The Dangerous Gift by Jane Hunt Read Free Book Online

further, in case her voice betrayed her. Then without a word he let her slide down his hard torso and thighs until her feet touched the wooden floor. She stood unaided but so close they almost breathed the same air. Jared held her hand as they walked upstairs. Like an addict, she craved his heat. Despite shallow breaths, his musky, spiced maleness invaded her senses. Her nipples hardened, and her panties clung damply to her femininity. She pulled her hand from his and grasped the handrail. Her body protested, but Jennie needed personal space to keep her sanity. Jared mustn’t know he aroused her to the point of meltdown. He didn’t want her; he had Darleen. She must keep her unwanted passion secret.
    Sanctuary beckoned as Jared opened her bedroom door. Jennie hobbled over to the bed and sank into its welcome softness. She exhaled, glad to reclaim her personal space. Oxygen starved, her lungs demanded short, frequent breaths.
    “Are you all right?” Jared’s proximity startled her.
    He laid his cool fingers against her fiery cheek, which escalated the fever running through her. I’m fine if you keep your distance and don’t touch me. Jennie used her grief as an excuse. “It’s been a stressful day.”
    “If your ankle hurts in the night, call out and I’ll bring you some painkillers.” Jared sat on the bed, his gaze intent. Jennie’s fragile composure disintegrated when he covered her mouth with his. The gentle kiss sparked her arousal until it spun like a Catherine wheel, bright and fiery. Jennie sighed as Jared cupped her chin, angled her mouth, and deepened his kiss. He plunged his other hand into her silky hair and dragged her from the soft pillows into his arms. This couldn’t be right. Jared didn’t want her. He’d rejected her this afternoon. This explosion of desire was his need for comfort, an escape from the awful reality of his parents’ death.
    As Jared caressed her hair and traced sensuous circles on her sensitized scalp, she let her mind drift. She refused to overthink the moment. She needed this too. She was transported to a sensual world where she could forget the pain and bathe in his love. Not love. Jared didn’t love her as a woman. The thought he’d lied all those years ago flitted into her confused mind, and her subconscious recoiled. It didn’t explain the passionate kiss she witnessed between him and Darleen. She must remember Jared loved his blonde Amazon, not her.
    Jared tore his mouth away from hers and stood up. Wrenched from her sensual world, Jennie opened her eyes. Jared’s gaze raked her body as she shivered alone on the bed. The bulge in his trousers and laboured breathing betrayed his continued arousal. She smiled, but when his gaze remained bleak, Jennie’s heart plummeted and her stomach churned. Stupid woman, Jared regretted his actions. Jennie willed the tears not to fall, her self-respect in tatters again.
    “Hell, Jen, I’m sorry.” Jared backed away, his gaze fixed on a point above her head.
    “Just leave it. No harm done.” Well, if she didn’t count her shattered heart, led astray by her willful body again. With her looking needy and beetroot-red embarrassed, Jared would be in no doubt how she felt about him. Yet he denied how good they would be together. Why didn’t he leave?
    “Get some rest.” With one last, haunted look, Jared rushed from the room as if hellhounds pursued him.
    Jennie fell back against the pillows. Their softness suffocated her. Her ankle throbbed. Nauseous, she relegated the physical pain to a distant corner of her mind. Her mental torment dominated and consumed her. Her heart screamed and lay broken and bleeding. Tears tracked across her face unchecked, and the silent house echoed her soft sobs. Where was Jared? Could they move on from this emotional wasteland?
    Jennie put a little weight on her ankle, and it buckled. Tiredness forced her back onto the bed. Finally she slept.
     
    ***
     
    Jared
     
    Jared poured himself another