by Leslie Kelly
She frowned. She hadn’t taken their breakup very gracefully.
“Possibly,” she conceded. “But there’s no reason two old friends shouldn’t spend time together, is there? After all, I’ve so much to tell you…did I mention who we’ve lined up as a visiting lecturer for next semester?”
Mitch watched Amanda as she spoke. He saw her lips moving and heard a vague humming sound, but he really didn’t hear a thing she said. For some reason he suddenly found himself wondering what Kelsey was doing. Was she sitting right above their heads with the fading sunlight catching the golden highlights in her honey-colored hair? Was she upstairs lying in the tub? It was nearing six o’clock, and he half cocked an ear to listen for the sound of water running. But there was nothing.
Until the knock.
KELSEY NEARLY TURNED BACK and darted upstairs to her apartment. But she’d already knocked sharply on Mitch’s door. This was crazy. Insane. He was here with a date, and she was about to barge in.
It was purely impulsive. She’d been about to run a bath when she again heard the shrill voice from downstairs. Before consciously deciding to do it, she marched to her closet, yanked out a satiny emerald green robe and pulled it on. Skipping downstairs, she banged on the door without even forming one cohesive thought about her plan.
Mitch opened the door and Kelsey smiled brightly. She pushed past him into his living room, pretending she didn’t see the blonde in the corner, whose jaw had suddenly dropped, and said, “Mitch, baby, do you have some candles I could borrow? I’m afraid mine are burned down to nubs and I do love taking a long soak in the tub with candlelight flickering on the walls.”
Narrowing his eyes as Kelsey cast him a sultry glance from beneath partly lowered lashes, Mitch dropped his gaze to appreciate her attire…or lack thereof. She wore a silky confection that clung to every curve. The top gaped open, revealing smooth cleavage, and the bottom of the robe just kissed the top of her thighs. Was she wearing anything underneath? He had no idea, but damned if he didn’t want to find out.
“Oh, gosh, Mitch,” stammered Kelsey. “You have company. Please excuse me….” Kelsey stared wide-eyed at the woman on Mitch’s couch. “I can make do without the candles.”
She looked too innocent. That sweet “who me?” gaze looked as familiar to Mitch as the back of his own hand. She’d had the same look on her face years ago when she’d sabotaged one of Mitch’s teenage make-out sessions. The little brat had strolled out onto the darkened back porch and nonchalantly asked him, right in front of his girlfriend, if he was sure he should be kissing, considering the problems he’d had with “those little sores.” The girl in question had found an excuse to break up with him a few days later.
Tonight’s intrusion was completely intentional, just as that long-ago one had been. And Mitch knew exactly how to beat her at her own game. “No, Kelsey, don’t rush off. Stay. Have a drink with us. I’ll find you some candles, honey, I know how much you relish your bath rituals.”
Kelsey was confused by his reaction. Mitch should have been squirming by now, attempting to push her out the door, to explain a half-clothed female to his girlfriend. Most men would be in the midst of a panic attack.
But he wasn’t. He spoke in a low, sexy voice of his own, sending shivers down her spine. Staring with unabashed appreciation at her legs, he didn’t look uncomfortable or embarrassed in the least. He actually moved closer to her until she had to tilt her head back to return his stare. The intensity she saw in those deep blue eyes shocked her. The heat was palpable.
“Mitch,” an intrusive voice demanded, “I think an introduction would be appropriate.”
Mitch didn’t reply right away. Still gazing intently at Kelsey, he gave her a slow, seductive smile. Kelsey could barely draw breath as her eyes followed the movement of his sensuous mouth.
Finally he turned his attention to the other woman, who Kelsey had practically forgotten was even in the room. “Amanda, meet Kelsey. She lives upstairs. You could call her my semisibling. The sister I’ll never have.”
Amanda seemed a little relieved at the description, but Kelsey was not. Semisibling? Sister? She’d make him eat those words!
“Really, Mitch, you shouldn’t encourage the girl to run around your home half-clothed,” Amanda said with a forced smile.
