It Happened One Night

Staring at him for a moment, she finally asked, “Why did you come by tonight, Josh?”

“I forgot to mention this afternoon that the detective in charge of the vandalism case told Gil Addison that they analyzed a fingerprint found at the day care center,” he stated.

“Were they able to find out who it belonged to?”

He shook his head. “It didn’t match anyone in their database, so whoever was behind the destruction doesn’t have a criminal record.”

Kiley straightened the afghan on the back of the couch. “I was hoping by now the authorities would have someone in custody or at least have an idea of who the person was.”

“From all indications, they think it might be a couple of the TCC members’ kids,” Josh said from behind her.

“And this couldn’t have waited until Monday?” When Kiley turned to face him, her heart skipped a beat. He was way too close for comfort.

His slow grin sent goose bumps shimmering over her skin. “It probably could have, but I wanted to see you again.”

“We spent the afternoon with you. Wasn’t that enough?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t sound so darned breathless.

Slowly reaching out, he put his arms around her. She knew he was intentionally giving her a chance to back away, but for the life of her, she couldn’t seem to get her feet to move.

“No, it wasn’t enough,” he said, smiling. “I wasn’t able to give you a proper goodbye kiss this afternoon.”

“Josh, it wasn’t a good idea then and it’s an even worse idea now.” Why couldn’t she make her tone sound more convincing?

“Why do you say that, Kiley?” he asked, brushing his mouth over hers.

“I… Well…it just…is,” she said, sounding anything but sure. She needed time to think, but he was making it impossible.

As she stared up into his darkening blue eyes, he lowered his mouth to hers and any protest she was about to make went right out the window. She had tried for the past three years to forget how his lips felt moving over hers, how masterful his kiss was. It had been a subtle reminder when he’d kissed her earlier that afternoon at his ranch. But that paled in comparison to the way he was kissing her now.

Tasting and teasing, he traced her mouth with his tongue until she parted her lips on a soft sigh. When he slipped inside to gently explore her inner recesses, a delicious heat began to slowly glide its way through her and her knees suddenly felt as if they were made of rubber. When she raised her arms to his shoulders, he caught her to him, and the feel of his hard masculine body pressed against her softer form felt absolutely wonderful. It had been so very long since she’d been held by a man, felt the carefully controlled strength of his caress and the excitement of his lips claiming hers.

Lost in the delicious feelings, it took a moment for her to realize that Josh had brought his hand up to cup her breast. Even through her clothing the feel of his thumb chafing the tight tip caused a tingling sensation to travel straight to the most feminine part of her. A longing like nothing she’d ever known threatened to swamp her.

The ringing of her phone suddenly broke through the sensual haze Josh had created and helped to restore some of her sanity. Pulling from his arms, her hand trembled when she reached to pick up the cordless unit. She immediately recognized her sister’s number on the caller ID.

“I-It’s…Lori. I’ll…call her back…in a few minutes,” she said, struggling to catch her breath. “You should probably…go, Josh.”

Josh stared at her for several long seconds before he finally nodded. “Tell Lori I said hello.” He started for the door, then, turning back, reached up to run his index finger along her cheek. “I know that you’re reluctant to acknowledge that it even exists, but whatever this is between us hasn’t diminished. If anything, it’s stronger now than it was that night.”

“Josh—”

Giving her a quick kiss, he opened the front door. “I’ll see you Monday afternoon.”

Unable to form a coherent sentence, Kiley watched him leave before she sank down on the couch. Her head was still spinning from his kiss, but it was what she had noticed when she watched him and Emmie together that made her feel as if the rug had been pulled out from under her.

She had always thought that Emmie looked like her. They both had the same hair and eye color. But watching Josh and her daughter together, Kiley had noticed several similarities that had her questioning everything she thought she was sure of. Emmie had the same smile as Josh, the same patrician nose, and although her eyes were brown instead of blue, they were the same shape as his.