‘That’s fine.’ Thinking of the way Ryan’s body had felt against hers, Jenna stared blindly out of the kitchen window. ‘Have a nice time.’
‘OK, this is spooky. I just told you I’m going to use drugs and make out and you want me to have a nice time?’
Had she really said that? ‘I know you wouldn’t do that.’ Jenna mindlessly tidied the kitchen. ‘You’re too sensible. You’re always telling me you’re going to have a career before children.’
‘Sex doesn’t have to end in children, Mum.’ Lexi’s voice was dry as she picked up her phone and her iPod and walked towards the door. ‘One day, when you’re old enough, I’ll explain it all to you. In the meantime I’ll leave you to your incoherent ramblings. Oh, and you might want to remove the teabags from the washing machine—you’ll be looking for them later.’
She’d put the teabags in the washing machine?
Jenna extracted them, her cheeks pink, her brain too fuddled to form an appropriate response. ‘Have fun. Don’t forget your key.’
‘You’re acting so weird.’ Lexi slipped it into her pocket, staring at her mother as if she were an alien. ‘You know—last night, for a moment, I really thought—’
Jenna’s breathing stopped. ‘What did you think?’
‘I thought that you—’ Lexi broke off and shrugged. ‘Never mind. Crazy idea, and anyway I was wrong. Thank goodness. What are you planning to do today?’
Chew over everything that had happened the night before; try not to spend the day thinking of Ryan; remind herself that she was too old to have crushes on men—‘Housework,’ Jenna muttered, staring blindly at the pile of unwashed plates that were waiting to be stacked in the dishwasher. ‘Catch up on a few things. The laundry basket is overflowing, and I need to weed the herbaceous border.’ It all sounded like a boring day to her, but her answer seemed to satisfy Lexi.
Clearly Lexi had been reassured by Evanna’s assertion that the two of them had been discussing the emergency they’d dealt with. Either that or she’d just decided that no man was ever going to be seriously interested in her mother.
‘I’ll see you later, then. Do you mind if I take Rebel?’ Grabbing his lead, Lexi whistled to the dog and sauntered off to meet Fraser and his friends at the castle, leaving Jenna to face a day on her own with her thoughts.
And her thoughts didn’t make good company.
Tormented by the memory of what had happened the night before, she pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down with a thump. Then she smoothed the crumpled envelope she’d been clutching and stared at her list. She’d started with ten but there were probably a million reasons why it was a bad idea to kiss Ryan McKinley.
With a groan, she buried her face in her hands. She had to stop this nonsense. She had to pull herself together and act like an adult. She was a mother, for goodness’ sake.
‘You’re obviously feeling as frustrated as I am.’ His voice came from the doorway and Jenna flew to her feet, the chair crashing backwards onto the tiled floor, her heart pounding.
‘Ryan!’ The fact that she’d been thinking about him made the whole thing even more embarrassing—but not as humiliating as the fact that she was wearing nothing but her knickers and the old tee shirt of Lexi’s that she’d worn to bed. Jenna tugged at the hem, until she realised that just exposed more of her breasts. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Trying to have five minutes with you without the whole of Glenmore watching.’ He strode across the kitchen, righti
ng the chair that she’d tipped over. Then he gave her a wicked smile. ‘Nice outfit.’
Too shocked to move, Jenna watched him walk towards her, dealing with the fact that a man was looking at her with undisguised sexual interest and he wasn’t Clive. There was no mixing this man up with Clive. Her ex-husband was slight of build, with pale skin from spending most of his day in an office. Ryan was tall and broad-shouldered, his skin bronzed from the combination of wind and sun. When she’d looked at Clive she hadn’t thought of sex and sin, but when she looked at Ryan—
He stopped in front of her. ‘You have fantastic legs.’
A thrill of dangerous pleasure mingled with embarrassment. ‘How did you get in?’
‘The usual way—through the door.’ Before she could say a word, he caught the front of her tee shirt in his hand, jerked her against him and brought his mouth down on hers. A thousand volts of pure sexual chemistry shot through her body and thoughts of sex and sin exploded into reality.
Jenna gripped his arms, feeling hard male muscle flex under her fingers. ‘I’ve been thinking about you—’
‘Good. I’d hate to be the only one suffering. You taste so good…’ Groaning the words against her lips, Ryan sank his hands into her hair and devoured her mouth as if she were a feast and he was starving. His kiss was hot and hungry, and she felt her knees weaken and her heart pound. Flames licked through her veins and Jenna tightened her grip on his arms, grateful that she was leaning against the work surface.
Engulfed by an explosion of raw need Jenna wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed closer. His hands came round her back and he hauled her against him, leaving her in no doubt as to the effect she had on him. Feeling the hard ridge of his erection, Jenna felt excitement shoot through her body.
Dizzy and disorientated, she moaned against his mouth and he slid his hands under the tee shirt, his fingers warm against her flesh. She gasped as those same fingers dragged over her breasts, moaned as he toyed and teased. And still he kissed her. Mouth to mouth they stood, the skilled sweep of his tongue driving her wild, until she squirmed against him, the ache deep inside her almost intolerable.
Dimly, she heard him groan her name, and then he was lifting her tee shirt over her head and his mouth was on her bare breast. Jenna opened her mouth to tell him that it felt good, but the only sound that emerged was a faint moan, and her breathing became shallow as he drew the sensitive tip into his mouth. Her fingers sank into his thick dark hair as the excitement built, and suddenly she was aware of nothing but the heavy throb in her body and the desperate need for more. Every thought was driven from her mind, but one—
She wanted him. She wanted sex with him, and she didn’t care about the consequences.
His mouth was back on hers, the slide of his tongue intimate and erotic.