Mitch laughed out loud. “That’s true. Young ladies shouldn’t run around in their nighties, Kelsey.”
Kelsey glared at him. She could practically hear her mother’s voice saying the same words to her when she was eight.
Mitch had obviously seen right through her ploy to destroy his evening. She was determined to wipe that grin off his face if it was the last thing she ever did. Thinking quickly, she forced a serene smile to her lips and moved a step closer to him. “I’m so sorry I burst in on you like this.” Her every word dripped with sweetness. “The candles really aren’t necessary.”
She smoothed the palms of her hands over her satiny robe as if straightening it, drawing his stare down her body. When she knew she had his undivided attention, she said, “That window in my bathroom is right over the tub, and it should be a full moon tonight. The light shines in at the perfect angle and makes the bubbles absolutely iridescent.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper, the sultry, sexy voice she used on her radio show, daring him to resist her. “Sometimes on moonlit nights I lie there in the dark, with my eyes closed, letting the water caress every inch of my body. I use a fragrant bath oil and it feels so silky and delicious.”
She was getting to him. Mitch was clenching his fists, and his breath came a little faster. She could see the pulse at his temple beating and knew he was gritting his teeth. She had to bite her bottom lip for a moment to avoid displaying a smile of triumph.
Finally, when she was able to go on, she said, “Then I slowly pour cupfuls of water on my skin. It’s so amazingly erotic when you can feel the warmth cascading over your flesh, nearly kissing you, yet you can’t see it. You have to give in to the feeling.”
Kelsey closed her eyes as she whispered to Mitch. She knew Amanda was straining to hear what was said, and dropped her voice even lower. “There are nights when I want to cry at the beauty of the sensation. It seems a shame to have such an erotic experience when I’m totally…alone.”
Mitch had been leaning closer and closer as Kelsey spoke, wanting to catch every word. The images she evoked mesmerized him. He couldn’t have moved if someone told him his pants were on fire. All he could do was stand, helpless, woven in the seductive spell of her whisper.
“Well, have a wonderful evening, you two,” Kelsey said loudly. “It was lovely meeting you, Amanda.”
Mitch watched the bounce of her shining hair, and the swish of her robe as Kelsey moved to the door for her grand exit. Suddenly he realized her every word had been calculated to drive him wild. Little brat!
Even as he tried to push the seductive images from his mind, Mitch acknowledged what a great performance she’d delivered. Kelsey Logan had always been a heck of a performer. Unable to resist, Mitch brought his hands up and slowly began to applaud.
Kelsey had her hand on the knob when she heard Mitch clap. Glancing over her shoulder uncertainly, she caught Amanda’s gaze. The blonde laughed nervously. Kelsey wished the floor could open up and swallow her whole.
Rushing out the door, she hurried upstairs to her apartment, cursing Mitch and his friend every step of the way. They were laughing at her. Well, she figured, she probably deserved it. What a fool she’d been! Slamming her door behind her, she leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
It had been all she could do to present a careless facade and walk away from Mitch, when what she’d really wanted to do was touch him with her hands the way she touched him with her words. Intimately. Seductively. Erotically.
“This is crazy,” she said aloud.
And it was crazy. Her joke had backfired. Even if her seductive words had affected Mitch, it couldn’t compare with what
uttering them had cost her. All she could picture were Mitch’s strong hands, his beautiful mouth and his firm, lean body. She felt achy and hot, and parts of her body tingled with anticipation she knew was not going to be fulfilled.
“Cool it, Kelsey,” she muttered, shrugging off her robe as she started running her bath. She’d stopped fantasizing about Mitch years ago. It had been bad enough when she was fifteen and he was off at college and she’d imagined him putting his arm around her, or, heavens above, actually kissing her! Now that she was an adult, she knew exactly why her body tingled and ached and why she felt warm in her most feminine places. She couldn’t allow herself to have those types of dreams about Mitch. Because if she did, she might never be able to stop.
As she lay in the huge bubble-filled tub, Kelsey tried hard to shake off the erotic images dancing around her brain. When she closed her eyes, she could practically see Mitch’s hands reaching to stroke her beneath the silky water. She could nearly feel his lips trailing kisses on her throat. She could imagine her fingers dancing over his supple chest, curling in the dark crisp hairs, teasing him and urging him on.
