Читать книгу The Danforths: Wesley, Ian & Imogene - Brenda Jackson - Страница 12

Five

This shouldn’t be happening.

Jasmine decided for the umpteenth time that day when her mind turned once again to Wesley. She had gone to bed last night with him on her mind; she had dreamed about him, and since awakening, her thoughts would drift to him again and again.

She had done most of her errands; had shopped for groceries, paid her bills online, and had checked in with her boss regarding her assignments for the remainder of the week. Still, she had felt the relentless reminders of the evening she and Wesley had shared at the country fair and the kiss they had indulged in when he’d brought her home.

That had been some kiss. It had heated her insides to such a degree that last night, when she had slipped beneath her cool sheets, her body’s temperature had warmed the bed linens. And in spite of the little voice inside of her that warned her not to put much stock in the kiss they’d shared, she was putting stock into it.

Every time she thought of the way his mouth had expertly taken hers, kissing her in a way she had never been kissed before, she was convinced that for just a little while, Wesley had completely forgotten she was the enemy. For that brief moment she had not been a woman he couldn’t trust; a woman he thought was hell-bent on bringing turmoil to the lives of people he considered family.

Even as a nagging voice inside of her reminded her that she and Wesley could not take their relationship any further, she couldn’t stop the ripple of pleasure that escalated up her body. For just a little while she wanted to enjoy the memories they’d made last night. She wanted to relive the feel of his hand holding hers as they walked around the fair visiting various booths and the warmth of his breath against her neck when they sat close together in the numerous rides they had tried out.

While they’d watched a performer stick a flaming torch down his throat, Wesley stood so close to her. Jasmine could still smell traces of his aftershave—a masculine and spicy scent he always wore. And last but not least, she could not forget riding the miniature train into the haunted house. Something had grabbed her in the darkness and without thinking, she had practically landed in Wesley’s lap. For some reason, she had felt safe being that close to him. The ache that had developed from that encounter was still there, low in her belly.

Jasmine sighed deeply, knowing that she had to be realistic. But she desperately needed a day off from being levelheaded. She wanted to forget that she and Wesley were not supposed to get along. For once she didn’t want to be sensible. For just a little while longer she wanted to be a woman who could truly appreciate a fine man.

As she put away the last of her groceries, her sanity finally returned…at least some of it. She still couldn’t erase memories of their kiss and the feel of his mouth, hungry, seductive, expertly tasting her and stroking a need deep within in.

Sighing deeply, Jasmine glanced down at her watch. She would be meeting an old high-school friend who was passing through town later that day for dinner. She hoped by the time she returned back home she would have sobered up and erased thoughts of Wesley from her mind completely.

“So what’s going on with you, Wes?”

The intensity in Jake Danforth’s brown eyes reflected both curiosity and concern. Jake knew him better than anyone and if Jake could detect that something was bothering him then he was really in bad shape.

“Why do you ask?” he responded, leaning back on the sofa and meeting Jake’s gaze. He had come straight to Jake’s home for dinner after returning from Brunswick. Larissa had taken their son Peter upstairs for his bath and he and Jake were sitting back relaxing after enjoying the delicious meal Larissa had prepared.

“Mainly because you seem preoccupied about something,” Jake said. “I talked to Ian today and he mentioned that you whisked Jasmine Carmody away from the coffeehouse before Uncle Abraham arrived.”

Wesley nodded. “Yes, and although I’m sure Abraham would have been able to handle an impromptu interview from her, I felt he didn’t necessarily need the hassle from a reporter hell-bent on digging into his personal life.”

“Well, I’m sure he knew that sort of thing would happen once he decided to run for public office,” Jake said, taking a sip of his beer.

Wesley knew that was true but that didn’t mean Abraham had to put up with Jasmine’s staunch determination to see what dirt she could uncover. Exasperated he checked his watch. It was getting late. He had stayed over at Jake’s place longer than he’d planned. A part of him wondered what Jasmine was doing about now. Was she still up or had she gone to bed already? He didn’t want to admit it but he had missed shadowing her today and actually looked forward to resuming his routine tomorrow.

“I’m going to call it a night, Jake. Don’t forget next week’s poker game. Think you can pull yourself away from your family for a few hours?” Wesley asked smiling. Jake had become a regular family man and Wesley could clearly see the love he had for his wife and son.

Jake chuckled. “It will be hard to leave Larissa and Peter, but I’ll be there.”

On the drive home, Wesley’s mind was consumed with thoughts of Jasmine. Something inside of him had stirred last night when she’d shared with him the situation involving her stepmother and stepsisters. He felt fortunate for the close relationship and special bond that he had with Harold, Miranda, Jake and all the other Danforths.

A smile broke onto his features when he thought that no matter what the situation involving Jasmine’s family affairs, there was no doubt in his mind that she was handling things the way she saw fit. She was too much of a headstrong female not to.

