Page 48 of Tempted

He stayed with Tyleruntil he was in his pajamas and had brushed his teeth. Lingering for as long as he dared, Victor hopedJasmine was finished with Chelsea and their paths wouldn’t cross for the rest of the night. She’d already ruined his day by not coming with them. He wasn’t going to let her destroy his sleep as well.

Victor rarely took days off, but Chelsea and Tyler had been begging for him to take them to the zoo to see the giant pandas. He’d cleared his calendar for them and was looking forward to spending the day with them. He assumed Jasmine would come along, but his mother had thrown a monkey wrench in his plan asking Jasmine out for lunch when she’d learned of his plans to take the kids for the day.

“Give the poor girl a break. It’s not like you can’t have one day without her. Anyway, I don’t get a chance to talk to Jasmine without any distractions,” his mother had said.

“The kids will be disappointed if she can’t come and it’s not like it’s her day off,” he’d countered.

“Oh please, Victor. Since when did you become so heavy-handed? Besides, will the kids be the only one who’s disappointed?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You figure it out,” she replied in a sing-songy voice.

If she wasn’t his mother he probably would have hung up the phone. But instead he took a deep breath and mentally counted to ten. “Fine, she can have lunch with you if she wants,” he bit out through clenched teeth.

Much to his annoyance, Jasmine seemed eager to have lunch with his mother saying this would be a good chance for him to bond with his children without her around.

Knowing Chelsea and Tyler wouldn’t take Jasmine’s not going well, he’d left it until the last minute to tell them. Chelsea sulked all the way to the zoo and Tyler fell into a solemn silence. Not even a visit to the Panda house had cheered them up. It was only after he’d plied them with three ice creams a piece and a promise of a pizza dinner followed by laser tag, did they snap out of their funks

What made the day most difficult to deal was their non-stop chatter about Jasmine. To add insult to injury as they were headed home, he asked if they’d had a good day. Chelsea said they would have had a better time if Jasmine were there and for once Tyler didn’t shush his sister which spoke volumes. Victor might have been a little annoyed if he didn’t secretly agree with him. Even when she wasn’t around, Jasminesomehow managed to infiltrate every corner of his life. He was fighting a losing battle where she was concerned, but as time passed he wondered why he was fighting so hard. Eventually he’d have to address these feelings he had for the delectable Miss Brooks.

Much to his chagrin, Jasmine came out of Chelsea’s bedroom just when he was coming out of Tyler’s so he couldn’t walk past her without being rude. “Did you have a good day away from the kids?” He silently congratulated himself for the casualness he was able to inject in his voice.

“Yes, although I did miss them. Lunch was good and, we came back here for coffee. I caught up with some reading and watched some television. My day wasn’t that exciting. I wasn’t really sure when you guys would return so I hung around.”

He crossed his arms across his chest and took a step back without being too obvious about it because the closer he was to her, the more he wanted to pull her into his arms. “Do you have any plans for your day off tomorrow?”

“Oh, I can watch the kids, I mean you had them all day so…”

“Don’t worry about it, you’re entitled to your day off, besides, I’m sure there’s a young lady who’s looking forward to a visit.”

“Thank you. Although I was planning to bring her here just in case you wanted me to work.”

“It’s your day to do with it as you like. If you want to bring Star around she’s more than welcome here. She’s a delightful young lady.”

“Thank you. Uh, there’s actually…I wanted to tell you…” she broke off and caught her bottom lip between her teeth as if trying to find the right words to say next. Her gaze cut away from his.

“What Jasmine?”

“Just…thanks for being so kind. I really like my job and I love the children and I appreciate you giving me this opportunity.”

Why did he get the feeling there was something else she was trying to tell him? Whatever it was, it seemed to be bothering her, but he wouldn’t press the issue. For now. “No, I should be thanking you.”

“Me? Why?”

“My relationship with my children is ten times better than it was before you arrived. Adam is even talking to me, well somewhat, but more than he has before in years and I have you to thank for it. You’ve really done wonders for this family.” And me, he wanted to say.

“I’m not a saint, Victor. Don’t…don’t put me on a pedestal because I’m not perfect in fact I’ve…” Again she broke off. He wasn’t sure if he imagined it but he thought he saw tears in her eyes.

Moving closer he grasped her by the shoulders, wanting to offer the comfort she silently seemed to be crying out for. “What is it Jasmine? Tell me.”

She raised her head, her big brown eyes glistening with moisture. They stared at each other wordlessly before she shook her head. “Nothing. I guess I’m more tired than I thought I was.”

There was something more going on here and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it but realized if he insisted she tell him, then she’d retreat further within the cloak of secrecy she’d shrouded herself in. When she was ready to tell him, she would. Or at least he hoped so.

An awkward silence fell between them. Unable to help himself, Victor stared pointedly at her breasts. He’d never met a woman who seemed so unaware of her sex appeal. His mouth watered as he imagined sucking on those sweet titties again, pinching her nipples until she cried out his name and sliding into her hot pussy. His cock stiffened and this time he didn’t fight the feeling. He wanted her. Maybe this was a mistake but he knew if he didn’t taste her again, he’d go crazy.

Her eyes widened as comprehension dawned. She attempted to pull away. “Victor, no.”

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