She tried naming the fifty states, tried reciting the Gettysburg Address, but nothing would drive Mitch out of her head.
Finally, she just stopped trying and gave in to an absolutely delicious fantasy. By the time she got out of the tub it was very late, her body was all pruney and the water was chilled. But when she caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror, Kelsey wasn’t a bit surprised to see the smile lingering on her lips.
4
“TO MITCH WYMORE, who’s successfully escaped a nine-to-five job. It’s good to have you back, buddy.”
Mitch smiled at his old college friend, Paul, who’d just made the toast, and raised his own glass. “Thanks, man,” he said, then sipped his beer.
They sat in a crowded, trendy little bar near the harbor. It was a yuppie place, with lots of ferns, round unscarred tables and varnished floors. Jazz from the radio provided a little background noise, but mostly he heard laughter, clinking glasses and buoyant conversation. Spending an evening shooting darts, ogling women, eating pretzels and drinking beer seemed just the cure for what ailed him…
Kelsey.
Mitch hadn’t seen her since her grand entrance into his apartment over the weekend. He’d had a hard time kicking the image of those long legs and sultry comments.
“Have you seen Amanda since you got back?” Paul asked.
Mitch grabbed a handful of pretzels. “She came by the other night.”
“And? Details, details…come on, buddy.”
“And nothing. We talked. She left. Period.”
“You’re kidding,” Paul said in disbelief. “I ran into her a few weeks ago, and she started pumping me for information about when you were getting back. I got the impression she was going to give you a tremendous welcome home.”
She probably had been planning exactly that when she came by the other night. But since Mitch hadn’t even been able to pretend interest, especially after Kelsey’s visit, a highly offended Amanda had stormed out.
“It’s not that I’d tell you anything, anyway,” Mitch said, “but in this case, let me assure you, there’s nothing to tell.”
His friend didn’t look as though he believed him, but Mitch didn’t bother to elaborate.
“Quiet down,” someone yelled. “It’s time for Night Whispers!”
Mitch glanced around and saw the bartender reach up to the sound system to crank up the volume on the stereo.
“Oh, buddy, you’ve got to check this out,” Paul said.
“What?”
“This new radio show. Everybody’s talking about it.”
Around the room, conversations quieted. Mitch saw people shushing others, demanding they listen. He’d never heard of Night Whispers, and couldn’t believe there was this much of a stir over some radio show.
“What’s it all about?” he asked Paul.
“It’s a sex show,” Paul said with a grin. “Well, not really sex, I guess women call it romance, or passion, but let me tell you, I hear Lady Love’s voice and I just ache.”
Ache? Paul ached? Mitch nearly laughed aloud at his friend’s exaggeration until he noticed the man was dead serious.
“Laugh if you want, but I’m telling you this show is great. A lot of people have Night Whispers parties. Everybody I know is into it. This woman, she just…I don’t know how to describe it, she speaks, and it’s not just how sexy her voice is, it’s that you almost feel she’s speaking from her soul.”
Mitch raised a skeptical eyebrow at Paul’s eloquent words as he lifted his drink to his mouth. A few slow, mellow notes of a saxophone underscored the prerecorded introduction, setting a lazy, relaxed mood. Then a smooth voice spoke.
“Hello, Baltimore. This is Lady Love and tonight I want to talk about sensuous pleasures.”
“Oh, my God,” Mitch sputtered as he nearly choked on his beer.
It was Kelsey.
“We all know about the five senses, learned of them in grade school. To taste, touch, hear, see and smell are all such gifts. Gifts that many of us take for granted and don’t stop to consider.”
Kelsey leaned closer to the microphone, closing her eyes as she spoke. The bright lights in the studio, and the equalizers, stereo and sound equipment, weren’t exactly conducive to romance or, tonight, sensuality. She had worked herself into her mood, as usual, with her bath. That always helped. She hadn’t been exaggerating to Mitch when she talked about the importance of a long, languorous bath, and found that her evening ritual helped prepare her to come in and talk frankly about the subjects she covered in her show.
