Wesley shouted her name and then she felt him shudder uncontrollably. She locked her body to his and together they quivered from the force of the climax that tore through them. She heard his growl of pleasure in her ear and at that moment she knew she would always love him.
* * *
Ten
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Jasmine leaned back in the chair behind her desk as she glanced over the notes she had made on Jake and Larissa Danforth. At the time she had gotten wind that Larissa's child was Jake Danforth's secret baby, she had been determined to expose the man for being an irresponsible playboy. She felt she had every right to write the story since the entire Danforth family had come under media scrutiny when Abraham had tossed his hat into the senatorial race.
Jake had now married Larissa but Jasmine's boss wasn't willing to let the story die. Manny had called her into his office this morning to let her know if she didn't write it then someone else would. A part of her wanted to talk to Wesley about it but knew when it came to her writing anything about the Danforths, that was one topic they wouldn't agree on.
So here she was writing the article that would appear in Sunday's paper. For months she had tried getting information on someone in the Danforth family and had subsequently fallen in love with one of them. She and Wes had been seeing each other now for almost a month and for the time being she saw no end in sight … not that she wanted things to end, but she was realistic enough to know that nothing lasted forever.
The phone rang on her desk and she quickly picked it up. "Hello."
"Hello, sweetheart, I have some bad news."
Jasmine straightened in her chair when she heard the disappointment in Wes's voice. "What?"
"I'm at the airport. Something came up with that business deal in Dallas and I have to fly out immediately."
"Oh." They had planned to go out to dinner and go to a movie later. "That's fine, I need to work on this article I'm doing anyway. When will you be back?"
"Hopefully by this weekend. My plans are to return to Savannah on Saturday night. How about doing me a big favor?"
"What?"
"Be in my bed when I get back."
A smile touched Jasmine's lips. "I think that can be arranged."
Wes chuckled. "It'll give you the chance to use the key I've given you."
Her smile widened. "Okay." He had given her a key to his place last week but she hadn't used it yet.
"Just make yourself at home."
"Thanks and be safe, Wes."
"You, too."
Jasmine hung up the phone then sat back in the chair and bit her bottom lip. She missed him already. Sighing deeply she picked up her notes on Jake and Larissa and began reading. A few minutes later she placed the last page down on her desk. There was definitely a story to tell and she intended to be the one to tell it.
A few hours later she sat across from Ronnie at dinner. She let Ronnie read a rough draft of the article she had written and was relieved when Ronnie told her she thought she'd done a good job.
"Are you going to tell Wesley about the story, especially since it will appear in Sunday's paper?" Ronnie asked, taking a sip of her wine.
"Yes." She planned to tell him when he got home Saturday night. Manny had also been pleased with the article. She only hoped that Wes wouldn't be upset with her for doing it. Once she explained to him that if she hadn't done it then someone else would have, she hoped he would understand.
"How are things going with you and Wesley, Jazz?"
Jasmine shrugged. She had finally told Ronnie about her and Wes the week before the hospital benefit. She hadn't wanted her best friend's mouth to drop open when she and Wes arrived together. "Okay I guess, but I'm beginning to want more out of our relationship."
"Have you talked to him about it?"
"No, I keep thinking it's not good to mess up a good thing. We go places together and do things together but I feel something is missing."
"The love thing?"
Jasmine lifted a brow. "The love thing?"
"Yes. Go ahead and admit you've fallen head over heels in love with the guy."
Jasmine smiled. "All right, I admit it, now what?"
"Now you have a good and long conversation with him to find out what his feelings are for you."
Jasmine sighed. She had thought about doing that several times but could never make herself do it.
"The two of you spend a lot of time together so I'm sure you don't have a communication problem," Ronnie added.
Jasmine shook her head. "No, we don't." They talked a lot. He had shared information about his business with her and she told him about different articles she was working on. He even joined her on Sunday dinners at her father's and Evelyn, Mallory and Alyssa always displayed good behavior. Evidently her father had let them know in no uncertain terms that their rude behavior of her would not be tolerated. The three had even gone so far as to apologize to her for how they had acted the night of the hospital benefit.
