“Was your grandfather really married to all those women?” she asked after he told her the tale of how Raphel had become a black sheep in the family after running off in the early nineteen hundreds with the preacher’s wife and all the other wives he supposedly collected along the way.
He took another sip of wine. “That’s what everyone is trying to find out. We need to know if there are any more Westmorelands out there. Megan is hiring a private detective to help solve the puzzle about Raphel’s wives. We’ve eliminated two and now we have two more to check out.”
When they finished the main course Jason used his cell phone to call downstairs to say they were ready for dessert. Moments later banana pudding was delivered to them. Bella thought the dessert was simply delicious. She usually didn’t eat a lot of sweets but once she’d taken a bite she couldn’t help but finish the whole thing.
A short while later, after they’d devoured the dessert with coffee, Jason checked his watch. “We’re right on schedule. I’ll take you back in time to get your car so you can make your meeting with Marvin.”
Jason stood, rounded the table and reached for her hand. The instant they touched it seemed a rush of heated sensations tore through the both of them at the same time. It was absorbed in their bones, tangled their flesh and he all but shuddered under the impact. The alluring scent of her filled his nostrils and his breath was freed on a ragged sigh.
Some part of his brain told him to take a step back and put distance between them. But then another part told him he was facing the inevitable. There had been this blazing attraction, this tantalizing degree of lust between them from the beginning. For him it had been since the moment he had seen her when she’d entered the ballroom with Kenneth Bostwick. He had known then he wanted her.
They stared at each other and for a second he thought she would avert her gaze from his but she didn’t. She couldn’t resist him any more than he could resist her and they both knew it, which was probably why, when he took a step closer and began lowering his head, she went on tiptoes and lifted her mouth to meet his.
The moment their lips connected, a low, guttural sound rumbled from deep in his throat and he deepened the kiss the moment she wrapped her arms around his neck. His tongue slid easily into her mouth, exploring one side and then another, as well as all the areas in between before tangling with her own, mating deeply, and when she reciprocated the move sent a jolt of desire all through his bones.
And then it was on.
Holy crap. Hunger the likes of he’d never felt before infiltrated his mind. He felt a sexual connection with her that he’d never felt with any woman before. As his tongue continued to slide against hers, parts of him felt primed and ready to explode at any moment. Never had he encountered such overwhelming passion, such blatant desire and raw primal need.
His mouth was doing a good job tasting her, but the rest of him wanted to feel her, draw her closer into his arms. On instinct he felt her lean into him, plastering their bodies from breast to knee and as Jason deepened the kiss even more, he groaned, wondering if he would never get enough of her.
Bella was feeling the same way about Jason. No man had ever held her this close, taken her mouth this passionately and made sensations she’d never felt before rush through her quicker than the speed of light.