Passion Never Dies (4 page)

Diana inwardly groaned as temptation reared its ugly head, but her cautious nature refused to let her make any impulsive decisions. She also wasn’t ready to tell him about Richard just yet.

“Let me get back to you, Jake,” she said and added with a smile, “I admit you’re hard to resist.”

Jake grinned and placed a hand on her soft cheek.

“So are you,” he added softly. “I
will
see you again soon.”

Diana looked up at him, her breath catching at his deeply intense look.

“Good night,” he said before slowly walking away.

Diana frowned at his retreating figure. How was he going to see her again? He didn’t even have her number. Before she could call out to him, he had already gotten into his black Porsche and driven away. She supposed that a man like Jake would find a way. Right now, she should be more concerned about her behavior with him tonight. How was she going to explain this to Richard?

Chapter Two

In his corporate office later that night, Jake stood and stared out the window and thought about Diana Mulroney. It had happened again, but this time it was nine years later. He had never really forgotten her, even after almost a decade. For a while there, he had even searched for her. He had practically interrogated his sister Lana, but she hadn’t known Diana since they had attended different high schools and Lana had no idea of her whereabouts. He had spent the rest of that summer sulking. That night on the beach had lingered in his memory for years. She had left him aching more than any other woman he had met since or had yet to meet. With her beautiful brown eyes, her shy smile, and sexy figure, the innocent yet passionate eighteen-year-old girl had been a siren he had been unable to resist or forget. Now here she was all grown up, looking sexier than ever and captivating his senses all over again.

Just sitting next to her at the table tonight had made his body come alive. She was still the most alluring woman he had ever met and he wanted her with an intensity that shook him. The inexplicably powerful attraction between them had not waned and he was more than ready to finish what they had started nine years ago.

Jake walked back to his desk and sat down on a black leather chair, placing his hands behind his head. He had not been looking forward to coming to Vegas to deal with this newest business venture, but now with Diana in the picture he intended to maximize his stay. He leaned forward to pick up his cell phone and selected a number.

“Max? Hi, this is Jake Redmond. I need to talk to you.”

~

“What happened between you and Jake tonight?”

Diana smiled as she heard Natalie’s voice on her cell phone.

“You’re obviously not home yet. Call me the minute you get my message,” Natalie ordered before disconnecting.

Diana sighed as she stepped into her small kitchen and took out a glass from her cupboard. She needed a drink. Badly. It wasn’t every day she made out with an almost complete stranger.

Her cell phone rang and she hesitated before answering it, but recognized her mother’s ring tone.

“Hi, Mom,” Diana said as she looked inside her fridge.

“Diana, how was your dinner?” her mother Trina asked casually.

Diana was disappointed to find nothing alcoholic inside her fridge. She could have sworn that she had purchased some red wine last week.

“It went great,” Diana answered, opting not to tell her mother about Jake. It was simply too surreal and complicated.

“Natalie and Max gave me a beautiful necklace with a star pendant.”

“That’s lovely, darling. Natalie always had such great taste.”

Diana walked over to her living room and sat down on her comfortable, dark green sofa.

“How are you and Murray?” Diana asked. Murray was her mother’s husband.

“We’re fine. We’ve been taking our power walks earlier in the morning now to escape the midday heat. When are you coming to visit us?”

“Soon, Mom,” Diana answered. Then she paused briefly before adding, “I hate to cut our conversation short, but I’ve had a long day.”

Normally, she liked to indulge in long chats with her mother, but tonight she needed time alone to mull over her troubled thoughts.

“All right, darling, I’ll let you go. Take care and please say hello to Richard for us.”

Before disconnecting the call, Diana winced at her mother’s request. Her mother had a soft spot for Richard and hoped that Diana’s friendship with him would deepen.

With a sigh, Diana let out a deep breath to calm her nerves. Her conscience was bothering her and she knew that she needed to be honest with Richard, but how was she going to bring Jake up to him?
Guess what, Richard? I kissed a guy I barely knew and hadn’t seen in nine years.
That was going to go over well. She had lost all ability to think straight when she had been in Jake’s arms tonight. It seemed that whenever they were together, passion exploded and frantic lust made her mindless to all things except him.

