Northern Rebel Daring in the Dark - By Jennifer Labrecque Page 0,99
gone any further. Well, sort of.”
She had his attention now. Who was he kidding? She always had his attention. She’d owned it from the first time he’d spotted her across the room. “Why don’t you explain?”
“I promised you earlier I wouldn’t fling myself at you again. And I’m not. But it’s time to be honest and I think you should know. It was you, Simon.”
She could probably hear his heart pounding from across the room. Tawny had doubted her relationship with Elliott because of him? He didn’t trust her words. Couldn’t trust her words. What would possibly attract her to him over Elliott?
“Don’t, Tawny. Don’t go there. Elliott might’ve behaved badly, but I’m not a particularly nice guy and I don’t want to be thrust into the role of payback pawn because Elliott’s wounded your pride or broken your heart.”
She jerked her head back, anger and hurt flashing in her eyes, caught up in the exchange and seemingly unaware that one plump, ripe nipple now peered through her hair. But he was aware enough for both of them. Hell, he was aware enough for an army.
“You think I’m making this up to get back at Elliott?”
“You’re not trying to seduce me?”
“I’m trying to be honest, you thickheaded, arrogant, cold-blooded, sarcastic jackass, and you are really...pissing me off.”
“Well, I can see, given that glowing description, why I’d be the man to give you second thoughts about marrying Elliott. Perhaps you felt the need to break it off based on the poor company he keeps.”
She’d said she was pissed off earlier. She was bloody, wanking angry now.
“Here’s the truth, Simon Thackeray, if you can handle it. I’ll be damned if I know why, but I’ve started having dreams about you. About us. They began after we spent the day together for the photo shoot.”
“What kind of dreams?” God, he could barely breathe.
“Sexual dreams. Explicit.”
“They’re just dreams, Tawny.”
“I’m well aware of that, Simon. But those dreams, you, were beginning to take a toll on my relationship with Elliott.”
Instead of gaining clarity, things were growing murkier and more tangled. It had almost been easier when she and Elliott belonged to one another. She’d been off-limits to Simon and his role had been clearly defined. “Why would you let a few dreams interfere with a real relationship?”
“It wasn’t a choice and it wasn’t just a few dreams. It was almost every night. At first I didn’t want to go to sleep, because I didn’t want to dream about making love to you.” Heat surged through him. She looked down and studied her nails. “And now it’s gotten to the point that being asleep is the best part of my day.” She looked back up. “And I’ve felt guilty as hell with Elliott because it felt wrong to do the things with you that I was doing while I was engaged to him.” Her gaze captured his. “And doubly wrong because what we had in my dreams was so much better than what Elliott and I had in reality.”
Her words seduced him, fired along his nerve endings, tightened his body as surely as if she’d trailed her hands over him. “Maybe you won’t have any more of those dreams.”
She shook her head. “This afternoon I was napping when Elliott called. I was dreaming and just about to come. With you.” And he wasn’t so sure that if she went into enough detail he wouldn’t come. She had him hard and throbbing. “I’ve felt like the biggest whore east of the Mississippi. Do you know the first thing that came to mind when he said you both wanted to come over this evening?”
Obviously her mind was an utter mystery to him since he had no clue she’d been having what sounded like very intense sex with him. “No clue.”
“Ménage à trois. That’s how depraved you’ve made me. I am trying to seduce you. Not to get back at Elliott. I need the reality of your touch to exorcise those dreams. Because as it stands now, I’m afraid you’ve ruined me for any other man.”
* * *
When she was seven, frustrated by her lack of progress in her swimming classes, without really thinking it through, she’d sucked in a deep breath and jumped in over her head. And from that day forward her philosophy had taken shape: she’d swim or die trying. Obviously she’d swum.
And she’d just plunged in far out of her depth with Simon. But it was true. She feared he’d ruined her for any other