SCANDAL BETWEEN THE SHEETS

by Brenda Jackson

  Wesley shouted her name and then she felt him shudder uncontrollably. She locked her body to his and together they quivered from the force of the climax that tore through them. She heard his growl of pleasure in her ear and at that moment she knew she would always love him.

  * * *

  Ten

  « ^ »

  Jasmine leaned back in the chair behind her desk as she glanced over the notes she had made on Jake and Larissa Danforth. At the time she had gotten wind that Larissa's child was Jake Danforth's secret baby, she had been determined to expose the man for being an irresponsible playboy. She felt she had every right to write the story since the entire Danforth family had come under media scrutiny when Abraham had tossed his hat into the senatorial race.

  Jake had now married Larissa but Jasmine's boss wasn't willing to let the story die. Manny had called her into his office this morning to let her know if she didn't write it then someone else would. A part of her wanted to talk to Wesley about it but knew when it came to her writing anything about the Danforths, that was one topic they wouldn't agree on.

  So here she was writing the article that would appear in Sunday's paper. For months she had tried getting information on someone in the Danforth family and had subsequently fallen in love with one of them. She and Wes had been seeing each other now for almost a month and for the time being she saw no end in sight … not that she wanted things to end, but she was realistic enough to know that nothing lasted forever.

  The phone rang on her desk and she quickly picked it up. "Hello."

  "Hello, sweetheart, I have some bad news."

  Jasmine straightened in her chair when she heard the disappointment in Wes's voice. "What?"

  "I'm at the airport. Something came up with that business deal in Dallas and I have to fly out immediately."

  "Oh." They had planned to go out to dinner and go to a movie later. "That's fine, I need to work on this article I'm doing anyway. When will you be back?"

  "Hopefully by this weekend. My plans are to return to Savannah on Saturday night. How about doing me a big favor?"

  "What?"

  "Be in my bed when I get back."

  A smile touched Jasmine's lips. "I think that can be arranged."

  Wes chuckled. "It'll give you the chance to use the key I've given you."

  Her smile widened. "Okay." He had given her a key to his place last week but she hadn't used it yet.

  "Just make yourself at home."

  "Thanks and be safe, Wes."

  "You, too."

  Jasmine hung up the phone then sat back in the chair and bit her bottom lip. She missed him already. Sighing deeply she picked up her notes on Jake and Larissa and began reading. A few minutes later she placed the last page down on her desk. There was definitely a story to tell and she intended to be the one to tell it.

  A few hours later she sat across from Ronnie at dinner. She let Ronnie read a rough draft of the article she had written and was relieved when Ronnie told her she thought she'd done a good job.

  "Are you going to tell Wesley about the story, especially since it will appear in Sunday's paper?" Ronnie asked, taking a sip of her wine.

  "Yes." She planned to tell him when he got home Saturday night. Manny had also been pleased with the article. She only hoped that Wes wouldn't be upset with her for doing it. Once she explained to him that if she hadn't done it then someone else would have, she hoped he would understand.

  "How are things going with you and Wesley, Jazz?"

  Jasmine shrugged. She had finally told Ronnie about her and Wes the week before the hospital benefit. She hadn't wanted her best friend's mouth to drop open when she and Wes arrived together. "Okay I guess, but I'm beginning to want more out of our relationship."

  "Have you talked to him about it?"

  "No, I keep thinking it's not good to mess up a good thing. We go places together and do things together but I feel something is missing."

  "The love thing?"

  Jasmine lifted a brow. "The love thing?"

  "Yes. Go ahead and admit you've fallen head over heels in love with the guy."

  Jasmine smiled. "All right, I admit it, now what?"

  "Now you have a good and long conversation with him to find out what his feelings are for you."

  Jasmine sighed. She had thought about doing that several times but could never make herself do it.

  "The two of you spend a lot of time together so I'm sure you don't have a communication problem," Ronnie added.

