Thorn's Challenge - Brenda Jackson [37]
She inhaled a lengthy, deep, fortifying breath when she thought of what Thorn wanted to do to her. Closing her eyes she thought of the picture Thorn had painted at the restaurant of them in bed together. She imagined him climbing on her, straddling her and burying himself deep within her, stroking her insides, making it last while his desire raged for her at a level that wasn’t normally possible. Then finally, as she imagined him climaxing inside her, with nothing separating them, feeling everything, the complete essence of him, she felt the area around the juncture of her legs get hot and sensitive.
Tara opened her eyes. She’d better play it safe. Just in case there was a slim possibility that she and Thorn ever actually did make love, she knew she would want it just as he described. Tara decided to make an appointment with her gynecologist this week.
Eight
T ara glanced at the clock on the wall. Thorn would be arriving any minute.
She had called him at the shop asking if he knew anything about repairing a leaking faucet. It was the perfect ploy since his brothers had gone on a camping trip for the weekend. Had they been available, he would wonder why she had summoned him instead of one of them.
She nearly jumped at the sound of the doorbell. It had been a couple of days since she had seen him, and today she had a plan. She was intent on testing his control to the limit, with the hope that he would finally see that was more trouble than she was worth and a threat to his winning his race; especially if he strongly believed in this celibacy thing.
She looked down at herself before walking to the door. Although her outfit wasn’t outright provocative, she thought it would definitely grab his attention. After glancing out of the peephole in the door, she opened it.
“Thorn, thanks for coming. I really hated to bother you but that dripping faucet was driving me crazy and I knew if I didn’t get it taken care of, I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“No problem,” he said, stepping inside with a toolbox in his hand. “I’m sure this will only take a minute.”
His gaze traveled down the length of her, taking in her very short cut-off jeans and her barely-there, thin tank top. It wasn’t transparent but it might as well have been the way her nipples showed through. It left very little to the imagination.
His face turned into a frown. “You went somewhere dressed like that?”
She glanced down at herself. “What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?”
“Nothing, unless you’re looking for trouble.”
She thought about telling him that the only trouble she was looking for was standing right in front of her. Instead she rolled her eyes. “Back off, Thorn. You’re beginning to sound like Stone.”
He raised a brow. “Stone?”
“Yes, Stone. He’s on this big-brother kick.”
Thorn met her gaze. “I’m sure he is concerned about your welfare.”
“Trust me, I can take care of myself. Now, if you don’t mind, will you take a look at my faucet?”
He sighed. “Lead the way.”
Thorn wished he could take back those three words when she walked off in front of him. His blood raced fast and furiously through all parts of his body when his gaze slid to her backside. Damn, her shorts were short. Way too short. And they were as tight as tight could be. She would probably get arrested if she wore something that short and tight out in public. They stopped barely at the end of her cheeks and each step she took showed him a little of a bare behind. When she headed up the stairs he decided to stop her.
“Hey, wait. Where are we going?”
She stopped and glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Up to my room.”
He swallowed. “Why?”
Tara turned around and tried to keep her expression bland and innocent. “To fix the leaking faucet in the master bathroom.”
Thorn didn’t move. He had assumed she needed the faucet in her kitchen fixed. Hell, his control would be tested to the limit if he had to go anywhere near her bedroom.