Читать книгу The Proposal / To Tempt a Sheikh: The Proposal - Brenda Jackson - Страница 11

He was in serious trouble.

Jason rubbed his hand across his face as he watched Bella rush off toward her car. He made sure she had gotten inside and driven off before pulling out of the parking lot behind her. The Westmoreland men were known to have high testosterone levels but his had never given him pause until today and only with Bella Bostwick.

He wouldn’t waste his time wondering why he had kissed her since he knew the reason. She was walking femininity at its finest, temptation not too many men could resist and a lustful shot in any man’s arms. He had gotten a sampling of all three. And it hadn’t been a little taste but a whole whopping one. Now that he knew her flavor he wanted to savor it again and again and again.

When he brought his truck to a stop at a traffic light he checked his watch. Bella wasn’t the only one who had a meeting this afternoon. He, Zane and Derringer had a conference call with their partners in Montana in less than an hour. He hadn’t forgotten about the meeting but spending time with Bella had been something he hadn’t been willing to shorten. Now with the taste of her still lingering in his mouth, he was glad he hadn’t.

He shook his head, still finding it hard to believe just how well they had connected with that kiss, which made him wonder how they would connect in other ways and places … like in the bedroom.

The thought of her naked, thighs opened while he entered her was something he couldn’t get out of his mind. He was burning for her and although he’d like to think it was only a physical attraction he wasn’t sure that was the case. But then if it wasn’t the case, what was it?

He didn’t get a chance to think any further because at that moment his cell phone rang. He pulled it off his belt and saw it was his cousin Derringer. The newlywed of just a little over a month had been the last person he’d thought would fall in love with any woman. But he had and Jason could see why. Lucia was as precious as they came and everyone thought she was a great addition to the Westmoreland family.

“Yes, Derringer?”

“Hey, man, where are you? Did you forget about today’s meeting?”

Jason couldn’t help but smile as he remembered how he’d called to ask Derringer the same question since he’d gotten married. It seemed these days it was hard for his cousin to tear himself away from his wife at times.

“No, I didn’t forget and I’m less than thirty minutes away.”

“Okay. And I hear your lady is joining the family for dinner on Friday night.”

He considered that for a moment. Had anyone else made that comment he probably would have gotten irritated by it, but Derringer was Derringer and the two people who knew more than anyone that he didn’t have a “lady” were his cousins Derringer and Zane. Knowing that was the case he figured Derringer was fishing for information.

“I don’t have a lady and you very well know it, Derringer.”

“Do I? If that’s the case when did you become a tea sipper?”

He laughed as his gaze held steady to the road. “Ah, I see our precious Bailey has been talking.”

“Who else? Bella might have mentioned it to the ladies when they went visiting, but of course it’s Bailey who’s decided you have the hots for the Southern belle. And those were Bailey’s words not mine.”

“Thanks for clarifying that for me.” The hots weren’t all he had for Bella Bostwick. Blood was pumping fast and furious in his veins at the thought of the kiss they had shared.

“No problem. So level with me, Jason. What’s going on with you and the Southern Bella?”

Jason smiled. The Southern Bella fit her. But then so did the Sensuous Bella. The Sexy Bella. The Sumptuous Bella. “And what makes you think something is going on?”

“I know you.”

True. Derringer and Zane knew him better than any of the other Westmorelands because they’d always been close, thick as thieves while growing up. “I admit I’m attracted to her but what man wouldn’t be? Otherwise, it’s not that serious.” “You sure?”

Jason’s hand tightened on his steering wheel—that was the crux of his problem. When it came to Bella the only thing he was sure about was that he wanted her in a way he’d never wanted any other woman. When they’d kissed she kissed him back in a way that had his body heating up just thinking how her tongue had mated with his. He had loved the way her silken curls had felt flowing through his fingers and how perfect their bodies fit together.

He was probably treading on dangerous ground but for reasons he didn’t quite understand, he couldn’t admit to being sure right now. So instead of outright lying he decided to plead the fifth by saying, “I’ll get back to you on that.”

Irritation spread all through his gut at the thought that he hadn’t given Derringer an answer mainly because he couldn’t. And for a man who’d always been decisive when it came to a woman’s place in his heart, he could just imagine what Derringer was thinking.

He was trying not to think the same thing himself. Hell, he’d only set out to be a good neighbor and then realized how much he enjoyed her company. And then there had been the attraction he hadn’t been able to overlook.

