Somebody's Lover by Jasmine Haynes Page B

answers terrified her. As did the thought of having to tell
Arthur what she’d found out. Goodness knows, she couldn’t do it. It was better
not to ask.
    Evelyn had watched them all
afternoon. Jace couldn’t keep his hands off Taylor. He couldn’t take his eyes
off of her either. Then he followed like a hound dog when she went into the
kitchen.
    No one else had seemed to notice,
except perhaps Connie. If Connie mentioned her suspicions to Mitch...well,
Evelyn didn’t know what he’d say or do.
    And that scene in the kitchen, oh
my heavens. She’d wanted so badly to laugh with them. The family laughed and
played with the kids, they all enjoyed that, but between themselves, when the
children were off being children, all the gaiety seemed to have died when Lou
died.
    But David had laughed. He’d
actually laughed. And joked. Like the old days. Before Lou died.
    She should have been delirious. It
should have signified her family was on the mend.
    Instead, she feared worse times
were coming.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Taylor knew what that whole scene
yesterday in Evelyn’s kitchen was about. Jace wanted to see how far he could
push her.
    How far would she go? She
wasn’t sure. But she did know that if David hadn’t walked in, she’d have
followed Jace to his old room in his mom’s house and gone down on her knees for
him.
    She knocked her morning coffee over
all the papers on her desk. “Darn it.”
    Evelyn hurried over with a roll of
paper towels, and they mopped and sopped together.
    “You’ve seemed pretty preoccupied
lately.”
    Taylor avoided Evelyn’s gaze. “Too
much coffee. It makes me jittery.” That had been her first cup of the day.
    Taylor couldn’t think of another
single thing to say, but her mother-in-law stood there a little longer,
waiting. All of a sudden, Evelyn had started making Taylor nervous.
    “Really, Mom, everything’s fine and
dandy.”
    After one last look, Evelyn sighed.
“I’ll go to the bank then. Arthur didn’t give me last week’s receipts until
this morning.”
    “Bad Arthur,” Taylor said.
    That won her a smile, and her
tension eased. A tiny bit.
    Evelyn fluttered around her desk,
gathering her purse, the deposit bag, her keys. Then she waggled her fingers
and left.
    Lord. Taylor took her coffee mug
back to the kitchenette to refill. The front door opened. Boots stomped across
the floor, and everything inside her went still. Jace stopped in the doorway,
legs apart, hands in his back pockets. The stance pulled his T-shirt tight. She
almost fainted with need.
    “Where’s Mom?”
    “She went to the bank.” Gone for at
least an hour.
    “How long ago did she leave?”
    “A few minutes.” She couldn’t
breathe thinking of the possibilities.
    “We need to talk.” They could no
longer just talk, but he went on before she said that. “These phone calls make
me nuts.”
    “They make me nuts, too,” she
whispered. They weren’t enough. Her heart pounded. She bit the inside of her
lip so hard she tasted blood. She felt hot, needy, and dangerous. Then she
grabbed his hand, pulling him past the small refrigerator, microwave, and
coffeemaker.
    “Taylor, what the hell are you
doing?”
    Opening the bathroom door, she
shoved him inside, then turned the lock and leaned back. “I don’t want to
talk.”
    He blinked, his breathing harsh.
“Taylor.” That was all. It held a wealth of meaning. Evelyn might return. The
risk. The hurt, if anyone found out. She knew all the reasons why they
shouldn’t and was too addicted to care.
    “I didn’t wear panties today.”
    His eyes widened, darkened.
“Christ, you’re killing me.”
    “Then put us both out of our
misery.”
    His fingers flexed. Right and wrong
warred with need. He lost the battle. Putting his hands on her waist, he
pivoted and set her against the sink with her back to him. His hands skated
beneath her jean skirt, pushing it high. “I can’t think I wanna fuck you so
bad.”
    She held onto the sink with