The Real Thing. Brenda Jackson

to think along those same lines. “Because I admitted I want you, Trinity?”

      “I would think that has a lot to do with it.”

      Adrian didn’t say anything for a minute. Watching Trinity’s backside while she’d climbed that wall had definitely done something to him; had brought out coiling arousal within his very core. And when the crotch of his jeans began pounding like hell from an erection he could barely control, he’d known he was in trouble. The only thing that had consumed his mind—although he knew better—was that he needed to have some of her.

      “I thought I explained things to you, Trinity. You’re a sexy woman. I’m a hot-blooded male. There’re bound to be sparks.”

      “As long as those sparks don’t cause a fire.”

      “They won’t,” he said easily. “I’ll put it out before that happens. I’m no more interested in a real affair than you are. So relax. What I’m encountering is simple lust. I’ll be thirty-one in a few months so I think I’m old enough to handle it.” And he decided, starting now, he would handle it by taking control of himself, which is why he changed the subject.

      “So what are your plans for tomorrow?” he asked.

      He heard her sigh. “You mean today, right? Sunday. It’s almost two in the morning,” she said.

      “I stand corrected. What are your plans for today?”

      “Sleep, sleep and more sleep. I seldom get the weekends off and I can’t wait to have a love affair with my bed. It will be Monday before you know it.”

      A love affair with her bed. Now why did she have to go there? Images of her naked under silken sheets were making his senses flare in the wrong directions.

      He could imagine her scent. It would be close to what he was inhaling now but probably a little more sensual. And he could imagine how she would look naked. Lordy. His body throbbed at the vision. His fingers twitched. When he had touched her backside while giving her that boost he had actually felt the air thicken in his lungs.

      “What about you? What do you have planned?”

      If he was smart, he would go somewhere this weekend and get laid. Maybe that would help rid his mind of all these dangerous fantasies he was having. But he’d said on their first date that he would see her and only her until this ordeal with Belvedere was over. “Unlike you I won’t be sleeping late. I promised Ramsey that I would help him put new fencing in the north range.”

      “I understand from Tara that you’re not living on your family’s land, that you lease a place in town.”

      “That’s right. I’m not ready to build on my one hundred acres quite yet. Where I live is just what I need for now. I have someone coming in every week to keep things tidy and to prepare my meals, and that’s good enough for me.”

      A short while later he was walking her to her door, although she’d told him doing so wasn’t necessary. She had told him that the other night, as well, but he’d done so anyway.

      He watched as she used her key to unlock the door. She then turned to him. “Thanks for a nice evening and for walking me to the door, Adrian.”

      “You’re welcome. I’d like to check inside.”

      She rolled her eyes. “Is that really necessary?”

      “I think so. After what happened with Keisha last year, I would feel a lot better if I did.”

      He figured she had heard how his cousin Canyon’s wife, Keisha, had come home to find her house in shambles.

      Trinity stepped aside. “Help yourself. I definitely want you to feel better.”

      Ignoring the sarcasm he heard in her voice, Adrian moved past her and checked the bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms. He returned to the living room to find her leaning against the closed door, her arms crossed over her chest.

      Her gaze clashed with his. “Satisfied?” she asked in an annoyed tone.

      Suddenly a deep, fierce hunger stirred to life inside him. That same hunger he’d been hopelessly fighting all night. He told himself to walk out the door and not look back, but knew he could no more ignore the yearnings that were rushing through him than he could not breathe. She had no idea how totally sensuous she looked or the effect it was having on him.

      He walked toward her in a measured pace. When she turned and reached for the door to open it for him to leave, he reached for her. The moment he touched her, fiery heat shot straight to his groin.

      Before she could say anything, he pressed her back against the door and swooped his mouth down on hers with a hunger he needed to release. He couldn’t recall precisely when she began kissing him back—all he knew was that she was doing so, and with a greed that equaled his.

      He pressed hard into her middle, wanting her to feel just how aroused he was, as his tongue tangled with hers in a duel so sensuous he wasn’t sure if the moans he heard were coming from her or from him.

      No telling how long the kiss would have lasted if they hadn’t needed to come up for air. He reluctantly released her mouth and stared down into the fierce darkness of her dazed eyes. She appeared stunned at the degree of passion the two of them had shared, which was even more than the last time they’d kissed.

      He leaned in close to her moist lips and answered the question she’d asked him moments ago. “Yes, I’m satisfied, Trinity. I am now extremely satisfied.”

      He then opened the door and walked out.

      * * *

      Trinity stood there. Astonished.

      What on earth had just happened? What was that sudden onslaught of intense need that had overtaken her, made her mold her mouth to his as though that was how it was supposed to be? And why did her mouth feel like it was where it belonged when it was connected to his?

      She shook her head to jiggle out of her daze. The effects were even more profound than before. It had taken days to get her mind back on track after the last kiss; she had a feeling this one would take even longer.

      Her brows pulled together in annoyance. Why had he kissed her again? Just as important, why had she let him? She hadn’t been an innocent bystander by any means. She could recall every lick of his tongue just as she could remember every lick of hers.

      She hadn’t held back anything. She’d been just as aggressive as he had. What did that say about her? What was he assuming it said?

      As she moved toward her bedroom to strip off her clothes and take a shower, she couldn’t help but recall something else. Watching him climb that wall. He was in great shape and it showed. He’d looked rough and so darn manly. Every time he lifted a jeans-clad thigh as he moved upward, her gaze had followed, watching how his muscles bulged and showed the strength of his legs. The way his jeans had cupped his backside had been a work of art, worthy to be ogled. And when he removed his shirt, she had seen a perfect set of abs glistening with his sweat.

      The woman in her had appreciated how he’d reached the top with an overabundance of virility. That was probably why she’d lost her head the moment he’d taken her into his arms and plowed her with a kiss that weakened her knees. But now he was gone and once she got at least eighteen hours of nonstop sleep, she would wake up in her right mind.

      She certainly hoped so.

      Six

      With little sleep and the memory of a kiss that just wouldn’t let go, Adrian, along with his brothers and cousins, helped his older brother Ramsey repair fencing on a stretch of land that extended for miles.

      Ramsey had worked as CEO for a while alongside Dillon before giving it up to pursue his first love: being a sheep rancher. Adrian’s brothers Zane and Derringer preferred the outdoors, too. After working in the family business for a few years, Zane, Derringer and Ramsey, as well as their cousin Jason, joined their Montana