“I’ll see you when you get here, Jason. Have a safe drive in,” Derringer said without further comment about Bella.

“Will do.”

Bella stood staring out her bedroom window at the mountains. Her meeting with Marvin had been informative as well as a little overwhelming. But she had been able to follow everything the man had said. Heading the list was Hercules. The horse was restless, agitated and it seemed when Hercules wasn’t in a good mood everybody knew it.

According to Marvin, Hercules hadn’t been ridden in a while mainly because very few men would go near him. The only man capable to handling Hercules was Jason. The same Jason she had decided to avoid from now on. She recognized danger when she saw it and in this case it was danger she could feel. Physically.

Even now she could remember Jason mesmerizing her with his smile, seducing her with his kiss and making her groan over and over again. And there was the way his gaze had scanned over her body while in the elevator as they left his office after lunch, or the hot, lusty look he gave her when she got out of the truck at the appliance store. That look had her rushing off as if a pack of pit bulls were nipping at her heels.

And last but not least were Jason’s hands on her. Those big, strong hands had touched her in places that had made her pause for breath, had made sensations overtake her and had made her put her guard up in a way she didn’t feel safe in letting down.

Of course she’d known they were attracted to each other from the first, but she hadn’t expected that attraction to become so volatile and explosive. And she’d experienced all that from just one kiss. Heaven help them if they went beyond kissing.

If he continued to come around, if he continued to spend time with her in any way, they would be tempted to go beyond that. Today proved she was virtually putty in his hands and she didn’t want to think about what that could mean if it continued. She liked it but then she was threatened by it. She was just getting to feel free and the last thing she wanted to be was held in bondage by anything, especially by emotions she couldn’t quite understand. She wasn’t ready to become the other part of anyone. Jeez, she was just finding herself, enjoying her newfound independence. She didn’t want to give it up before experiencing it fully.

At that moment her cell phone went off and she rolled her eyes when she saw the caller was her mother. She pulled in a deep breath before saying, “Yes, Mother?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard from your attorney about that little stipulation we found out about in your trust fund. My mother was definitely smart to think of it.”

Bella frowned. “Yes, I heard all about it.” Of course Melissa Bostwick would take the time to call and gloat. And of course she wanted to make it seem that they had discovered the stipulation by accident when the truth was that they’d probably hired a team of attorneys to look for anything in the trust fund they could use against her to keep her in line. If they had their way she would be dependent on them for life.

“Good. Your father and I expect you to stop this nonsense immediately and come home.”

“Sorry, Mom, but I am home.”

“No, you’re not and if you continue with this foolishness you will be sorry. With no money coming in, what on earth will you do?”

“Get a job I guess.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m being serious. Sorry you can’t tell the difference.”

There was a pause and then her mother asked, “Why do you always want to have your way?”

“Because it’s my way to have. I’m twenty-five for heaven’s sake. You and Dad need to let me live my own life.”

“We will but not there, and Hugh’s been asking about you.”

“That’s nice. Is there anything else you wanted, Mom?”

“For you to stop being difficult.”

“If wanting to live my life the way I want is being difficult then get prepared for more difficult days ahead. Goodbye, Mom.”

Out of respect Bella didn’t hang up the phone until she heard her mother’s click. And when she did she clicked off and shook her head. Her parents were so sure they had her where they wanted her.

And that possibility bothered her more than anything.

Jason glanced around the room. All of his male cousins had Bella to the side conversing away with her. No doubt they were as fascinated by her intellect as well as her beauty. And things had been that way since she’d arrived. More than once he’d sent Zane dirty looks that basically told his cousin to back off. Why he’d done such a thing he wasn’t sure. He and Bella weren’t an item or anything of the sort.

In fact, to his way of thinking, she was acting rather coolly toward him. Although she was polite enough, no one would have thought he had devoured her mouth the way he had three days ago in his office. And maybe that was the reason she was acting this way. No one was supposed to know. It was their secret. Right?

Wrong.

He knew his family well, a lot better than she did. Their acting like cordial acquaintances only made them suspect. His brother Riley had already voiced his suspicions. “Trouble in paradise with the Southern Bella?”

He’d frown and had been tempted to tell Riley there was no trouble in paradise because he and Bella didn’t have that kind of relationship. They had kissed only once for heaven’s sake. Twice, if you were to take into consideration that he’d kissed her a second time that day before leaving his office.

So, okay, they had kissed twice. No big deal. He drew in a deep breath wondering if it wasn’t a big deal, why was he making it one? Why had he come early and anticipated her arrival like a kid waiting for Christmas to get here?