Richard had been her steadfast companion for a little over a year and she was in a comfortable relationship with him. She had never wanted commitment and he had not pushed it with her, which she appreciated. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with Richard, but she had never felt the urge to truly commit to him. He was generous, down-to-earth, thoughtful, kind and had never pressured her to do anything she didn’t want to do. He was essentially a very nice guy - but she wasn’t in love with him and he certainly never left her breathless and aching, like Jake.

Biting her lower lip indecisively, she picked up her cell phone and chose Richard’s number. She cleared her throat, still not sure what to tell him.

“Hello?” answered a deep voice.

“Hi, Richard,” Diana said slowly.

“Diana, I called you earlier. How was your dinner with Natalie and Max?” asked Richard in a cheerful voice.

“Oh, um - it went well,” she replied carefully. “Sorry you couldn’t come.”

“Me, too. I really wanted to be with you tonight, but I had to attend the teacher’s meeting,” Richard said regretfully.

Richard was a fifth grade teacher for the Clark County school district in Las Vegas. He loved his job and was dedicated to his students, which Diana admired him for.

“It’s okay,” said Diana and then hesitated. She wanted to bring up Jake, but how?

“We’re still on for dinner and a movie this Saturday, right?”

“Well, uh, yes, of course,” answered Diana, stumbling, but she honestly couldn’t think of how to broach the subject at hand.

“I was thinking of seeing that new Meryl Streep movie. It’s been getting good reviews.”

“Sounds good...we haven’t seen a movie lately,” Diana said lamely.

“Diana, is there something wrong?”

Suddenly on alert, Diana forced herself to sound more normal. She suddenly decided that now was not the right time to bring up Jake. She needed to see Richard and talk to him in person. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

“No, it’s just that I’m kind of tired right now. I think I should call it a night.”

“All right,” Richard replied reluctantly. “Sweet dreams, Diana. I’ll see you soon.”

“Good night, Richard,” she said softly and disconnected.

Diana laid her head back on the sofa cushion and closed her eyes. She knew she was being a coward. She couldn’t bring up Jake for the life of her, but she was determined to tell Richard on Saturday. He was a good man and deserved honesty from her, but she wasn’t sure if she was brave enough to tell him.

Diana touched her lips with her fingertips. She could still feel Jake’s lips on hers and feel his probing tongue. She had never experienced that kind of pleasure with Richard’s kisses. Jake’s kiss had shaken her to the core and she had ached for more.

Jake was an obsession that she had subdued so successfully over the years that she had almost forgotten him except in her dreams every once in a great while. Now he was back and she didn’t know how to control her awakened feelings for him. It had been only one night, a snippet of time really, but she knew that Jake had forever etched himself into her memory. Now fate had given her a second chance to find out if he was more than just the man who had haunted her dreams - but was she ready to find out?

Diana stood and walked down the short hallway leading into her bedroom. She was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason, but she also knew that if she made the wrong choice she would pay dearly and hurt someone who deserved her loyalty.

Why did Jake have to come back into her life at all? She shook her head as she sat on her bed and sighed. Nine years ago, her teenage self had been frightened by the intense attraction she felt for him. After the encounter at the beach, she had decided to firmly ignore the urge to find him, despite the longing ache that had plagued her the rest of the summer. Two months later, she had moved into her college dormitory, determined to focus solely on her new academic life. She had studied hard and had achieved good marks and had even managed to have a relatively active social life.

Everything had been going so smoothly in her life until now. She and Jake had a history and history was repeating itself. She was extremely wary of the sexual power he had over her and of the overwhelming attraction that overrode her common sense. It would have been far better and less complicated if Jake had stayed firmly in the past.

~

“Miss Mulroney!!” screamed a child’s voice, “he won’t share!”

Diana looked up from her crouched position where she was tying a child’s shoes and saw a little four-year-old boy pouting a few feet away from her.

“Shane, please don’t yell. Jacob, come here,” she ordered firmly.

A little blond boy with a mischievous smile approached her holding a toy fire truck tightly to his chest.

