At the Tycoon's Command by Shawna Delacourt Page B

offered a shy smile. “I suppose that makes sense.”
    â€œBesides—” in an involuntary action he reached out with his free hand and lightly touched her cheek and hair “—the security system covers the other doors from the utility room to the kitchen and the one leading downstairs….”
    His voice trailed off as he set the bottle of wine on the counter next to the bag of dog food. He knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but at that moment he didn’t care. He also knew he had no business instigating anything of a personal nature with her, especially under the circumstances, but his desires overpowered the thin thread of common sense that still clung to him.
    He ran his fingers across her cheek and down her arm, then grasped her hand in his. The words slipped out on their own without him consciously wanting to say them. “You have a very nice smile. You should smile more often.”
    Still clutching her hand in his, he pulled her body closer in much the same way as when he had helped her up from the floor that morning. Only this time he didn’t stop. He leaned forward, brushed his lips against hers, then captured her mouth with a soft kiss. He tasted the earthiness of a sensuality that nearly knocked his socks off. He felt her hesitate for a moment as if she was uncertain what to do, then she turned her face away and broke off the kiss.
    Her voice contained a combination of shock, embarrassment and anger. “What do you think you’re doing?”
    He didn’t move away, his face still within inches of hers. “I was indulging an impulse.”
    Kim glanced nervously around the utility room. Her body was sandwiched between Jared and the counter so she couldn’t back away from him. In spite of the excitement coursing through her body, she tried to sound authoritative, in control and businesslike.
    â€œYou may feel free to indulge your impulses with the many women you date, but I’m not one of them. This is strictly a business arrangement, and I’d appreciate it if in the future you would refrain—”
    Lurch charged through the dog door, slid across thesmooth tile floor and bumped into Jared, knocking him off balance. Jared fell against Kim. In an awkward moment, each instinctively grabbed for the other in an attempt to remain upright and regain their balance, but they ended up in a tangle of arms and legs on the utility room floor with his body partially covering hers. Jared’s face was again very close to Kim’s. He made no effort to release her or stand up.
    â€œAre you all right?” He didn’t like the huskiness that surrounded his words, a verbal indication of what was going on inside him and much more than he wanted to reveal. He wanted to kiss her again, to experience her taste. His desires told him he would be happy to spend the evening right there on the floor with her, their bodies pressed together. His logic, however, told him it was a bad idea, a situation he should put a stop to immediately regardless of how much she stimulated his passions.
    He skimmed his fingertips across her cheek and tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear. “Lurch didn’t hurt you, did he?”
    â€œI’m…no, he didn’t hurt me.” A sensual wave swept through her. She felt the rise and fall of his chest as his body pressed against hers, matching her increasingly labored breathing. Her skin tingled where his fingers touched it. Everything about this was as wrong as it could be. It was bad enough when he had tried to kiss her and she had almost allowed it. Now they were on the floor with his body on top of hers, and neither of them was making any effort to put a stop to it.
    She should have refused his dinner invitation. She should have slapped his face when he tried to kiss her. She should be pushing him away from her so she could get up. So why hadn’t she done any of those things? It was a question