Night Heat (Forged of Steele 2)

Cameron Cody leaned back in his chair and Jocelyn thought that in addition to being successful, he was also extremely good looking, although she hadn’t experienced any of the sizzle she’d felt when she first met Bas. And she hadn’t felt that same jolt of current that had gone through her when their hands had made contact in a handshake as she’d felt with Bas. There had been no crackle or pop. She was a little daunted that it seemed her hyper-awareness of Bas was somewhat unique and at the moment unexplainable. Evidently there was some ingrained reason why Sebastian Steele could send heat shimmering through her with just a mere look or touch. She was clueless as to what it was.

She and Cameron were enjoying lunch at Kabuki, a popular Newton Grove restaurant that had a reputation for fine dining. Any time of any day, one would find it crowded with locals as well as tourists.

“You’re not giving yourself enough credit, Ms. Mason,” Cameron said smoothly, interrupting her thoughts. “But from all accounts, you’ve been doing a pretty good job since taking over things. The men who work for you respect you as well as admire your abilities and your knowledge of construction. To me that says a lot.”

“Thank you.” Once again she accepted his compliment, since from what she’d heard he didn’t give them often. As she took another sip of her lemonade she got the feeling he didn’t seem bothered that she had turned down his offer—an offer that had been rather generous. He had even gone so far as to assure her that the men who worked for her would remain employed with his corporation. She wondered if what she heard was true and that he had a telepathic sense when it came to good business deals. Did he think she would eventually change her mind?

Half an hour later she was walking through the front door of her home, hightailing it up the stairs to her bedroom to change clothes. She wanted to put in at least a few hours at the job site. After kicking off her shoes she wiggled out of her panty hose. While shimmying her skirt down her hips she noticed the red light blinking on the phone beside her bed. She quickly walked over to play the message.

“Jocelyn, this is Bas. I met with Marcella Jones this morning and explained the company’s new policy regarding changes with her. She understood our position and has agreed to be surcharged for any additional changes she makes.”

Jocelyn’s mouth dropped open. Was he talking about the same Marcella Jones that everyone in Newton Grove knew? There’s no way, she thought, quickly unbuttoning her blouse. If Bas had been able to get Marcella to cooperate, she couldn’t help but wonder how. Then a thought hit her as she slipped into her jeans. No doubt Bas’s good looks and perfect body had something to do with it; it was a known fact that even married, Marcella appreciated a nice piece of male flesh and had been involved in more than one extramarital affair. For some reason that thought didn’t sit too well with Jocelyn.

She quickly pulled a T-shirt over her head and before taking off down the stairs, she grabbed Bas’s jacket off the chair by her bedroom door, fully intending to return it to him today. As soon as she picked it up the scent of him enslaved her, subduing her with memories of the night before. For the rest of her life she would remember that kiss, the way his tongue had captured hers, sucked on it greedily, licked the moisture from her mouth with a need that had nearly pushed her over the edge and had sent intense desire pounding in her head. Never in her life had she been kissed that way. The very air surrounding them had crackled with an intimacy she hadn’t thought possible.

Just remembering the kiss, she felt overtaken by something so erotic, so lustful and so plain feverish that she had to hold her head down for a moment to catch her breath and get her bearings. How could one man have such a profound and sensuous impact on a woman?

She didn’t want to think what would have happened if he had done more than kiss her. What if he had gone beyond the kiss and had touched her intimately? What if his fingers had gotten involved and had sneaked under her blouse to caress her breasts, eased down to her stomach and beneath the waistband of her jeans to slip inside her panties to stroke the area between her legs, and then—