The Tycoon's Defiant Southern Belle by Elizabeth Lennox Read Free Book Online Page A

until Angelo stopped by their table to say hello to Jade. 
    Dave was embarrassingly effusive in inviting them to dine together.  It was more than
     a little mortifying to watch Dave schmooze in such an obvious way.  Before the other
     two men had come into the restaurant, Dave had been sullen with his shoulders drooped
     as if he were a beaten man.  But when his boss sat down next to him and Angelo next
     to Jade, he perked right up.  He was so intent on impressing his boss and the new
     owner of the company that he completely missed Angelo’s hand on the back of his girlfriend’s
     chair.
    Jade noticed though.  How could she not notice?  The man’s hand slipped under her
     hair, his fingers teased the exposed skin at the nape of her neck and made her shiver
     with awareness.  His long, muscular leg was plastered against her own.  When she tried
     to shift away from it, he only changed their positions so that their legs were touching
     more intimately. 
    She poked at her pasta, Dave not even aware of anything going on. 
    She glared at Dave, willing him to get a grip and figure out what was happening. 
     The man he was trying to impress was irritated with Dave’s conversation.  Jade tried
     several times to change the subject but every time she started to speak, either Dave
     would switch the conversation back to the original, irritating subject, or Angelo’s
     hand would slide along her neck under her hair, distracting her. 
    She tried to remove his hand once, but he just moved on to her earlobe.  When she
     gasped at the touch, her whole body shivering with anticipation of what he might do
     next, she simply closed her mouth and pretended she wasn’t leaning into his touch,
     that she wasn’t moving her head so that his fingers caressed her neck and throat. 
    By the time the meal was over, she was a quivering mass of need but she took a deep
     breath and grabbed onto Dave’s arm, wishing both men a cordial goodbye and walking
     away with safe and secure Dave beside her. 
    Later that night, Jasper disappeared again and Jade knew exactly where he was.  She
     was so angry about what Angelo had done during dinner that she stomped over to his
     house.  When she stepped up onto the new stones of his patio, she found him already
     sitting in the dark, Jasper on his lap while he sipped a glass of wine. 
    “I came to get my cat,” she said by way of explanation, staying far away from him.  
     She’d had enough of his heat today.  She didn’t think she could stand having him close
     to her again. 
    “He’s right here,” Angelo replied, but didn’t do anything to push the feline away. 
     Jasper twitched his tail and looked up at her, those golden eyes daring her to take
     him off of Angelo’s lap.  “Would you like some wine?” he asked.
    Jade sighed and debated silently what to do.  Jasper wasn’t getting up, Angelo definitely
     wasn’t going to push the cat off and she wasn’t daring enough to go over and lift
     the enormous fluff ball out of his lap.  That was too intimate by far. 
    “I’ll have a glass,” she finally said, more because she really wanted to just relax. 
     And if he was on the other side of the table, she would feel a bit better. 
    They sat in the darkness sipping the amazingly good red wine, talking about different
     things.  Angelo even made her laugh as he told her funny stories.  But there was still
     that undercurrent of tension that wasn’t going away. 
    When Jasper finally jumped off of Angelo’s lap, obviously ready to find his own bed
     for the night, Jade stood up.  “Thank you very much for the wine,” she said and started
     walking away.
    Angelo wasn’t having that.  With a swift, silent move, he stood up and took the two
     steps that were separating them, pulling her into his arms.  One hand held her head
     in place while his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close while his
     mouth ravaged hers, his tongue teasing hers until