“Jacob,” said Diana gently but firmly, “you must share the toys with your classmates.”

“Don’t want to,” replied Jacob impudently.

“If you don’t share, you don’t get to play with the fire truck,” said Diana and held out her hand for the truck.

Jacob shook his head stubbornly. Shane, a dark-haired, four-year-old boy approached Jacob.

“I wanna play with truck, too,” Shane said, still pouting.

“Ask nicely, Shane,” instructed Diana.

“Please, can I play, Jacob?”

Jacob looked at Diana. Then he looked at Shane. He hesitated for a few seconds and then nodded his head reluctantly. Diana patted Jacob on the head and smiled.

“Good boy, Jacob,” she said and watched the two boys scamper away.

Diana stood up and scanned her colorful classroom, crossing her arms in front of her. It had been a trying day with Madison getting a bloody nose in the morning and another child throwing a temper tantrum, but at least now all her children were contentedly playing with one another.

Hopefully, the children would behave for the rest of the day, so that her headache wouldn’t get worse. She hadn’t slept well last night since she had been tossing and turning all night, craving Jake and feeling guilty about Richard.

“Diana,” came a voice from the doorway.

Joan Mayfield, Play and Learn Preschool’s founder and director, stood at the doorway and smiled at her. Behind her stood a very tall and handsome man holding a little boy’s hand. Diana felt her jaw drop when she recognized him. Standing next to Jake was an older woman in her late fifties.

“This is James Redmond, his nephew Nathan, and Nathan’s nanny Liz,” introduced Joan. “Mr. Redmond, this is Diana Mulroney, one of our finest teachers,” continued Joan, oblivious to Diana’s reaction to him.

Diana felt her pulse accelerate as she stared into Jake’s deep green eyes. She had to tear her eyes away so she could greet Nathan’s nanny properly.

“How do you do?” Diana asked politely.

Short in height and a little heavy-set with streaks of grey in her dark hair, Liz had a motherly look about her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Mulroney,” Liz said, smiling widely.

Jake held out his hand to Diana, who took it automatically. He grinned at her and she couldn’t help but smile back at him. She glanced at the little blond boy at his side who clutched his uncle’s hand tightly. There was quite a resemblance between uncle and nephew.

“How do you do, Mr. Redmond,” asked Diana, striving to keep her voice normal even though she was completely stunned by his appearance. This couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.

“Please,” Jake said, a twinkle in his eye, “call me Jake.”

Diana’s eyes widened as he winked at her. She couldn’t believe his audacity. Glancing at Joan, she was relieved that her boss had been talking to Jake’s nephew and hadn’t seen the wink.

“Diana, Mr. Redmond’s nephew will be in your classroom this summer,” Joan said.

Diana crouched down so she could be at eye level with the little boy. She smiled at him and he grinned back. With his tousled blond hair and bright green eyes, he was really quite adorable and a carbon copy of his handsome uncle.

“Hello, what’s your name, sweetie?” Diana asked warmly.

“Nathan,” the boy answered. “What’s yours?”

“Diana and you may call me Miss Diana. Welcome to our class, Nathan. We’re so glad you could join us. Would you like me to introduce you to one of your classmates?”

The child nodded his head solemnly and she noticed that he didn’t grip his uncle’s hand so tightly anymore. Diana stood up from her crouch and looked around. She noticed little Tommy in the corner playing with some blocks.

“Tommy, will you please come here?” she called out. The red-haired little boy immediately looked up and walked over to his teacher.

“Tommy, this is Nathan. He’s going to be in our classroom. He needs a new friend. Will you show him around?”

Tommy nodded eagerly and looked at Nathan.

“Hi, I’m Tommy. We have great toys here. Do you wanna see?” asked Tommy, smiling.

Nathan nodded and smiled back. He released his uncle’s hand and the two boys walked away together. Diana looked at Jake, who smiled after his nephew. Tommy was an affable child, who got along with all the children. He would be a perfect playmate for Nathan.

“Well now, I better get back to my office,” said Joan. She turned to Jake and smiled. “If you have any questions, Mr. Redmond, please don’t hesitate to ask.”