Seeds of Desire

Seeds of Desire

Karenna Colcroft

For Cassidy Shelton, working with Jared Jackson is a form of
torture, partly because of his arrogant attitude and partly because of the lust
for him that Cassidy can’t quite deny.

When the two are sent on an overnight business trip to
promote a reforestation project, their desire peaks. From making out in Jared’s
car to seduction through thin hotel walls, sparks fly fast and furious between
them. Cassidy may feel ambivalent about Jared, but her body doesn’t.

But when Jared strips away the arrogance to bare his heart,
can Cassidy accept it? And can she admit, even to herself, that she feels the
same about him?

Chapter One

Jared leaned over the podium, looking for all the world like
a king addressing his subjects. “The ice storm a few years back decimated the
entire area. All the trees were lost. The ones the storm didn’t fell died and
had to be cut down. We’ve restored the soil and plants are growing there now,
so it should be in optimum shape for new trees.”

The good old corporate spin.
Jared made it sound like
JaBro Construction was solely responsible for the area’s vegetation recovering
from the storm. Cassidy glared up at her colleague. His tousled dark brown hair
appeared messy, but the look had taken him nearly half an hour to accomplish
that morning in the motel. At least, that was how long she’d heard his blow
dryer through the thin wall separating their rooms. In his royal-blue
button-down shirt, burgundy tie and charcoal slacks, he was the epitome of
businesslike. As long as one wasn’t distracted by how perfectly the slacks
accentuated his ass, or how he’d rolled up the shirtsleeves to show off his
muscular forearms.

She shivered.
Focus, Cass!
Of all the bad times for
her hormones to take over, this was the worst. Not only because they had to
present JaBro’s tree-planting program to a bunch of rural townspeople, but also
because she refused to let herself even consider lusting after Jared Jackson.
The biggest jackass she’d ever met, standing there as he always did at these
meetings, sounding like a bureaucrat.

Which, of course, he was. The whole event had been created
by a bureaucracy. The speeches, the meeting hall, even the refreshments were
one big public relations stunt.

Three months earlier, Cassidy had signed on to work with the
JaBro Company as a consultant, knowing full well she’d sold out. The company
was nothing more than a corporate glob that had devoured several smaller
companies. Because polls had shown a negative public opinion of them, JaBro’s
higher-ups had decided to “give back to the people” by planting trees in parts
of the state that had been devastated by an ice storm a few years earlier.
They’d hired Cassidy to help them do it.

What she hadn’t expected was being paired with Jared, the
son of JaBro’s owner. From the moment they’d met, her body had craved his
touch. Each time he looked at her, she felt his gaze as if it were dancing over
her skin. Just watching his easy movements when he walked or stood or gestured
as he spoke to groups of townspeople brought moisture to her cunt.

Of course, each time he opened his mouth to speak to
her
,
he spoiled everything. His snide comments about tree-hugging and “going green”
made her determined never to let on how much she wanted him. He would just
think he was entitled to her, the way his father’s money entitled him to
everything else. He obviously thought of her only as the hippie chick his
father had hired to keep the environmentalists happy, and if he had any
interest in her at all, it was probably just to see how easy she’d be to get
into bed.

She looked down at her notes. She would be next to stand in
front of the small crowd that had gathered in the combination town hall and
recreation center to hear JaBro’s pitch for volunteers to help with the
planting project. From the glazed looks on the faces of the people near her,
she’d have her work cut out for her. Despite the double talk, Jared at least
gave a somewhat entertaining presentation. Hers, as planned, would be dry and
boring. She had no chance of holding what little interest the audience had
mustered. She didn’t even look as appealing as Jared. Her navy-blue skirt and
jacket fit nicely but not comfortably, and the bun she’d forced her
shoulder-length blonde hair into tugged painfully at her scalp. If she looked
as uncomfortable as she felt, she’d present an unpleasant picture for the
crowd.

Unfortunately, Tom Jackson, head of JaBro, had decreed that
his environmental consultant and PR rep had to look professional at these
meetings with town residents. Jared wore “professional” well. Cassidy felt like
a kid playing dress-up in her mom’s work clothes.

