Brenda Jackson - The Danforths - Wesley, Ian & Imogene - Scandal Between the Sheets / The Boss Man's Fortune / Challenged by the Sheikh

When he lifted his mouth, he eyed her closely and saw heat flood her cheeks and understood why. She had been a sensual delight in his arms last night and now she was not sure how to act the morning after.

“I needed to take a bath and soak a while,” she said softly.

He reached out and touched her cheek, knowing her body had to be tender. “I didn’t mean to make love to you so many times.”

“Yeah, but I asked for it,” she responded truthfully. “And I have no regrets.”

Wesley released a deep sigh, grateful to hear that because he had no regrets, either. He glanced around the kitchen. She had set out eggs and bacon to cook. “If you prefer I can take you out to breakfast.”

She chuckled. “No, that’s okay. I enjoy cooking. It won’t take but a minute to throw something together.”

He nodded. “What are your plans today?”

She shrugged. “Saturdays are usually my lazy days. Once in a while I’ll go into the office if I’m working on a story, but today I’d planned to stay in and relax.”

“How would you like spending the day with me? I have to go to Charleston to make a few deliveries and return later tonight. I’d love the company.”

Jasmine opened her mouth to refuse his invitation but for some reason she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready for her time with him to end just yet. She met Wesley’s gaze. She would go to Charleston with him but needed to make sure that he had a clear understanding about something. “Will this be a date?”

He lifted a brow. “Why?”

“Because I don’t date. I told you that before.”

He nodded. Yes, she had. He also remembered the reason she had given him as to why she didn’t date. “You slept with me last night,” he decided to remind her. Most women didn’t sleep with men they didn’t date unless it was just a one-night stand. And hell would freeze over before he would let that happen.

Although he dated a lot of women, he didn’t sleep with just anyone. He was known to have very discriminating taste when it came to women and with Jasmine having been a virgin, he knew she didn’t sleep around either. The fact that he had been the first man she had slept with changed everything.

“Yes, but it wasn’t a date.”

He smiled down at her, his eyes curious. “In your mind, what constitutes a date?”

She shrugged again. “A couple going out and doing things together, going places together on a constant basis, like dinner, to the movies, concerts—things like that. Last night was our first and our last time sleeping together. Nothing has changed, Wesley. I’m still the reporter you don’t like.”

She was wrong; everything had changed. She might be a reporter he didn’t like but she was also a woman he desired. And she was wrong about last night being the last time they would sleep together. He definitely had plans to make love to her again.

“I liked you well enough last night. In fact I liked you a whole hell of a lot. And do you know what I liked most?” he asked her.

She held his gaze for a long, uncertain moment before asking in a whispered voice. “What?”

“I especially like the way you call my name when you come apart while I’m making love to you.”

“Wesley, you can’t—”

He didn’t give her a chance to finish what she was about to say. He reached down and swung her into his arms and captured her mouth in a kiss. His mind was made up. He wanted her and intended to have her.

He made his way back toward her bedroom. It would be a while before he made love to her the traditional way since her body was still sore, but he knew another way he could make love to her and it was a way that she had already enjoyed. Before the day was over, she would remember his every touch.

The moment Jasmine walked into Wesley’s spacious two-story home she was captivated. Beautiful polished hardwood floors greeted her when she stepped into the foyer. The most gorgeous chandelier she’d ever seen hung overhead. The crystals dripping from the chandelier actually looked like diamonds and she had to blink to make sure they weren’t.

A spiral staircase loomed ahead and Jasmine could imagine all the grand parties that had been given in the older home, which appeared to have been built in the eighteen hundreds. But what took Jasmine’s breath away more than anything was the beautiful view of the Savannah River from almost every room in the house.

He had furnished the house with period furnishings. Each piece made the house retain its original splendor and made her feel like she was taking a step back in time. Just from glancing around, she could tell he enjoyed having nice things. So did she.

After touring the downstairs, they walked up the stairs to the second floor. “You have an office both upstairs and downstairs?” she asked, after taking a glance at another room with a computer, bookcase and a desk.

“Yes. I do a lot of work at home although my business has office space on the river front. Besides my bedroom, there are two additional bedrooms up here that have their own baths. I have a master bath in my bedroom. I decided to put off decorating the additional bedrooms for now since there wasn’t an urgent need to do so. In fact I use one of them for storage.”

When they entered his bedroom she was in awe and couldn’t help but stare shamelessly at his huge bed while something stirred deep within her. She tried averting her attention from his bed to the other impressive furnishings in the room but found that she couldn’t. She could see herself in that bed with him making love. She glanced up and met his gaze and the look in his eyes indicated that he could imagine the same thing.

“Let me show you the master bath,” he said hoarsely, leading her into an area off from the bedroom. His bathroom was as large as one of the bedrooms downstairs and had a huge Jacuzzi tub, as well as a large shower. Another image filled her mind; one of them taking a bath together.

She turned to Wesley. “Your home is beautiful.”

Wesley reached out and touched her chin with his fingers. It pleased him that she liked his home and without thinking twice about it, he leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

The kiss was slow and soul deep. Jasmine’s heart lurched at his tenderness.

Moments later she experienced a tinge of regret when he pulled his mouth back to end the kiss. “I guess we better get going,” he whispered against her still-moist lips.

She nodded. “Yes, I guess we’d better.”

As they walked down the stairs together, she thought about how much she enjoyed the kisses they shared. Somehow Wesley had the ability to elevate a simple kiss to a sensuous art form.

They walked through his kitchen with the spotless appliances, beautiful tiled counters and floors, and oak cabinets to his four-car garage. In addition to the Mercedes and Explorer and Corvette that she’d known he owned, a huge Harley Davidson motorcycle was also parked in one of the garage spaces.

She glanced up at him when he opened the door to the Explorer for her. “You like riding your motorcycle?”

He smiled and even before he gave her an answer, she knew that he did. “Yes, occasionally I enjoy hitting the open road. Sometimes there’s nothing like the feel of wind in your face.”

After making sure her seat belt was secure, he closed the door and walked around to the front of the vehicle to get into the driver’s side. Jasmine peered over her shoulder into the back seat of the SUV and saw all the books stocked on the seat. “You’re delivering books?” she asked in surprise.

He glanced over at her as he started the engine. “Yes. A friend of mine from college runs the boys’ club in Charleston. I usually check with him periodically to see what items he may need since funding for the club has been drastically cut over the years. When I talked to him last week he indicated they were trying to steer the boys away from playing video games and focus their free time on reading, so I offered to buy a few books.”