They entered the Italian Village, and Felicity hesitated at the crush of people just inside the door. Tourists flooded the stairway, but Jared kept walking up the stairs, ignoring the line. At the reception desk he smiled at the girl holding the menus and taking names."Maria, tell Angelo that Jared Redmond wants double his usual order to go."Maria, a curvy caramel-skinned girl, winked and trotted off toward the kitchen."Angelo?" Felicity asked."A buddy of mine. We both went to University of Nebraska. He got into the Culinary Institute of America before moving here, and I went off to Creighton for law. We kept in touch.""Redmond! Tu cane! Non hai detto che saresti dovuto venire da stasera!" A booming masculine voice reverberated around them as a handsome man, definitely Italian, strode toward them from a swinging door that led back to the kitchen. Dressed in a white double-breasted jacket and black pants, the man, Angelo, removed his white toque hat and tucked it under one ar
As they reached Jared's luxurious apartment building, he took the bag of food from her and they headed inside. It never failed to amaze her how beautiful the building was. It was one of those old hotels whose exterior was art deco, but inside everything was sleek and modern with leather couches, subtle d¨¦cor, and glittering chandeliers."Do you suppose Layla and your brother are still" She didn't finish."Probably. If he's anything like me, he can go for hours."She sucked in a breath and stumbled. With a low laugh, he wrapped an arm around her, catching her before she face-planted on the nice marble floor of the lobby. What was it about this man that made her lose all control of her body? She was not a klutz. Luckily it was dark enough outside that he wouldn't see the blush burning a path across her face.Can go for hours. Her mouth dried up, and her tongue scraped like sandpaper as she licked her lips. As a virgin, she should have been terrified at the idea of hours in bed with
"You looked good in my clothes. I wouldn't mind loaning them out again. And with all the hotels I visit, I always leave my brushes behind, so I keep a bunch of new unopened packages of them in the drawer to the left of the sink. You are welcome to one."He effectively destroyed any argument she would have had, and finally she had to concede with a nod."Okay, I'll stay."He took a step closer, their bodies almost touching, and his head dipped a few inches as though he was going to kiss her.Please, please kiss me. Her silent prayer went unanswered. Instead, he swept the pad of his thumb over her lips, as though trying to memorize their shape and feel.The man was going to kill her. All these near-kisses and nokisses. If she didn't get control of herself, she was going to grab him and kiss him herself."Good. Let's change, and then we'll get a movie going."Ten minutes later, Felicity was sitting on one end of the couch in the center of the L-shape, wearing Jared's black boxers
Heat. Searing kisses. The melding of bodies and the twining of limbs Felicity moaned and shifted in bed. A sharp ache grew inside her, filling her with desperation."Jared!" Her own gasp woke her up.She jerked and blinked several times as she realized where she was. In Jared's bed. Again. Only this time she was alone. Was he on the couch where he said he'd be? For some reason, she hoped he hadn't kept his promise. Being in bed with him, surrounded by his warmth and strength, was better than feeling alone in bed. Chivalry be damned. After what had happened between them last night, he should have stayed here with her.The mere memory of last night had her blushing and burying her face in her hands with a little sigh. She'd come apart in his arms. But he hadn'tthey'd still been fully clothed. Mortification churned her stomach and made her hands shake. This was just what she needed, to show an older guy how much of a virgin she was, that she couldn't even wait before theyWith a lit
Jared felt like singing. He wanted to belt out songs in the shower, but he wisely resisted the urge. Felicity was still asleep in his bed, and it might wake her up. He didn't want that. The pleasure of waking her up was something he wanted to do himself. As he got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, he whistled softly.It was an irresistible temptation to go to his bed, climb in, and curl his body around hers. The passion simmering inside him demanded action, preferably through breathless kisses and slow, teasing caresses. Last night with her had been mind-blowing. Jared had had sex before, lots of sex, with a fair amount of women, but nothing compared to what he'd done with Felicity last night. He hadn't even gotten off, and it hadn't mattered. Only her pleasure had.He'd held her for an hour on the couch, making sure she was deeply asleep when he finally lifted her in his arms and carried her to his bed. The promise to stay on the couch had seemed irrelevant by
She couldn't breathe.Jared was somehow at Sabine's. And he was angry. At her. Why else would he act as if they were just acquaintances? Was he upset because she'd left? Because of the note? Surely that wasn't it. He had to understand why she'd left, why she hadn't said goodbye. But she looked at his face, and he was glowering and raking one hand through his dark hair.Maybe he didn't understand why she'd left after all.Sabine looked up from her pattern books and sketches, winged brows raised in concern."I'll just put some more coffee on," Felicity muttered, then spun out of the conference room.She took refuge in the small part of the gallery just off the hallway where several paintings hung and a nice couch offered a place for her to collapse. Which she did, immediately sinking into its pillowy depths. Leaning forward, she braced her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. A tiny tremor worked its way through her.She hadn't expected to see him so soon after las
She swallowed hard. "II'm sorry about the note." She shored up her confidence, knowing she had to own up to the fact that she had run this morning. "I had to leave because I was running late to get here. There wasn't time for""For goodbye?" He cut her off, and the way he whispered the word, she heard the hurt in his voice, the wounded acceptance of what they'd shared coming to an end. He shrugged, as though trying to rid himself of a great weight that rested there."Yes." It felt like she was sinking into the floor. She'd just left him without an explanation, yet it felt as though they were talking about something deeper, a more permanent issue that lay between them. It was scary as hell to think about."It's just one little word, Felicity." His tone was still soft, hurt, and it shocked her. Her leaving really had upset him.It was supposed to be this way, this goodbyebut suddenly the idea was unbearable."I'm sorry," she replied, her voice shaking. "We both know that this thin
Wednesdays were shit.Jared had never thought otherwise, but now more than ever, he hated Wednesdays. The brief but explosive beginning to his weekend had rocked his world to the core, and yet the thing that had spun his world on its axis had pushed him away.She had pushed him away.And losing a chance to be with a woman like Felicity, it made him fucking hate today. Fucking Wednesdays.He walked into his office at Pimms & Associates and dropped his leather briefcase into one of the two black armchairs facing his large desk. Then he stripped off his gray m¨¦lange virgin wool suit jacket and flung it over the back of one chair before he studied the surface of his desk.It was a battlefield littered with paper bodies. Contracts, sales agreements, licenses, and everything else related to his work was all here, a ready distraction. But for the first time his heart wasn't in it. He'd spent the rest of Sunday in a foul mood. Alone. Tanner and Layla had tiptoed around him after he'd all