The back of his knuckles stroking her skin sent a shaft of longing all the way to her toes. “W-what for?”
“For today.” His voice took on a husky quality that stole her breath. “For giving me the chance to get to know my daughter.”
Without a second thought, she closed her eyes and leaned into his tender touch. She might have been able to resist had it not been for the sincerity in his tone and the genuine gratefulness in his amazing blue eyes. But no matter how much she tried to fight it, he was the man who had stolen her heart all those months ago and given her a precious baby daughter.
“I want to kiss you, Heather.”
His whisper made her feel warm all over. “T-that probably wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Oh, I disagree, I think it’s an excellent idea.” His firm lips lightly grazing the shell of her ear and his warm breath feathering over her skin caused excited little shivers to course throughout her entire body.
She was flirting with danger. This was Jake Garnier, player extraordinaire. But even as she tried to reason with herself, she swayed toward him.
Apparently, that was all the encouragement he needed because the next thing she knew he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She opened her eyes just in time to watch him slowly, deliberately, lower his head and when his mouth covered hers in tender exploration, she thought she just might melt into a puddle at his feet.
As his tongue stroked her lips apart, her eyes drifted shut again and the intensity of his kiss caused her head to spin. But when he coaxed, demanded and persuaded her to respond, every cell in her body tingled to life and Heather found herself holding on to him for support.
She should stop him. It wasn’t smart to kiss the man who obviously hadn’t wanted anything more to do with her until he learned that she’d given birth to his daughter. But the thought evaporated when Jake crushed her to him and she felt his hard muscles against her tightening nipples and his insistent arousal pressed into her lower belly.
Her knees threatened to buckle and a swirling hunger began to flow through her when he moved his hand to cup her breast, then chafed the hardened tip through the layers of her clothing. She wanted him with a fierceness that frightened her more than she’d ever thought possible.
Jake must have sensed the change in her because he slowly eased away from the kiss, but continued to hold her close. “We’ve got plenty of time.”
She could deny that having him kiss her, that being in his arms and having his body entangled with hers wasn’t what she wanted, too. But they’d both know it was a total lie.
“No, it can’t happen, Jake.” It was hard to be convincing when his large hand still covered her breast. But she couldn’t seem to find the strength to pull free of his arms.
“I’m not going to stand here and argue. Right now, I have to take a shower.”
As she watched him retreat to the master suite, Heather couldn’t help but wonder if she shouldn’t take her daughter and run as fast as she could back to the safety of the carriage house. It was obvious that no matter what she said, he wasn’t going to listen to her. And living in such close proximity was going to make resisting him extremely difficult.
But thankfully with the Southern Oaks Cup Classic only two weeks away and all of the activities that preceded it, they were both going to become very busy in a very short time. If she could just hold out a few more days, everything should be fine.
She was going to have to attend to Dancer seven days a week and make sure that he was ready to run the race of his life. And as the owner of the favorite to win the Cup, Jake would be away at the almost non-stop receptions and balls that were held to celebrate the annual event.
With her going to bed early in order to oversee the thoroughbred’s dawn exercises and Jake sleeping in after being out late with Louisville’s social elite, their paths probably wouldn’t cross more than a handful of times. And the few times they did, it would most likely be in a public setting for pictures and publicity for the race.
Then, by the time the festivities came to a close, Jake would no doubt be bored with the comparatively slower pace of Hickory Hills and more than ready to head back to his exciting life in Los Angeles. She and Mandy would move back into the carriage house and once again settle into their comfortable, familiar routine.
As Jake sat in the study thumbing through a pile of invitations to teas, receptions and balls being held in honor of the big race, he frowned. How the hell was he supposed to work things out and reconnect with Heather when he was going to have to attend a string of social events?
But staring at the elaborate print on one of the invitations, a slow smile curved the corners of his mouth. The words “and guest” had him rising from his chair.
“Clara, could you watch Mandy for a few minutes while I walk down to the stables to talk to Heather?” he asked when he entered the kitchen.
“No problem.” She smiled when he handed her the baby monitor. “How long has our little angel been down for her nap?”
“About a half hour.” He checked his watch. “I’m not sure how long she sleeps, but I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Take your time.” Clara grinned as she motioned toward Daily seated at the kitchen table peeling a pile of potatoes. “We won’t be going anywhere for at least the next two weeks.”
“I keep telling you, Grandma. When somebody’s grounded, it doesn’t mean they have to do stuff like this,” the boy complained. “It means they just can’t go anywhere.”
Jake hid a smile as he left the mansion and walking past the pool, started down the path toward the stables. Since his grandmother learned about his plan for a late night rendezvous, Daily had mucked out stalls, mopped floors, polished silver and performed any other menial task she could think to assign him.
In a few days, the kid would get a bit of a reprieve from doing household chores. Jake had already talked to Clara about having Daily help him with a few projects to improve the place. The housekeeper had readily agreed and expressed her gratitude for Jake’s influence with the boy. It seemed that Daily was having a hard time adjusting to his mother remarrying after the death of his father and she’d sent him to Hickory Hills in an effort to keep him out of trouble.
Shaking his head, Jake couldn’t help but wonder what his friends in L.A. would think of that one. With his reputation for partying and entertaining a different woman every night, he was the last person most people would want influencing their teenage boy. But since his arrival at Hickory Hills, Jake had found that he was enjoying the slower, laid-back pace and had started thinking less and less about getting back to the hectic schedule he’d kept for the past several years.