Passion Never Dies (2 page)

Diana’s mind went blank as he softly explored her mouth. She placed her hands on his hips to anchor herself against him and he moved even closer. His lips were firm yet soft and she reveled in the sensuous feelings he aroused in her.

Suddenly, he lifted his head and smiled down at her.

“You taste good,” he said and backed her up against one large boulder.

Instead of feeling trapped against his solid length and the boulder at her back, Diana felt overwhelmingly excited. He swept up her long, brown hair and moved it aside so that he could bend down and kiss her neck. She moaned softly as she felt his lips caress the delicate skin there. She heard the metallic slide of her zipper and was mildly shocked to feel his hand against the crotch of her shorts. He raised his head and looked deeply into her eyes.

“Too much?” Jake asked huskily.

Diana shook her head. Her body was on fire and she didn’t want him to stop. All her instincts screamed for her to take it slow with this stranger who had managed to accomplish in five minutes what she had allowed no man to do to her. She held her breath as she watched him slowly slide her zipper down. He groaned softly as he reached inside and gently touched her pink thong panties.

Diana knew she was wet down there and was embarrassed, but she was helpless to stop him. She wanted to feel his hand on the most sensitive part of her body and she squirmed eagerly against him.

“Damn,” he muttered before he bent his head and kissed her.

This time his tongue slid between her willing lips and he swept his tongue inside her warm mouth. Their tongues tangled as she kissed him back with innocent fervor. She reached up and caressed his long, blond hair as he angled his head for a deeper kiss.

Jake groaned into her mouth and the sound alone heightened Diana’s sensual awareness of him. She felt his other hand slide inside her shorts and grip her soft bottom, arching her toward his pelvis. For the first time in her life, she felt a man’s erection and it took her breath away.

Suddenly, he tugged her tank top down and her right breast was exposed. Diana gasped as he bent his head and opened his mouth to suck on her breast.

“Jake,” she said, moaning as he tugged on her nipple. The sensation of his lips on her breast was intensely pleasurable, unlike anything she had ever felt before.

Jake released her breast abruptly and tugged her shorts down. They fell to her ankles and she stepped out of them. Diana saw his eyes narrow as he stared at her lacy, pink thong panties and she was suddenly glad that she had put on a sexy pair of underwear this morning instead of her usual cotton, white underpants. The thong had been a gag gift from Natalie upon their high school graduation.

“I like your sexy thong,” Jake muttered, staring down at her slim body.

“Thanks,” she said, embarrassed as he dipped his hand down inside her panties and caressed her wet mound.

“Don’t be shy. You’re beautiful,” he said as he touched her where no man had ever touched her before.

“I can’t help it,” Diana said biting back a groan as he continued to caress her between her legs, rubbing gently back and forth with his fingers.

“You’re so wet,” he muttered as he stroked her and she moaned loudly, throwing her head back as he dipped one finger inside her.

“Oh, my God,” she groaned as he continued to caress her. Suddenly, she felt her body clench and she screamed as she felt ecstasy wash over her body. She shuddered and he clasped her tightly to him as her body was racked with overwhelming pleasure. She laid her head on his shoulder and he rubbed her back gently.

“What just happened?” Diana asked in a daze.

Jake smiled and kissed her lightly before answering.

“You’ve just had an orgasm, sweetheart,” he said, his hand still inside her panties.

Diana closed her eyes in mortification. She couldn’t believe how quickly she had lost it with him.

“Now, it’s my turn,” Jake said softly and rubbed his erect member against her stomach. He lifted her legs and wrapped them around his bare back. She groaned as she was swept up in a firestorm of lust again. Neither one of them heard the approaching footsteps in the sand until it was too late.

“Diana Heather Mulroney!”

Jake released Diana so abruptly that she nearly fell as her legs touched ground.

“Oh, my God,” whispered Diana as she saw her incensed father standing a few feet away from them. She quickly pulled down her tank top and yanked up her shorts.

“Who the hell are you?!” yelled Diana’s father as he glared at Jake. Jake swept a nervous hand through his hair as he faced the older man.

“I’m sorry, sir. My name is Jake Redmond and I um, I -” Jake was clearly at a loss for words.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” asked Diana desperately, completely mortified.

