Thorn's Challenge - Brenda Jackson [28]
A warning bell went off in his head and he got the uneasy feeling that he was losing control and shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts, even if Tara was proving to be the most captivating woman he’d ever met.
He drew in a deep breath. The coming weeks would test his willpower, his determination and definitely his control. The only thing that would make any of it worth a damn was the possibility of her being his, completely his, in the end. And that was what he needed to know more than anything. He had to know if she would accept the proposal he had offered her.
“If I’d known you were stopping by, I would have tidied up the place,” he finally said as moments continued to tick by.
She turned slightly and gestured around the room that all of a sudden looked small and felt cramped. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to go to any trouble on my account. Besides, I don’t plan to stay that long anyway. I only stopped by to let you know of my decision.”
He pushed away from the door and walked into the center of the room, needing to be closer to her. “And what is your decision, Tara?”
She turned and met his inquiring gaze. Damn, she looked good, and he fought the urge to reach out and pull her into his arms, to taste her in a kiss that had his mouth watering at the thought of it.
Awareness flashed in her eyes. They were heated, compelling, and he watched as emotions flickered through them. For a long moment the two of them stood in the center of his office feeding off each other’s needs, wants and desires. And the sad thing about it was that they couldn’t control their reactions to each other. It seemed they were both suffering from a unique brand of animal lust.
Thorn let out a deep breath and took a step back. Nothing of this magnitude had ever happened to him. He was within a few feet of jumping her bones. He had a mind to take her right there in his office, on his desk. Right then, at that moment, he saw her as a means to an end, a way to get intense pleasure and a way to give pleasure as well.
He shook his head, reminding himself that he would have to wait another five weeks, until after the race. He cursed inwardly. As far as he was concerned the first week of March couldn’t get there soon enough.
He then remembered he was assuming things. She hadn’t said she would go along with what he had proposed. For all he knew she could have come to tell him to go to hell and to take his proposal with him.
He swallowed deeply. The suspense was killing him as much as his lust was. “What’s it going to be?” he had to ask her.
He watched her study him with dark eyes before saying, “I want to make sure I understand what you’re proposing, Thorn. You will pose for the calendar if I agree to sleep with you in a completely physical, emotional free affair once your race at Bike Week is over. I’m supposed to be at your disposal, your beck and call for a week.”
He smiled. Everything she had said sounded pretty damn right to him. It had also painted one hell of a tempting picture in his mind. “Yeah, that about sums it up.”
“And you won’t touch me until after the race?” she said, as if to clarify.
Thorn crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, I will touch you, I just won’t make love to you in the traditional sense until after the race. As far as I’m concerned, anything else is game.”
Tara lifted a brow. “Anything…like what?”
Now it was Thorn’s turn to lift a brow. “A variety of things, and I’m surprised you would have to ask.”
Tara nodded, deciding to leave well enough alone before he become suspicious about just how much experience she had. Knowing she was a virgin would really scare him off and probably anger him to the point of not posing for the calendar. “I fully understand my part in all of this.”
Thorn inwardly smiled. He doubted