Texas Temptation by Bárbara McCauley Page B

nothing she could say. There were no words. She’d dealt with her grief long ago, but Jared hadn’t. He needed this, and there was no easy way.
    Letting her heart lead her, she touched her lips lightly to his, then slid her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest. His arms were wooden as they came around her, but slowly, as they sat there, he began to relax. She listened to the steady thud of his heart.
    And then she remembered.
    She straightened. “Jared, I almost forgot. We got the permit. We’re back in business.”
    He stared at her blankly, as if he’d forgotten. Then he smiled slowly and pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled back. His hands were warm now as they circled her waist, and she was suddenly aware of the hard length of his body against hers. His heart began to pound harder, and she knew that he was every bit as aware of her as she was of him.
    She started to move away, knowing that the second he realized what they were feeling he would push her away, but his arms tightened, holding her in place.
    She was afraid to look at him, terrified of what she would see. Pity? Or another explanation of why he couldn’t let himself touch her, or want her.
    But when she lifted her gaze to his, what she saw there—the raw open need, the steel blue intensity in his eyes—made her heart stop.
    He touched her face with his fingertips, as if he was really touching her, really seeing her, for the first time.
    â€œAnnie,” he said raggedly, then covered her mouth with his.

Seven
    I t was madness. He knew that, but it made no difference. He was beyond thinking, beyond reason. The price he’d pay would be high, but even that realization couldn’t stop him.
    He pulled her closer, needing to feel her body against his. She was soft and warm in his arms, her lips incredibly sweet. Desire, stronger than he’d ever felt, hotter than he’d ever imagined, pounded in his veins and through his body.
    He’d meant to be gentle. He wanted to be, but his control shattered when she parted her lips and welcomed him. All the wanting and the needing washed over him, and he tightened his hold, grinding his mouth against hers again and again, murmuring her name.
    Her arms circled his shoulders and a small sound of need in Annie’s throat sent his senses spinning. She was so small against him, so soft and vulnerable. He wanted her so badly he worried he might hurt her. The thought terrified him and he started to pull away, but she clung to him, deepening the kiss as she tugged him closer, meeting every thrust of his tongue with her own.
    He was lost to her, and yet, at the same time, it was as if he was found. As if, for the first time in his life, he was where he belonged.
    She tasted like an exotic wine, so rich that one sip made him drunk, so rare that he knew he’d never find it again. The moan that came from deep in his throat was not one of desire, but of torment, knowing that this could never be enough, but that it would have to be.
    Her hands began to move over him, and he ceased to think at all. He allowed himself to feel, to cherish every touch, every taste, every sound. She was his. If only for this moment, she was.
    Annie could hardly breathe. No man had ever made her feel this way before. She felt a desperation that shocked her, a need to consume and be consumed she’d never experienced. A need she was sure could never be fulfilled, but still insisted—no, demanded —fulfillment nonetheless. She felt the energy coiled inside Jared, felt his muscles tighten and bunch as she moved her hands down his arms and over his chest. The strength she knew he possessed excited her all the more. She squirmed against him, thinking she would never be close enough.
    In one fluid movement he pulled her beneath him, and she sank into the soft cushions of the couch, his body stretched over hers. He dragged his hot lips over her