The soft, gentle way he talked to the mongoose seemed to calm and soothe the animal. As Chloe watched in silence, she found herself smiling. Jeez, he was a regular old Crocodile Dundee. Chloe found herself fascinated by his nurturing nature and his ability to calm the frightened creature as he freed his legs.
A moment later the mongoose squirmed and climbed to its feet. “Go,” Jared said and the animal scurried away.
Chloe watched on in surprise. “How the heck…?”
His eyes snapped up as if he suddenly remembered she was there. “He wasn’t that badly hurt.”
“Really?” She cast him a dubious look. “From where I was standing he looked pretty beaten up.”
Jared stood, and brushed twigs and grass from his knees. When he turned to her, she took in the deep slice marks on his arm. When she took note of how badly he’d been lacerated, her eyes widened and moved to his as she steadied herself. “You’re hurt.”
His mouth was set in a grim line and he shook his head. “I’m okay.”
“You’re not okay.” She grabbed his hand. “Come on. I’m taking you back to my room to get you cleaned up.”
Once again an array of emotions passed over his eyes and he hesitated for a moment, but when she leaned into him and touched his arm to examine the depth of the wounds, she felt something inside him give, soften.
“Chloe,” he dipped his head and longingly breathed her name into her hair.
She tugged on his hand. “Jared, come on. Let me bandage you.”
A few minutes later, once she had Jared sitting on a chair in her suite, she warmed a cloth and cleansed his wounds. As she washed away the blood, she noted the way he shook under her ministrations. She also noted the way his cuts had already begun to heal. How odd. “My, you sure heal quickly.”
“That’s because I take my vitamins, and you’re so nurturing tending to all my wounds.” His sensual mouth turned up at the corners. “You’re a regular Florence Nightingale.”
“And you’re a regular Crocodile Dundee,” she teased in return.
With that Jared laughed out loud. Pleasure raced through her at the alluring sound and it was all she could do to keep herself from impaling herself on him and riding his beautiful cock for the remainder of the day. Her nipples quivered in anticipation.
Needing a distraction she said, “That mongoose sure did a number on you. After he’d sliced you, I thought he was a goner.”
Surprise registered in his eyes. “Really?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I expected you’d react differently.”
He lowered his voice and gave her a tender smile. “It wasn’t his fault, Chloe. He was just scared and acting out of instinct. Once he realized I wasn’t going to hurt him, he calmed down.”
The warmth and compassion in his eyes turned her insides to mush. God, Jared really was one of a kind, and she had to admit how much she was enjoying getting to know him, even if it wasn’t conducive to her plan to keep her distance and get him out of her system.
She took a moment to think about how Michael would have reacted in the same situation. No doubt he would have used excessive force and killed the mongoose. Zoologist or not, he had very little patience or empathy for aggressive animals. But not Jared. Oh no, not Jared. He showed a real strength of character with the way he’d handled the situation.
She shook her head in amazement. “You sure are different from the men I know. One in particular.”
A warm palm cupped her face, and there was nothing impersonal in the way he was touching her. “And you sure are different from the women I know.” The inflection in his tone caught her by surprise and the air around them charged. She took in the hungry look in his eyes before he dragged her into his arms. Her body trembled and warmth pooled between her thighs as she gave herself over to the lust rising in her. Unable to resist, she tangled her hands around his neck and pressed her lips to his, for a deep, mind-numbing kiss.
Oh God, what the hell was she doing? She was supposed to be keeping her distance, not complicating matters. But it felt so nice to be held by him. He broke the kiss and his attention drifted downward. He shifted and closed his lips over her breast, licking her nipple through the thin material of her shirt. Entirely lost in the moment, her need overshadowed sensibility. There was an undeniable connection between them that was too powerful to ignore, and she needed to answer the demands of her body before she splintered into a million tiny pieces. Tomorrow, when her brain was functioning properly, she’d figure out where she was going with this wild, crazy affair that was affecting her both physically and emotionally. But right now, everything between them felt so intimate and so right, and she was certain it was time for feeling, not thinking.
6
“Chloe, baby,” Jared murmured and tangled his hands through her hair. Emotions crept into his voice. “I can’t seem to get enough of you.” When she relaxed in his arms and dropped a soft kiss onto his cheek, he stood and carried her to the bed. He set her down on the cushiony mattress and she widened her legs in invitation, her silky locks spilling across the pillow as her body beckoned his. They exchanged a long lingering look as Jared stood over her, his body shaking with want as he took pleasure in her beauty. Jesus, she evoked such deep feeling in him it was all he could do to keep his control and keep his beast contained.
“Tell me you want me,” he said in
