Forbidden Heat

Suzie pulled back and stared around at a very angry-looking Trey standing at the door, Danielle peering in from behind him.

Sixteen

Shock pummeled Danielle at the sight of Jake kissing Suzie. “Oh, Jake, how could you? She’s Trey’s sister.”

Suzie stepped back from Jake and turned toward Trey and Danielle. “If Jake and I want to—”

Trey’s fists clenched at his sides. “Suzie, don’t. You don’t know what you’re getting in the middle of here.”

She straightened her back. “So maybe you should tell me.”

“It’s not up to me.” He glared at Jake. “And it’s not the time. Tasha has an appointment in ten minutes and I thought you wanted to be a part of that.”

Suzie sighed. “Yes, of course.” She turned to Jake. “We can talk later?”

Jake nodded, knowing he’d have to set her straight.

She walked to the door.

“Tasha’s going to meet us there, but we’d better hurry.” Trey glanced around at Danielle, who still stood at the door. “Danielle, are you coming?”

“No, you go ahead. You don’t need me in the meeting. I was just going to shop around the bookstore a little more anyway.”

Trey glanced at her, then at Jake, and nodded his head.

Once they’d disappeared down the hall, she stepped into Jake’s office and closed the door.

“Danielle, it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“That’s a little clichéd, isn’t it?” She kept her voice light, despite the sick feeling in the depths of her stomach.

“Okay, sure, Suzie was kissing me . . . but I wasn’t kissing her back. She came here to tell me she thought there might be something between us. I told her there was someone else.”

“And so she decided to jump your bones?”

“No, she’s not like that. She asked if my relationship was serious and . . . I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. Do you honestly think that with everything going on with you and Trey and me, I’d be sleazy enough to pull Trey’s kid sister into the mix? What do you take me for?”

“You’re right,” Danielle said. “I’m sorry. I saw you two together and . . . it freaked me out that you were ruining your chances with Trey.”

“Who are we kidding, Danielle? Wanting to get Trey and me back together again is more your idea than mine.”

“But . . . I thought . . .”

He stepped toward her and gently grasped her shoulders. “It’s driving me crazy seeing you and Trey as a couple . . . feeling totally outside the relationship.” He captured her lips in an intense kiss, then gazed at her with blazing navy blue eyes. “Damn it. What are we doing here, Danielle? You and I . . . and Trey? Where can it lead?” He drew her closer. “I want you.”

Her heart quivered, both with delight and fear at how this whole thing was flying out of control . . . and might leave all three of them an emotional mess.

“What about Trey?” she asked for a second time.

“Of course I have feelings for Trey, but . . . don’t you think if it was going to work out it would have by now? I think I’d be kidding myself to believe that we can pick it up again, and even if we did . . . there was always something missing between us.”

Staring into his intense blue eyes, she saw the vulnerability there. He stroked her hair behind her ear with a gentle brush of his fingers.

“But with you . . .” His hesitation left words unsaid. Words she wanted to hear him say.

Finally, he pulled her tight to his chest, his strong arms firm around her.

“God, I want you so much.”