The Object of His Protection - Brenda Jackson [28]
Chapter 8
As much as he wanted to, Drey could not dismiss the impact on his senses of the kiss he had shared with Charlene. He felt a tight squeeze in his chest when he thought about what she was doing to him. And he didn’t like it one bit.
He hadn’t been able to walk out the door quick enough. Temptation had been nipping at his heels to go back inside of his home and pull her into his arms for another round. It had taken everything he had to get into his car and drive away. Even now he was fighting the urge to turn around and go back.
When was the last time a woman had taken such a toll on his libdo? Probably never. He had invited Charlene into his home, totally unprepared for the degree of attraction he had for her. He’d been very much aware that he wanted her before, but what he hadn’t been prepared for was his lack of control around her, where at every opportune moment he wanted to drag her into his arms and kiss her senseless. He was not one who easily succumbed to passion, but he had today. If he could have had his way he would still be kissing her.
No, he would have escalated things to another level by now. At some point she would have made it to his bed and he would be inside her this very moment. The mere thought had intense desire flooding all parts of him, especially one that was destined to explode if it didn’t get some relief.
It didn’t take long to reach his mother’s house, and for a few highly charged moments he remained in his car, trying to bring a semblance of control back to his body. After taking several deep breaths he cut off the ignition and calmed the wild flutterings in his stomach.
He had an investigation to complete and he could not lose sight of the fact that somehow his own mother might be involved. The last time he had been here she had dropped a bombshell that had rocked his entire world. And now he wanted to know everything, hear the entire story. He wanted her to explain just how thirty-three years ago she had gotten involved with a married man.
Drey had done the math. Harmon Braddock had been married at the time he and Daiyu had been involved. For the life of him, Drey could not picture his mother as a home-wrecker. His parents had shared a beautiful marriage. She had been completely dedicated to his father. She had taken Ronald St. John’s death just as hard as he had and over the years since then, she had not gotten serious with another man, although he had known there had been a few who’d been interested. Just as Charlene had stated, his mother had been and still was a very beautiful woman.
He glanced around. The approach of winter hadn’t stopped his mother from spending time outdoors in her garden. The last time he was here the plants had looked a little sickly. Now they looked alive and vibrant, which meant although his mother had avoided him for the past few days, she had managed to tend to her garden.
He thought about why he was here. It seemed the one woman he loved most in the world had been keeping secrets. Secrets he was slowly unraveling.
Getting out of the car, he moved up the walkway toward the Cape Cod-style house as his mind filled with memories of other times he’d taken this same path. It wasn’t unusual for him to drop by on occasion to see how she was doing or to see if she needed his assistance. His mother was an independent woman and although he always offered his services, she preferred doing things for herself. He’d always admired that about her.
Taking the keys out of his back pocket, he let himself in as he’d always done. At any other time his mother would be at work, but she had called and said she wanted to finish their conversation, which meant she’d be waiting for him to arrive.
He walked through the house and went straight to the kitchen. He found her there, sitting at the table with her hands crossed on top of it. Her long dark hair hung past her shoulders, and like his, her eyes were dark and slanted over high cheekbones and a rounded face. She was an Asian beauty who looked like thirty-five instead of fifty-five.
“I heard your car pull up,