She sighed. Ronnie was right. It was time she and Wes had a long talk.
* * *
The warm scent of woman was absorbed by Wesley's nostrils the moment he opened his front door on Saturday night. Closing the door behind him, he placed his briefcase aside and took the stairs two at a time. He hadn't seen Jasmine in four days and he missed her like hell.
As soon as he entered his bedroom, he saw her curled in the middle of his bed asleep.
He felt a familiar tightening around his heart, that was getting harder and harder to fight. He'd thought his ability to love and trust another woman had died after what Caroline had done to him but Jasmine had stirred emotions to life inside of him again.
Every free moment that he had he thought of them together. Their favorite place was by the river, where under the beautiful blue sky he would find peace and contentment in talking to her for hours while listening to the soothing sound of the water. She loved the river as much as he did and together they spent hours connecting in a way he had never connected to a woman before. He'd tried to shrug off his desire for her as just a physical thing. But he was beginning to realize and accept that it was more than physical. It was as emotional as it could get.
He loved her.
His body suddenly began to ache all over with a need to hold her in his arms. Now that he had admitted he loved her, he wanted to hold her, heart to heart. Removing his clothes, he walked over to the bed and gathered her into his arms and kissed her awake.
"Wes," she murmured sleepily against his lips. "You're home."
"Yes, baby, I'm home," he said, pushing the covers back and easing into bed beside her. He quickly captured her mouth in a long, deep, drugging kiss, wanting her to know how much he had missed her.
Jasmine pulled her mouth away. "Wes, I need to tell you something," she whispered.
"Later, sweetheart," he said, a whisper against her moist lips. "I don't want to talk now. I want for you to go back to sleep while I hold you. We'll talk tomorrow. There's something I need to tell you, too." He wanted to tell her how much he loved her; how much he needed her. Although he hadn't wanted to love her, she had totally captured his heart and he knew that he had truly come home.
* * *
Slipping out of bed the next morning, Wesley pulled on his jeans. He glanced at Jasmine, asleep in his bed. That's where she belonged, he thought, every night.
He rubbed sleep from his eyes and felt the need for a cup of coffee. Leaving the bedroom, he quickly moved down the stairs. Deciding to read the newspaper while Jasmine slept, he opened the door and picked it up off his steps. He smiled and thought that his paper carrier had a good throwing arm to be able to toss the paper over the security gate right onto his doorstep.
By the time the coffee was ready and he had poured himself a cup, he sat down at the kitchen table and opened the paper, scanning the first page.
"What the hell?"
His gaze froze on the front page headline, Jacob Danforth's Secret Isn't A Secret Any Longer.
Wesley drew in a deep breath and tightly clenched his teeth, not believing his eyes when he saw that Jasmine had written the article. He suddenly felt a knife twisting in his heart as he threw the paper down. He had trusted her, fallen in love with her and in the end she had done the same thing Caroline had done to him. She had used him, taken that trust and thrown it right back in his face.
Picking up the paper, he left the kitchen and angrily took the stairs two at a time. A woman had made a fool out of him for the last time.
Jasmine slowly came awake when she inhaled the aroma of brewing coffee. She shifted in bed and smiled thinking that last night was the first time she and Wes had shared a bed and not made love. Evidently he had been as tired as she had.
She glanced up when she heard him enter the room. The smile on her face suddenly fading when she saw his features were ablaze with anger. She sat up. "Wes, what is it?"
When he held the paper out in front of him she knew. "I can explain."
He came into the room. "Can you? How in the hell can you explain disloyalty, Jasmine? Misplaced trust? How can you explain throwing trust back in my face? I thought you had killed that story."
She shook her head. "I had to write it, Wes. If I hadn't written it, somebody else would have. Read it, Wes, it's not what you think."
"You used me to betray my best friend and for that I will never forgive you. I thought you were different.