He made it sound intensely sensual, made her feel intensely sensual. She took refuge in sipping coffee again, trying not to wonder just how elemental he was and how he would look as nature had fashioned him.The open-necked shirt had been tantalising her all throughout dinner, giving her a glimpse of tight black curls arrowing down his chest. His forearms weren't hairy, their darkly tanned skin gleaming like oiled teak. She imagined his whole body would be mainly like that with a sprinkle of black springy curls in the most masculine places. The desire to know, to touch, conflicted terribly with the sensible course of simply wishing him well and waving him goodbye. He wasn't going to be in her life.Except for this one night.Leonard paid the restaurant bill, insisting it was his party treat for Favour. Everyone had drank their coffee, it was time to go. Nervous tension gripped Jasmine as Collins moved to hold her chair back for an easy rise from the table. She looked at the full moon
Oh, he knew how to kiss. His tongue mated with hers in a rhythm that exactly matched the pulsing it set off in her body. Fireworks sparkled along her nerve endings, making every inch of her so sensitive that the merest brush of clothing against her skin seemed overwhelmingly sensual and sexual.He shifted, pulling her closer and pinning her body to his, so they were locked together and her throbbing center was out of reach even as it grew heavy and aching with need.All from a kiss.Her body wanted to fight the imprisonment until she felt his hardness against her belly. She understood then. He wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. Somehow that freed her in a way desire alone couldn't have.He continued to hold her close with one arm as he kissed her, but his other hand began to wander. He stroked her side from breast to thigh, to the point where his leg trapped hers, then swept it up again, slowly...oh, so slowly.And as it returned upward, she gasped.She arched a little, b
There was no struggle over any sense of right or wrong in his conscience. It was full steam ahead for Collins Templeton. And maybe that was part of his strength, part of his overwhelming attraction. He knew what he wanted and went after it with single-minded purpose.They turned right at the end of Crystal Street. The car climbed a steep hill—the head land—went over it and down the other side, turning sharp left and coming to a halt in a large dead-end parking circle that wasclosed in by a nature reserve, a thick belt of trees and bushes cutting off any sight of the ocean.Shadows from overhanging foliage put them in a pool of darkness.There were no other vehicles here. The sense of being very much alone with Collins Templeton sent a quiver of apprehension down Jasmine's spine. Was she mad to do this? Was she?Then he was opening the passenger door, drawing her out of the car and into an embrace that shot a flood of positive responses through her body, swamping any chilling fears. He
Her whole body was wire-tight with anticipation when his arms slid around her waist. She almost crumbled at the contact, the need for it was so intense. She leaned back against him, revelling in the sense of being encompassed and protected by his hard, warm strength, wanting to feel a togetherness that could face anything and survive intact. He rubbed his cheek over her hair and she felt his chest rise and fall as he breathed in its scent, mingled now with the smell of the sea. 'You should have been called Eve,' he murmured. The beginning of time, she thought, elated that he was in tune with her own feelings. 'And you, Adam?''The caveman in me has definitely been stirred tonight.' Was it the cavewoman in her responding? It didn't matter. Having surrendered to whatever it was, she simply wanted to be swept along with it. His hands slid up to capture her breasts, fingers softly kneading, savouring their fullness. She closed her eyes, inwardly focusing on his touch and the sensation
They hugged. They kissed. They touched. They revelled in the sensual magic of the night, strolling along the wet sand with the dying froth of waves caressing their feet, swimming in the rock, pool, their bodies sliding around each other in the buoyant water, teasing, inviting, savouring the freedom to give and take every pleasure in being together. To Jasmine, he was wonderful. She couldn't have enough of him. And he shared her greed, her lust to have everything possible packed into this one night. Nothing wild was too wild. There was no shame in anything. They loved each other in the water, on the sand, against a rock with the spray of the sea showering over them. What words were spoken did not relate to any other time or place orcircumstance. The past and the future had no bearing on what they shared. There was no breaking of that mutual understanding, no attempt to break it, or change any of the parameters of that one promise...a night to remember. They didn't sleep. They left
'You know the last big box-office movie that featured his special effects...it's been nominated for a Golden Globe,' Favour rattled on. In my opinion, it's Collins work that really makes it so dramatic and memorable. Did you go and see it?' 'Yes. Stunning stuff.' She had sat in the movie theatre, enthralled by the mind that could imagine and create such amazing scenes. It had made the night she'd spent with him all the more extraordinary.Uniquely special.'He might get an Academy Award for that movie,' Favour rattled on.'Leonard says...' The other bridesmaids erupted into the room, carrying the bouquets and exclaiming how beautiful they were, and any further talk about Collins Templeton was abruptly dropped, much to Jasmine's relief. She didn't want to discuss him or his work. It was easier to keep him tucked away as a private memory. Initially he'd been designated as Leonard's best man, but commitments on the other side of the world had forced him to regretfully decline the hono
He should have been sitting beside Leonard. Since he'd given up that place and weddings were really a family affair, he'd answered, 'No. With my mother, if that's possible. Haven't seen her for a while.''Done.' And that had made him feel guilty, too. Leonard would oblige him with anything, and he'd...too late to rue it now. Damn Favour's sister and her power to mess with things that were not related to her. He hoped seeing her again today would put the memory of that one night with her in some reasonable perspective. Get it out of his system.His mother was always good company. She would claim his attention. Now there was one woman he did genuinely love. She'd always stuck up for him against his father who'd relentlessly put him down, jeering over his interest in computer graphics, saying he was wasting his time and would never amount to anything. Too bad he'd died when Collins was only twenty. Though he'd probably even deride what his son had achieved if he was still alive. Colli
She was vividly, vibrantly, and undeniably stunning...so beautiful hecouldn't tear his gaze away. Her hair was piled on top of her head and he remembered her holding it there like that after they'd been swimming, inadvertently showing offthe long graceful curve of her neck which he'd kissed many times. She had a flower in her hair again, dark red this time, not pink. The same dark red as the dress she was wearing, a strapless dress that bared her shoulders and arms, the hollow at the base of her neck, and the slight swell of flesh that hinted at the lush fullness of her breasts. His mouth went dry, remembering the tight texture of her nipples, the salty taste of them in the sea. His hands itched to span her provocatively small waist, to run them over the voluptuous curve of her hips, down the long silky line of her thighs. He could feel himself stirring, the desire she evoked zinging through his bloodstream, pumping up an urgent need to have her again.'Collins!' The call of his na