Guardian Angel by Linda Wisdom Page B

him.
    "I certainly didn't expect to be made love to in a smelly old hayloft, a roll in the hay so to speak," she snickered softly, her gentle laughter proclaiming the play on words.
    "A roll in the hay!" Jared pretended to be offended. "I'll have you know this took a lot of planning, lady. Do you realize how difficult it is to get reservations for this place?"
    She turned, slightly curving her body against his. "No wonder, these mattresses are as hard as boards." Her forefinger traced a random pattern over his chest, circling each nipple, then spiraling down to his navel. She twisted suddenly and dropped a moist kiss in the center of it, drawing a sharp breath from Jared. "Got to you, didn't I?" she teased, looking up.
    Jared reached down and pulled her on top of him. "You got to me in more ways than one," he said thickly, cra dling his hand behind her head and drawing her down for his kiss that deepened as soon as it began. He knew no woman had ever tasted like her, felt like her, or moved against him like her. Alex gave as good as she got, which only sent Jared further into oblivion. "When was the last time a man made you feel like this, Alex?" he punished himself by asking. "When was the last time you sent a man to heaven and hell at the same moment?"
    The moment was gone. Alex's eyes clouded over at his question, not seeing the difficulty it took for him to ask.
    She sat up and groped around for her shirt and jeans. "Damn you for ruining this," she snarled, picking up the shirt and starting to pull it on only to find it was Jared's. She threw it from her and found the right one this time.
    "Oh, no." He sat up and reached for her. "A few min utes ago you were purring like a kitten, no more wildcat around me, Alex. I know better now."
    "Know what?"
    His smile was boyish and endearing. "That deep down you have a wild and passionate nature," he confided in a mock whisper. "A regular wanton woman."
    Alex didn't want to smile at his words, but she couldn't help it. "You're incorrigible."
    "Just sex-crazed." His eyes darkened with remembered passion. "I want you again, Alex," he said roughly.
    She didn't want to reveal how badly she also wanted him. "Isn't lovemaking in the barn just a bit adolescent?" She picked up his shirt and threw it playfully at his face. "My God, this is something straight out of high school!"
    Jared stood up and winced when a few of his muscles protested after the hard floor of the loft. "I guess there wasn't enough hay for our mattress." He groped around for his socks, but could find o nly one. "You're right; I am too old for this."
    Alex finger-combed the tangles and wisps of hay from her hair. "If Mavis sees us like this, she'll know for sure what we've been doing up here."
    "Then the best thing for us to do is to continue with o ur adolescent ways and sneak in the back way." Jared was busy pulling on his jeans.
    A few minutes later Alex followed Jared out of the barn and around to the side of the house near her bedroom.
    "What are you planning to do, push me through my bedroom window?" she asked him when they reached the end of the wing.
    He shook his head. "Something much better." He led her to a sliding glass door and inserted a key into the lock and opened it.
    Once inside, Jared reached over and tapped a wall switch, bringing the room to light. Alex blinked her eyes to adjust to the brightness and looked around with inter est.
    A good part of one wall was taken up by a stone fire place and another revealed a king-size platform bed with a cinnamon and gold striped quilt on top. A nearby book case was filled to capacity with volumes on many subjects.
    "This is your room?"
    "A brilliant piece of detective work." A smile curved his mouth.
    Alex shook her head, finally realizing a lot of things. "No wonder you heard me cry out that night," she mused. "You're only a couple of doors away from me, right?"
    "Right."
    Alex shook her head in silent wonder. She had allowed Jared to make love to her, and for