Solid Soul. Brenda Jackson

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      Kylie awoke with a start, finding that she was drenched in sweat…or heat, since what had awakened her was an erotic dream.

      Chance Steele had kissed her, touched her, made love to her. At first she had moaned in protest but then they’d become moans of pleasure. But at the exact moment he was about to do away with all the mind-blowing foreplay and enter her body to take total possession, she had awakened.

      She pulled herself into a sitting position and struggled to calm her ragged breath. Perspiration cloaked her body, a sign of just how long she had been in denial. For a brief moment, everything had seemed real, including the way his skin felt beneath her palms, how thick and solid his muscles were against her body and just how good those same muscles felt melding into hers.

      With a deep sigh of disgust, she threw the covers back and got out of bed. Why, after fifteen years, did she finally become attracted to a man who just happened to the be the father of the boy who could become her worst nightmare? On the way to the bathroom, she inwardly cursed for finding Chance so damn handsome.

      As she turned on the shower and began stripping out of her damp nightclothes, she thought about how her life had been over the past fifteen years. Sam was the first and only man she had slept with. Once Tiffany had been born, her precious little girl had become the most important thing to her, her very reason for existing, and the years that followed had been busy ones as a single parent. Although a number of men had shown interest, a relationship with any of them had taken a backseat. It was either bad timing or a lack of desire on her part to share herself with anyone other than Tiffany. In essence, she had placed her needs aside to take care of the needs of her child.

      But now it seemed that those needs were catching up with her. Something sharp, unexpected and mind-blowingly stimulating was taking its toll. For years she had been able to keep those urges under control, but now it seemed a losing battle. It was as if her body was saying, I won’t let you deny me any longer.

      As she stepped into the shower and stood beneath the spray of water, she knew that she was in deep trouble. Not only did she have to deal with the situation going on with Tiffany and Marcus, but she had to deal with her own attraction to Chance. It was sheer foolishness to become this enamored with a man she had only met a couple of days ago, and the very thought that she had gone so far as to dream about him making love to her was totally unacceptable.

      No matter how intense the sexual longings invading her body, she had to get a grip. And more than anything, she had to remember that men couldn’t be depended on to always do the right thing. Sam had proven that to her in a big way, and so had her father. He had let her down when he’d meekly gone along with her mother’s treatment of her when she’d gotten pregnant.

      Moments later when she stepped out of the shower, dried off and donned a fresh nightgown, she had to concede that the water hadn’t washed any thoughts of Chance from her mind. She had a feeling that even when she went back to bed she wouldn’t experience anything close to a peaceful sleep.

      Chapter 3

      “You actually invited Marcus and his father for dinner on Sunday!”

      Kylie lifted a brow as she washed her hands in the kitchen sink. Surprised at the excitement she heard in her daughter’s voice, she turned to meet her gaze. “I take it that you don’t have a problem with it.”

      The enthusiasm in Tiffany’s voice dropped a degree when she shrugged her shoulders and said, “No, why should I? Just as long as you and Mr. Steele aren’t going to try and break us up, because it won’t happen. Marcus and I are—”

      “Madly in love,” Kylie rushed in to finish, stifling her anger as she dried her hands. “I know.” If she heard her daughter exclaim the depth of her love for Marcus Steele one more time she would scream.

      “I thought it would be a good idea for me to finally meet Marcus, considering how you feel about him,” Kylie said.

      “Why is Mr. Steele coming?”

      “Because he’s Marcus’s father and, like me, he wants what’s best for his child.”

      “Oh, then, he won’t have to worry about a thing because I am the best.”

      Kylie rolled her eyes thinking her daughter was getting conceited lately—another of Sam’s traits rearing its ugly head.

      “So the two of you have been talking a lot?”

      Kylie frowned as she began making the pancakes for breakfast. “The two of who?”

      “You and Mr. Steele.”

      “More than we’ve wanted to, I’m sure,” Kylie said with forced calmness. The last thing her daughter needed to know was just what an impact Chance Steele was having on her. Just as she’d figured last night, she hadn’t been able to go back to sleep without visions of him dancing around in her head.

      “How does he look?”

      Many of the descriptive words that came to mind she couldn’t possibly share with her daughter. “He’s handsome, so I take it that Marcus is handsome, too.”

      Tiffany beamed. “Yes, of course.” Then seconds later she said, “I heard Mr. Steele is nice.”

      Kylie expelled a deep breath. “I don’t know him well enough to form an opinion but I have no reason to think that he’s not.” Although she pretended nonchalance, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing over at Tiffany and asking, “Who told you he was nice?”

      “Marcus. He thinks the world of his father.”

      Kylie’s first reaction at hearing that statement was to ask why, if Marcus thought the world of his dad, he was causing Chance so much grief.

      “He doesn’t date much.”

      “Who?”

      “Mr. Steele.”

      With his good looks and fine body, Kylie found that hard to believe. “Don’t you think you need to start getting dressed for school?” she prompted, not wanting to discuss Chance any longer.

      Tiffany nodded. “I’ll be back in time for pancakes,” she said as she rushed out of the kitchen.

      When she was gone, Kylie leaned against the counter wondering why Chance had dominated their conversation. Was there a possibility that Tiffany was nervous about meeting Marcus’s father? She couldn’t help but remember the first time Sam had taken her to meet his parents. They hadn’t been impressed with her and hadn’t wasted any time letting her and Sam know they thought the two of them were too young to be involved.

      Too bad she hadn’t taken the Millers’s opinion seriously. How differently things would have turned out if she had. But then she could never regret having Tiffany in her life, even now when her daughter was determined to make her hair gray early.

      So, she thought as she pulled the orange juice out of the refrigerator, Chance didn’t date often. Rather interesting…