He remembered how she had met his gaze head-on, her eyes had filled with all-fire anger, when he had announced that he would become her shadow. He had known then that if pushed hard enough she would come out scratching, and that she would be a worthy opponent, both in and out of the bedroom. A part of him was dying to see how he could unleash that fiery side of her in bed.

He sighed, wondering if Jasmine had cast some sort of spell on him. When it came to her, he was definitely not in full control of his senses. There was something about her that seemed to ignite his blood. Spending time with her last night at the country fair hadn’t helped matters.

Wearing a pullover blouse and skirt, her clothing had definitely complemented her long, lithe, delectable curves and a few times he had wondered if he would be able to survive her proximity. Once or twice he had noticed her watching him and had wondered what she’d been thinking.

Even now he could picture her home, curled up in bed wearing something outrageously sexy, something that aroused him just thinking about it.

Wesley cursed beneath his breath when he was suddenly consumed with the need to talk to Jasmine, to hear her voice. He heaved a rough sigh when he picked up his cell phone and punched in the phone number he’d already memorized. Convincing himself that he was only checking up on her to make sure she had stuck to her plans to take care of personal errands and not stick her nose anywhere it didn’t belong, he listened as her phone rang.

He felt his body tense when she didn’t answer. He was about to end the call when he heard her pick up the phone.

“Hello?” Her voice sounded out of breath.

Wesley felt his body relax. “Where were you?” he asked, too harshly even for his own ears.

“And what’s it to you?” she answered smartly.

Wesley smiled. It seemed that she hadn’t lost that sweet-tempered, mild-mannered disposition of hers. “I was just checking to make sure you got through today without getting into trouble.”

He heard her unladylike snort. “If you mean did I do any checking into Abraham Danforth then the answer is no. But you may as well know that I plan to pay him a visit first thing tomorrow. There’s a rumor floating around that someone tried to sabotage his computer, which I’m sure you already know about.”

Wesley frowned, wondering where she had heard that from and not liking the fact that she was close to the truth. But there was no way he would let her know that. “Abraham’s computer merely picked up some sort of virus. That can happen to any computer. Besides, that was weeks ago. I would think that was old news.”

“Yes, but it has come up again that someone has it in for him and I want to know who.” Jasmine decided not to tell Wesley about the phone call she had received from her boss, Manny, indicating someone had called the newspaper with a tip that stated the truth about Abraham Danforth’s true character would be revealed soon. Of course Manny wanted them to be the one to do the headline story, no matter what it was.

“Back off, Jasmine.”

She heard the anger in Wesley’s voice and decided to ignore it. “I’m just doing the job that I’m getting paid to do, Wesley. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to end this conversation since my floor is getting wet.”

“Why?” he asked flustered, angered.

Jasmine raised a brow. “Why what?”

“Why is your floor getting wet?”

Jasmine tossed her braids back, away from her face. “Because at the time you called, I was in the shower. Thinking this was a very important phone call, I rushed out without grabbing a towel.”

Something deep within Wesley stirred to life. The mere thought of Jasmine standing in the middle of the floor without a stitch of clothing covering her body made him feel heated, hot, aroused. He reached up to loosen his tie and shifted his position in the car.

A part of him wondered if she enjoyed rattling his senses, stirring up his emotions and kicking his hormones into overdrive. He knew that to deal with Jasmine Carmody he would have to keep a tight rein on his mental faculties and remain detached, no matter how hard it would be.

“Then I guess I’d better let you go.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Then without waiting for him to say goodbye, she ended the call.

The following day Wesley stood a few feet away watching Jasmine. One minute, he had been thinking he had gotten his head back on straight regarding her, then the next he was more confused than ever. This was one of those times.

Jasmine was standing on the steps of the courthouse interviewing the man who had just announced he was throwing his hat into the ring in the mayoral race. A small crowd had gathered and she was one of several reporters present. He was so focused on her he only half heard the questions she was asking.

Instead, he was too busy scanning her features. They were serious, intent and beautiful enough to take your breath away. He wondered if she was aware of just how sexy she looked dressed in a beige silk blouse and a chocolate brown straight skirt that stopped above her knees.

It dawned on him that the interview session was over when the crowd began dispersing. She turned, met his gaze and froze. He watched her brown eyes grow wary, aggravated, agitated.

It seemed they were back to square one.

But maybe not. There had been a kiss; a kiss he couldn’t forget and he doubted that she could, either. Knowing she had intended to interview Abraham this morning, he was about to save her the trouble from driving across town to Crofthaven by letting her know that Abraham had left town that morning on a business trip, but decided not to. Chances are she would not have believed him anyway.

