Page 34 of One Texas Night...
“Jared, look at the moon,” she said, standing by one of the windows to look at the huge white ball over a mountain peak.
“If you want to see a real view without climbing one of the mountains, come with me,” he said. She followed him as they ascended the stairs to his suite.
She remembered the breathtaking view from the sitting room in the daytime. But it couldn’t compare to what she saw at night: the outline of dark mountains, their snow-covered peaks glistening in the moonlight against a sky holding myriad stars that she’d never seen in Dallas or Houston or in any city.
He turned on a light and led her to a spiral staircase. She took the opportunity to look at the furnishings in the sitting room: a mammoth television, an antique desk and armoire, a suit of armor in a corner that she suspected was authentic. Two matching thick Oriental area rugs covered the polished plank floor. Upstairs, they went through a loft-style sitting room that overlooked the downstairs and on into a bedroom with a canopied king-size bed. Logs were stacked in the fireplace as they had been in his sitting room below.
“I’m going to build a fire. We’ll want it shortly.” He pushed a button and music played, this time an old song that she loved.
“We’re not where you can see the spectacular view yet. That was my primary goal in this location for a home.” He paused to get two coats out of a closet and held one out to her. “We’re going outside. You’ll need this.”
She shrugged into it. “I hope we’re not climbing out onto the roof,” she said, amused and wondering where he was taking her.
“No. I have a balcony off my bedroom.”
They walked out onto a large balcony with a wooden railing. A light wind blew and cold air enveloped her. Taking her hand, Jared led her up a few more steps to a higher level of the balcony that held two chairs and a table.
“Now look.”
She was already taking in the vast world spread before her. Moonlight spilled over the mountains and, far below, meadows. The moon’s brightness caught silver glints in dark ponds when the wind stirred wavelets, and the sky twinkled with what looked like a million stars. Jared stepped close behind her, wrapping his arms around her. He was warm, shutting away the cold.
“It is so beautiful,” she said, knowing far beyond the spectacular view, she would remember most of all the tall, exciting man holding her close. Turning in his arms, she looked up at him.
“You know I can’t forget this,” she whispered. “You’re not going to forget standing here with me, either,” she added solemnly. “I’m here, Jared, and I want more from you. If that scares you, you’d better run,” she said softly.
She wrapped her arms around him beneath his coat while his hands slipped beneath hers to pull her close inside his open jacket. Warmth from their bodies banished the chill. Desire was a blanket of warmth that heated and heightened temptation. This appealing man, who ignited sparks whenever they were together, had started the blaze, had fanned its fire, and she wasn’t letting go without giving some of the heat back to him. She didn’t intend for him to easily forget her, toss her into the history of women in his life. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed Jared full on the mouth, her tongue going deep as her body quivered with longing.
A blast of cold wind swept across the mountain, whistling through the pines at the end of the balcony and buffeting them. His body, his arms, his kisses shut away the cold. Bending over her, he kissed her passionately, making her want more. She pressed more tightly against his hard body.
Another blast of wind whistled around the house and became a deep sigh through pine branches while Allison pressed into him, kissing him hungrily. Desire fanned the longing, and Jared stood in her arms, showering kisses on her. She wanted him, and tightened her arms around him while she continued to kiss him. Memories came stronger than the wind, running over her, tugging at her.
“Jared,” she breathed, pausing momentarily to look up at this tall man she couldn’t resist. Awareness of him intensified. Memories of his hard body, his kisses and lovemaking taunted her, held promises of rapture, of bonding and release.
“Let’s get out of the wind,” she whispered.
He picked her up, holding her in his arms to go back.
“I can walk,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I want you in my arms. I have to hold you,” he answered, ignoring her remarks and carrying her inside to set her on her feet. He passed her, closing the door and locking it. She was barely aware when he shed his coat and hers, tossing them over a leather chair.
His gaze rested on her. Intense and heavy lidded, his green eyes held blatant desire that made her draw a deep breath. He wrapped her in his embrace, leaning over her to kiss her. The moment their lips met, she was lost to everything else.
Her insides felt as if she were in a free fall. She wanted to kiss him for the rest of the night. She wanted him with all the restrained longings, memories and dreams she’d had about him in the intervening years.
His tongue went deep while his hands moved so lightly over her. Desire unfolded and spread. She could not hold back. She decided to try to make him feel some of the frustration that she felt. He had flirted, teased, kissed and caressed her since he had walked into the Houston mansion. Jared was human—his heart was not locked away in a vault. Yielding to determination and desire, she let go of her resolve to avoid complications. He was capable of falling in love, maybe was more vulnerable than he thought. Jared was in her arms and she wanted him, wanted the intimacy, the fulfillment.
Smoldering and sensual, his green eyes made her breathing short. He pulled her sweater over her head to toss it away. Spreading a blanket on the thick rug, he turned to pick her up, carrying her closer to the fire. Once he released his hold on her, his sweater went next, and she inhaled, running her fingers over his broad, muscled chest. Urgency seemed to grip him as much as it did her. Along with clothes that were shed, her emotional barriers were flung aside. They stood with only the light from the fire spilling over them, a reddish glow that highlighted the planes of his hard body.
He was aroused, ready, drawing her against him to kiss her while his hands moved over her, drifting between her legs to touch her intimately.
Jared was in her arms once again. Years fell away and longing mushroomed. Thrills rocked her while she relished every kiss, each touch. Her moans were from exquisite pleasure, her gasps from fiery need.
His hands were everywhere until she pushed him down on the blanket and moved over him to trail kisses along his body, tasting the salty skin of his neck and going lower.
She caressed his marvelous body. And he let her, winding his fingers in her hair and propping his head up with the other hand to watch her only seconds before he groaned and pulled her into his embrace to kiss her.
He picked her up to place her on the blanket and come down between her legs. She watched when he opened a packet to put on protection.