Everyone who knew him, especially his family, was well aware that he dated when it suited him and his reputation with women was nothing like Derringer’s had been or Zane’s was. It didn’t come close. The thought of meeting someone and getting married and having a family was something at the bottom of his list, but at least he didn’t mind claiming it was on his list. That was something some of his other single brothers and cousins refused to do.

“You’re rather quiet tonight, Jason.”

He glanced over and saw his cousin Bailey had come to stand beside him and knew why she was there. She wanted to not just pick his brain but to dissect his mind. “I’m no quieter than usual, Bail.”

She tilted her head and looked up at him. “Hmm, I think you are. Does Bella have anything to do with it?”

He took a sip of his wine. “And what makes you think that?”

She shrugged. “Because you keep glancing over there at her when you think no one is looking.” “That’s not true.”

She smiled. “Yes, it is. You probably don’t realize you’re doing it.”

He frowned. Was that true? Had he been that obvious whenever he’d glanced over at Bella? Of course someone like Bailey—who made it her business to keep up with everything and everyone or tried to—would notice such a thing.

“I thought we were just having dinner,” he decided to say. “I didn’t know it was an all-out dinner party.”

Bailey grinned. “I remember the first time Ramsey brought Chloe to introduce her to the family. He’d thought the same thing.”

Nodding, he remembered that time. “Only difference in that is that Ramsey brought Chloe. I didn’t bring Bella nor did I invite her.”

“Are you saying you wished she wasn’t here?”

He hated when Bailey tried putting words into his mouth. And speaking of mouth … he glanced across the room to Bella and watched hers move and couldn’t help remembering all he’d done to that mouth when he’d kissed her.

“Jason?”

He then recalled what Bailey had asked him and figured until he gave her an answer she wasn’t going anywhere. “No, that’s not what I’m saying and you darn well know it. I don’t have a problem with Bella being here. I think it’s important for her to get to know her neighbors.”

But did his brothers and cousins have to stay in her face, hang on to her every word and check her out so thoroughly? He knew everyone who hadn’t officially met her had been taken with her the moment Dillon had opened the door for her. She had walked in with a gracefulness and pristine elegance that made every male in the house appreciate not only her beauty but her poise, refinement and charming personality.

Her outfit, an electric-blue wrap dress with a flattering scoop neckline and a hem line that hit just above her knees greatly emphasized her small waist, firm breasts and shapely legs, and looked stylishly perfect on her. He would admit that his heart had slammed hard in his chest the moment she’d entered the room.

“Well, dinner is about to be served. You better hope you get a seat close to her. It won’t take much for the others to boot you out the way.” She then walked off.

He glanced back over to where Bella was standing and thought that no one would boot him out the way when it came to Bella. They better not even try.

Bella smiled at something Zane had said while trying not to glance across the room at Jason. He had spoken to her when she’d first arrived but since then had pretty much kept his distance, preferring to let his brothers and cousins keep her company.

You would never know they had been two people who’d almost demolished the mouths right off their faces a few days ago. But then maybe that was the point. Maybe he didn’t want anyone to know. Come to think of it, she’d never asked if he even had a girlfriend. For all she knew he might have one. Just because he’d dropped by for tea didn’t mean anything other than he was neighborly. And she had to remember that he had never gotten out of the way with her.

Until that day in his office.

What had made him want to kiss her? There had been this intense chemistry between them from the first, but neither of them had acted on it until that day. Had stepping over those boundaries taken their relationship to a place where it couldn’t recover? She truly hoped not. He was a nice person, a charmer if ever there was one. And although she’d decided that distance between them was probably for the best right now, she did want him to remain her friend.

“Pam’s getting everyone’s attention for dinner,” Dillon said as he approached the group. “Let me escort you to the dining room,” he offered and tucked Bella’s arm beneath his.

She smiled at him. The one thing she noticed was that all the Westmoreland men resembled in some way. “Thank you.”

She glanced over at Jason. Their gazes met and she felt it, the same sensations she felt whenever he was near her. That deep stirring in the pit of her stomach had her trying to catch her breath.

“You okay?” Dillon asked her.

She glanced up and saw concern in his deep dark eyes. He’d followed her gaze and noted it had lit on his brother. “Yes, I’m fine.”

She just hoped what she’d said was true.

