Page 77 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Seven

“I do. Did you have a lot of champagne?”

She picked up the suggestion and gracefully volleyed. “I had a few glasses. Maybe it’s better if I left my car here and you drove?”

“Smart idea.”

They walked out to the car side by side. He brushed his fingers against hers.

The drive was short and completed in silence, but it wasn’t tension that stopped them from speaking. Jameson felt the sweet tight anticipation between them like a beautiful dance. Neither wanted to ruin it with words.

Bear greeted them with the mad fury of a canine scorned but after a potty trip, a snack, and some extra affection, the beast finally settled. Jameson took two cans of seltzer out of the refrigerator, poured them into glasses, and handed her one. She took it with a nod and prowled around the rooms, studying the various books on the shelves.

He tamped down a grin, allowing her the space, allowing her to feel comfortable about what was about to happen. And it would happen.

On her terms.

“The auction went well. We brought in a lot of money for the shelter. Judith cried.”

He nodded, sipping his seltzer. “You had some great items to sell.”

“Yeah, except that ridiculous portrait prize. It started at three hundred dollars. I doubted it’d sell to anyone. Who wants a caricature of yourself done over Zoom? Marilyn has a wonderful heart, but she does those drawings on the side and no one has the heart to tell her they’re awful.”

Jameson kept his expression mildly interested. “I hope she wasn’t hurt by not selling it.”

Devon tapped her lip thoughtfully. “That’s the thing that puzzled me. Someone did bid on it. At three hundred dollars. It’d be the most she’d ever made in her life.”

“Wow, I guess someone was trying to be nice. Good for her.”

Slowly, she put her glass on the table. He did the same.

“It was you. You bought that awful caricature for a stupid price and you used the name Frank James. Clever.”

He blinked. “Not very clever if you figured it out.”

She blew out a breath and faced him head on. Feminine energy sparked around her and turned her eyes to emerald fire. She clenched her fists and breathed deep, and the satiny fabric of her dress clung to her breasts like a gift from God, for his eyes only. His body tightened with a ravenous hunger, but he kept still, allowing her to set the pace. “Why are you doing this?”

His tone was mild but his body was at war, practically shaking under his clothes. “Doing what?”

“This!” Her hand cut through the air and she trembled. His gaze carefully took in her hard nipples and flushed skin, knowing he was so close. “You make this ridiculous donation to a cause you never even believed in, and you upgraded the appetizers and drinks and even added halibut to the buffet! You can’t make a profit on halibut at a charity buffet.”

“Yep, I took a bath on that one.”

“Stop, just stop. Then you say these…things about me over the microphone? When you know how this town gossips? Everyone will be bugging you about how you feel about me, and give you all this pressure, and you’re going to regret it. Big time.”

“Doubt it.”

She lost it. With a screech of rage, she stomped over to him and faced him toe to toe. “Why did you lie to me? Why are you so different from what I thought!”

Head thrown back, breath puffing through her pink lips, hair disheveled and coming out of her fancy braid, she was everything he’d ever dreamed of or wanted in a woman and he couldn’t wait another second.

Jameson moved, grabbing her around the hips, lifting her up so they were nose to nose, mouth to mouth, inches away. “Because somehow, some way, you make me want to do better.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Damn you for ruining everything.” Then she grabbed his shoulders, jerking him forward, and kissed him.

They exploded together like a tsunami hits the shore. Wrapping her legs tight around his hips, their mouths fused hungrily, desperate for each other, and Jameson wanted to drown in her taste and smell and feel until there was nothing left of him but her.

He walked her into the bedroom, palms roving over her back, never breaking the kiss. The fabric of her dress crushed around him, hiked up to her hips. Placing her on the bed, they shed their clothes in a frenzy, throwing each item on the floor, stopping to kiss and stroke every bare expanse of flesh as it was revealed.

He tugged down her dress straps and groaned as her breasts spilled into his hands. He stroked and cupped the heavy weight, loving the cherry red of her nipples, sucking tight on the hard nubs as he relished her cries. She pulled at buttons and the belt buckle, practically ripping off the fancy vest. Her fingers played in the swirls of hair on his bare chest, drifted downward, and then she shoved both hands in his boxers to cup his erection.

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