Starstruck

Chapter Fifteen

Ashley froze, the breath caught in her throat and her pulse thundered in her ears.

Oh. Oh my. His kiss was unbearably soft, almost tender, and she leaned into it, into him. Her hands rested on the hard muscles of his chest and she could feel the jump of his heartbeat beneath her fingertips. His arms slid around her, pulling her close, and she surrendered to the magic and wonder of his kiss.

She could definitely fall hard for this man.

His kiss suddenly deepened, his tongue licking at the corner of her mouth, and she lost any chance at coherent thought for several long, drugging moments.

"Okay, get ready!" she suddenly heard Kendyl call from inside the house and the two of them sprang apart, both breathing hard, just as the girl burst through the door in all her finery.

What in the hell was he doing?

He invites the woman to dinner to talk about his daughter’s problems in school then ends up dumping his life story on her before all but jumping her on his back deck.

The crazy thing was, he wanted to do it all over again. The kissing part, anyway. Jason could still taste her on his lips, that subtle, sweetly erotic taste of raspberry and cream and Ashley.

It was crazy. He knew it was impossible, but he ached to taste her again.

Focus, he chided himself and jerked his attention back to the conversation between Kendyl and her teacher.

"See how twirly it is?" Kendyl exclaimed, her arms wide as she did circles around the living room, where they had adjourned since there was more light to show off the sparkles.

Jason wasn’t sure he was prepared for this primpy stage to start. Kendyl was showing all the signs of someone who would be seriously girly and he had no idea how to handle the rest of it. Just thinking about makeup and boyfriends and hairspray made him break into a cold sweat.

At least he had a few more years before he had to worry about that.

"You look just like a princess," Ashley assured Kendyl. Her color was high, he saw, and she didn’t look at him as she spoke.

Kendyl preened, oblivious to the tension between them. "I’m going to wear it to a wedding. My friend Sierra’s mom is getting married next month and we’re going to Hawaii for it and I get to swim in the ocean and maybe see a dolphin."

"I don’t get to be the flower girl because Sierra does," Kendyl went on, "but I can wear my new dress and maybe have a lei, too."

Ashley gave a smile that looked forced and he would have given just about anything to know what was running through her head right about now. "How fun," she murmured. "You and your father will have to take lots of pictures so you can bring them back for the rest of the class to see."

"Okay. I will." She looked thrilled at the idea for just a moment before she frowned and her excitement slipped away. "Um, I’ll have to see. I’ll probably forget."

Right. Kendyl remembered the names and birthdays and favorite colors of everyone she had ever met. This sudden reluctance was part of whatever game she had been playing at school. He sighed, knowing the time for socializing was over.

"Kendyl, if you’re done showing off your new dress, we need to talk about what’s happening in school. You know that’s why Miss Barnes is here."

Panic flared in her eyes, suddenly, and she started edging for the stairs. "I better go change out of my dress before I get it all dirty."

"Come back here," he said, his voice stern. "We’re going to sit down right now and discuss how you’ve been acting."