Desire September 2017 Books 1 -4. Yvonne Lindsay

also changed her entire life to take care of someone in need. There’s no doubt she loves Rosie. Her entire family loves her. But it was, and is, a huge sacrifice in one so young.”

      “Why are you telling me this?” Royce asked. After all, this was technically a business meeting.

      Francis studied him for a long moment, a slight smile on his face. “Call it intuition or the prompting of the Spirit, but something tells me you need to know. Even if Jasmine is just your event planner.”

      Why did that last statement sound more like a question to Royce? And why was he trying to fool himself into thinking he wasn’t interested?

      “What about the children here?” Royce asked, eager to change the subject. He thought back to the boys in the gym. He hadn’t failed to notice the worn lettering on their clothes and thinness of the soles on their shoes—and remembered the years that his own clothes had looked the same. “Is there anything special they need?”

      “Right now, just the usual things that they always need. We have families who fund scholarships for some of our regulars in the after-school programs for disadvantaged families. Those scholarships and donors are coordinated by the Jefferson family from Savannah.”

      The Jeffersons. Instead of filing that detail away to use to his own advantage, Royce felt gratitude wash over him. They were doing so much for these kids. How much of a difference would it have made to him, to his mother, if he’d had the opportunity to participate in an after-school program like they offered here?

      “We do have some other special programs we would love funding for, but I don’t want to appear greedy.”

      Royce waved away his words. “It’s not greedy when I asked. I’ll have my assistant contact you for more information, okay?”

      Francis nodded. “Thank you again.”

      “It’s my pleasure.” And Royce had a feeling he was going to have to admit to Jasmine that he’d changed his point of view. He wanted to be more involved in this charity event now. That had probably been her whole point in bringing him here: educating him for far more than just being able to talk knowledgably about his event’s charity.

      She’d done a thorough job of it, too.

      Sure enough, they’d barely made it to the sidewalk in front of the cars when she paused and said, “Not as bad as you thought, was it?”

      He turned to face her where she leaned against the moss-covered retaining wall. “You enjoy being right, don’t you.”

      “Only with you.” She grinned, her sassy joy drawing him out of his shell and into the sheer life she exuded. He found he was beginning to like her energy and enthusiasm—very much.

      He shook his head, knowing he was going crazy. But for once, he didn’t care about losing control. “You’re incredible, you know?”

      “Not really.”

      Royce leaned in close, propping one hand against the wall next to her glossy black hair. He swallowed hard against the emotions welling up despite himself. “To prove to my father that my life was worth something, I pursued wealth that would far surpass his.”

      For the first time, he let himself reach over and touch her thick hair. “To prove that life was still worth living after your parents died, you dedicated yourself to your family and taking care of others.”

      He stepped closer, bringing their bodies together even though he knew he shouldn’t. “In the eyes of most people, that’s incredible. Especially me.”

      Then Royce let his logical brain take a hike and brought his lips down on hers. Her taste was just as exotic as her name. Royce’s craving shifted into overdrive.

      If he’d thought it would just be a quick peck, he was mistaken. Instead, his body pressed closer. His mouth opened over hers. Her lips left a slightly sweet taste on his tongue, but it was the heat inside that he sought.

      The catch of her breath sent a streak of sensation through him. He wanted to explore all the ways he could make her react. All the hidden places on her body that would make her gasp and moan. But for now, he focused on the heat of her mouth and the sexiness of her response.

      After long, exquisite moments, Royce forced himself to pull back. To regain control. To think about Jasmine instead of his own sorry self.

      Which meant he couldn’t bring himself to look into those gorgeous blue eyes to see exactly how he’d ruined everything.

       Ten

      How in the world was she supposed to act after that kiss?

      As Jasmine waited for Royce outside the nondescript building that housed one of the hottest restaurants in Savannah, she tried to shut her brain down. But the question wouldn’t go away.

      Not even in the face of her curiosity about the restaurant. She’d never been to After Hours before today. Word in elite circles was that it was incredible, but Jasmine had never been able to afford to eat here. And, to her knowledge, they didn’t cater events, so she’d let it slide off her radar.

      But Royce had insisted he knew exactly what he wanted done with the food for the charity event, and After Hours was it. Since she didn’t have to pry or coax the opinion from him, she’d let him lead.

      “Are you ready?”

      Jasmine jumped. Tightening her control, she forced herself to take a deep breath before turning toward Royce. “I’m not sure,” she admitted.

      Instead of leering, Royce faced her with a benign grin. He could have approached the situation any number of ways, considering how she’d sprinted for her car after he’d kissed her on Saturday, but he didn’t appear to be messing with her.

      Though there was something suspicious...

      “What’s so funny?” she demanded, hiding her embarrassment behind a sassy attitude.

      “You,” he admitted. “Seeing you off kilter is honestly a little fun.”

      She studied him a little closer, but still didn’t see any signs of sexual innuendo. That was a relief, but she still had the urge to call him a brat. Even if Auntie would say it was unladylike.

      Instead she let him lead her inside with a light grip on her elbow. Being on his territory was fun, but not nearly as comfortable as being the one in control. His confident stride and barely there grin said he definitely knew it.

      The closed restaurant was dark, though sunshine tried to peek in around the drawn blinds. The hushed emptiness was disconcerting, though as much as she hated to admit it, the darkness evoked a sense of intimacy.

      This meeting didn’t have the same strictly business feel that their previous ones had started out with, even if they had all ended up being out of the ordinary. Especially the last one—that kiss had changed everything for her.

      Though she’d never admit it, even under threat of torture.

      One of the tall silver doors at the back of the room swung open, revealing a tall, lanky guy in a white chef’s coat. “Royce!”

      “Marco.” Royce stepped forward to shake the other man’s hand with more enthusiasm than Jasmine had seen from him before. “Good to see you, buddy.”

      “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

      “Marco, this is my event planner, Jasmine Harden.”

      The chef turned his smile in her direction. “Welcome to After Hours.”

      “Thank you for having us,” she murmured, leaving out how she’d always wanted to see the inside of this place. Now didn’t seem the time to fawn over something that was so far outside her middle-class budget. Instead, she tried to keep her demeanor as professional as possible.

      “Why