Her father had never been very patient with her, but she knew that no father would have been patient or understanding considering the scene he had just stumbled upon.

“I came home early and your mother just informed me that you were here. I don’t remember giving you permission to attend this party, young lady,” her father said sternly.

“But Dad, Mom said -”

“It doesn’t matter what your mother said,” he answered back scathingly. “Now I catch you doing this? You should be ashamed of yourself. I did not raise you to be a slut!”

Diana flinched as if she had been struck.

“Now wait a min -” started Jake, but the older man ignored him.

“You’re coming home with me and you will never see this boy again.”

Diana looked at Jake, who was staring at her, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. She had no recourse but to obey her father as much as her heart ached to be with Jake.

“I’m sorry, Jake,” she whispered as she walked by him. Her father took hold of her arm and marched her away.

“Diana, wait -”Jake said urgently as he trailed after them.

“Don’t you dare follow us, young man. You stay away from my daughter!”

Jake halted and watched as Diana left with her father. Diana looked at him one more time with longing in her eyes, before she allowed herself to be led away.

Chapter One

Nine years later

Diana smiled as she looked down at the paper before her. Four-year-old Madison kept drawing the same picture every week: a stick figure of a girl in a red dress surrounded by purple flowers.

“Pewty girl,” said Madison as she climbed onto Diana’s lap and played with Diana’s shoulder-length, wavy, brown hair. Diana kissed the top of the child’s shiny, blonde head and nodded in agreement.

“Yes, she is, Madison. Just like you,” Diana said and the little girl looked up at her with a toothless grin.

Diana looked around the classroom and was glad to see that all seven of her preschool children were still napping. Madison was the only one in class who could never settle down and sleep. She preferred to sit on her teacher’s lap and draw pictures during naptime. She watched Madison bite her lip in concentration as she painstakingly drew a sun with a yellow crayon.

Diana had been working as a preschool teacher at the Play and Learn Preschool in Las Vegas for the past four years and was happy at her job. The children gave her fulfillment and she looked forward going to work every day knowing that she made a difference in their lives.

“Drawing’s fun,” whispered Madison smiling up at her.

Diana smiled back, stroking back a few of the child’s wayward bangs from her eyes. Madison went back to drawing contentedly, humming softly to herself.

Diana’s parents had divorced when she was nineteen. Her father had mellowed out when he married a much younger woman two years later. They kept in touch by phone during birthdays and holidays, but rarely saw each other anymore. Diana was fine with the arrangement since she had never been very close to her father growing up.

Her mother had remarried several years ago and had moved with her new husband to an area of Las Vegas called Mount Charleston, a beautiful mountain community about an hour away from the Strip. Even though Diana missed southern California, she had wanted to be close to her mother and had chosen to move to Las Vegas four years ago.

“Diana, you have a call,” whispered one of her colleagues from the open doorway.

“Thank you,” Diana whispered back before lifting Madison gently off her lap.

The other teacher walked over to the table and sat down on a chair next to Madison.

“Where you going?” whined Madison, her lips in a pout.

“I’ll be right back, sweetie. Draw a picture for Miss Clark,” she said gently before leaving the classroom.

Diana walked down the hallway to the front desk where the school receptionist greeted her.

“It’s Natalie,” she said handing her the phone.

“Thank you,” Diana said, picking up the receiver.

“Sorry to call you at work, Diana.”

“It’s all right. Is something the matter?” asked Diana worriedly.

“No, it’s just that - well, let’s just say that tonight’s dinner is going to be interesting.”

“What do you mean?” Diana asked.

“Do you remember a guy called James Redmond?”

Diana frowned in concentration, but the name didn’t sound familiar.

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“He also goes by the name of Jake.”

Diana’s emotions suddenly went into overdrive as she remembered the young man who had haunted her dreams for years after her heated encounter with him on a beach.

“What about him?” she asked as she gripped the phone.

“He’s going to join us at dinner tonight.”

Diana’s mind began to spin as she stared sightlessly at the school bulletin board in front of her.

“Diana, did you hear me?” asked Natalie after a few seconds of silence.

“Why in the world would he be at dinner?” Diana asked, trying to sound normal.

