying all over the place. And then for the first time since they’d made love, he took the time to use a condom.
When he returned to the bed, he captured her hand and drew her toward him to remove her clothes, slowly stripping her bare. Today she was wearing a pair of white panties,