Read Online That Carolina Summer (North Carolina) by Janet Dailey - Free Book Online
Authors: Janet Dailey
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hesitated and decided against denying it outright, catching a hint of jealousy in the expression on his taut features. “Isn't it against hotel policy for guests and employees to mingle?"
“Did Craig tell you that?” Josh mocked.
“Yes,” she admitted.
“Before or after he kissed you?” he challenged with a trace of harshness.
“As a matter of fact, it was after. You saw it, did you?” she murmured, her gray eyes eagerly watching every nuance of his expression.
“When a couple kiss on a public beach, someone is likely to see them,” he pointed out.
“I think Craig saw you,” Annette surmised. “Which explains why he left so soon after that. He probably thought he'd get in trouble."
“I have a hunch that you spell trouble for just about every man who comes in contact with you,” John said.
A faint smile touched her mouth. “Including you, Josh?"
“Yes, including me,” he admitted dryly, an amused light gleaming in his dark eyes.
Her movement seemed to be idly directed, but it brought her a little closer to him. She tipped her head back slightly to regard him with curious speculation. Her pulse raced a little under his steady gaze.
“You strike me as the kind of man who never does anything he doesn't want to do. The other afternoon, when you kissed me...” Annette paused a second, “Was it what you wanted to do?"
“You know damn well it was.” There was a lazy curve to his mouth, as if he were silently laughing.
“I wasn't sure,” she replied with a mild shrug, but a thread of excitement was running through her veins.
“Weren't you?” he challenged huskily.
Then his hand was under her chin, as it had been that afternoon, but it didn't stay there long. It slid along her neck to tunnel under her hair while it urged her toward him. Annette needed little persuasion, flowing naturally into his arms.
His mouth burned on hers, erasing any remaining trace of Craig's kiss. His possession bore no resemblance to the chaste kiss of the other afternoon. Josh allowed for no innocence as he plundered, the softness of her lips, taking them with a sexual appetite that left her in no doubt of his hunger.
The heat of his body enveloped her completely with languid warmth. His roaming hands pressed her curves to the hard contours of his length, awakening her flesh to their differences and stimulating it. Annette was reeling from the upheaval his kiss was creating within her system. This rawly sensual embrace was shaking her to the core, disrupting her preconceived thoughts of what it should be like. It was all so shockingly new that she didn't know what she was thinking or feeling. Nothing was as she expected it to be.
When Josh dragged his mouth from her lips, it moistly grazed a path to her neck. Dazed into submission, she turned her head aside to allow him access to the quivering pulse in her throat. Her fingers were curled in the material of his shirt for support, her knees weak and trembling.
“I must be out of my mind,” he muttered harshly against her skin. “You're just a child. You're not even of legal age yet."
“Would you feel better if I told you I have a birthday coming up in two days?” Annette whispered, afraid that he would stop whatever it was that he was doing to her—and afraid that he would continue.
“No, it wouldn't.” His hands abruptly gripped her shoulders and held her away from him. A mixed anger blazed darkly in his eyes. “Didn't anybody teach you that it's dangerous to play with fire?"
“Yes.” Her head moved in a small nod.
“Then you ought to know you can't always put it out when you want to,” Josh stated grimly.
“I know,” she admitted, not liking the way he was treating her like a child when, in fact, she wasn't one. At the moment, it was immaterial that he didn't know it.
“Do you?” he challenged. “To you, a kiss is one step beyond holding hands. But to me, it's one step away from the bed! That's where this one will lead, you know.” His
“Did Craig tell you that?” Josh mocked.
“Yes,” she admitted.
“Before or after he kissed you?” he challenged with a trace of harshness.
“As a matter of fact, it was after. You saw it, did you?” she murmured, her gray eyes eagerly watching every nuance of his expression.
“When a couple kiss on a public beach, someone is likely to see them,” he pointed out.
“I think Craig saw you,” Annette surmised. “Which explains why he left so soon after that. He probably thought he'd get in trouble."
“I have a hunch that you spell trouble for just about every man who comes in contact with you,” John said.
A faint smile touched her mouth. “Including you, Josh?"
“Yes, including me,” he admitted dryly, an amused light gleaming in his dark eyes.
Her movement seemed to be idly directed, but it brought her a little closer to him. She tipped her head back slightly to regard him with curious speculation. Her pulse raced a little under his steady gaze.
“You strike me as the kind of man who never does anything he doesn't want to do. The other afternoon, when you kissed me...” Annette paused a second, “Was it what you wanted to do?"
“You know damn well it was.” There was a lazy curve to his mouth, as if he were silently laughing.
“I wasn't sure,” she replied with a mild shrug, but a thread of excitement was running through her veins.
“Weren't you?” he challenged huskily.
Then his hand was under her chin, as it had been that afternoon, but it didn't stay there long. It slid along her neck to tunnel under her hair while it urged her toward him. Annette needed little persuasion, flowing naturally into his arms.
His mouth burned on hers, erasing any remaining trace of Craig's kiss. His possession bore no resemblance to the chaste kiss of the other afternoon. Josh allowed for no innocence as he plundered, the softness of her lips, taking them with a sexual appetite that left her in no doubt of his hunger.
The heat of his body enveloped her completely with languid warmth. His roaming hands pressed her curves to the hard contours of his length, awakening her flesh to their differences and stimulating it. Annette was reeling from the upheaval his kiss was creating within her system. This rawly sensual embrace was shaking her to the core, disrupting her preconceived thoughts of what it should be like. It was all so shockingly new that she didn't know what she was thinking or feeling. Nothing was as she expected it to be.
When Josh dragged his mouth from her lips, it moistly grazed a path to her neck. Dazed into submission, she turned her head aside to allow him access to the quivering pulse in her throat. Her fingers were curled in the material of his shirt for support, her knees weak and trembling.
“I must be out of my mind,” he muttered harshly against her skin. “You're just a child. You're not even of legal age yet."
“Would you feel better if I told you I have a birthday coming up in two days?” Annette whispered, afraid that he would stop whatever it was that he was doing to her—and afraid that he would continue.
“No, it wouldn't.” His hands abruptly gripped her shoulders and held her away from him. A mixed anger blazed darkly in his eyes. “Didn't anybody teach you that it's dangerous to play with fire?"
“Yes.” Her head moved in a small nod.
“Then you ought to know you can't always put it out when you want to,” Josh stated grimly.
“I know,” she admitted, not liking the way he was treating her like a child when, in fact, she wasn't one. At the moment, it was immaterial that he didn't know it.
“Do you?” he challenged. “To you, a kiss is one step beyond holding hands. But to me, it's one step away from the bed! That's where this one will lead, you know.” His
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