Heights of Desire Read Online Free PDF Page B

her.
    Jaylee moves protectively to my side. He slides his arm around my shoulder and I instinctively move away. Now I’m the one with my mouth hanging open.
    “How do you two know each other?” Stephani says and I think I hear an accusatory tone, but I can’t be sure that it’s not just in my head. She’s certainly never seen me dressed like this before.
    “Jaylee is my salsa dancing partner. We’re going dancing.”
    The lie has no momentum. I feel defeated already. I no longer want to go dancing. It dawns on me that Jaylee and Stephani should be going out together while I stay home and order pizza with the girls. At this point it sounds so much better than embarking on a stupid date that could possibly ruin my life as I know it. Jaylee puts his hand in the middle of my back. I feel like he can hear my thoughts. His touch is simultaneously calming and electric.
    “My credit card is in my purse downstairs. I’ll be right there.”
    This is how I ask her to leave. Stephani takes the hint and brings the girls back downstairs. I turn to Jaylee, again with tears in my eyes.
    “Don’t.”
    It’s all he says to me. He takes my hand, I think it’s a gesture to comfort me but instead, he surprises me and grabs my ring finger. With remarkable agility, he wrestles off my wedding band and engagement ring. He smiles at me as he tosses them into the breast pocket of his white button-up shirt. Then he yanks me to his chest. My breath comes quickly again. I can’t kiss this man in my marital bedroom.
    “Let’s go dance, Kate. Don’t overthink it.” His proximity is overwhelming. I can smell his scent, an intoxicating mix of cigarettes and cologne that I’ve already come to hunger for. He doesn’t try to kiss me. I’m shocked at his audacity but something about removing my rings releases me and I relax into his arms.
    “Okay, let’s go.”

Chapter 4
    I ’m glad Jaylee forced me to change clothes after I see how dressy the people standing in line for the small, unassuming salsa club are. A Cuban band is playing and I gather from the accents of those around me that the crowd is mostly Cuban as well. Once inside the venue strikes me as not being a typical hang out place for someone like Jaylee. It seems like the crowd is serious about both dancing and music. Jaylee ushers me over to the bar and orders two rum and cokes without asking me what I’d like to drink. I haven’t had an awful drink like that since high school. These days I only touch wine or beer, except for my recent encounter with brandy from the pantry. Jaylee pays and turns to face me. His eye contact seers through me and I place my arm on the bar to steady myself. It’s still surreal to be interacting with him. I’ve never experienced a connection so intense with anyone before. When he looks at me I become completely his, all else falls away and is forgotten. We could be standing at the epicenter of the apocalypse and I would still be captivated and held by these golden eyes. I’m doubtful that Jaylee could possibly feel the same way despite what Sarah told me. My guess is that he’s motivated by curiosity – curiosity and lust. How else could I hold the interest of this beautiful and confident young man? Deep down I know that if we sleep together both his lust and curiosity will be satisfied and I’ll be turned away, still longing for the powerful connection that’s driving me.
    After a brief introduction the band starts up and the crowd begins to swarm the dance floor. Jaylee grabs my hand and leads me through the crowd until we’re up close to the musicians. He asks me if I dance Cuban or Puerto Rican Salsa. I’m taken aback and figure that I underestimated his seriousness.
    “I dance New Yorican style, I guess,” I mumble. “Whatever it is that you dance in the clubs on the Lower East Side.”
    Jaylee’s face breaks into his contagious smile. He tips his head back and laughs; it’s a raspy, delightful sound. “I’m just messing with