The Heart - Kate Stewart Page 0,57

sight of those lights.

“Okay, well, I’ll send you my schedule for the next five years and you work that out for me.” Annoyed, she turned on her heel without looking to see if I followed.

Under her breath, I heard her mutter, “I can’t just leave. I don’t get to do things like that.”

“Because you choose to be here. There’s nothing wrong with that unless you say there is.”

I followed her up her porch steps as she reeled on me. “Look, hippie, just because you decided to throw in your tie and live from tree to tree doesn’t mean the rest of us did. I have people who are depending on me.”

“It’s like I said, if it’s important enough to you, you’ll make time. You have responsibilities. I get that, beb. We all do. But you’re not entirely responsible for saving the world on your own, and I can see it on your shoulders.”

“Well, I can’t just walk away on a whim to take a break.”

“Oh, but you want to, at least right now you do. Admit it, you want to see those stars and you want me to take you to them.”

“You don’t know squat,” she snapped as I fed her the truth.

“You have one nasty temper, Rose Whittaker.”

“I resent that. You can’t expect me to be as agreeable as you are. No one is.” Unable to contain my chuckle, I could physically see her anger flare again as I took a step toward her, wanting to do nothing but put that fire out. I was just about to follow through when I caught the movement beneath her and froze.

“Rose, don’t move.”

Still clearly irritated, her flesh flushed from the gator punch, she looked at me for argument. “I mean, sure I’ll just stop all the progress I’ve made in the last year and go buy a map of the stars.”

“Rose,” I said sharply.

“What?!” she said as she moved lightning fast, gripped the large black snake’s tail, and hurled it over her porch.

I stood shocked as she glared back at me with her hands on her hips.

Completely stunned, I stated the obvious, “You just threw a six foot snake over your porch.”

“Well, you aren’t the only one who grew up in the trees,” she snapped as her chest heaved. Completely taken aback, I watched her, both impressed and fascinated.

If nothing scared her, what in the hell was she so afraid of?

We stood motionless, my need to have her growing beyond anything I could control as she returned my gaze with the same intensity. I knew sexual frustration when I saw it, and this beautiful woman was about to snap. A loud crash in the distance had us both whipping our heads back toward the party. A loud roar of laughter followed.

With regret, I turned back to her. “I have to go check on that.”

Rose nodded, disappointment clear in her features. I smiled. “We’ll have to take a rain check on that hate sex you were hoping for.”

“You arrogant ass!” I took two steps and nailed her to the back of her bedroom door with my hips and mouth. There wasn’t an ounce of resistance in her posture as she returned my kiss and pulled me impossibly closer, the way she often did. I slid my tongue along the seam of her lips, and she moaned eagerly into my mouth. With both hands, I cupped her ass and rubbed my hard cock against her. “Feel that?”

She broke from my kiss suddenly, her eyes wide. I stood alarmed as I thought of anything that might have set her off. She wiped her face with her hands. Confused and knowing we’d gone so much further sexually; I took a step back.

“What—”

“You better go check on that party,” she said, failing to hide the shakiness in her voice.

“Okay,” I said as I let my patience filter throughout my body. As much as I’d tried to earn her trust, I knew it had to come from her naturally. I turned to leave and heard her faintly whisper my name as she turned off the porch light and stepped into her bedroom.

“Jack.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I still be your dance partner?”

I hid my smile. “If you want to.”

“I do.”

“Then you are,” I said, forcing my feet away because I had no choice. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Jack.”

I closed my eyes after her whisper because I loved the way she said my name, especially in the dark.

Jack: Good morning, beautiful.

Rose: Morning, handsome. Rap & R&B 101 Toni Braxton, You’re Making me High.

Days after the