Thorn's Challenge - Brenda Jackson [19]
Tara knew she was seeing another side of Thorn Westmoreland. For some reason he wasn’t his usual grumpy self, and she decided to take full advantage of his current kinder and gentler disposition. She knew it would probably be best for the both of them if they were to continue to avoid each other, but then she thought of Mrs. Chadwick’s request. Somehow and someway she had to get Thorn to agree to pose for that calendar.
Together they silently walked the surrounding land. She saw more wild animals than she had ever seen before. There was a family of deer, numerous rabbits and wild turkeys. There was even a fox skirting across the overbrush. In soft tones Thorn pointed out to her the spot where he had learned to ride his first motorcycle. His grandparents had bought it for him when he was twelve years old. It had been a dirt bike, one not meant for the road.
“Ready to go?” he finally asked her.
Tara glanced up at him. “Yes, I’m ready.”
Thorn leaned toward her to place her helmet back on her head and suddenly he stopped. He traced her jawline with the tip of his finger and met her gaze. She took a slow, deep breath to calm the erratic beating of her heart when it became crystal-clear what he was about to do. He was going to kiss her and she couldn’t form the words to tell him not to.
Instead, a need, a hunger, flared to life inside her when her gaze settled on his lips as his gaze had settled on hers. Memories filled her mind of the last two kisses they had shared. Hot. Mind-boggling kisses.
She quickly decided that she would question the sensibility of her actions later, but for now she needed this kiss as much as she needed her next breath.
She shuddered when she thought of the intensity of that need and felt a quickening in her stomach when he lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips automatically parted the second their mouths touched, and she breathed a sigh of pleasure as her arms reached out to hold him.
As it had been the other times, his mouth was skillful, and another soft sigh escaped her lips when he deepened the kiss and thoroughly explored the warm recesses of her mouth with his tongue. Then he captured hers and gently mated with it, the sensations rocking her all the way to her toes.
She knew the taste of him, had never forgotten it and refused to consider the possibility it was becoming addictive. However, she did concede that this kiss, the hunger behind it and all the enticements in front of it, were causing a deep ache between her legs. This open-mouthed exploration of tongues and teeth was flooding her with sensations she had never felt before. She heard one of them whimper and moan and realized the sounds were coming from her. She shouldn’t expect any less when the blood was running so hot and heavy in her veins.
She felt his hand run provocatively down her back to settle on her hips, then slowly to her backside, and she moved her body closer to the fit of his. Her belly was pressed against his front and she could feel an incredible hardness straining against the crotch of his jeans. For the moment, she didn’t care. The only thing she did care about was the fact that she was enjoying kissing him. Their tongues continued to tangle and their breaths steadily mingled.
Reluctantly, he ended the kiss, struggling for control. She saw his jaw tense and knew he was regretting kissing her already. Without saying anything he placed her helmet back on her head, adjusted the straps and help her straddle the bike.
He had gone from tender to moody in just that instant and she didn’t like it. When he got back on the bike and had his own helmet in place, she asked, in a fairly angry voice. “Why did you kiss me if you’re going to get all huffy and puffy about it? Next time keep your mouth to yourself, Thorn Westmoreland.”
For the longest moment he didn’t say anything, then finally he turned to her on the bike and said. “That’s the problem, Tara. When it comes to you I don’t think I can keep my mouth to myself. It seems to always wants to find its way to yours.”
He sighed deeply and