Jason wasn’t surprised to discover he had been placed beside Bella at the dinner table. The women in the family tended to be matchmakers when they set their minds to it, which he could overlook considering three of them were all happily married themselves. The other two, Megan and Bailey, were in it for the ride.

He dipped his head, lower than he’d planned, to ask Bella if she was enjoying herself, and when she turned her head to look at him their lips nearly touched. He came close to ignoring everyone sitting at the table and giving in to the temptation to kiss her.

She must have read his mind and a light blush spread into her cheeks. He swallowed, pulled his lips back. “Are you having a good time? ”

“Yes. And I appreciate your family for inviting me.”

“And I’m sure they enjoy having you here,” he said. Had she expected him to invite her? He shrugged off the thought as wrong. There had been no reason for him to invite her to meet his family. Come to think of it, he had never invited a woman home for dinner. Not even Emma Phillips and they’d dated close to a year before she tried giving him an ultimatum.

The meal went off without a hitch with various conversations swirling around the table. Megan informed everyone that the private investigator she had hired to dig deeper into their great-grandfather Raphel’s past was Rico Claiborne, who just happened to be the brother of Jessica and Savannah who were married to their cousins Chase and Durango. Rico, whom Megan hadn’t yet met, was flying into Denver at some point in time to go over the information he’d collected on what was supposed to be Raphel’s third wife.

By the time dinner was over and conversations wound down it was close to ten o’clock. Someone suggested given the lateness of the hour that Bella be escorted back home. Several of his cousins spoke up to do the honor and Jason figured he needed to end the nonsense once and for all and said in a voice that brooked no argument, “I’ll make sure Bella gets home.”

He noticed that all conversation automatically ceased and no one questioned his announcement. “Ready to go?” he asked Bella softly.

“Yes.”

She thanked everyone and openly gave his cousins and brothers hugs. It wasn’t hard to tell that they all liked her and had enjoyed her visit. After telling everyone good-night he followed her out the door.

Bella glanced out her rearview mirror and saw Jason was following her at a safe distance. She laughed, thinking when it came to Jason there wasn’t a safe zone. Just knowing he was anywhere within her area was enough to rattle her. Even sitting beside him at dinner had been a challenge for her, but thanks to the rest of his family who kept lively conversation going on, she was able to endure his presence and the sexual tension she’d felt. Each time he talked to her and she looked into his face and focused on his mouth, she would remember that same mouth mating with hers.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips when they pulled into her yard. Figuring it would be dark when she returned she had left lights burning outside and her yard was practically glowing. She parked her car and was opening the door to get out when she saw Jason already standing there beside it. Her breathing quickened and panic set in. “You don’t need to walk me to the door, Jason,” she said quickly.

“I want to,” he said simply.

Annoyance flashed in her eyes when she recalled how he’d gone out of his way most of the evening to avoid her. “Why would you?”

He gave her a look. “Why wouldn’t I?” Instead of waiting for her to respond he took her hand in his and headed toward her front door.

Fine! she thought, fuming inside and dismissing the temptation to pull her hand away from his. Because her foreman lived on the ranch, she knew the last thing she needed to do was make a scene with Jason outside under the bright lights. He stood back while she unlocked the door and she had a feeling he intended to make sure she was safely inside before leaving. She was right when he followed her inside.

When he closed the door behind them she placed her hands on her hips and opened her mouth to say what was on her mind, but he beat her to the punch. “Was I out of line when I kissed you that day, Bella?”

The softly spoken question gave her pause and she dropped her hands to her side. No, he hadn’t been out of line mainly because she’d wanted the kiss. She had wanted to feel his mouth on hers, his tongue tangling with her own. And if she was downright truthful about it, she would admit to wanting his hands on her, all over her, touching her in ways no man had touched her before.

He was waiting for her response.

“No, you weren’t out of line.”

“Then why the coldness today?”

She tilted her chin. “I can be asking you the same thing, Jason. You weren’t Mr. Congeniality yourself tonight.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment but she could tell her comment had hit a mark with him. “No, I wasn’t,” he admitted.

Although she had made the accusation she was stunned by the admission. It had caught her off guard. “Why?” She knew the reason for her distance but was curious to know the reason for his.

“Ladies first.”

“Fine,” she said, placing her purse on the table. “We might as well get this little talk over with. Would you like something to drink?”

“Yes,” he said, rubbing his hand down his face in frustration. “A cup of tea would be nice.”

She glanced up at him, surprised by his choice. There was no need to mention since that first day when he’d shown up she had picked up a couple bottles of beer and wine at the store to give him more of a choice. Since tea was also her choice she said, “All right, I’ll be back in a moment.” She then swept from the room.

