Jared's Counterfeit Fiancee - Brenda Jackson [11]
So she hung in and continued to let him kiss her, finding exquisite pleasure in every moment that he did so. Then he changed the rhythm of their kiss as his tongue played seek and retreat with hers, making a whimper rumble from deep within her throat.
Heat throbbed within Jared as he continued to kiss Dana. Initially, he had meant for the kiss to be nothing more than a way of saying goodbye, to satisfy his curiosity and hunger, but the moment he tasted her sweetness he was helpless to do anything but sink in and savor.
He made sure his kiss was gentle but thorough as he relentlessly explored her mouth. His tongue dueled with hers in a slow sensuous motion and when she wound her arms around his neck and arched her body to the hard length of his, he was consumed with hot waves of desire. There was something about her that had his senses pulsating. Never before had he been this driven to devour anyone.
Moments later with a fevered moan, he lifted his mouth away from hers although he continued to track her lips with his tongue. “You’re beautiful in every way that a woman can be, Dana,” he whispered roughly against her ear, burying his face in her neck and placing a kiss there.
His compliment touched Dana’s very core. No one had ever said such a thing to her. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. It’s the truth,” he said, releasing her slowly and taking a step back. “And I want to thank you again for helping me out today.”
“I want to thank you, as well. Like I said, your family is wonderful.”
He nodded. There would be no reason to see her after today. He tried racking his brain for some excuse to drop by, but couldn’t find one. He ran a frustrated hand across the back of his neck. No woman had ever had him this reluctant to say goodbye. He glanced around the room, stalling for time. “Where’s Tom?” he asked, trying to prolong the time by even an additional second if he could.
“He’s probably in my bed.”
Damn lucky cat. Jared met her gaze and knew he should leave before he did something really crazy such as grabbing her and starting to kiss her again. “Goodbye, Dana.”
“Goodbye, Jared.”
“Take care of yourself.” And with those final words he turned, opened the door and walked out of the house.
Three
A round ten the next morning, Jared walked into his parents’ home. His nine o’clock court appointment had gotten canceled, which afforded him the opportunity to visit his mother and straighten out yesterday’s misunderstanding.
“Mom! Dad!” he called out while walking through the living room to the kitchen.
“I’m out back,” was his father’s reply.
Jared opened the kitchen door and stepped onto the sun deck his father had built last year. He saw him busy at work putting a coat of polish on his classic Ford Mustang. “Good morning, Dad.”
“Morning, son. What a nice surprise to see you on a Monday morning.”
“I had a canceled court hearing this morning. Where is everyone?”
“Durango stayed over at Stone’s place last night and Ian and Spencer are having breakfast with their cousins at Chase’s Place. Quade had to fly out first thing this morning to return to D.C. and Reggie, I imagine went to work.”
Jared nodded and glanced around. “I need to talk to Mom. Is she upstairs?”
His father sighed deeply. “No, she had a doctor’s appointment this morning.”
Jared frowned. “A doctor’s appointment? Is anything wrong?”
His father shrugged. “I hope not, but you know your mother. If something is wrong then I’ll be the last to know. She thinks if she tells me anything I’d worry myself to death. I wouldn’t know about her appointment today if I hadn’t heard the message the doctor’s office left on the answering machine reminding her of it. Appears they found another lump during her