Free Secret Love by Brenda Jackson

from it flamed her all over and took her breath away.
    Diamond tore her gaze away from his. The heat penetrating from his eyes had become unbearable. The woman in her recognized his need. It was surrounding her, entrenching her. The woman in her also recognized his resistance. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her. She understood. Deep down she didn’t want to have anything to do with him, either, but the attraction was too strong, too overwhelming for either of them. She had realized that fact two nights ago when he had kissed her. She had realized it again today when she had seen him for the first time since that night. Even with Blaylock in the room with them, they hadn’t been able to mask the heat, the wanting, the desire. When he had mentioned that he hadn’t been doing so hot, she had wanted to go to him, stroke away the hardness that had formed in his cheeks and then soften his grim mouth with her own.
    Diamond sucked in air as she fought her senses from leaping someplace they should not.
    Jake took a long, deep breath. He recognized his needs, too. Normally he took care of them. After Jessie, he had learned to keep his business interests, his personal life and physical needs separate. And Rhonda Henry made it easy for him to do just that. Rhonda wasn’t a city woman, but she wasn’t a country gal, either, although her father owned one of the largest horse ranches in Wyoming. Rhonda fitted nicely somewhere in between. She could be as classy and sophisticated as she wanted to be one minute, then break in a horse or rope a steer better than any man the next. She was a woman on the move, a mover and a shaker who took her job as public relations administrator for her father’s prosperous horse-breeding business seriously.
    She was a divorcée and was only four years younger than he. They had met a few years ago at a political fund-raiser in Washington for his friend, Senator Nedwyn Lansing. Like him, Rhonda wanted the separation of business, personal and physical. She didn’t want any strings attached and didn’t like men interfering with her affairs and knew not to interfere with theirs. Their relationship was one of physical needs only. Whenever they came together for their interludes, they met on what they considered neutral ground, keeping any place near their ranches out of the loop. When they got together, it was strictly for play, not work. There was no time or room for emotions. That’s the way she wanted it, and that’s the way he wanted it. And either could walk away at any given time. No hard feelings. No regrets.
    If he were to get mixed up with Diamond, Jake admonished himself silently, there would be hard feelings and regrets. And there would be emotions to deal with. There was no way he could take anything lightly with this woman. Nor would there be any way he could keep things separate. He had a gut feeling that with Diamond it would be all or nothing. And that was something he did not want with any woman.
    “It’s not going to work, Diamond,” he finally said.
    Diamond knew exactly what Jake was referring toand didn’t pretend otherwise. He was stating the obvious—the strong sexual attraction between them. She shook her head sadly. “I know.” She hesitated for a moment before saying, “But I don’t know how to stop it. You are quite a challenge, Jacob Madaris. I’ve never been faced with anything like this in my life.”
    Jake nodded. Neither had he. He hadn’t been this hot for a woman in years, if ever.
    “There has never been anyone I’ve felt such an attraction to, Jacob,” Diamond continued. “I know it won’t work. I know it’s even crazy to think otherwise. I didn’t come here for this. I came here for three weeks of rest and relaxation. Not three weeks of being in heat like one of your cows.”
    Jake couldn’t help but smile at what she’d just said. He, in turn, had been just as bad. He’d been like a lusty bull who’d gotten the scent of that heat and