Jason watched her leave and felt more frustrated than ever. She was right, they needed to talk. He shook his head. When had things between them gotten so complicated? Had it all started with that kiss? A kiss that was destined to happen sooner or later given the intense attraction between them?

He sighed deeply, wondering how he would explain his coldness to her tonight. How could he tell her his behavior had been put in place as a safety mechanism stemming from the fact that he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted any other woman? And how could he explain that the thought of any woman getting under his skin to the extent she had scared the hell out of him?

Chances were if he hadn’t run into her at the appliance store he would have sought out her company anyway. More than likely he would have dropped by later for tea, although he had tried limiting his visits for fear of wearing out his welcome.

Her phone rang and he wondered who would be calling her at this late hour but knew it was none of his business when she picked it up on the second rang. He’d never gotten around to asking if she had a boyfriend or not and assumed she didn’t.

Moments later Jason glanced toward the kitchen door when he heard a loud noise, the sound of something crashing on her floor. He quickly moved toward the kitchen to see what had happened and to make sure she was all right.

He frowned when he entered the kitchen and saw Bella stooping to pick up the tray she’d dropped along with two broken cups.

He quickly moved forward. “Are you okay, Bella?” he asked.

She didn’t look at him as she continued to pick up broken pieces of the teacups. “I’m fine. I accidentally dropped it.”

He bent down toward her. “That’s fine. At least you didn’t have tea in the cups. You could have burned yourself. I can help you get that up.”

She turned to look up at him. “I can do this, Jason. I don’t need your help.”

He met her gaze and would have taken her stinging words to heart if he hadn’t seen the redness of her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering she shook her head and averted her gaze, refusing to look at him any longer. Quickly recovering his composure at seeing her so upset, he was pushed into action and wrapped his arms around her waist and assisted her up off the floor.

He stood facing her and drew in a deep, calming breath before saying, “I want to know what’s wrong, Bella.”

She drew in her own deep breath. “That was my father. He called to gloat.”

Jason frowned. “About what?”

He watched her when she swallowed deeply. “He and his attorney were able to get an injunction against my trust fund and wanted me to know my monthly funds are on hold.”

He heard the tremor in her voice. “But I thought you had three months before your twenty-sixth birthday.”

“I do, but some judge—probably a close friend of Dad’s—felt my parents had grounds to place a hold on my money. They don’t believe I’ll marry before the trust fund’s deadline date.”

She frowned. “I need my money, Jason. I was counting on the income to pay my men as well as to pay for all the work I’ve ordered to be done around here. There were a number of things my grandfather hadn’t taken care of around here that need to be done, like repairing the roof on the barn. My parents are deliberately placing me in a bind and they know it.”

Jason nodded. He had started noticing a number of things Herman had begun overlooking that had needed to be done. He then shook his head. He’d heard of controlling parents but felt hers were ridiculous.

“Certainly there is something your attorney can do.”

She drew in a deep breath. “He sent me a text moments ago and said there’s nothing he can do now that a judge has gotten involved. And even if there were, it would take time and my parents know it. It is time they figure I don’t have, which will work in their favor. True, I got this ranch free and clear but it takes money to keep it operational.”

He shook his head. “And all because you won’t get married?”

“Yes. They believe I was raised and groomed to be the wife of someone like Hugh who already has standing in Savannah’s upper-class society.”

Jason didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Does your trust fund specifically state who you’re to marry?”

“No, it just says I have to be a married woman. I guess my grandparents figured in their way of thinking that I would automatically marry someone they would consider my equal and not just anyone.”

An idea suddenly slammed into Jason’s head. It was a crazy one … but it would serve a purpose in the long run. In the end, she would get what she wanted and he would get what he wanted.

He reached out and took her hand in his, entwined their fingers and tried ignoring the sensations touching her caused. “Let’s sit down for a moment. I might have an idea.”

Bella allowed him to lead her over to the kitchen table and she sat down with her hands on top of the table and glanced up at him expectantly.

“Promise you’ll keep an open mind when you hear my proposal.”

“All right, I promise.”

He paused a moment and then said, “I think you should do what your parents want and get married.” “What!”

“Think about it, Bella. You can marry anyone to keep your trust fund intact.”

He could tell she was even more confused. “I don’t understand, Jason. I’m not seriously involved with anyone, so who am I supposed to marry?”

“Me.”