The Danforths: Wesley, Ian & Imogene. Brenda Jackson

but not least, she could not forget riding the miniature train into the haunted house. Something had grabbed her in the darkness and without thinking, she had practically landed in Wesley’s lap. For some reason, she had felt safe being that close to him. The ache that had developed from that encounter was still there, low in her belly.

      Jasmine sighed deeply, knowing that she had to be realistic. But she desperately needed a day off from being levelheaded. She wanted to forget that she and Wesley were not supposed to get along. For once she didn’t want to be sensible. For just a little while longer she wanted to be a woman who could truly appreciate a fine man.

      As she put away the last of her groceries, her sanity finally returned…at least some of it. She still couldn’t erase memories of their kiss and the feel of his mouth, hungry, seductive, expertly tasting her and stroking a need deep within in.

      Sighing deeply, Jasmine glanced down at her watch. She would be meeting an old high-school friend who was passing through town later that day for dinner. She hoped by the time she returned back home she would have sobered up and erased thoughts of Wesley from her mind completely.

      “So what’s going on with you, Wes?”

      The intensity in Jake Danforth’s brown eyes reflected both curiosity and concern. Jake knew him better than anyone and if Jake could detect that something was bothering him then he was really in bad shape.

      “Why do you ask?” he responded, leaning back on the sofa and meeting Jake’s gaze. He had come straight to Jake’s home for dinner after returning from Brunswick. Larissa had taken their son Peter upstairs for his bath and he and Jake were sitting back relaxing after enjoying the delicious meal Larissa had prepared.

      “Mainly because you seem preoccupied about something,” Jake said. “I talked to Ian today and he mentioned that you whisked Jasmine Carmody away from the coffeehouse before Uncle Abraham arrived.”

      Wesley nodded. “Yes, and although I’m sure Abraham would have been able to handle an impromptu interview from her, I felt he didn’t necessarily need the hassle from a reporter hell-bent on digging into his personal life.”

      “Well, I’m sure he knew that sort of thing would happen once he decided to run for public office,” Jake said, taking a sip of his beer.

      Wesley knew that was true but that didn’t mean Abraham had to put up with Jasmine’s staunch determination to see what dirt she could uncover. Exasperated he checked his watch. It was getting late. He had stayed over at Jake’s place longer than he’d planned. A part of him wondered what Jasmine was doing about now. Was she still up or had she gone to bed already? He didn’t want to admit it but he had missed shadowing her today and actually looked forward to resuming his routine tomorrow.

      “I’m going to call it a night, Jake. Don’t forget next week’s poker game. Think you can pull yourself away from your family for a few hours?” Wesley asked smiling. Jake had become a regular family man and Wesley could clearly see the love he had for his wife and son.

      Jake chuckled. “It will be hard to leave Larissa and Peter, but I’ll be there.”

      On the drive home, Wesley’s mind was consumed with thoughts of Jasmine. Something inside of him had stirred last night when she’d shared with him the situation involving her stepmother and stepsisters. He felt fortunate for the close relationship and special bond that he had with Harold, Miranda, Jake and all the other Danforths.

      A smile broke onto his features when he thought that no matter what the situation involving Jasmine’s family affairs, there was no doubt in his mind that she was handling things the way she saw fit. She was too much of a headstrong female not to.

      He remembered how she had met his gaze head-on, her eyes had filled with all-fire anger, when he had announced that he would become her shadow. He had known then that if pushed hard enough she would come out scratching, and that she would be a worthy opponent, both in and out of the bedroom. A part of him was dying to see how he could unleash that fiery side of her in bed.

      He sighed, wondering if Jasmine had cast some sort of spell on him. When it came to her, he was definitely not in full control of his senses. There was something about her that seemed to ignite his blood. Spending time with her last night at the country fair hadn’t helped matters.

      Wearing a pullover blouse and skirt, her clothing had definitely complemented her long, lithe, delectable curves and a few times he had wondered if he would be able to survive her proximity. Once or twice he had noticed her watching him and had wondered what she’d been thinking.

      Even now he could picture her home, curled up in bed wearing something outrageously sexy, something that aroused him just thinking about it.

      Wesley cursed beneath his breath when he was suddenly consumed with the need to talk to Jasmine, to hear her voice. He heaved a rough sigh when he picked up his cell phone and punched in the phone number he’d already memorized. Convincing himself that he was only checking up on her to make sure she had stuck to her plans to take care of personal errands and not stick her nose anywhere it didn’t belong, he listened as her phone rang.

      He felt his body tense when she didn’t answer. He was about to end the call when he heard her pick up the phone.

      “Hello?” Her voice sounded out of breath.

      Wesley felt his body relax. “Where were you?” he asked, too harshly even for his own ears.

      “And what’s it to you?” she answered smartly.

      Wesley smiled. It seemed that she hadn’t lost that sweet-tempered, mild-mannered disposition of hers. “I was just checking to make sure you got through today without getting into trouble.”

      He heard her unladylike snort. “If you mean did I do any checking into Abraham Danforth then the answer is no. But you may as well know that I plan to pay him a visit first thing tomorrow. There’s a rumor floating around that someone tried to sabotage his computer, which I’m sure you already know about.”

      Wesley frowned, wondering where she had heard that from and not liking the fact that she was close to the truth. But there was no way he would let her know that. “Abraham’s computer merely picked up some sort of virus. That can happen to any computer. Besides, that was weeks ago. I would think that was old news.”

      “Yes, but it has come up again that someone has it in for him and I want to know who.” Jasmine decided not to tell Wesley about the phone call she had received from her boss, Manny, indicating someone had called the newspaper with a tip that stated the truth about Abraham Danforth’s true character would be revealed soon. Of course Manny wanted them to be the one to do the headline story, no matter what it was.

      “Back off, Jasmine.”

      She heard the anger in Wesley’s voice and decided to ignore it. “I’m just doing the job that I’m getting paid to do, Wesley. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to end this conversation since my floor is getting wet.”

      “Why?” he asked flustered, angered.

      Jasmine raised a brow. “Why what?”

      “Why is your floor getting wet?”

      Jasmine tossed her braids back, away from her face. “Because at the time you called, I was in the shower. Thinking this was a very important phone call, I rushed out without grabbing a towel.”

      Something deep within Wesley stirred to life. The mere thought of Jasmine standing in the middle of the floor without a stitch of clothing covering her body made him feel heated, hot, aroused. He reached up to loosen his tie and shifted his position in the car.

      A part of him wondered if she enjoyed rattling his senses, stirring up his emotions and kicking his hormones into overdrive. He knew that to deal with Jasmine Carmody he would have to keep a tight rein on his mental faculties and remain detached, no matter how hard it would be.

      “Then I guess I’d better let you go.”

      “I’d appreciate it.” Then without waiting