The Tycoon's Defiant Southern Belle Page 0,10

evening to finish quickly so he could get down to the personal side. He was going to kiss her. She knew he was going to kiss her, was nervous about the prospect and was even trying to step away from him so that it would be more difficult to accomplish. But her eyes kept drifting to his mouth and her tongue darted out several times, wetting her own lips. Sure indications that they were both on the same mind track.

“Um…” Jade glanced back at the house, wishing she could ignore the desire to fix this gorgeous house. Everything in her knew that being around Angelo would be dangerous. She had to be loyal to her boyfriend, Dave, and stay out of Angelo’s way. He was a tyrant, she suspected.

And how would the rest of the town perceive her efforts to save this house? Would they be furious that she was assisting the enemy? So many of them wanted this prime spot to be bulldozed so new houses or even a resort could move in. There was so much land, so many lush trees. She couldn’t let it all go away simply for tax revenue and additional income for the shop owners.

Besides, she told herself as she mentally debated the likely problems, if she didn’t tackle the project, it sounded as if Angelo would simply hire someone else and they probably wouldn’t do it right. The man wanted his house to be fixed. Why wouldn’t he? He’d just bought the place. He needed the bathrooms to work and a usable kitchen.

With a sigh, she nodded her head. “I can start next week. I need to shift some things around but I don’t have anything urgent on my calendar.”

“Perfect,” he replied softly. And then he moved in.

Stepping closer to her, his hand whipped out and wrapped around her waist, pulling her close to him. With his other hand, he reached out and cupped her head, holding her still as his head slowly descended to hers. When his lips touched hers, she gasped and pulled back slightly, shocked by the heat that shot through her whole body. Her hands, already lightly touching his hard, muscular arms, were now gripping his muscles in surprise.

Angelo pulled back only for a moment, his eyes watching hers. Yes, she was feeling it too. And then he kissed her again, not as gently. Not as tentatively. His mouth demanded entry and when she opened hers, his tongue moved in, tasting and taunting her to participate in the kiss. When he felt her tongue mate with his, his hands moved lower, pulling her flush against him, lifting her slightly higher so their bodies matched more completely.

Over and over again, his head tilted to taste more, to deepen the kiss and discover her honey. He wanted her. Desperately. But he knew she was still nervous. She was also still dating someone and as soon as that thought entered his mind, he pulled back.

Looking down at her still closed eyes and her swollen lips, he knew that he’d gotten to her. Just as she’d gotten to him if his hard body was any indication.

“I’ll take you home,” he said softly but his voice was deeper than normal. Huskier and thick with the need to continue kissing her. And so much more.

“Yes,” Jade shuddered, her mind demanding her fingers to release their clutch on his muscular arms. One by one, her fingers relaxed until she could finally pull her hand away. With a deep breath, she stepped out of his arms, shaking her head at the crazy impact of his kiss on her mind.

Without a word, she walked through the house, painfully aware of him right behind her. She started to go towards the woods once again, just mindlessly trying to get home so she could curl up in her big, cozy chair and figure out what had just happened. But he took her hand and directed her towards his car. He didn’t say a word, nor did she as she slipped into the amazingly soft leather seat and he closed the door for her. But she was already wringing her hands by the time he came around and got into the driver’s seat beside her.

His body had been large on the drive over, but that had been before he’d kissed her. Now that she’d felt his legs, his chest and those amazingly broad shoulders, he somehow seemed bigger and her body shifted to make room for his frame in the seemingly