A Brother's Honor (Grangers) - By Brenda Jackson Page 0,67
to—”
“No, that’s not the best. I think it’s time we act like two adults and deal with it.”
She lifted her chin. “Deal with it?”
“Yes, deal with it.”
“And just how are we supposed to do that?”
Jace rubbed his hand down his face. He didn’t have a clue. All he knew at that moment was that he wanted her again. It wouldn’t bother him if they left here and went to her place. He’d had her, gotten a taste of what it was like and there was no way in hell he wouldn’t want more. He never considered himself a greedy ass, but he did so now.
“We have this weekend to think about it,” he said, reaching down to pick up his jacket off the floor.
“There’s nothing to think about,” she said. “I’m ending my contract with your company.”
He eased his jacket over his shoulders. “You can’t do that,” he said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.
“And why can’t I?”
“Because I need you.”
Shana inhaled a deep breath. She would have had a defense had he said anything but that. Especially when it was spoken with such sincerity that it jabbed at her heart. She’d covered practically all of his company reports, and he was right. He did need her. At least he needed her services. She was convinced that someone was maliciously trying to destroy his company. She wasn’t sure who and didn’t have a clue as to why. And whoever it was seemed determined to do it at a slow pace so as not to be detected.
Balling up her ripped panty hose and shoving them into her purse, she looked up at him. “I need to think about things over the weekend. I’ll let you know my answer by Monday.”
Thankful that everyone had left for the day so no one could be a witness to her tousled state, she slid into her jacket. Without saying anything else, she quickly left.
* * *
Hours later, just moments after taking a shower and with the towel still wrapped around his waist, Jace stood at his bedroom window and looked broodingly out at the lake. His blood soared through his veins with the memories of what had happened between him and Shana earlier.
Even now, he had to fight his own battle of restraint and control the temptation to call her. Not to apologize for what had taken place, since he could never regret that, but for the lack of finesse with which it was done. But then he thought, with full acceptance, their intimate encounter was meant to be that way. Hot. Fiery. Spontaneous. And filled with the passionate greed of two people who’d reached their limits.
Four weeks of pent-up sexual frustration, an attraction they’d tried to ignore and sexual chemistry that was stirred every time they were within a few feet of each other had driven them to what had happened tonight. It had been inevitable, sooner or later. There was only so much control a person could have, and tonight they’d proven strong, heated desire couldn’t be capped.
And the passionate fire that had raged through their bodies may have cost them.
He drew in a deep breath as he slowly nursed the beer he held in his hand. Contrary to what Shana believed, they could not go back to how things used to be. That’s why things had gotten out of hand tonight in the first place. He could understand her policy of never getting involved with a client, and in some ways respected her for it. But this was one time she needed to rethink changing that rule. Now that it had been broken, they needed to act like adults and deal with it. And they could. All they needed was a plan of action, but she wasn’t willing to do that. Her strategy was to pretend nothing ever happened and go back to the status quo.
What she failed to realize, or maybe she just didn’t understand, was that making love to her tonight the way he had was an act of raw possession, a claiming of the most intimate kind. In other words, primal sexuality within him that had lain dormant since his divorce three years ago had awakened and now had a life of its own. It’s not that he hadn’t made love to a woman since then, because he had. But he could honestly say that making love with any other woman hadn’t had the same effect. Never had a deep, intense desire for a female overridden