Finally, Jared finished his speech. To the sound of
scattered applause, he stepped down from the podium. He winked at Cassidy as he
passed and she quickly looked away, face heating. Those startling blue eyes of
his, a stark contrast to his dark hair and tan skin, drilled straight to her
cunt every time he looked at her. Whenever he was close, her clit beat like a
tiny heart.

He sat down in the front row, which meant she had to get up
to the podium before the crowd fell asleep or walked out. She didn’t have time
to lust after Jared. With a deep breath, she went to the front of the room,
heart pounding. She hated speaking to groups and now, with mental images of a
naked Jared standing—or, better yet, kneeling—in front of her, she didn’t know
if she’d be able to pull off the businesslike speech she’d written.

For fuck’s sake, Cass, focus!

If she’d realized the job required public speaking, she’d
have turned JaBro’s offer down flat, despite the outrageous amount they’d
offered to pay her. Especially if she’d known how much more rebellious her mind
and hormones would become after spending so much time on the road with Jared.

She shuffled her note cards for a second, rounding up her
errant thoughts and trying to force the blush away from her cheeks, then began,
“I’d like to thank you for coming today.” She looked out over the gathering,
careful not to actually meet anyone’s gaze, especially Jared’s. That would only
fluster her so much she’d be unable to speak at all.

She swallowed and continued her introduction, reminding the
townspeople why she and Jared had come to speak to them and of the benefits of
JaBro’s replanting plan. Then came the pitch, the part she hated most. Asking
the townspeople to assist in the dirty work of planting the “gift” from JaBro.

“That’s why we’ve asked you here today,” she said. Her voice
cracked slightly on the last word and she took a deep breath before continuing.
“Although JaBro employees will be assisting with the planting, we’re asking
residents of the areas which will benefit from this program to volunteer their
time to do some of the work as well. With Earth Day right around the corner,
what better way to honor our planet and improve your town?”

A man in the front row raised his hand. “What do we get out
of it?” he demanded without waiting to be recognized.

Cassidy frowned at him. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“JaBro’s going to receive a whole bunch of free publicity,”
he muttered. “What about us? Volunteering means no pay. You and your big
company might not realize it, but there’s a recession on and some of us are
scrambling to make ends meet. So what do we gain from helping you?”

He sounded angry. Cassidy didn’t blame him. This part of the
state had lost a lot of jobs when the recession hit, and there hadn’t been that
many to start. She made a mental note to talk to Jared’s father, the owner of
JaBro, about providing some financial compensation for their “volunteer”
planters.

“Trees,” Jared said, standing. Cassidy stared at him. She
hadn’t expected him to rescue her. If he disliked her half as much as she did
him, the only reason he’d help her would be to get something out of it. Some
kind of payback. Like making her kneel in front of him… Quickly, she steered
her mind back on course, ignoring the little thrill that ran through her at the
possibilities of what Jared could make her do. “Beautification of your town,
which might attract new businesses. A grant from JaBro Corporation for one
year’s upkeep on the new plantings and an opportunity to apply for construction
and other positions with JaBro. It’s true, we are in a recession, but JaBro is
a homegrown company and we intend to help our neighbors.”

Cassidy managed not to roll her eyes as she confirmed, “Yes,
JaBro is committed to the citizens of its home state, and we hope you will
acknowledge that by committing just a little of your time to JaBro. We have a
sign-up sheet at the table where you entered. Feel free to help yourself to
refreshments as well. Are there any questions?”

Several people had questions, which Cassidy happily let
Jared field. He was the PR man, after all. She was just the environmental
consultant. She dealt far better with plants than with other human beings,
whereas just about anything sounded plausible when he said it, to the point
where some of the townspeople practically ran to add their names to the
volunteer list.

Eventually, the room cleared out. Cassidy slumped into one
of the empty chairs.

“Thank goodness that’s over,” she muttered. “Tell me again
why you had to drag me along on this?”

“I wanted the locals to see how passionate you are.” Jared
winked lewdly. “About the environment, that is.”

Cassidy pantomimed gagging and Jared chuckled. She turned
away, disgusted. He acted like such a skeeze. She hadn’t used that word since
high school, but it seemed appropriate for Jared Jackson.

