him.
"The Houston Handful showed up at the office late yesterday afternoon and somehow got past the reception ist," Chris said softly so that their conversation wouldn't be overheard.
"Uh-oh," she murmured.
"Oh, yes, Miss Merrilee Tanner stormed into the office and threw one huge temper tantrum." He shuddered with remembrance.
Alex remembered the lady well. Called the Hous ton Handful because of her well- developed figure, Merrilee had Jared's attention for all of four months. His women never lasted much longer than that. His work always came first.
"How did our fearless leader handle the lady?" Alex asked under her breath.
" The way you handle a time bomb," Chris replied. "He put on the kid gloves and agreed to meet her for dinner later in the evening."
She arched her eyebro ws in disbelief. She wouldn't have thought that Jared would put up with a tantrum from anyone. Usually an act like that would have a woman quickly escorted from the building. What brought about his change of heart? That also explained his walking out with her to the parking garage last night. He had a hot date!
"She always knew how to stroke him the right way." Chris leered.
Alex glared at him, never appreciating off-color humor.
After the jet was airborne, Chris was called to the front where Jared gave him a list of instructions. When he finished, he strolled back to the seat Chris had vacated. With one hand braced on the armrest and the other on the headrest, Jared asked Alex to follow him to the rear of the jet. She nodded and unfastened her seat belt. Now it was her turn to receive her list of instructions for this course of meetings.
Jared closed the door of the bedroom behind them a nd leaned back while he watched Alex with narrowed eyes.
"You've got style, Alex," he drawled, " first Chris and now Rashid is after you. Who's next on your list, me?"
She spun around, not expecting this attack and disliking that light in his eyes even more. "Don't worry, you're perfectly safe from my clutches," she assured him with a feline smile.
Jared grasped Alex's arm and led her over to the bed. A gentle push set her on the edge. "Perhaps I don't want to be safe," he returned calmly, seating himself next to her. "You don't want to be either, Alex."
"Meaning?" She eyed him warily.
Jared leaned forward and nibbled a spine-tingling path along the corners of her mouth. "Very tasty," he mur mured, pulling on her lower lip with his teeth.
For a moment Alex was tempted to melt against Jared, but quickly pulled away before her senses were seduced again. "I'm not in the mood for Post Office today, Mr. Templeton," she informed him in her most intimidating tone.
"I always preferred that over Spin the Bottle." Jared's fingers lightly caressed her throat and down to the neck line of her blouse. "Too many chances of the bottle point ing toward the wrong person."
"This is not a game!" Alex snapped, batting his wander ing hands away, but he wasn't to be deterred.
His slow smile sent shivers through her. "Don't you like games, Alex?" he mused, flicking open the top button of her blouse.
"Not since the Academy," she retorted, reaching up to close the button even as Jared unfastened the next one.
His other hand pulled her blouse out of the waistband of her skirt and slid up her bare midriff until he found her bra . "Where's the clasp ?" he muttered, frowning in con centration while his fingers traced a heat-producing path along the edges of the lacy cup.
If Alex had been in the right frame of mind, she prob ably would have laughed at the puzzled expression on Jared's face while his playful hand searched for the front clasp of the bra. "It has a back clasp with a padlock attached," she informed him sternly, wondering if he had been this persistent with his other women. It was already obvious his past experience had been with front-clasped bras, if the women wore them at all. Alex jerked away from Jared's hands and hastily pulled her blouse down, tucking the
"The Houston Handful showed up at the office late yesterday afternoon and somehow got past the reception ist," Chris said softly so that their conversation wouldn't be overheard.
"Uh-oh," she murmured.
"Oh, yes, Miss Merrilee Tanner stormed into the office and threw one huge temper tantrum." He shuddered with remembrance.
Alex remembered the lady well. Called the Hous ton Handful because of her well- developed figure, Merrilee had Jared's attention for all of four months. His women never lasted much longer than that. His work always came first.
"How did our fearless leader handle the lady?" Alex asked under her breath.
" The way you handle a time bomb," Chris replied. "He put on the kid gloves and agreed to meet her for dinner later in the evening."
She arched her eyebro ws in disbelief. She wouldn't have thought that Jared would put up with a tantrum from anyone. Usually an act like that would have a woman quickly escorted from the building. What brought about his change of heart? That also explained his walking out with her to the parking garage last night. He had a hot date!
"She always knew how to stroke him the right way." Chris leered.
Alex glared at him, never appreciating off-color humor.
After the jet was airborne, Chris was called to the front where Jared gave him a list of instructions. When he finished, he strolled back to the seat Chris had vacated. With one hand braced on the armrest and the other on the headrest, Jared asked Alex to follow him to the rear of the jet. She nodded and unfastened her seat belt. Now it was her turn to receive her list of instructions for this course of meetings.
Jared closed the door of the bedroom behind them a nd leaned back while he watched Alex with narrowed eyes.
"You've got style, Alex," he drawled, " first Chris and now Rashid is after you. Who's next on your list, me?"
She spun around, not expecting this attack and disliking that light in his eyes even more. "Don't worry, you're perfectly safe from my clutches," she assured him with a feline smile.
Jared grasped Alex's arm and led her over to the bed. A gentle push set her on the edge. "Perhaps I don't want to be safe," he returned calmly, seating himself next to her. "You don't want to be either, Alex."
"Meaning?" She eyed him warily.
Jared leaned forward and nibbled a spine-tingling path along the corners of her mouth. "Very tasty," he mur mured, pulling on her lower lip with his teeth.
For a moment Alex was tempted to melt against Jared, but quickly pulled away before her senses were seduced again. "I'm not in the mood for Post Office today, Mr. Templeton," she informed him in her most intimidating tone.
"I always preferred that over Spin the Bottle." Jared's fingers lightly caressed her throat and down to the neck line of her blouse. "Too many chances of the bottle point ing toward the wrong person."
"This is not a game!" Alex snapped, batting his wander ing hands away, but he wasn't to be deterred.
His slow smile sent shivers through her. "Don't you like games, Alex?" he mused, flicking open the top button of her blouse.
"Not since the Academy," she retorted, reaching up to close the button even as Jared unfastened the next one.
His other hand pulled her blouse out of the waistband of her skirt and slid up her bare midriff until he found her bra . "Where's the clasp ?" he muttered, frowning in con centration while his fingers traced a heat-producing path along the edges of the lacy cup.
If Alex had been in the right frame of mind, she prob ably would have laughed at the puzzled expression on Jared's face while his playful hand searched for the front clasp of the bra. "It has a back clasp with a padlock attached," she informed him sternly, wondering if he had been this persistent with his other women. It was already obvious his past experience had been with front-clasped bras, if the women wore them at all. Alex jerked away from Jared's hands and hastily pulled her blouse down, tucking the
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