Thorn's Challenge. Brenda Jackson

“I know, but I refuse to give up or walk away. I want you more than I’ve wanted any woman in a long time.”

      A spark of anger lit her features. “And I’m supposed to feel good about that?”

      Thorn lifted a brow. “I would hope that you do.”

      “Well, I don’t. The last thing I want is an involvement with a man.”

      Thorn’s frown deepened. “You’re saying one thing but your kiss said another.”

      Her eyes filled with anger. “Imagine what you want, but I prefer doing the solo act. There’s less chance of being played a fool that way. Once bitten you have a tendency to avoid a second bite.”

      Thorn sighed deeply, remembering what one of his brothers had told him about how Tara’s fiancé had hurt and humiliated her on what was supposed to have been their wedding day. Tara’s words touched a part of him that hadn’t been touched in a long time. He reached out and caressed her cheek tenderly, mesmerized by the smoothness of her flesh and the pained yet angry look in her eyes.

      He wanted to kiss her again but forced himself to speak instead. “You will never get a bite of pain from me, Tara. But you will get nibbles of passion and pleasure of the most profound kind. That I promise you.” Walking away while he had the mind to do so, he picked his helmet up off the table.

      He paused before opening the door, seeing the confused look on her face. As he’d hoped, he had her thinking. The Tara that been feeding his nightly fantasies for almost two years was a woman who was as turbulent as the storm of sensations she stirred within him. Now that he’d finally admitted to himself that he wanted her, he intended to have her. And if she thought she was going to put distance between them then she had another thought coming.

      “I’ll be by tomorrow,” he said calmly. He could tell by the way she narrowed her eyes that she intended to rebuild that wall between them. Little did she know he had every intention of keeping it torn down. He watched as she folded her arms beneath her breasts. They were breasts he intended to know the taste of before too long.

      “You have no reason to come by tomorrow, Thorn.”

      “Yes I do,” he responded easily. “I want to take you for a ride on my bike.” He saw something flicker in her eyes. First surprise, then stubbornness, followed by unyielding resistance.

      She lifted her chin. “I have no intention of doing anything with you.”

      Thorn sighed good-naturedly, thinking that she liked talking tough, and a part of him couldn’t help but admire her spunk, which was something you rarely saw in a woman these days. Most were too eager to please. But even with all her feistiness, in good time she would discover that he was a man who appreciated a good fight more often then most people, so her willfulness didn’t bother him any. In fact it made her just that much more desirable.

      “And I intend to see that you do anything and everything with me, Tara,” he said throatily, assuredly, before opening the door, walking out and closing it behind him.

      Tara leaned against the closed door as the soft hum of Thorn’s motorcycle faded into the distance. Taking a deep breath she tried to get her pulse rate and heartbeat back to normal. There was no denying that Thorn Westmoreland had the ability to rock her world. But the problem was that she didn’t want her world rocked. Nor did she want the changes he was putting her through. And she definitely didn’t want to remember the kiss they had just shared. The memory of it sent a tingling feeling through every part of her body. She had discovered three months ago that the man was an expert kisser and had a feeling he was probably an expert at making love as well. And she believed if given the chance he would do whatever it took to get her mind and body primed for sex.

      She pulled in a deep breath trying to get her mind back in focus. It was late, but she doubted she would be able to sleep much tonight. She thought that it was a good thing she didn’t have to work tomorrow. She was having lunch with Delaney and was looking forward to it.

      Pushing away from the door she headed for the kitchen hoping she would find something there to keep her busy. She stopped in the doorway. There was nothing for her to do since the Westmoreland brothers had left everything spotless. But one brother in particular had gone a step further. Tonight Thorn had invaded her space and gotten closer to her than any man since Derrick had dumped her.

      That realization disturbed her. Her fantasies of Thorn had been rather tame compared to the real thing and she hated to admit it but she had found kissing him the most exciting thing she had done since leaving Bunnell.

      As she climbed the stairs to her bedroom, it suddenly dawned on her that she hadn’t mentioned anything about the calendar to Thorn, which meant she would have to see him again this week. And since he claimed he would be coming by tomorrow she would bring it up then.

      Thorn had a difficult time sleeping that night. Whenever he tried closing his eyes, memories of his kiss with Tara were so vivid he could still actually taste her. Tonight’s kiss had been much better than the previous one. That kiss had had an element of surprise. Tonight their kiss had been fueled by desire—basic and fundamental.

      Muttering something unintelligible, he rolled out of bed knowing that sleep was out of the question. Making his way through the living room and into the kitchen he opened the refrigerator, needing a beer. With his present state of mind, he might need more than one.

      As he pulled a beer from the six-pack and popped the tab, a low moan formed in his throat. He took a long, pleasurable gulp. At that moment, unexpectedly, huge drops of rain splattered on his rooftop and he was glad he had made it home before the downpour. He had gotten caught on his bike during storms enough times to know it wasn’t something he relished.

      A smile worked at his mouth when he thought of something he did relish. Thorn couldn’t wait until he saw Tara again. The thought that she would try to avoid him made the challenge that much more sweet.

      Tonight he had made a decision and it hadn’t been easy, but kissing her had helped to put things into the right perspective. Tara was a pure challenge if he’d ever seen one, and although she had fought what they shared and would continue to fight it, he was convinced more than ever that she was just the woman he needed.

      They had been attracted to each other from the first, and tonight had exposed numerous possibilities, all of them definitely worth pursuing.

      Finishing off his beer and placing the empty can in the bin, he headed back up the stairs to the bedroom. He was hot. He was hard. He was horny. And the sound of the rain pounding against his roof didn’t help matters. It only made him want to pound his body into Tara’s with the same steady yet urgent rhythm. The thought of doing so made his gut clench with need. A vivid, sensuous scene flashed in his mind. The impact almost took his breath away. Thorn quickly sucked in air. This was not good. Tara Matthews fascinated him. She intrigued him and filled him with intense desire and made him think of unbridled passion.

      Unless he did something about his predicament, she would be the death of him and he wasn’t ready to die just yet.