He watched as she slowly made her way down the courthouse steps and decided to meet her halfway. When they met, coming face-to-face, he placed his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out and touching her, or pulling her into his arms and kissing her again. “Jasmine,” he acknowledged. “Wesley,” she acknowledged back. “Don’t you ever get tired of following me around?”

Wesley heard the irritation in her voice. “I gave you a break yesterday.”

“No thanks for small favors. Don’t you think we should handle this another way? I feel like I’m being spied on.”

He smiled at that. “Now you know how Abraham must feel at times.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “He’s running for public office, I’m not.”

“That’s a good enough reason for your unfair treatment of him? I don’t see you snooping around his opponent, John Van Gelder.”

Jasmine made a low sound of frustration before saying. “I’m not being unfair to Abraham Danforth. I’m assigned to cover him, not Van Gelder.”

Wesley crossed his arms over his chest. “An assignment that was very unlucky for the Danforth family.”

She sighed. “I regret they feel that way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make it to my next interview.”

When she walked off, Wesley couldn’t help noticing how nicely her skirt stretched across her backside, a very delectable-looking backside. And he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how the sexy curve of that backside would feel against him.

When he had gotten home last night, images of her naked, standing in the middle of the bedroom while talking to him on the phone had taken over his mind. Trying to get some work done had been out of the question and he’d ended up taking his own shower and going to bed.

But he hadn’t been able to sleep. All he could do was think about her. Instead of locking horns with her, he wanted them to lock bodies. He’d tossed and turned in bed all night. Who would have thought that one kiss would have driven him to such a state? One kiss and he was dying for another one. The thought of never kissing her again was tying his stomach into knots.

He sighed deeply. Although the sun was out, the air was sharp and chill, unusual for a Savannah day in April. But then he needed the sharp chill to ward off the heat in his body. It was a heat he could not get rid of thanks to Jasmine.

Jasmine snapped her cell phone closed and placed it back in her purse. She had finished her last interview for the day and was headed home. She had awakened that morning with high hopes of interviewing Abraham Danforth but he had left town unexpectedly on a business trip. The reporter in her wondered what had been so urgent about the trip to Atlanta and why he’d gone instead of his son Ian, who was now in charge of the business.

She was about to exit off the interstate but a quick glance in her rearview mirror showed Wesley’s car was following in the lane behind her.

She sighed in frustration. The man was getting on her last nerve. She glanced at her watch. It was still early and if Wesley was determined to shadow her every activity then she wouldn’t make things easy on him. Actually, she hoped to make things nearly impossible. She hadn’t finished doing all her errands yesterday and decided now was a good time to complete that task and hoped that Wesley was up for it. She glanced back in the rearview mirror and smiled. First she would stop by the dry cleaners, then the car wash, and from there she would go to the butcher and the florist to pick out a plant to sit on her desk.

If the man had nothing better to do with his time than follow her around, that was his business.

What in the hell was the woman up to? Wesley wondered a short while later as he continued to follow her. She had told him she would be taking care of most of her errands yesterday, but so far she had made five stops at various places, parking her car, going into stores and either coming out with nothing or little at all. He released a frustrated sigh but was determined to stay on her tail.

He heard his stomach growl, reminding him it was past dinnertime yet here he was, sitting in the parking lot of Wal-Mart waiting for Jasmine to come out. Moments later, she walked out carrying a small bag. But the bag wasn’t what caught his attention. Once again his gaze was drawn to her skirt and how it stretched against her bottom, and the way her hips swiveled when she walked. Damn. Sexual frustration was taking a toll on him and there was no excuse for it when all he had to do was to pick up his phone and call any number of women who’d be glad to relieve him. But he wasn’t interested in any other woman other than the one crossing the parking lot at that very moment.

He closed his eyes and tried to remember that the woman was Jasmine Carmody. Jasmine the piranha of a reporter. Jasmine who was determined to dig up dirt on those he cared about. But then he also was reminded that she was Jasmine, the woman he had kissed senseless a couple of nights ago.

When he opened his eyes she had gotten into her car and was driving off. He hoped she was heading home but when she turned her vehicle in the opposite direction of her home, he knew that was not the case. Didn’t she plan on going home at some point today?

Forty minutes later and she was finally headed toward home. It had taken Wesley a few hours to figure out just what Jasmine had been doing and the game she’d been playing with him.

He frowned. If she thought the joke was on him she had another thought coming. If nothing else, he had shown her that he intended to stick to her like glue. Eventually, she would realize that he was not someone she could toy with.

An hour later, Wesley opened the door to his home at the same time his answering machine clicked on. “Wes, this is Kim. Give me a call when you get in. Zack and I want to invite you over for dinner tomorrow night.”

Wes smiled when he heard Kim’s voice. He was glad Abraham’s daughter, Kim, had found Zack, a man to give her the love and happiness she deserved.

