Thorn's Challenge - Brenda Jackson [15]
Finishing off his beer and placing the empty can in the bin, he headed back up the stairs to the bedroom. He was hot. He was hard. He was horny. And the sound of the rain pounding against his roof didn’t help matters. It only made him want to pound his body into Tara’s with the same steady yet urgent rhythm. The thought of doing so made his gut clench with need. A vivid, sensuous scene flashed in his mind. The impact almost took his breath away. Thorn quickly sucked in air. This was not good. Tara Matthews fascinated him. She intrigued him and filled him with intense desire and made him think of unbridled passion.
Unless he did something about his predicament, she would be the death of him and he wasn’t ready to die just yet.
Four
“T here’s only one word to describe your brother, Laney, and that’s stubborn.”
The two women were sitting at a table on the terrace of the restaurant. They had enjoyed lunch and were now enjoying a glass of wine. A smile tilted the corners of Delaney’s lips and her eyes sparkled as she glanced over at her friend. “Let me guess. You must be referring to brother number two, none other than Thorn Westmoreland.”
Tara couldn’t help but return Delaney’s smile. “Yes. Who else? Your other brothers are simply adorable and don’t have a grumpy bone in their bodies. But that Thorn…”
Delaney chuckled. “I don’t know why you continue to let him get next to you, Tara,” she said, taking another sip of her wine, although she had a pretty good idea. She had been keeping a close eye on Thorn and Tara since they’d met and knew better than anyone that the spark of annoyance flying between two individuals was a sure sign of attraction. She and her husband Jamal could certainly attest to that. When they’d first met there had been sparks, too, but then the sparks had turned into fiery embers that had fed another kind of fire. Delaney hated that she hadn’t been around more to prod Thorn and Tara in the right direction. She and Jamal had spent more time in his homeland during their son Ari’s first year of life. They had returned to the States a few months ago so that she could complete the rest of her residency at a hospital in Kentucky. They would be remaining in the States for at least another year.
“I know I shouldn’t let him get under my skin, Laney, but I can’t help it. For instance, last night, when the others left my house after the card game, Thorn hung back just to rattle me.”
Delaney lifted a brow. “Thorn hung back? I’m surprised he wasn’t the first to leave.”
Tara had been surprised, too. Usually, he avoided her like the plague. “Well, for once he decided to stick around.”
“And?”
“And he said we needed to talk.”
Delaney shook her head. “About Mrs. Chadwick wanting him to do that calendar?”
“No, I never got around to mentioning that.”
“Oh. Then what did the two of you have to talk about?”
A rush of color suffused Tara’s mahogany skin when she thought of just what they had done in addition to talking. Aftereffects of their kiss still had her feeling warm and tingly in certain places.
“Tara?”
Tara met Delaney’s gaze. “Ahh…he wants to take me bike-riding today and we talked about that,” she said, not telling Delaney everything because she figured she really didn’t have to. No doubt there was a telltale sign all over her face that Thorn had kissed her.
“Are you?”
Tara blinked as Delaney’s question broke into her thoughts. “Am I what?”
“Are you going bike-riding with Thorn?”
Tara shrugged. “I told him I wouldn’t, but that didn’t mean a thing to him since he indicated he would drop by today anyway. At first I had planned to make sure I wasn’t home when he arrived, but then I remembered Mrs. Chadwick and that darned calendar.”
“So, you’re going?”
Tara breathed in a deep sigh. “I guess so, I’m only going so that I can ask him about the charity calendar.”
Delaney smiled. It seemed things were finally beginning to happen between Thorn and Tara; after two years it was definitely about time.