“Apparently he’s a big wig in the hotel world and Max’s boss strongly suggested that we invite him to dinner tonight.”

Diana paused and took a deep breath. Nine years had gone by since she last saw Jake Redmond and she had stopped thinking about him years ago. But their steamy encounter had been so potent and vivid in her mind that he had haunted her nights throughout her college years. And now he was back, at least for tonight.

“I’ll take a rain check on dinner then,” she said.

“Absolutely not,” said Natalie firmly. “Max and I couldn’t celebrate your birthday last week because we were out of town, plus we have had a difficult time reserving a table at the Cheshire. You’re not backing out. Who cares about Jake anyway? He probably won’t even remember you. It’s been a long time.”

It certainly has
, thought Diana as she chewed on her bottom lip in indecision. Besides, who cared if he did recognize her? Life goes on and for someone like Jake Redmond she would bet that he was now happily married with several kids. He had been gorgeous nine years ago and she was sure that some beautiful woman had ensnared him by now.

“All right,” Diana said slowly. “I’ll meet you and Max at the Cheshire at six tonight.”

~

“Right this way, miss,” said the young waitress as she led Diana to a table where Natalie and her husband Max waited for her. Diana let out a sigh of relief that their other “guest” hadn’t arrived yet.

“Happy belated birthday,” Natalie said as she hugged Diana. Max reached over and gave her a quick kiss on the check. As they all sat down, Diana smiled at the friend, who was more like a sister to her, and her husband. In her estimation, they were the perfect couple. Max Adler was tall, dark, and handsome and Natalie was a vivacious, petite redhead whom he had instantly fallen in love with during their junior year of college.

Diana had been thrilled to be Natalie’s maid of honor three years ago and had even been more delighted when Max had accepted a job in Las Vegas two years ago. Natalie and Max had purchased a house a few miles from Diana’s apartment complex, which made it easy for the women to see one another frequently.

“Too bad Richard couldn’t join us,” said Max.

“Unfortunately, he had to attend a teacher’s meeting tonight,” Diana said, “but I’ll be seeing him this weekend.”

“Max wanted to talk to him about boring golf,” said Natalie, rolling her eyes.

“I can’t believe I’m twenty-seven now. I feel so old,” said Diana as she tugged down her burgundy lace skirt. She had paired her favorite hip-hugging, knee-length skirt with a short-sleeved, black lace top.

“Well, you don’t look a day over twenty-one. I still remember when you had braces on in junior high school,” said Natalie as she reached over to hand Diana a small silver box with a red bow on top.

“Oh Natalie, you didn’t have to,” said Diana, smiling as she opened the box and took out a silver necklace with a silver miniature star pendant attached to it. A small diamond twinkled at the center of the pendant.

“It’s beautiful,” she said and Max stood to help her with the clasp.

“Natalie wouldn’t stop until she found the perfect present,” chuckled Max as he looked at his wife lovingly. “She dragged me to all the shops in New York last week.”

“She loves to shop,” Diana said and grinned at Natalie.

They both did, but Natalie had more disposable income due to her husband’s generous monthly allowance while Diana had to budget her finances carefully on her preschool teacher’s salary. Natalie was a stay-at-home housewife, but she was currently writing a mystery novel in hopes of getting it published.

“Thank you both,” said Diana as she fingered the pendant. “I love it.”

“Love what?” said a deep voice that made Diana’s heart quiver. She recognized the voice instantly even after all these years. She hoped that she didn’t look as nervous as she felt.

Max stood up and held out his hand to someone behind her.

“I’m glad you could join us, Mr. Redmond,” Max said respectfully. Diana glanced at Natalie, who was looking at her with an apologetic smile, before she turned in her seat to get her first look at the man whom she had never really forgotten.

“Please, call me Jake.”

He looked the same - still over six feet tall, still muscular, and still dangerously handsome. His haircut was shorter and he was a bit broader around the shoulders, but otherwise his chiseled features and sensuous green eyes were as captivating as ever. He wore a black jacket over a white shirt, which emphasized his wide shoulders and black slacks. Jake glanced at her and her internal temperature shot up as she tried to keep her face impassive while remembering the last time she had seen him on the beach, writhing in his arms.