Night Heat (Forged of Steele 2)

Had that been the reason she had left town all those years ago, he wondered. Considering the timing of everything, a part of him knew that it had been. Why hadn’t she come to him and told him what had happened? It would have given him sheer pleasure to kill Neil Grunthall with his bare hands. If the man wasn’t already dead, there was no way he would be living now.

But hating Neil wouldn’t undo what he’d done to Leah. The woman he loved was now his main concern and yes, he loved her. He had never stopped loving her and he vowed then that if her spirit was still broken from all of this, he intended to repair it.

More than anything he wanted Leah to know he would always be there for her, no matter what.

Pleased that Jocelyn had no regrets about last night, Bas set his mind on getting them back to Newton Grove. She had mentioned a baby shower for a friend she wanted to attend that afternoon.

He picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip, appreciating the taste, and smiled when he thought of another taste he appreciated—the one belonging to the woman sitting beside him who had dozed off to sleep. With the windows up, her luscious scent filled the confines of the car and he couldn’t stop the desire that quickly encircled his gut. It was difficult to recall the last time he’d wanted a woman so much.

He tried to rationalize his attraction to her. She was a beautiful woman but he had met beautiful women before. What was there about Jocelyn that made him feel emotions he’d never felt before? In his book she was P and P: proper and passionate.

He’d seen her proper side one evening when she hadn’t been aware she was being observed. It had been a social ball a couple of weeks ago that Ms. Sadie’s group of older ladies had given for some debutantes. Sadie hadn’t been able to get her car started and when he’d come in from a workout at the gym, she had asked if he would drop her off. He had pulled up in front of the Civic Center in time to see a very sophisticated-looking Jocelyn meet and greet all the other guests. She hadn’t seen him, but he had seen her and what he’d called her proper side.

He smiled, knowing that beneath that proper side was a passionate side, one yet to be explored to the fullest. She was definitely a woman who could make his blood run hot. She was a distraction but a distraction that he liked.

It suddenly hit him why he felt that way, and emotions he’d tried analyzing for the past couple of weeks instantly became crystal-clear. He was falling in love with Jocelyn. And if he wasn’t careful, she could become the person he loved more than anyone in his entire life.

But that thought didn’t bother him and he hoped to hell it didn’t bother her when she discovered how he felt. He wouldn’t shock her by declaring his affections, at least not now. He wanted them to spend more time together, to have what she considered fun, before he broached such a serious subject with her. He had discovered that Jocelyn didn’t handle surprises very well.

“If you’ve done a thorough review of the company books, then I guess you know that my dad and Noreen were having an affair.”

Her words, spoken out of the blue, surprised the hell out of Bas. He jerked his head and stared at her. He thought she was sleeping. “You knew?”

She smiled. “Yes, even though they thought I didn’t. Believe me, they were very discreet, but there were some things you couldn’t help but notice—like the looks they gave each other when they thought no one else was around.”

“Did you have a problem with it?”

Jocelyn shrugged. “I did at first. No girl wants to imagine her parent being sexually active, but then I saw how happy he was, and what a great mood he was in whenever he returned from one of his mystery trips out of town.”

She chuckled. “After spending a weekend out of town with you I have an idea of just how he felt.”

An hour later, after arriving back in Newton Grove, Bas was driving them through the city. “Do you want me to take you home or to your father’s house?” he asked, glancing over at Jocelyn when he came to a stop at a traffic light. She looked refreshed from her nap, and the desire he’d been holding at bay suddenly kicked into high gear. Combined with the love he felt for her, the emotion completely overwhelmed him.