Page 28 of The Playboy Meets His Match
“I took a bullet in my side and spent some time in the hospital. It gave me time to think about what was important in my life. I took some time off and spent a few days in a little town on the coast of Spain. If the shot had been a few inches to my left, I wouldn’t be here. I decided life is pretty good, and being a cowboy was a damned fine life.”
“Why did you want to be in the CIA in the first place?” she asked, as if she couldn’t imagine a single good reason.
“I got into the CIA because I wanted to do all I could for my country and I wanted the excitement. For a few years I had all that. Then home and ranch life and being a cowboy looked good again. Leave the wild stuff for the younger guys.”
“You’re so old,” she teased.
“I’m twenty-eight now. There are younger guys who are eager and good at their jobs.”
“I suppose your father was glad to see you come home.”
“He didn’t live long enough to know,” Jason replied, gazing past her as if lost in his own thoughts. “My dad had a coronary occlusion and died suddenly while I was deciding whether to get out or not. He left the ranch to all three of us. I’m buying out my brothers’ interests because they don’t care about ranching.”
Merry realized there were depths to Jason she hadn’t guessed. His CIA background was sobering.
“Make about four copies of those files, will you?” As soon as she finished, Jason took two disks. “I want to get one of these to Rob tomorrow and one to Sheriff Escobar. Now, enough about Dorian Brady. Let’s get a drink,” he said gruffly.
They went to the kitchen where a low light burned over the sink. With deliberation Jason set the disks down on the counter. With every move his gaze was on her, and his eyes had darkened with desire. She was lost in his gaze, drowning in the longing in his expression, so intense it was doing things to her heart and other, more intimate parts of her.
He reached for her, his fingers closing on her slender arm. The moment he touched her, her heart thudded.
“Come here, Merry. I’ve waited all evening for this.”
Six
His words echoed the silent message in his eyes and added to the heat and desire building in her. How could he do this to her with just words and a look? But he was. He was turning her inside out without so much as the brush of his fingers.
Merry knew he wanted to kiss her. She wanted him to, wanted to kiss him, wanted more of him than she could possibly have.
As he leaned down, he pulled her close against him. She tilted her face up, standing on tiptoe, closing her eyes. Heat flashed through her. Desire was scalding her skin while she tangled her fingers in his shaggy hair and kissed him. Instantly, his arms tightened around her, pulling her hard against his lean body. The taste of him, his touch, all his lean hardness was a wonder that shook her.
He picked her up in his strong arms, carrying her to the sofa and cradling her in his arms when he sat down. Why did she feel she had waited a lifetime for this moment? He held her in the crook of his arm while his other hand slipped beneath her T-shirt. When he touched her breast, she gasped with pleasure, lost in sensations so intense that the world vanished. Lights burst behind her eyelids and the roar of her pulse shut out all sounds.
She was barely aware when he released her to tug off his T-shirt, but then her hands were on his muscled, bare chest. She ran her fingers over scar tissue, realizing how close the wound had been to his heart.
“Jason,” she whispered, knowing there was a chasm between this wild man who took risks and her very ordinary life. Yet differences couldn’t stop her aching desire. He was hard against her softness. His body was warm, fascinating to her. She ran her fingers across his chest and heard him groan while he kissed her.
Jason swept her T-shirt over her head and tossed it away, his gaze searing as he unclasped her bra and pushed it aside to cup her breasts in his large hands. His warm hands were big, rough, tantalizing, his fingers driving her wild.
His callused thumbs stroked her nipples. Merry shook, wanting so much with him. She knew there had to be a stopping point, but not yet, ah, not yet. For a few delicious, stolen minutes, she was going to touch him and kiss him.
Then he leaned down to take her nipple in his mouth. His tongue stroked the taut peak, a velvety wetness that sent her into another dizzying spiral and she moaned softly, her fingers winding in his hair while her other hand played over his chest.
He was giving her pleasure, giving her memories, creating longings she hadn’t expected.
In minutes he shifted her so she was lying on the sofa as he moved between her legs to unfasten her jeans and pull them off. Now the look in his eyes was filled with the same heat that was melting her. The temperature had soared and every inch of her body was sparking with ultra-sensitive awareness of his touch.
Watching her, holding her immobile with his heart-stopping gaze, he caressed her legs and gently spread her thighs, moving between her legs.
Aware how deeply she wanted him, Merry tried to summon caution, knowing in seconds they would both be beyond stopping. With stormy reluctance, she pushed against his chest. With all her being she desired this incredible, appealing man, yet wisdom urged caution. When she pushed lightly, he paused to look at her.
“I want you,” he whispered hoarsely. His jeans bulged with evidence of his physical needs, but the hoarse note in his voice was filled with emotion.
Her heart thudded when she met his dark gaze. “I want you, Jason, but there are other things I want, too, and I can’t have them. We have to stop now while we both can.”
“I want you, Merry,” he repeated.
Trying to get her breath, she pushed hair out of her eyes as she sat up. “This isn’t what either one of us wants.” She wriggled away from him, yanking up her T-shirt to hold it in front of her.
