The Secret Affair(16)

                When he reached her, he came to a stop directly in front of her and she refused to back up. Instead she stood her ground. He couldn’t help but admire her spunk, although in this case it would be wasted.

                “I do dare because I don’t just think it, Jillian, I know it. And I also know that you’re going to kiss me back. Again.”





                                      Four

                Jillian doubted she’d ever met a more arrogant man. And what was even worse, he had the nerve to stand in front of her with his Stetson tipped back and his legs braced apart in an overconfident stance. How dare he tell her what she would do? Kiss him back? Did he really believe that? Honestly?

                She tilted her head back to glare up at him. He didn’t glare back, but he held her gaze in a way that was unnerving. And then his eyes moved, slowly raking over her from head to toe. Was that desire she felt rushing through her body? Where had these emotions inside of her come from? Was she getting turned on from the way he was looking at her? She tried to stiffen at the thought but instead she was drawn even more into the heat of his gaze.

                “Stop that!”

                He lifted a brow. “Stop what?”

                “Whatever you’re doing.”

                He crossed his arms over his chest. “So, you think I’m responsible for the sound of your breathing? For the way your nipples have hardened and are pressing against your shirt? And for the way the tip of your tongue is tingling, eager to connect with mine?”

                Every single thing he’d pointed out was actually happening to her, but she refused to admit any of them. She crossed her arms over her own chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

                “Then I guess we’re at a standoff.”

                “No, we’re not,” she said, dropping her hands to her sides. “I’m leaving. You can play this silly game with someone else.”

                She turned to go and when his hand reached out and touched her arm, sharp spikes of blood rushed through her veins, filling her pores, drenching the air she was breathing with heated desire. And what on earth was that hunger throbbing inside of her at the juncture of her thighs? And what were those slow circles he was making on her arm with his index finger? She expelled a long deep breath and fought hard to retain control of her senses.

                Jillian wanted to snatch her arm away but found she couldn’t. What kind of spell had he cast on her? Every hormone in her body sizzled, hissed and surged with a need she’d never felt before. She couldn’t deny the yearning pulsing through her even if she wanted to.

                “You feel it, don’t you, Jillian? It’s crazy, I know, and it’s something I can’t explain, but I feel it each and every time I’m within a few feet of you. As far as I’m concerned, Pam and Dillon are the least of our worries. Figuring out just what the hell is going on between us should be at the top of the agenda. You can deny it as long as you want, but that won’t help. You need to admit it like I have.”

                She did feel it and a part of her knew there was real danger in admitting such a thing. But another part knew he was right. With some things it was best to admit there was a problem and deal with it. Otherwise, she would lay awake tonight and regret not doing so.

                His hand slowly traveled up her arm toward her lips. There he cradled her mouth in the palm of his hands. “And whatever it is has me wanting to taste you and has you wanting to taste me. It has me wanting to lick your mouth dry and you wanting to lick mine in the same way.”