Brenda Jackson - The Danforths - Wesley, Ian & Imogene

On the drive home, Wesley’s mind was consumed with thoughts of Jasmine. Something inside of him had stirred last night when she’d shared with him the situation involving her stepmother and stepsisters. He felt fortunate for the close relationship and special bond that he had with Harold, Miranda, Jake and all the other Danforths.

A smile broke onto his features when he thought that no matter what the situation involving Jasmine’s family affairs, there was no doubt in his mind that she was handling things the way she saw fit. She was too much of a headstrong female not to.

He remembered how she had met his gaze head-on, her eyes had filled with all-fire anger, when he had announced that he would become her shadow. He had known then that if pushed hard enough she would come out scratching, and that she would be a worthy opponent, both in and out of the bedroom. A part of him was dying to see how he could unleash that fiery side of her in bed.

He sighed, wondering if Jasmine had cast some sort of spell on him. When it came to her, he was definitely not in full control of his senses. There was something about her that seemed to ignite his blood. Spending time with her last night at the country fair hadn’t helped matters.

Wearing a pullover blouse and skirt, her clothing had definitely complemented her long, lithe, delectable curves and a few times he had wondered if he would be able to survive her proximity. Once or twice he had noticed her watching him and had wondered what she’d been thinking.

Even now he could picture her home, curled up in bed wearing something outrageously sexy, something that aroused him just thinking about it.

Wesley cursed beneath his breath when he was suddenly consumed with the need to talk to Jasmine, to hear her voice. He heaved a rough sigh when he picked up his cell phone and punched in the phone number he’d already memorized. Convincing himself that he was only checking up on her to make sure she had stuck to her plans to take care of personal errands and not stick her nose anywhere it didn’t belong, he listened as her phone rang.

He felt his body tense when she didn’t answer. He was about to end the call when he heard her pick up the phone.

“Hello?” Her voice sounded out of breath.

Wesley felt his body relax. “Where were you?” he asked, too harshly even for his own ears.

“And what’s it to you?” she answered smartly.

Wesley smiled. It seemed that she hadn’t lost that sweet-tempered, mild-mannered disposition of hers. “I was just checking to make sure you got through today without getting into trouble.”

He heard her unladylike snort. “If you mean did I do any checking into Abraham Danforth then the answer is no. But you may as well know that I plan to pay him a visit first thing tomorrow. There’s a rumor floating around that someone tried to sabotage his computer, which I’m sure you already know about.”

Wesley frowned, wondering where she had heard that from and not liking the fact that she was close to the truth. But there was no way he would let her know that. “Abraham’s computer merely picked up some sort of virus. That can happen to any computer. Besides, that was weeks ago. I would think that was old news.”

“Yes, but it has come up again that someone has it in for him and I want to know who.” Jasmine decided not to tell Wesley about the phone call she had received from her boss, Manny, indicating someone had called the newspaper with a tip that stated the truth about Abraham Danforth’s true character would be revealed soon. Of course Manny wanted them to be the one to do the headline story, no matter what it was.

“Back off, Jasmine.”

She heard the anger in Wesley’s voice and decided to ignore it. “I’m just doing the job that I’m getting paid to do, Wesley. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to end this conversation since my floor is getting wet.”

“Why?” he asked flustered, angered.

Jasmine raised a brow. “Why what?”

“Why is your floor getting wet?”

Jasmine tossed her braids back, away from her face. “Because at the time you called, I was in the shower. Thinking this was a very important phone call, I rushed out without grabbing a towel.”

Something deep within Wesley stirred to life. The mere thought of Jasmine standing in the middle of the floor without a stitch of clothing covering her body made him feel heated, hot, aroused. He reached up to loosen his tie and shifted his position in the car.

A part of him wondered if she enjoyed rattling his senses, stirring up his emotions and kicking his hormones into overdrive. He knew that to deal with Jasmine Carmody he would have to keep a tight rein on his mental faculties and remain detached, no matter how hard it would be.

“Then I guess I’d better let you go.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Then without waiting for him to say goodbye, she ended the call.

The following day Wesley stood a few feet away watching Jasmine. One minute, he had been thinking he had gotten his head back on straight regarding her, then the next he was more confused than ever. This was one of those times.

Jasmine was standing on the steps of the courthouse interviewing the man who had just announced he was throwing his hat into the ring in the mayoral race. A small crowd had gathered and she was one of several reporters present. He was so focused on her he only half heard the questions she was asking.

Instead, he was too busy scanning her features. They were serious, intent and beautiful enough to take your breath away. He wondered if she was aware of just how sexy she looked dressed in a beige silk blouse and a chocolate brown straight skirt that stopped above her knees.

It dawned on him that the interview session was over when the crowd began dispersing. She turned, met his gaze and froze. He watched her brown eyes grow wary, aggravated, agitated.

It seemed they were back to square one.

But maybe not. There had been a kiss; a kiss he couldn’t forget and he doubted that she could, either. Knowing she had intended to interview Abraham this morning, he was about to save her the trouble from driving across town to Crofthaven by letting her know that Abraham had left town that morning on a business trip, but decided not to. Chances are she would not have believed him anyway.

He watched as she slowly made her way down the courthouse steps and decided to meet her halfway. When they met, coming face-to-face, he placed his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out and touching her, or pulling her into his arms and kissing her again. “Jasmine,” he acknowledged. “Wesley,” she acknowledged back. “Don’t you ever get tired of following me around?”

Wesley heard the irritation in her voice. “I gave you a break yesterday.”

“No thanks for small favors. Don’t you think we should handle this another way? I feel like I’m being spied on.”

He smiled at that. “Now you know how Abraham must feel at times.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “He’s running for public office, I’m not.”

“That’s a good enough reason for your unfair treatment of him? I don’t see you snooping around his opponent, John Van Gelder.”

Jasmine made a low sound of frustration before saying. “I’m not being unfair to Abraham Danforth. I’m assigned to cover him, not Van Gelder.”

Wesley crossed his arms over his chest. “An assignment that was very unlucky for the Danforth family.”

She sighed. “I regret they feel that way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make it to my next interview.”

When she walked off, Wesley couldn’t help noticing how nicely her skirt stretched across her backside, a very delectable-looking backside. And he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how the sexy curve of that backside would feel against him.