He glanced over at her. She had her eyes closed as she tried to regulate her breathing. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him and said. "That should not have happened, Wesley."
Somehow he found enough strength to shrug his shoulders. "But it did."
She nodded. There was nothing else for her to do but to acknowledge it was true. "We can't let it happen again."
He squinted, wondering whom she was trying to convince? Him or her? "Is that how you feel?" he asked, wondering if there was a way they could control such a thing from happening again.
She shook her head. "No, that's not how I feel, since I can't deal with my feelings right now. But that's what I think. We don't like each other. I'm your enemy. I won't stop trying to find out information about Abraham Danforth, if that's what tonight was all about."
He stared at her. It was probably a good idea if he returned her locket and never saw her again because although she wasn't dealing with her feelings, he was. Emotions he didn't know he had were slamming through him.
"Tonight had nothing to do with Abraham," he said, more frustrated with himself than with her. He scowled. Hell, tonight should have been about Abraham. Her obsession with finding out information to use against Abraham Danforth was the main reason they had met and why he was shadowing her every day.
"So you won't give up?" he asked, but he already knew what her response would be.
"No."
"Then I'll continue to shadow you, but I will give you a reprieve tomorrow since I have to make a short trip to Brunswick anyway. But tonight was about us, Jasmine and not Abraham. And whether something like that kiss will happen again is up to us."
"We need to keep our relationship on a business level, Wesley. We can't have it both ways."
Without waiting for him to say anything else, Jasmine quickly opened the car door and got out, leaving Wesley sitting in the car thinking of her parting remark.
* * *
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."