Jared's Counterfeit Fiancee - Brenda Jackson [21]
For the life of him he couldn’t understand this unusual brand of sexual chemistry. It wasn’t as if he didn’t come into contact with beautiful women. He’d once dated a former Miss Georgia for heaven’s sakes. So what was there about Dana Rollins that had him counting the minutes, the seconds before he would see her again?
He hated admitting it, but the women he’d dated in the past were usually self-centered, aggressive and accustomed to getting their own way. But not Dana. She was strong-willed, but although he had witnessed her explosive temper the first day they’d met, he knew she was a kind person. She had cared enough about his mother’s welfare to go along with his outrageous proposal of a fake engagement.
And speaking of his mother, Sarah Westmoreland definitely liked Dana. Yesterday she had gone so far as to suggest they have a short engagement and a June wedding. He had immediately burst a hole in her bubble by letting her know that was out of the question. But still, seeing the look of happiness on his mother’s face made him realize that no matter what, this pretense of an engagement with Dana was worth it.
Jared rubbed the top of his head as he remembered his conversation with Dare last night. He’d meant what he told his cousin. Nothing, and he meant nothing, would develop between him and Dana, no matter how attracted he was to her. It wouldn’t be the first time he was attracted to a woman and it wouldn’t be the last.
His meeting with Sylvester had reaffirmed his conviction that marriage wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be and he intended to enjoy his remaining days on this earth as a single man.
Whatever pep talk he’d given himself an hour earlier stood on shaky ground when lust took control of his body. A jolt of sexual awareness raced up his spine when he pulled up and saw Dana standing in front of her office building.
She was the model of professionalism with her upswept hairdo and two-piece navy-blue powerhouse suit. Her knee-length skirt was longer than the one she’d been wearing yesterday, thank goodness. He wasn’t sure he’d been able to resist putting his hands on her bare thighs again.
She opened the car door and slipped inside. “Hi, Jared.”
He swallowed. The air was suddenly charged with sexual energy. “Dana.”
He watched as she snapped her seat belt in place and tried not to notice how her skirt inched up a little, exposing those thighs and long, shapely legs he had dreamed about. He breathed in the scent of her, a womanly fragrance that was just another sexy detail for his fantasies.
“Were you waiting long?” he asked, adjusting his sunglasses and trying to control the rapid beat of his pulse.
She smiled as she pressed back against the car’s leather interior, unintentionally showing more leg and thigh. His heartbeat raced right along with his pulse. “No, I walked out a few minutes ago. Your timing was excellent.”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he eased into traffic. There were cars everywhere, and he needed to focus on his driving and not on how firm Dana’s breasts looked against her blouse. And heaven forbid he thought about her mouth and how it had parted under his yesterday, inviting him to deepen their kiss.
“Were you able to get the ring?”
He allowed his gaze to travel over to her when he came to a traffic light. “No. They had already sold it so I had to buy another one.” He watched as that sexy mouth twisted into a frown.
“What will we tell your family?”
“That I liked this one better.” Jared sighed deeply. That was the truth. He still didn’t understand why it bothered him to see Cord’s ring on her finger. Probably because he knew the whole story and felt she’d deserved better.
He