Read Double Dealing (2013) for Free Online

of you,” Jed said, obviously getting the message, as he steered them between two other couples.
    “Enjoy yourselves!” her mother called out.
    “Nice guy,” Jed commented. “Too bad I didn’t vote for him.”
    Rae clenched her jaw in frustration. “Forget the Vice President, Jed, and just get me off the dance floor before the music stops!”
    They danced rapidly toward the alcove. She was sure they’d make it, until she realized that the orchestra was signaling the last flourish of their grand finale to the Beatles medley. The last note died away when they were still a good twenty feet from their goal.
    “We won’t make it!” she wailed, bracing herself to grab the bodice the moment Jed let go of her.
    “Sure we will,” Jed replied, and proceeded to loudly hum the verse again as he danced her the rest of the way into the alcove. Once inside, Jed backed her into the corner next to the opening, and they collapsed against the wall. She immediatelygrabbed the front of her dress with both hands and yanked upward.
    “Safe at last,” Jed drawled, giving her a wry grin.
    Relief washed through her, and she started to giggle. Remembering the glimpse she’d had of several startled faces as they passed by, she broke into laughter. She didn’t know which was funnier, the headlong dash into the alcove like a couple of mad Beatles fans, or the fact that Jed couldn’t carry a tune. His humming had been completely off key.
    “You’d be a smash as a singer,” she finally gasped in between chuckles.
    “You ought to hear my
Rubber Ducky
,” Jed admitted, grinning at her.
    “Please,” she said, as she turned her back to him. “I couldn’t take it. Now let’s get me unstuck.”
    With one hand free now, Jed worked the cuff link loose. She turned around to face him. A sigh almost escaped her lips, but the breath caught in her throat, as she found herself trapped by Jed’s nearness. She glanced up at him and instantly felt an electrifying charge jolt through her. The alcove seemed to tilt at a wild angle, and she mentally tried to force it back into place. But she couldn’t. His gaze grew hot, and color grazed his cheekbones.
    “Jed,” she whispered.
    His mouth covered hers.

Four
    Jed felt as if he were drowning. His blood thrummed heavily, vibrantly through his veins. Her lips were incredibly soft, and her response was a sizzling invitation to further delights. Rae whimpered in the back of her throat, as if in protest. Then her tongue mated urgently with his in feminine challenge and surrender. His control snapped.
    He crushed her to him. His fingers sank into the tender roundness of her derriere, and he pressed her hips into his at the demand of his rapidly hardening body. Her arms were tight around his shoulders, her body a perfect fit. And her mouth … it teased and tortured, promising unique fulfillment. Like a man too long in the desert, he drank of her sweetness, trying to draw her into himself with just the kiss. Yet he craved more. No other woman had ever provoked such a response in him. She was incomparable, he thought. Her fragile exterior hid a core of steeland passion. A man could spend years peeling away the layers of Rachel Barkeley, and still not find her essence.
    Abruptly the kiss broke off. Shocked and bewildered, Jed stared at her as she backed up against the wall. It occurred to him that all his memories of Rae were from long ago, and that’s what had made the ferocity of the kiss so shocking. Then, she’d been like a pesky little … sister. But she wasn’t little any more, and she’d never been his sister. The expression on her beautiful features reflected the same shock and bewilderment. The kiss had obviously taken her by surprise as much as it had him.
    “Rae?”
    “Great seeing you again. Hope you enjoy the ball,” she mumbled, as she adjusted her bodice in an unnecessary gesture. She pushed aside the alcove curtain. “Good-bye, Jed.”
    He realized that she actually meant to