Free The Object of His Protection by Brenda Jackson Page B

being. She tilted up her head and met his gaze. “I was trying to get out of your way,” she said, trying not to look into the darkness of his eyes. “I’m not here for this, Drey.”
    A smile touched his lips. “Here for what?”
    “To be a live-in woman who is available for you.”
    He didn’t say anything, but she could tell her comment had him thinking and she had a feeling whatever it was, wasn’t to her advantage. “I really hadn’t thought of you as such, but now that you mention it, Charlie…”
    She tried pulling her arm away; instead he pulled her closer with his full concentration on her mouth. “Don’t get irritated with me, but before I leave there is something I need from you,” he said in a deep, throaty voice.
    She gave him a quelling look. Her chin went up. “There is nothing that you could possibly need from me.”
    “Want to bet?” He released her arm and reached up and let the tip of his finger caress her lips, as if he was fascinated with their shape. Without his hold she had the perfect opportunity to bolt, but she found herself rooted to the spot, held prisoner by the heated look in his eyes.
    Looking down at her, he said in a whispered tone, “The shape of your mouth fascinates me.”
    It was on the tip of her tongue to say the shape of his mouth fascinated her, as well. But she didn’t. Instead she continued to watch him while intense heat seemed to flood every part of her body.
    “I want to kiss you, Charlene.”
    His words had her swallowing deeply. They had every nerve ending in her body on fire. “If I let you kiss me, it will give you the wrong idea.”
    She watched the corners of his lips tilt into a smile that nearly took her breath away. “Or it could give me the right one,” he answered.
    She signed deeply. “You mother is waiting,” she said, deciding to remind him he had more pressing matters to take care of.
    He still didn’t move. “Drey,” she said softly. “I think that—”
    “Shh, don’t think at all for a second,” he whispered, removing his hand from her face to place it at her waist. “Just close your eyes and experience the taste.”
    He leaned in closer and lowered his head. His breath felt hot and wet against her lips, “Will you do that for me, Charlene?”
    There was something in the way he asked that touched a part deep within her, persuading her to give in to his request. And just that easily she closed her eyes and within seconds, she felt his mouth on hers as he began kissing her in a slow, yet deep connection that devoured her with each stroke of his tongue.
    It was like taking a sip of a bubbly drink in a highly charged room. That was the only way she could describe the feelings that were overtaking her senses. Just once she didn’t want to think that this was a kiss with a purpose or one that wasn’t meant to happen. Instead she catered to needs she’d never encountered before and let herself be swept away by a multitude of feelings. Grudgingly she conceded that she wanted to indulge in this type of kiss as much as he did. It was a stimulant to her senses, a boost to her hormones and a must-do to her brain cells.
    The kiss was everything it should be and more. And it reminded her of what she’d been missing out on for a long time. A life filled with long hours at work without any type of social life had led her to this. She didn’t understand why they were drawn to each other, but she couldn’t deny they were and had been from the first, although they’d tried downplaying it.
    The kiss turned greedy, almost shamefully erotic, as he shifted his stance to take as much of her mouth as he could. His arms tightened around her like a band of steel and she was pulled even closer into his tight embrace.
    For a split second she came close to moaning deep in her throat, but held it back and shivered under the impact of what he was doing to her mouth. She felt the physical evidence of his desire pressed against the apex of her thighs. It