If he was a skeeze, though, she shouldn’t be so attracted to
him. The way his tongue and lips had curled around the word “passionate”
brought her images of how they’d feel curled around her nipples or clit. It
made no sense. She would never fuck a man she couldn’t stand.

“The environment is important, and so is this project,” she
said firmly. She stood and went over to the table to collect the sign-up list.
Looking at the trash the townspeople had left behind, she cringed. “We aren’t
supposed to clean this mess up, are we?”

“Nope,” Jared assured her. “We have people for that.”

No surprise. JaBro had “people” for everything.

Cassidy yawned. “Good. Then I’m going back to the motel.”

He walked over and leaned over her shoulder. His body heat
warmed her from head to toe and a tingle of arousal shot through her as he
brushed against her ass. He smelled like warm mint chocolate, a living
aphrodisiac, and she had a strong impulse to lick him and find out whether he
tasted as good as he smelled. She took an involuntary step away and glanced at
him to see a satisfied grin on his face. He apparently thrived on making her
uncomfortable, the jerk.

“How many people signed up to plant?” he asked.

Cassidy scanned the list. “Looks like about fifty. Pretty
good, considering we had fewer than a hundred here.” She couldn’t resist a
little dig at him. “Either you need to do a better job publicizing these little
meetings, or people don’t really give a damn. We haven’t been doing too well
with the turnouts lately.”

He glared at her. “That guy was right. We’re in a recession
here. People aren’t as interested in trees and that kind of thing if they’re
trying to feed and house their families.” He sounded as if other people’s
struggles actually affected him, though Cassidy had her doubts they did.

Jared walked away from the table. She watched him go, at
first not even realizing that she was staring at his ass. When she caught
herself, she closed her eyes for a moment.
Get the hell over it!

“I’ll give you a ride back to the hotel, unless you have
some deep-seated philosophical objection to cars,” he shot over his shoulder.

She had no objection to cars at all. Only to the idea of
being trapped in a small, enclosed space with Jared for the time it would take
to reach the hotel. They’d driven to the meeting together, of course. JaBro
provided only one company car for these trips. However, on the way to the hall,
Cassidy had been too worried about her speech to think about him. Now that her
libido had taken over, she didn’t know if she trusted herself to be that near
to him with no one else around. She might wind up touching him, rubbing his
thigh or something harder.

Or she might get control of herself and take the damn ride.
Inhaling deeply, she reminded herself that she didn’t fuck jackasses. She
didn’t have much choice about riding with him, anyway. Since five miles
separated the hall from the motel, and Cassidy had worn non-sensible shoes, she
chose not to snipe at him. Walking that far in these heels would suck. “Thanks
for the enthusiastic offer,” she muttered, following him outside.

Neither spoke on the short drive. Jared seemed preoccupied,
probably replaying the memory of his marvelous speech. His silence relieved
Cassidy. The short time alone with him in the hall had amped up her arousal and
as they drove, she daydreamed. Kissing those lips of his, almost too full to
belong to a man. His hand kneading her breast while she stroked his hard cock
through his dress pants.

Yeah, I have issues.
No matter how many times she
tried to convince herself she felt nothing for the man, her body disagreed. And
sitting so close to him in the front seat of the car did nothing to quench her
desires.

The moment Jared parked, Cassidy unfastened her seat belt.
She had to get away from him before her hormones overruled her logic.

“Wait,” Jared said.

Surprised, she turned to him. He put the car in park, leaned
across the gap between the seats and cupped her face in his hands. Before she
could stop him, he pressed his lips to hers.

She was unable to prevent her response to his touch. His
hands on her bare skin sent sparks through her. Her clit throbbed. To break
free, she would have to struggle, and that excited her more than she was
willing to admit.

Her mouth moved against his and she flicked his lips with
her tongue. He smiled and licked her tongue with his own. One of his hands left
her face and traced down her neck. She shivered in delight at the light touch.

Finally remembering that she had hands too, she placed one
on his thigh. His body heat seeped through his slacks, increasing the heat
between her legs. His soft moan informed her that he wanted her at least as
badly as she did him, and she confirmed it by brushing her hand over his hard
cock.