He would call her back and confirm dinner after his shower—a shower he needed to calm his overheated body. At this point whether he was hot from anger or sexual frustration he wasn’t sure. All he knew at the moment was that one part of him wanted to put his hands around Jasmine’s neck while another part of him wanted to put his hands on other parts of her.

A few minutes later he was stepping inside the shower stall and under the spray of cold water in an effort to quell the sexual tension and anger that had overtaken him most of the evening. Since getting home, nothing he’d done had helped him to relax.

Warning bells went off in his head. No woman had ever affected him this way and he didn’t like it worth a damn. By the time he had finished his shower and dried off, he decided he would spend a quiet evening at home reading. He was determined not to indulge in foolish fantasies like he’d done the night before.

Drawing in a calming breath he walked downstairs. He’d eaten dinner, but there was another hunger deep within him. He needed to get a firm grip or he was going to be in serious trouble.

He was about to walk outside on the terrace when he heard the doorbell. Remembering he had left his security gate unlocked, he figured his visitor was probably Jake. He made his way to the door and opened it to find Abraham Danforth standing there instead.

“Abraham, come in,” Wesley greeted, smiling. He’d always had deep respect and admiration for Abraham Danforth and knew that his political aspirations were genuine and sincere.

Wesley knew that Abraham truly loved his children, but he also acknowledged that following the death of Abraham’s wife in an automobile accident, the young widower had felt unable to give them the care they needed. Ian had told him that Abraham had sent them all off to boarding schools. He knew that Ian still held a lot of resentment regarding his childhood years of having to spend much of his youth trying to impress his father and feeling that he had failed to do so.

“Hi, Wes, I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”

“No, not at all,” Wesley said. From the first time he had met Abraham, he’d always seen the same depth of kindness and caring in Abraham’s blue eyes that was always there in his brother Harold’s. “Can I get you anything to drink?” he asked.

Abraham shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I got a message that you wanted to see me. I just got back from a short trip to Atlanta.”

Wesley nodded. “I was wondering if you’ve received any more threatening e-mails?”

A few months ago, three separate e-mails had been sent to Abraham through his computer. Each had contained a cryptic message and had been signed “Lady Savannah.”

The first e-mail had read, “I’ve been watching you.” The second, “I’m still watching you.” The last e-mail that had read, “Expect the unexpected. This isn’t over,” and had contained a virus that had wiped out Abraham’s entire computer system. Because of the signature, everyone was assuming the person who had sent the e-mails was a woman and was wondering why she was targeting Abraham. The only people who knew about the e-mails were members of the Danforth family and they intended to keep it that way. The last thing they wanted was for the information to get leaked to the media. He could just imagine what Jasmine would do with information like that at her disposal. Abraham had hired a security specialist to secretly work on the case by the name of Michael Whittaker.

Abraham shook his head. “No, not since the last one that crashed my computer. I’m glad you were able to repair it for me.”

“I was glad to do it,” Wesley stated, leaning against his closed door.

The older man studied Wesley for a few moments then asked, “Is that all you had to talk to me about, Wes? For some reason I think there’s more.”

Wesley smiled. Just like Harold, Abraham could read him like a book at times. “Yes, there is something else. A woman by the name of Jasmine Carmody. I’m sure you probably know her by now.”

Abraham chuckled as he nodded. “Ah, yes, Ms. Carmody. She is a very dedicated reporter who can be relentless in her interviews. Although I have to admit she gets rather intense at times, I know she is merely doing her job.”

Wesley knew Abraham had stated things as diplomatically as he could. “She mentioned to me today that she heard your computer had gotten sabotaged and wanted to question you about it. I just thought I’d let you know. I also wanted you to know that she was rummaging through my garbage last week looking for anything that I may have tossed out after repairing your computer. Since I see she’s intent on getting into trouble, I’ve decided to keep a close eye on her.”

Abraham shrugged. “Although I’m as anxious as everyone else to know how Martha died, I have nothing to hide, Wes, so she can do all the digging that she wants.” The older man then studied Wesley intently. “But I am concerned about you.”

Wesley raised a brow. “Me? Why?”

Abraham studied Wesley for a few moments before speaking. “Because I know how you feel about female reporters and I don’t want you to think every one of them is like that young woman you dated in college. I know what a difficult time that was for you. It’s not always easy when a person’s trust has been betrayed.” He was quiet a moment and then added, “I often worry about you and Ian. The two of you have been hurt by women, and I don’t want the two of you to let it ever stop you from experiencing true love and happiness.”

An hour after Abraham left, Wesley was still thinking about the older man’s words. He couldn’t speak for Ian, but as far as he was concerned, there was no such thing as true love and happiness when it came to a woman.

There wasn’t any woman that he wanted to share his life with and he intended to keep it that way.