couch next to her. Turning her head slightly toward him, she opened her eyes. It always surprised her in someway that he wasn’t the young boy she remembered so well. Maybe it was the mustache, she thought.
He gently traced her cheek with his forefinger. “I’m not a knight in shining armor, but I’m trying to keep you safe, Rae.”
“I think,” she said slowly, “that I believe you, Jedidiah Waters.”
Jed smiled. “It’s a start.”
Eight
The words swirled enticingly through Rae’s mind. Maybe it was a start for both of them … an understanding. A heady warmth flooded her veins at the thought, and she smiled at him.
Jed muttered a soft curse, and lowered his head. His lips touched hers softly, almost hesitantly. They lifted, then dropped back again for another teasing caress, and another, and another, before his mouth settled upon hers and moved slowly. Her spine tingled. She knew she shouldn’t allow him to kiss her. Jed’s kisses were dangerous. And tempting. She savored the way their lips merged as if made for each other. His fingers curved around her jaw in a gentle grip, even as their tongues entwined in a languorous mating. She told herself she shouldn’t be doing this. She really shouldn’t. Things were complicated enough between them.
But it was just one little kiss. Just one, she silently promised herself. Just one.
She slid her palms up his chest to encircle his shoulders, her fingers finding the iron-hard muscles underneath his robe. His arm tightened around her, bringing with it a long-sought feeling of warmth and protection. Suddenly, he pulled her hard against him, and the kiss exploded in a white flame of desire. She groaned in the back of her throat, as the last of her resistance crumbled against the onslaught of his tender demands. Dimly, she realized that something inside her had been waiting—waiting for Jed, and now that something had surfaced, dragging her helplessly into the kiss. To push him away would be to push away an integral part of herself.
Her mouth twisted and turned in perfect response to his, and all the while she hungrily wanted more. Her fingers delighted in the feel of his hair, the strong column of his neck, the tensile strength of his back. His hands gently cradled her breasts, his fingers teasing her nipples into aching points through the robe. There was a roaring in her ears, and she clung to him, the torment inside her beyond anything she’d ever known before.
Jed felt as if he were back in his dream. No other woman had held the honeyed fire she possessed. It was what he had been searching for in the cold mists of the park. It was what he held in his arms now. The overwhelming want and need pounding through his body demanded the satisfaction of reality. Desperately, he buried his mouth in the hollow of her neck, tasting the satin fleshhe’d always longed for. The unique scent that was Rachael Barkeley filled his senses. He’d waited a lifetime to claim her, he thought. He knew that now, and she would know it too.
He eased her back on the sofa, his body pressing hers deep into the cushions. He slid lower, his lips exploring every inch of her through the soft wool. Her nipples were diamond hard, and he suckled them. Her belly quivered under his mouth, and her thighs shifted restlessly, tantalizing him with her need. He resisted her hands as they clutched at him, trying to draw him back to her. Kneeling at her feet, he stroked her slender ankles, marveling at the fragile bones. He glanced up at her face. Passion flushed her cheeks, and her lips parted slightly as a low moan escaped her.
“Jed, please,” she murmured in a husky voice.
“I want to know all of you,” he whispered, his voice raspy.
Slowly, he slid the white robe up her body, exposing the slim calves, the lush thighs. He sucked in his breath at the sight of her white silk bikini panties, which barely veiled her shadowed femininity. The smooth curving line of her hips blended into a small
He gently traced her cheek with his forefinger. “I’m not a knight in shining armor, but I’m trying to keep you safe, Rae.”
“I think,” she said slowly, “that I believe you, Jedidiah Waters.”
Jed smiled. “It’s a start.”
Eight
The words swirled enticingly through Rae’s mind. Maybe it was a start for both of them … an understanding. A heady warmth flooded her veins at the thought, and she smiled at him.
Jed muttered a soft curse, and lowered his head. His lips touched hers softly, almost hesitantly. They lifted, then dropped back again for another teasing caress, and another, and another, before his mouth settled upon hers and moved slowly. Her spine tingled. She knew she shouldn’t allow him to kiss her. Jed’s kisses were dangerous. And tempting. She savored the way their lips merged as if made for each other. His fingers curved around her jaw in a gentle grip, even as their tongues entwined in a languorous mating. She told herself she shouldn’t be doing this. She really shouldn’t. Things were complicated enough between them.
But it was just one little kiss. Just one, she silently promised herself. Just one.
She slid her palms up his chest to encircle his shoulders, her fingers finding the iron-hard muscles underneath his robe. His arm tightened around her, bringing with it a long-sought feeling of warmth and protection. Suddenly, he pulled her hard against him, and the kiss exploded in a white flame of desire. She groaned in the back of her throat, as the last of her resistance crumbled against the onslaught of his tender demands. Dimly, she realized that something inside her had been waiting—waiting for Jed, and now that something had surfaced, dragging her helplessly into the kiss. To push him away would be to push away an integral part of herself.
Her mouth twisted and turned in perfect response to his, and all the while she hungrily wanted more. Her fingers delighted in the feel of his hair, the strong column of his neck, the tensile strength of his back. His hands gently cradled her breasts, his fingers teasing her nipples into aching points through the robe. There was a roaring in her ears, and she clung to him, the torment inside her beyond anything she’d ever known before.
Jed felt as if he were back in his dream. No other woman had held the honeyed fire she possessed. It was what he had been searching for in the cold mists of the park. It was what he held in his arms now. The overwhelming want and need pounding through his body demanded the satisfaction of reality. Desperately, he buried his mouth in the hollow of her neck, tasting the satin fleshhe’d always longed for. The unique scent that was Rachael Barkeley filled his senses. He’d waited a lifetime to claim her, he thought. He knew that now, and she would know it too.
He eased her back on the sofa, his body pressing hers deep into the cushions. He slid lower, his lips exploring every inch of her through the soft wool. Her nipples were diamond hard, and he suckled them. Her belly quivered under his mouth, and her thighs shifted restlessly, tantalizing him with her need. He resisted her hands as they clutched at him, trying to draw him back to her. Kneeling at her feet, he stroked her slender ankles, marveling at the fragile bones. He glanced up at her face. Passion flushed her cheeks, and her lips parted slightly as a low moan escaped her.
“Jed, please,” she murmured in a husky voice.
“I want to know all of you,” he whispered, his voice raspy.
Slowly, he slid the white robe up her body, exposing the slim calves, the lush thighs. He sucked in his breath at the sight of her white silk bikini panties, which barely veiled her shadowed femininity. The smooth curving line of her hips blended into a small
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