“Tonight,” she continued, “I want to consider them. Sensuous pleasures are derived from everything that surrounds us. The soft petals of a rose brushed against the cheek, then its scent deeply inhaled, gives such delight. The sweet, slightly bitter taste of dark chocolate lingers on the tongue long after it’s gone. The calm solitude and silence of a beach under a night sky interrupted only by the sound of churning waves, washing forward then receding, brings peace and tranquillity. And who can look at a masterful piece of art and not be moved by its power and the skill of the artist?”
Kelsey bowed her head as she formed her thoughts. She always planned her topics in advance, but often her words were spontaneous.
“All are sensuous. Anything that invades our senses, anything we see or smell, touch, hear or taste, that brings us pleasure, that invigorates our soul, is sensuous.”
Kelsey paused for a moment, a purposeful hesitation. Her audience was half-hooked already. She just had to bring them home.
“Now let’s talk about sexuality,” she continued. There, that was the rest of the lure. They were listening now. She could feel it. Brian gave her a thumbs-up from his side of the glass-enclosed booth, and she continued with a soft smile.
“Some people think they mean the same thing. But they don’t. Tonight we’re going to discuss how they differ.”
Kelsey cued the music that led into a cluster of commercials.
“Stick with me. We’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll start taking your calls later in the hour. Until then, please come back and spend some time alone with me, Lady Love, on WAJO. I’ll be waiting for you,” she said in a breathy voice.
Kelsey leaned back in her chair. Brian was mimicking applause, and she grinned back. It was going to be an interesting night.
MITCH COULDN’T SPEAK. He sat, in shock, knowing but not caring that he probably looked like an utter fool, with his mouth hanging open. Had that really been Kelsey? Of course it had. He’d recognize that voice anywhere. And she had come right out and told him she was working the ten-to-two shift. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to talk more about her job.
“She got to you, didn’t she?” Paul said with a knowing grin. “Did I tell you, or what?”
Mitch just nodded.
Around the bar, voices picked back up, and he caught snatches of conversation from othe
r tables, most of it about Kelsey…Lady Love. There seemed to be universal approval and interest.
“Is she always like this?” Mitch finally asked.
“Uh-hmm, but it gets better. That was just her introduction.”
Mitch frowned. Glancing around at the grins of most of the male patrons, he knew Kelsey had already all but seduced half the men in the place. Exactly how far would she go on this show?
“Is this X-rated, or what?” he asked, not really knowing if he wanted the answer.
“No, man, it’s not like that. She never gets raunchy, and I guess she’s got her callers on a time delay, because none of them do, either. Sometimes people try to steer the conversation, but she never goes for that. She’s classy, but, oh, so sexy.”
Mitch should have been relieved, but he wasn’t. So what if she wasn’t exactly pornographic? She was on the radio broadcasting to thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, about intimacy and sex as if she were an expert on the subject. He hadn’t figured she was a virgin, but he’d never considered her a sex expert, either. Hell, as far as he knew, Kelsey had never even had a serious relationship.
“I’d love to see what she looks like,” Paul said, “but she could be a sixty-year-old grandmother.”
A man staggering by must have heard Paul’s comment, because he paused at their table, saying, “No, I heard she’s a babe. A friend of mine parked outside the radio station one night and watched her come out. He says she’s as hot as she sounds.”
Oh, great. As Mitch had feared, Kelsey’s show attracted psychos who were lying in wait for her outside the station in the middle of the night. What on earth was she thinking? Kelsey had always been free spirited, but she’d never been stupid.
The obviously drunk man leaned toward Paul and Mitch and leered. “I’m goin’ down there myself one o’ these nights. Gonna give Lady Love some real interestin’ topics…give that lady lots to talk about.”
Standing immediately, Mitch kicked his chair back and grabbed the drunk by the front of his shirt. He yanked the other man’s face toward his, smelling the reek of too many beers. “You better watch your filthy mouth.”
