Stolen Kisses (22 page)

“Yes, and I think he’s lucky that Tory can only think about Logan today. If not, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. He had her biggest competitor cater the damn thing.” Trevor chuckled as he watched his father giving the waiters instruction on exactly where to put the wedding cake. “I’m thinking about eloping myself, just to frustrate the old man. Now that I’m the only one of his children who’s single, he’ll probably want to hire Ringling Brothers to entertain at my wedding.”

Trevor’s wedding was the last thing that Jessie wanted to talk about at that particular moment. After weeks of conflicting emotions and noble statements about the ideal husband, she suddenly realized half an hour ago that she was in love with the impossible man. True to form, it had been when he’d been doing something absurd.

He’d been standing next to Logan, his demeanor quiet and seeming extremely dignified in his charcoal-gray suit. Jessie had thought he looked absolutely wonderful from her seat next to Gary Bush. Then Trevor had looked straight at her, giving her a leering wink. Her heart had stopped for a half second, and she couldn’t breathe. Instantaneously, and as unexpected as the man himself, came the realization that she loved him.

When the wedding march began a few minutes later, she wasn’t sure she could stand up. But as she rose hesitantly to her feet, the idea took hold, and she wanted to laugh out loud. It was probably inevitable from the moment she’d turned to find a half-naked six-foot rabbit standing by her side. She was the only one who didn’t suspect it would happen. Abby, Tory, and Gina had all seemed to think it was an ideal match.

What did Trevor think? she wondered as she gazed up at his smiling face. He seemed to want a relationship, but what kind? As he had said, he was the only Planchet who wasn’t married. The big question was why he wasn’t?

“Jessie, you’re not mad about last night, are you?” She looked up at him in confusion. “I told you I enjoyed being with your family, and I had a delightful evening.”

“That’s not what I was talking about,” he informed her, his expression almost as solemn as it had been during Tory’s wedding.

“Oh.” He meant when he had taken her home. The vulnerable expression in his dark eyes took her by surprise. Was he really that worried about what he’d done? Didn’t he realize that was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him? “No, of course, I’m not mad. Why would I be?”

“You could think— Never mind, let’s dance.” He slipped both arms around her waist, holding her close as he led her into a slow, dreamy rhythm.

Jessie circled her arms around his neck and nestled her head against his shoulder. She gave herself up to the movement of his lean body against hers. Would he tell her to run for the sake of her virtue again tonight? He might be that noble, she decided judiciously, but she wasn’t.

The traitorous little voice inside her was giving her all sorts of wicked suggestions, and they all included the very delectable body of Trevor Planchet. Every single suggestion seemed perfect. For once she thought she might be able to surprise him. It was time that she took some control, instead of letting Trevor direct their relationship.

With a daring she didn’t know she possessed, Jessie began to make her plans for the evening. She needed to start behaving like a mature woman who made her own decisions and guided her own destiny again.

“Trevor, why haven’t you gotten married?” She timed the question exactly a mile and a half from her house, just to test the waters before she went in for the kill.

“What kind of question is that?” he demanded, taking his eyes off the road momentarily. “Is this one of those women things after attending a wedding?”

“You said something earlier about being the last one to be single in your family. Of course, you forgot about your father,” she answered in an offhand tone. For good measure, she looked idly out the window. “If you’re just counting your brothers and sister, you’re not the baby of the family or anything. At least I don’t think you are. How old are you?”

“That’s not a ladylike question,” he returned quickly, giving her another quizzical look at the non sequitur. “You’ve been in a strange mood all afternoon. Is there something wrong?”

“No, you impossible man. Now, are you going to answer my questions?” She turned, purposely hiking up her skirt as she casually curled her legs up onto the seat. Draping one arm over the back of the bench seat, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Did he notice that she’d moved closer?

“Probably the same reason you haven’t gotten married by now,” he said abruptly, overly preoccupied with steering the car down the quiet residential street.

“What reason is that?” she murmured, trailing her fingers under the collar of his pale blue shirt, then moving on to the knot of his striped tie.

“I’ve been too busy with my job and life in general.” He was stoically trying to ignore her wandering fingers, showing Jessie that she had a lot of work ahead of her. Trevor was set on being noble again tonight.

“Is that all?” As she traced the shell of his ear with her index finger, she realized that she was having fun. She could understand why Trevor and his family ignored most of their inhibitions and the usual social conventions, even if it seemed outrageous to anyone watching. It was a liberating experience. Why hadn’t she realized this before?

“I suppose so. There’s the old line about the time, the place, and the loved one, which probably has something to do with it,” he said, still preoccupied with his driving as he turned the car into her driveway. When he shifted into park, Jessie reached over and turned off the ignition. For good measure she took possession of the keys, dropping them on the floor behind her.

Trevor seemed dumbfounded by her actions, staring at the empty ignition as if it might explode any minute. Slowly he cocked his head to the side and sat very still as he regarded her. His face was in shadows, so she couldn’t see his expression. Why was he so still?

“Sweet heaven, Jessie, I hope you know what you’re doing,” he finally gritted out through clenched teeth. She could feel the tension in his cheek as she traced the line of his jaw with the back of her hand.

“I think so. I was awfully lonely after you left last night,” she murmured, taking the opportunity to move closer until her shoulder brushed against his. If she moved another inch she would be in his lap. “I think I had a deprived adolescence. Do you know that I’ve never necked in a parked car?”

“Oh, Jessie,” he groaned.

She never saw him move, but a moment later she was draped across his lap with the steering wheel pressing against her back. A giggle bubbled up in her throat when she looked up into his scowling face.

“By rights I should turn you over my knee for spoiling all my good intentions,” he grumbled, but she could see that he was having trouble maintaining his glower.

