Night Heat (Forged of Steele 2)

Leah smiled. “Yes, she’s home but not here. She’s at her place right outside of town. Do you know where that is?”

“Yes, I think I do.” In all honesty, the day she had taken him there he had been too busy trying to survive the truck ride to care about the direction in which she’d been driving.

“It’s real easy to find,” she said, giving him instructions.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I’d like to invite you over for dinner one night when you’re free. Dad thought a lot of you and I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Thanks and the same here. Good night.”

“Good night.”

When she closed the door, Bas turned and quickly walked back to his car. More than anything he wanted to see Jocelyn.

Leah smiled, wondering if she should give Jocelyn a call to prepare her for Sebastian Steele’s visit, then decided not to. Whether her sister admitted it or not she knew something was going on between those two. She smiled and went to the sofa to settle back down with her book.

She’d never known Jocelyn to have a boyfriend. Oh, she had gone out on dates but had never gotten serious about anyone. Now it looked like that history was about to change.

Jocelyn tapped a finger to her lips as she glanced around the room. She had gone shopping yesterday and purchased this beautiful hand-carved vase, and she wasn’t quite certain of the best spot for it.

The coffee table or the bookcase?

She was leaning toward the coffee table when her doorbell sounded. She automatically assumed it was Rita, Reese’s brother’s wife from across the lake.

Instead of asking who it was, she snatched open the door, only to find Sebastian Steele. His tall, broad-shouldered frame lounged against her porch rail, a dark silhouette, barely distinguishable in the faint light spilling out from her foyer.

Caught completely by surprise, she needed a moment before she could say anything. When she found her voice she said, “I usually don’t open the door before finding out who it is first. I assumed you were my neighbor.”

His lips twitched briefly. “I thought we had a serious discussion about the dangers of assuming anything.”

She tipped her head and stared at him. Emotions she didn’t need or want began clogging her throat. “What are you doing here, Bas?” she asked tightly. She hadn’t seen him in three days and she wished to God she hadn’t been counting. But she had.

Bas pushed away from the rail and took a couple of steps forward. He figured if he were to tell her the real reason for his visit—that he wanted to devour her mouth—the door would get slammed in his face, so instead he said, “It’s early. I didn’t want to go to the office, and I wasn’t ready to go to bed yet. We had a great weekend down at Cedar Springs and I could only think of one way to end it.”

“And what way is that?” Jocelyn’s fingers tightened around the doorknob. Her mind was suddenly filled with forbidden yet romantic thoughts. Bas’s gaze was locked on hers and she was beginning to feel this luscious, hot sensation flow all through her. She even felt the floor beneath her feet give way a little. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and in response she felt something tug deep in the pit of her stomach. Her world began to rock and she waited with bated breath for his reply.

“A rematch. I want to play another game of pinball with you.”

Chapter 10

Jocelyn drew a breath, leaned in the doorway and stared at Bas. She guessed she should have been grateful that a game of pinball was all he had in mind but still…It wasn’t helping matters that since meeting him and sharing two kisses, her body had become somewhat treacherous whenever he was around.

Her system automatically went on overload and it took everything she could muster to retain the common sense she was born with and had kept intact over the years. But another part of her being reminded her that she’d been celibate for a very long time…ever since senior year in college over six years ago. Why let the explosive spontaneous combustion she felt with Bas go to waste?

Because you’re too sensible and dignified to play the games men want to play, she assured herself immediately. Although she was single, mature and unattached, with basic human urges like the next person, that didn’t mean she was into casual sex. When the time came for a man to touch her again, by golly it would mean something and not be an appeasement of curiosity like the last time, which had left her totally disappointed.