  Jasmine shook her head. "No, we don't." They talked a lot. He had shared information about his business with her and she told him about different articles she was working on. He even joined her on Sunday dinners at her father's and Evelyn, Mallory and Alyssa always displayed good behavior. Evidently her father had let them know in no uncertain terms that their rude behavior of her would not be tolerated. The three had even gone so far as to apologize to her for how they had acted the night of the hospital benefit.

  She sighed. Ronnie was right. It was time she and Wes had a long talk.

  * * *

  The warm scent of woman was absorbed by Wesley's nostrils the moment he opened his front door on Saturday night. Closing the door behind him, he placed his briefcase aside and took the stairs two at a time. He hadn't seen Jasmine in four days and he missed her like hell.

  As soon as he entered his bedroom, he saw her curled in the middle of his bed asleep.

  He felt a familiar tightening around his heart, that was getting harder and harder to fight. He'd thought his ability to love and trust another woman had died after what Caroline had done to him but Jasmine had stirred emotions to life inside of him again.

  Every free moment that he had he thought of them together. Their favorite place was by the river, where under the beautiful blue sky he would find peace and contentment in talking to her for hours while listening to the soothing sound of the water. She loved the river as much as he did and together they spent hours connecting in a way he had never connected to a woman before. He'd tried to shrug off his desire for her as just a physical thing. But he was beginning to realize and accept that it was more than physical. It was as emotional as it could get.

  He loved her.

  His body suddenly began to ache all over with a need to hold her in his arms. Now that he had admitted he loved her, he wanted to hold her, heart to heart. Removing his clothes, he walked over to the bed and gathered her into his arms and kissed her awake.

  "Wes," she murmured sleepily against his lips. "You're home."

  "Yes, baby, I'm home," he said, pushing the covers back and easing into bed beside her. He quickly captured her mouth in a long, deep, drugging kiss, wanting her to know how much he had missed her.

  Jasmine pulled her mouth away. "Wes, I need to tell you something," she whispered.

  "Later, sweetheart," he said, a whisper against her moist lips. "I don't want to talk now. I want for you to go back to sleep while I hold you. We'll talk tomorrow. There's something I need to tell you, too." He wanted to tell her how much he loved her; how much he needed her. Although he hadn't wanted to love her, she had totally captured his heart and he knew that he had truly come home.

  * * *

  Slipping out of bed the next morning, Wesley pulled on his jeans. He glanced at Jasmine, asleep in his bed. That's where she belonged, he thought, every night.

  He rubbed sleep from his eyes and felt the need for a cup of coffee. Leaving the bedroom, he quickly moved down the stairs. Deciding to read the newspaper while Jasmine slept, he opened the door and picked it up off his steps. He smiled and thought that his paper carrier had a good throwing arm to be able to toss the paper over the security gate right onto his doorstep.

  By the time the coffee was ready and he had poured himself a cup, he sat down at the kitchen table and opened the paper, scanning the first page.

  "What the hell?"

  His gaze froze on the front page headline, Jacob Danforth's Secret Isn't A Secret Any Longer.<
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  Wesley drew in a deep breath and tightly clenched his teeth, not believing his eyes when he saw that Jasmine had written the article. He suddenly felt a knife twisting in his heart as he threw the paper down. He had trusted her, fallen in love with her and in the end she had done the same thing Caroline had done to him. She had used him, taken that trust and thrown it right back in his face.

  Picking up the paper, he left the kitchen and angrily took the stairs two at a time. A woman had made a fool out of him for the last time.

  Jasmine slowly came awake when she inhaled the aroma of brewing coffee. She shifted in bed and smiled thinking that last night was the first time she and Wes had shared a bed and not made love. Evidently he had been as tired as she had.

  She glanced up when she heard him enter the room. The smile on her face suddenly fading when she saw his features were ablaze with anger. She sat up. "Wes, what is it?"

  When he held the paper out in front of him she knew. "I can explain."

  He came into the room. "Can you? How in the hell can you explain disloyalty, Jasmine? Misplaced trust? How can you explain throwing trust back in my face? I thought you had killed that story."

