Thorn's Challenge - Brenda Jackson [30]
Her taste seduced him. It made his mind concentrate on things it shouldn’t be thinking about this close to competition time. He needed to pull back, but he was steadily convincing himself otherwise.
He only brought the kiss to an end when he detected her need to breathe and wondered just how long their mouths had been joined. He stared into her eyes, watching the play of emotions that crossed her face. Confusion? Curiosity? Caution?
He took a step back. They had shared enough for tonight. The next time they were together they would be around family and friends who would serve as the buffer he needed between them.
“Drive home safely, Tara,” he said, deciding she needed to leave now so he could pull himself together before he was tempted to do something he would later regret.
She nodded and without saying anything, she got into the car. His heart skipped a beat when he got a glimpse of her thighs. The hem of her dress inched up as she slid into the driver’s seat. Forcing breath into his lungs, he watched as she slowly drove off, all the while thinking, that he had five weeks of pure hell to endure. Five whole weeks he somehow intended to survive.
Seven
“O kay, Mr. Westmoreland, I only need a few more shots and then this session will be all over,” the photographer said as she adjusted the lighting.
Thank God, Thorn thought as he sat astride his bike once again. He had plenty of work to do back at the shop and had been at this photo session for three hours. The photographer, Lois Kent, had decided the best place to shoot the photos was outside to better show the man, his bike and the open road.
They had taken over a hundred shots already and Thorn’s patience was beginning to wear thin. The only thing that kept him going was knowing that he was living up to his end of the bargain, which meant he could make damn sure Tara lived up to hers. This past week he’d been restless, agitated and moodier than ever.
“It will only take a minute while I reload the film.”
Thorn nodded. Things hadn’t gone as badly as he’d thought they would. Lois Kent was strictly a professional, unlike Patrice. To Lois this was a job and nothing more and he appreciated that.
He glimpsed behind her and saw a car pull up. His heart quickened when he recognized the driver.
He watched as Tara got out of her car and walked toward them. She was wearing a pair of white slacks and a pullover blue sweater.
And as usual she looked good.
It had been a week since he had seen her; a week since he had taken her to his brother’s restaurant for the Super Bowl party. Even surrounded by family and friends, he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her. His interest in Tara hadn’t gone unnoticed by his brothers. And they had been teasing him about it ever since, which only pissed him off even more.
He raised a brow, wondering why she was here, not that he had any complaints. It was only that he had been trying to keep his distance from her so that he could retain his sanity and his control. He had decided it would only take a week or two to get her primed to the level he wanted her to be. He now had four weeks left.
He watched as she spoke to Lois, and then she glanced over at him. “Hi Thorn.”
“Tara,” he acknowledged, taking a deep breath. He had been the perfect gentleman that Super Bowl Sunday, even when he had taken her home. He had kissed her on her doorstep, made sure she had gotten safely inside and left. Doing more than that would have been suicide.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” he said, not taking his eyes off her as he drank in her beauty.