She was vividly, vibrantly, and undeniably stunning...so beautiful hecouldn't tear his gaze away. Her hair was piled on top of her head and he remembered her holding it there like that after they'd been swimming, inadvertently showing offthe long graceful curve of her neck which he'd kissed many times. She had a flower in her hair again, dark red this time, not pink. The same dark red as the dress she was wearing, a strapless dress that bared her shoulders and arms, the hollow at the base of her neck, and the slight swell of flesh that hinted at the lush fullness of her breasts. His mouth went dry, remembering the tight texture of her nipples, the salty taste of them in the sea. His hands itched to span her provocatively small waist, to run them over the voluptuous curve of her hips, down the long silky line of her thighs. He could feel himself stirring, the desire she evoked zinging through his bloodstream, pumping up an urgent need to have her again.'Collins!' The call of his na
Collins grilled his teeth, fighting the surge of violence that urged him to wipe the smirk off the best man's face, tear his arm From Jasmine's waist, and break the fingers that were feeling their way up the erotic curve of her spine. 'She's very beautiful.' His mother's voice filtered through the battle roar in his ears. He wrenched his gaze from the couple on the dance floor and managed a foggy look. 'What?' he asked, not having caught what she was talking about.An amused smile teased his loss of rapport with her. 'Favour's sister, jasmine . Don't tell me you haven't noticed how striking she is. You've been fixated on her all evening.'He frowned, not liking to think his obsession with Jasmine Leclaire was obvious. 'She is...very watch-able,’ he said, trying to brush the issue aside. 'You don't have to stay with me, Collins. I am with friends and they'll lookafter me. Feel free to pursue your interest in her.'' I don't have the time for it' , he stated dismissively.Her eyes ge
'That must give you a lot of satisfaction,' she ran on, suddenly hating the fact that she'd had no part in it, hadn't been invited to take any part in it.'Yes,' he acknowledged, but the mockery was back, deriding this conversation, telling her it had no relevance. It goaded her into demanding some recognition of her as a person, not just the object of a desire he could pick up and put down as he liked. 'Why don't you ask me about my year?''Because I don't want to know.'Ruthless truth. He only wanted to know her in the biblical sense.She averted her gaze from the intensely raw penetration of his and writhed through the shame of blushing like a schoolgirl. 'It's trivia, Jasmine, and it won't change anything,' he stated harshly. 'Well, my life might be trivia to you but it's not trivia to me,' she flashed back at him, a fierce resentment surging at his dismissive attitude. His eyes narrowed, weighing the strength of her attack and whether it was worth his while to make any conce
'I have a room booked at the Airport Hilton Hotel,' Collins breathed in her ear. 'Come with me after the wedding is over... We can be together.'A hotel room... Jasmine's emotional recoil was instant. No! It would make her feel like a call girl, visiting a totally impersonal room for sex, and an airport hotel hammered home how fleeting that visit would be. Yet she could not bear not to have him for as long as she could. 'I'm not going to a hotel with you, Collins' she said. He frowned. 'Why not?' 'Because I said so. We can go some other place... Like... My apartment,' she swiftly countered, pulling back from him to plead her choice. 'It's at Randwick. Not far from Mascot Airport. We could go there. Then I won't feel so bad when you have to leave in the morning.'He frowned again. 'I don't want to make you feel bad, Jasmine. That's not my intention.''I'd hate waking up alone in a hotel room, Collins,' she rushed out, panicking at the thought he might withdraw from any further int
Collins sucked in a quick breath...Hours of it...with Jasmine Leclaire. It wasn't a taxi waiting for them. It was a chauffeured Mercedes with plush leather seats. Very comfortable, but Jasmine couldn't relax. Since the law demanded they wear seat belts Collins wasn't about to pounce, yet she half wished he would because she was so painfully tense and she needed her doubts and fears obliterated. Arrow signs to the airport kept flashing at Jasmine on their way to Randwick, relentlessly reminding her that Collins would be heading there in just a few more hours...and possibly reminding him of the convenience of his hotel room, raising questions about the wisdom of going with her to her apartment, getting further involved with a woman he'd deliberately shunned for most of the wedding.What if the impulse to pursue the desire they shared waned before they reached her place? How strong was it on his side? If he stayed with her for the rest of the night...if it was as incredibly wonderful
Jasmine scooped in a quick breath, '...they chase each other endlessly around the bowl. I think Rhett and Scarlet did that, even after the book ended.' 'Perhaps they simply feel trapped,' He released her waist and slowly ran his fingertips up her arms, a feather-light touch that gave her the freedom to move if she wanted to. She didn't. She held herself completely still and the tiny little tremors under her skin told him how sensitive she was to his touch. Another swift intake of breath. 'No. They're happy fish,' she insisted. 'How do you know?' He trailed his fingers up her neck, over the soft thickness of her pinned-up hair to the dark red rose. 'Because I watch them play. They like their bowl. Its hexagonal shape is good Feng Shui, promoting peace and harmony. They have fun pushing the pebbles around at the bottom and the aquarium plants offer ready food beyond what I feed them. They're happy fish.' He'd tucked the rose in his breast pocket and was pulling out the hairpins. 'W
Softly, slowly, he kissed her closed eyes, feeling the slight flutter of her long lashes brush his chin, a butterfly touch he fancied on other parts of his body. Was she still nervous about her decision to have him? Her tension in the car had been palpable, and using the fish as an almost frantic distraction from his presence here in her apartment were both signs of uncertainty...or apprehension.She could have said no, Collins argued to himself, and her response to his kiss just now was enough assurance that the desire they shared overrode any doubts or fears, but it suddenly niggled that she might not be fully with him. He could take her. She was willing. But he didn't want any part of her to be withheld from him.He lifted his hands and gently cupped her face, studying its unique feminine contours, her marble-smooth forehead, the fine arch of her brows with their winged ends, the deeply set lids that gave her eyes their exotic triangular shape, the high slanted cheekbones flanking
'Now your clothes,' he said, his voice gruff with unaccustomed emotion. 'Yes,' she whispered, a soft breathy agreement that tingled in his ears as he moved around behind her, stepping close enough to effect what he wanted without pressing any physical contact.He parted her long rippling hair and moved it forward, over her shoulders, baring the nape of her neck and the elegant slope of her upper back, no angular bones, just satin-smooth skin leading down tothe strapless red dress. He unhooked the top fastening of the snugly fitted bodice and slowly drew the zipper clown to her waist, exposing the highly feminine indentation of her spine. There was no interruption to it. She wore no bra. And Collins was tempted into stroking his fingers down the intriguing little valley, smiling as the caress raised a convulsive little shiver.She was as sensitised to his touch as he was to hers. Which was only right and immensely satisfying. The dress gaped further open as he lowered the zipper to