  She shook her head. "I had to write it, Wes. If I hadn't written it, somebody else would have. Read it, Wes, it's not what you think."

  "You used me to betray my best friend and for that I will never forgive you. I thought you were different.

  Jasmine had to make him understand. "Wes, you don't understand. I—"

  "I don't want to hear a damn thing you have to say. I want you to get out and take everything of yours with you. When I return I don't want anything in my house to remind me that you've ever been here, and leave my key on my dresser. If you set foot on my property again I will have you arrested, and if you ever go near another Danforth, you'll regret the day you were born."

  He left slamming the door behind him. He was angry, torn up inside, madder than hell. He had to leave. He didn't want to be under the same roof with her. Going into his garage he went straight to his Corvette.

  As soon as he pulled out of his driveway, he punched Jake's phone number into his cell phone. He had a lot of explaining to do. He had allowed Jasmine to get close to him, to his family, to the people he cared the most about.

  He sighed when Jake didn't answer the phone. Wesley wondered if next Sunday's paper would be running the story about the threatening e-mails Abraham had received. He felt an ache deep down in his gut as pain twisted his insides when he thought of how much he had loved and trusted her.

  After driving around for over an hour, with no particular destination in mind, he finally pulled into Jake's driveway, glad to see Jake's car parked there. Cutting off the engine to his Corvette he got out of the car and walked up to the door. Jake opened the door on the first knock.

  "Wes? What got you up and out so early?" From Jake's cheery expression Wesley could only assume he hadn't read the morning's paper. "I called earlier but no one picked up," Wesley said, entering the house when Jake moved aside.

  Jake chuckled. "Sunday is one of the few days Peter doesn't wake up at the crack of dawn, so Larissa and I always turn the phones off to get in a little daddy and mommy time. If you get my meaning."

  Wesley nodded. He did. "I didn't mean to disturb you and Larissa."

  Jake smiled. "You're not disturbing us. But had you come a few hours earlier, I wouldn't been able to say that," he said grinning. "Come on into the kitchen. Larissa is fixing breakfast."

  "Good, I need to talk to the two of you." Larissa turned from the sink when Jake and Wesley walked in the kitchen. Her blue eyes lit into a smile. "Wes, you're just in time for breakfast."

  "Thanks." Wesley glanced around. "Where's Peter?"

  "He's still asleep," Jake said. "He spent some time with Kim and Zack yesterday and instead of him wearing them out, they wore him out."

  Jake and Wesley sat down at the table. "I'm the bearer of bad news this morning," Wesley said with disgust in his voice.

  Larissa came to stand next to Jake. Concern etched on her face, as well as on Jake's. "Why? What happened?" Jake asked, placing an arm around his wife's waist.

  Wesley sighed deeply. "Jasmine wrote an article that appeared in this morning's paper."

  Jake nodded. "Yes? What about it?"

  "It's about you, Larissa and Peter," Wes replied.

  Larissa smiled. "Yes, we know."

  Wesley met Larissa's gaze. "So you've read it?"

  Larissa nodded. "Yes, we both did this morning, but I'd already gotten an inside scoop earlier this week when Jasmine gave me a copy of it."

  Wesley blinked, more than sure he hadn't heard correctly. "Whoa, back up, time-out. What do you mean Jasmine gave you a copy?"

  Larissa's smile widened. "She gave me a copy of the article this week when we had lunch together."

  Wesley's brow lifted in surprise. "You and Jasmine had lunch together?"

  "Yes, while you were away in Dallas. She wanted to explain why she was doing the article. Her boss was leaning on her to do it and she knew if she didn't do it he would assign someone else to write it."

  Wesley leaned back in his chair. "And you accepted that?"

  "Yes," Larissa said, cheerfully.

  "And we think she did a great job on the article, Wes," Jake added.

  "You do?" Wesley asked, completely surprised.

  "Yes. Don't you?" Jake responded, studying him intently.

  "I haven't read it," Wes admitted.

  "Then you should. Larissa and I appreciate the way she wrote it."