“Couldn’t we try it straight first before you get kinky?” she asked sweetly, running her hands up the front of his shirt. Without waiting for an answer she began working on the knot of his tie.

“Jessie…” His voice was a cross between a command and a plea this time.

“You keep saying that,” she murmured, noting that his hand was moving in a slow circle on her thigh. His show of resistance was beginning to crumble, bit by bit. The pressure of his arousal was noticeably increasing against her hip. “Aren’t you going to do anything else?”

“I want you to be sure that you know what you’re doing,” he said earnestly, still not making an overt move to either help or reject her. “There’s no turning back after this, sweetheart.”

She didn’t answer with words. Instead, she languidly unbuttoned his shirt. In a very deliberate movement, she leaned forward, running her palms over taut, hair-roughened skin until she linked her hands behind his head. Brazenly she rubbed her breasts against him, and when her lips were a mere millimeter from his, she whispered, “Oh, Trevor.”

That was all it took to snap his control. His arms closed roughly around her as he groaned her name once more. For a moment, Jessie wondered what she had unleashed, but when his mouth claimed hers she didn’t care.

It wasn’t a tentative, gentle first embrace. Trevor had been tormented beyond his limit, and was intent on slaking the hunger she had aroused in him. His hands moved over her awkwardly, seemingly unable to find a resting place, but Jessie was in the throes of the same spell. She couldn’t get close enough, twisting and turning in his arms as she battled his tongue for possession of the dark, mysterious depths of their fervent kisses.

“Sweet heaven, Jessie, what are we doing?” Trevor finally gasped, the sound of ripping material bringing him back to his senses. He dropped his head back against the seat, staring at the ceiling of the car while he tried to control his labored breathing.

Jessie sagged against him, laying her head against his shoulder. She was dazed and extremely happy about what had just taken place. Trevor’s hand stroked her damp hair soothingly. “I think we were ravaging each other,” she said. “Is that what you were talking about last night?”

“Jessie, what has gotten into you?” he asked in wonder, not bothering to move.

“Nothing yet. I think that’s the problem,” she answered wickedly, biting her lower lip in anticipation of his response.

“Dammit, Jessie, warn me when you’re going to say something like that,” he almost growled, swooping down to press a hard kiss on her bare shoulder. For a moment, she wondered how her dress had come partially off before Trevor said, “I think my heart stopped for a minute.”

“It feels like it’s going strong to me.” She placed her hand over the organ in question, moving her palm against his damp skin in a widening circle. Almost immediately Trevor’s hand clamped around her wrist, holding her in place. With his other hand he pulled her dress back up over her shoulder.

“We’re going to have to get dressed just to get out of the car,” he announced, sounding almost as dazed as she felt a few moments before. “Jessie, I don’t think I’ve ever lost control like that in my entire life. We’ve even managed to steam up the windows.”

“Isn’t it Wonderful?” She reached up to kiss him again, but he forestalled her with a firm grip on her shoulders.

“No more of this until we get into the house,” he said firmly.

“Promise?” Jessie looked directly into his eyes, trying to read his expression in the dim light.

“I promise. Now, what the hell did you do with my keys?”

Jessie kept giggling and Trevor swore, which made her laugh even harder, as they worked at untangling themselves to search for the keys. Fifteen minutes later, as they walked to the front door, Jessie slipped her arm around Trevor’s waist. With gratifying promptness, he curved an arm around her shoulder. Once inside, however, he seemed to hesitate again.

“Trevor?” She wasn’t sure she liked the almost haunted look on his face. Dropping her shoes on the carpet, she took his hand to lead him toward the bedroom. He stayed firmly in place. “What is it?”

“I have something to tell you.”

The bubble inside her seemed to fizzle and die under his hooded gaze. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he having second thoughts about what happened in the car? “Is it important?”

“I think it’s damned important,” he shot back, his frown deepening as he studied her face. “You’ve got me so confused that I don’t know what’s happening anymore.”

“Are you going to renege on your promise?” she asked, trying to put off what he was going to say. She was sure she wasn’t going to like it.

“Dammit, Jessie, I’m trying to tell you that I love you, and all you can think about is sex,” he snapped, then realized what he had just said.

Jessie knew her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn’t help it. The man continually surprised her. She said the first thing that came to her mind. “Well, how was I supposed to know? I only figured out I loved you this afternoon.”

The silence in the entryway was deafening. Neither one of them seemed to know what to do or say next. Trevor managed to recover first, stepping forward and swinging Jessie up into his arms. He didn’t speak but strode purposely toward the back of the house.

“I guess this means you’re going to keep your promise after all,” she said impishly, raining butterfly kisses on his face.

“Damn straight.”

“You’re such a romantic, Trevor Planchet,” she murmured, nipping at his ear. “The bedroom’s the second door on the left.”

“I thought we’d get comfortable before we continued the discussion,” he returned with a wry twist to his mouth as he set her on her feet next to the bed. “I’m kind of curious about how my princess turned into a sex kitten all of a sudden.”

Jessie grinned, pleased by his description that undoubtedly would have horrified her weeks ago. Sliding his suit jacket off his shoulders, she explained, “I think Abby was right and you’ve corrupted me. A few days ago I realized I needed a flesh-and-blood man, not some two-dimensional shadow to be the father of my child. Then it took a little while to admit it was you.”

“This baby thing is something else we need to discuss.”

“Later, much later. Right now I want to talk about us,” she said gently, beginning to unbutton his shirt again.

“You decided that I wasn’t anything like your father,” he guessed accurately while his hand worked on the zipper of her dress. “A lot of things began to fall into place after you told me about your family. I probably came across as an idiot when I first met you.”