Page 13 of The House on Blueberry Lane

Every so often she would look in her rearview mirror to see that he was directly behind her. She couldn’t help but appreciate his thoughtfulness in wanting to make sure she arrived home safely. Fifteen minutes later, she had reached the entrance to her gate and when she pulled into the security station, he beeped his horn before driving off.

Moments later after she entered her condo, all she could do was smile at the thought that she had finally been kissed the way she’d always dreamed of a man kissing her. And she’d enjoyed it tremendously.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?

That question was rolling furiously through Jaye’s mind as he entered his condo and tossed his keys on the table in the foyer. He rubbed a hand down his face in frustration. Velvet Spencer was supposed to be a one-and-done. By this time, they should have experienced at least two orgasms and working on the third. In her bed or his. Instead, he was at his place without her and wondering how in the hell that had happened.

The sexual chemistry that had flowed between them all through dinner had been so intense it had kept him aroused the entire time. What was it about her that had made him forget to breathe a few times? He’d gotten even more turned on whenever she talked, licked her lips, moved her hands or ate her food. Hell, he’d felt his erection twitch every time she blinked her eye.

He’d felt sexual chemistry before, but never of this magnitude. The one he’d shared with Velvet tonight had been a potent mix of raw sexuality and sensuality he hadn’t known could exist. The woman was pure temptation personified. Yet, when they’d kissed, he sensed an innocence about her. One thing he usually didn’t waste his time with were innocent women. But there was something about Velvet that made him want to see her again. She generated an unprecedented degree of desire and lust within him. Now more than anything, he wanted to know how she’d managed to do something that no other woman had done for him.

He had made it to the bedroom and was about to strip for his shower when his cell phone rang. It was his best friend, Mercury Steele. “Yes, Mercury?”

“You better have a good reason for not showing up, Jaye. Candie was there and she’d brought a friend along. A real looker. I ended up having to entertain them both myself.”

Jaye rubbed his hand down his face and decided to give Mercury the short reason he hadn’t shown up. “I met this woman.”

Mercury laughed. “Say no more. I understand.”

He figured Mercury would. Mercury knew him just like he knew Mercury. They had been best friends since first grade and basically thought alike. When it came to women, they enjoyed them for sex. Love had nothing to do with it. At least for Mercury, it no longer did. There was that time in college when Mercury had fallen for a woman. She had taught Mercury a hard lesson. The same one Jaye’s mother had taught him. Women are to be enjoyed but never consider making one a permanent part of your life.

“Look, Mercury, I’m tired and after my shower I’m going to bed.”

“Tired? Going to bed? It’s not even eleven o’clock. Damn man, she must have worn you out.”

Normally, Jaye was a night owl and wouldn’t be in bed before midnight. His friend would be surprised to learn that tonight he hadn’t indulged in a one-and-done like Mercury assumed. He hadn’t gotten beyond that first kiss. But even now that kiss was messing with him big-time. When had a woman’s lips ever tasted so good?

“Good night, Mercury.” He clicked off the phone.

A short while later, Jaye had showered and was in his pajama bottoms. He went to the wet bar in his dining room, needing a shot of something strong. He reached to pour a shot and then stopped. No woman had ever driven him to drink, and he wouldn’t let one do so now. His intense attraction to her had to have been a fluke. He got to women; he never let one get to him. That wasn’t the way he operated, and he’d been told by women that he was a smooth operator. One of the best.

Now that he was back on familiar ground, his common sense had returned, and maybe the best thing to do was to come up with an excuse and cancel his date with Velvet this weekend. He rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. No woman alive could make him run in the opposite direction. So why was he giving Velvet that much power over him? He was determined to find out what it was about her that revved up all that was male within him. What was it about her that made him want to call her even now just to hear her voice again?

What the hell was wrong with him?

The one good thing was that the attraction hadn’t been one-sided. He was a man who knew women. He could read one like he could his favorite book. Being coy was something he could detect a mile away. But there was nothing coy about Velvet and that’s what confused the hell out of him. She’d wanted him as much as he’d wanted her. Yet for some reason, she hadn’t seemed to recognize the intense attraction for what it was. He had.

He’d known each and every time she’d stared at his lips, because she would lick her own lips, as if wondering how he would taste. That was one of the reasons he had kissed her the way he had. He’d held nothing back. Hell, he’d even wanted her to feel his erection. There shouldn’t be any doubt in her mind he had wanted her as much as she’d wanted him.

And he would have her.

Then he would move on just like normal. He smiled, satisfied that he was back to himself. There was something else, however, that piqued his interest. Ortega Yacht Condos were some of the most expensive in the city. He would know since he had thought of moving there himself, but he’d preferred the luxury condos closer to town. How could Velvet afford to live there on a teacher’s salary?

And why did he get the feeling she was a well-polished, sophisticated and classy woman? She might be a teacher but he could sense there was more. It was there in the way she arranged things on their table so they could enjoy the meal they were sharing. And then the way she held her eating utensils with an etiquette that suggested a polished upbringing.

And then there was her vast knowledge of various topics. Granted, she was a teacher, which could be the reason. However, in just that short of time they’d spent together, he’d sensed an intelligence that surpassed any woman he’d dated before. Hell, when they’d been talking about stocks, bonds and investments, she had known just about as much as he did, and he was considered a financial whiz.

Jaye frowned. He definitely would go out with Velvet again. His hot-as-the-dickens schoolteacher was a mystery that he intended to solve.

“HOW DID THE job fair go yesterday, Velvet?”

Velvet glanced up at Ruthie. She was fortunate that she and her best friend taught at the same school, just different grades and subjects. Ruthie loved English and was great at teaching it. Students signed up early to get into her classes. She had a way of taking a sentence and dissecting it to no end. They’d hit it off as roommates in college and remained close friends since.

“It went well. I had fun,” she answered. Then she leaned over the table where they were having lunch in the school cafeteria and whispered, “I even had a date afterward. Well, it wasn’t a normal date, but he asked me out to dinner, and I went and totally enjoyed myself.”

Ruthie raised her eyebrows. “Whoa, back up a minute. Who is he?”

Velvet lowered her voice. “The guy who showed up at the end of the job fair and asked me to dinner. Please keep up, Ruthie.”

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