  Wes suddenly found a cup of coffee shoved in his hand and the newspaper article placed under his nose. "You need to read it, Wes, before you go giving her hell about it," Larissa said.

  Wes rubbed a hand over his face. "Too late." He then took a sip of coffee and began reading the article. Five minutes later he knew that he owed Jasmine a big apology. The article was a feel-good piece that featured Jacob and Larissa as a couple who had found true love and happiness in a reunion romance.

  He stood. "I have to get back to my place before Jasmine leaves. I said a lot of mean and nasty things to her," he told them as he headed toward the door.

  "Tell her thanks for us," Jake said, pulling his wife into his arms. "Everything she said in that article is true. Larissa and I have found happily ever after."

  Wesley nodded as he opened the door and closed it behind him.

  * * *

  When Wesley got back home Jasmine was gone and so were all traces of her … just like he'd asked. He tried calling her at home and didn't get an answer but decided to go over there anyway.

  When he got to her apartment he noticed her car missing and since he still had her key he opened her door and let himself in. The house was dark and shut up like she hadn't been home yet. He wondered if perhaps she had gone to her father's house. Moments later he walked out of the house and closed the door behind him and got back into his car.

  Less than thirty minutes later he was ringing her father's doorbell and was glad when Dr. Carmody answered, smiling. "Wes, this is a pleasant surprise."

  "Yes, sir. I was looking for Jasmine and wondered if perhaps she was here or if you've heard from her."

  "No, she isn't here but I did hear from her over an hour ago. She called to let me know she wasn't coming to dinner and was going out of town for a few days."

  Wesley raised a brow. "Out of town?"

  "Yes, she said she needed to get away but didn't say where she was going."

  Wesley nodded, then after a few minutes he said. "We had an argument."

  Dr. Carmody nodded. "But I'm sure it's not anything that can't be repaired."

  Wesley nodded again. He wanted to believe that. "Thanks for the information, sir, and if she calls back, please tell her to contact me. I need to talk to her."

  "Yes, son, I'll most certainly do that."

  Dr. Carmody watched as Wesley got back into his car and drove off.

  Wesley spent most of the day
by the phone hoping that Jasmine would call him. Although he didn't hear from her, he did hear from a number of people in his family, including Abraham, telling him what a wonderful job she'd done on the article.

  Ian had dropped by to bring him up to date on some things that had gone on while he'd been away in Dallas. According to Ian, Abraham's security expert was working diligently behind the scenes trying to find out who had sent those threatening e-mails. Also, a message had been left on Ian's answering machine that Sonny Hernandez wanted to meet with him next week. Ian intended for his answer to be the same as before.

  Wesley had tried listening to what Ian was saying but found he was distracted with thoughts of Jasmine. When there had been a lag in their conversation, he'd glanced up to find Ian studying him intently. He filled Ian in on what was going on with him and Jasmine, as well as all the unforgivable things he had said to her.

  "I hope you find her and straighten things out, Wes. You're the last person I thought would fall in love with anyone, especially after that Caroline Perry incident and I have to say that I'm truly happy for you."

  Wesley nodded. He would be truly happy for himself if he could find Jasmine and straighten out the mess he'd made. "Beware, Ian. If love can find me again then it can definitely find you."

  A frown covered Ian's face. "Like hell it will. I don't ever plan on falling in love again."

  Wesley chuckled. "Yeah, I thought the same thing."

  After Ian had left, Wesley decided to go to Jasmine's apartment again, hoping that perhaps she had changed her mind about going out of town. All the way over to her place, he kept wishing he had read the article before going off on her the way he had. He had claimed he trusted her—what a joke. What kind of trust was that? After everything that he had said, she probably didn't want to ever see him again.

  When he didn't find her at home for the second time, he decided to call her office at the newspaper. They confirmed that she'd called earlier that day to request a few days off and wouldn't be back to work until Wednesday. When he'd asked to speak with her friend Ronnie whom he'd met the night of the hospital benefit he was told she was out of town for a week on an assignment.