Read Online Invitation to Passion: Open Invitation, Book 3 by Jennifer Skully, Jasmine Haynes - Free Book Online

day, mostly because nobody gave a
damn. He put his arm around her bare shoulders, then curled her hair behind her
ear.
           “You’ll be glad to know my conversation
with Derek had the desired effect.”
           For a moment, her eyes glazed as if she
couldn’t follow what he was saying, then she glanced at the long bar where
Derek was drying glasses.
           “Oh. Great.”
           “Your advice was right on.” He wasn’t sure
she even remembered her suggestion regarding Derek’s erratic work habits. So
much had happened in between.
           But she smiled, a pasted-on, plastic smile.
“Great.”
           She was repeating herself. He couldn’t
decide if she had no idea what he was talking about or she was suddenly the
frightened doe in the headlights not knowing which way to run.
           Recovering, she turned to politeness, her
gaze encompassing the small group they stood amid. “Who are your friends?”
           He was nonplussed for a moment. He never
forgot names. Or faces. Yet tonight, he could care less who the new guests
were.
           He tucked her closer beneath his arm even
as she squirmed unobtrusively against him. “This is Serena. Ladies, why don’t
you introduce yourselves?”
           “Amethyst.” Brunette number one.
           “Glory.” Brunette number two.
           “Tiffany.” The blonde waggled her plucked
eyebrows at him.
           He didn’t respond to the sexual message in
her eyes. She was hitting on an already taken man.
           “Are you Jud’s mother?” Tiffany smiled at
Stacy like a ballplayer psyching out the other team.
           He almost laughed, the remark was so
ridiculous and the intent clearly feline. Stacy was a live wire beneath his
arm, her tension riding his rib cage. She pulled away, and he let her go with a
spurt of elation at the idea that she was about to enter battle. It had nothing
to do with the desire to have women fight over him, which, at this stage of
life, was insignificant. He simply wanted Stacy to realize she wanted to fight for him.
           When she answered, it was with her eyes on
him, not the twenty-something beauty queen. “Jud doesn’t have a mother. I think
he was hatched.”
           Well, hell, so much for fighting for him.
He smiled at his own idiocy. Stacy was not an easy conquest, but she did drive
him to play childish games.
           “Well, darling ,
I’ll leave you to”—her gaze slashed Amethyst, Glory, Tiffany, and then
him—“your triple fun dip. I have my own to find.”
           Rather than do battle, Stacy was the type
to walk away with dignity, but like hell she’d have her fun without him. “I
don’t think so, sweetheart ,” he said
with extra emphasis, then held her gaze, challenging her. “We have an
agreement.”
           “Not when you’re breaking it.” She lifted
her chin.
           “I have no intention of dissolving our
pact.” But he liked the angry spark in her gaze. She was jealous.
           Before she could object, he cupped her face
in his hands and took her lips. Not a demanding, take-charge kiss, but a soft
melding of his mouth to hers. Her lips parted, and he delved more deeply,
tasting her, letting her taste him. Her fingers fisted in his lapels, her body
leaned into his, and a low moan rose up from her throat. He kissed her until
the sweet lushness of her mouth and the scent of her was all that mattered.
           She smelled of hot woman and need. Sex.
Arousal. The small group they’d been standing with had grown to a full-fledged,
hungry audience expecting a down-and-dirty show.
           When he released her, she stared up at him
with dazed eyes. He steadied her in the light hold of his arms. Putting two
fingers to her lips, her gaze flitted from his mouth to his eyes, then his
hair. His heart thumped erratically in his chest, waiting for her words. He was
never quite sure how the woman