Expecting the Best (Harlequin Superromance)

by Lynnette Kent

  At last the music started again and they could go back to doing what felt so right—dancing. Zach wasn’t a tall man like her ex-husband, but she was only five-two so she didn’t need tall. His steel blue eyes glinted with a smile as he engineered turns and dips and sways. While his breath warmed her ear, her temple, her cheek, his muscles responded with controlled power to every step she took.

  Wise or not, Shelley couldn’t ignore the pleasure of being held in a man’s arms again, with his hands to guide her, his strength to lean on. She couldn’t resist the kick of flirting, and having somebody as good-looking as this man flirt back. Zach wore his tux as comfortably as a pair of jeans, as precisely as a European playboy. His light brown hair was sleek and tame tonight, his face more austere than she remembered. He smelled like heaven.

  Under such a potent influence, any second thoughts lasted about as long as champagne bubbles. Late in the evening, Zach’s mouth brushed the skin of her temple. Desire, warm and fluid, rippled along her spine. When she looked up, his gaze asked a question. She impulsively parted her lips in invitation.

  Yet his kiss took her completely by surprise. She’d never known such power, never felt so weak, as at the moment his lips moved over hers. The pleasure of being wanted tempted her to tears. Zach swept her across an entire range of emotions within seconds, and all with just the brief contact of his mouth.

  He drew back the space of a breath. “Shelley.” His whisper sounded as unsteady as her pulse. “Leaving now might be a good idea.”

  She didn’t have any clever words to use, didn’t intend to shatter the moment. Whatever he meant, she wanted these feelings to last as long as possible. As if he understood, they stopped in unison and turned without a word toward the nearest door out of the dim ballroom.

  The bright lights in the outer hallway couldn’t break the spell. They retrieved the plaque and their coats. Zach helped Shelley into hers with a squeeze of her shoulders she knew she hadn’t imagined. As they waited for the elevator, she could barely feel the press of his palm in the small of her back, but she needed nothing more to keep her aware of his strength. He filled her consciousness to the exclusion of anything else.

  In the lobby of the hotel, reality cracked over her like an icicle falling from the roof.

  “Oh, wow.” Shelley stared out the glass front door at a foot of new snow. “Were we having a blizzard? I missed the news.”

  Zach stood behind her. “Me, too. Doesn’t look like it’s thinking about stopping any time soon, either.”

  “Maybe never.”

  They watched the heavy curtain of snow in a kind of trembling suspension of time.

  And then Zach bent close. “Your house is a long way out of town.”

  “It is.” And dark and incredibly empty.

  “Mine’s closer, but the cop in me knows better than to drive even that far after this much champagne.” His breath played across her ear.

  She shivered. “Definitely a bad idea.”

  “We could call a cab.”

  That would give her too much time to think. “I dread going out in the cold.” Even inside her house, it would be cold. Because she’d be alone.

  He took a deep breath. “We could stay the night here.”

  For a thousand reasons, no would be the right answer. A wise woman learned from her mistakes.

  Or did a wise woman take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime chance? Shelley nodded and kept her eyes on the snow. “I think that sounds…perfect.”

  His hands covered her shoulders again. “Back in a few minutes.”

  There wasn’t much time to reconsider, even if Shelley could have managed to think amidst the fireworks of anticipation exploding in her mind. Zach returned in what seemed like seconds to sweep her and the plaque into a packed elevator—obviously, they weren’t the only ones who’d decided against travel. After an endless trip, he guided her out at the concierge floor. The rowdy crowd vanished behind sliding brass doors.

  Walking down the hallway, Shelley registered impressions instead of thoughts. The dent of their footsteps on carpet the color of blue stained glass. A scent of flowers—lilies? And the quiet that only snow can bring, even to a tall, downtown building.

  Then the click of a key card in the door lock.

  The floor lamp between the armchairs had been switched on. A service tray waited nearby, bearing an ice bucket and champagne, glasses and a single rose in a crystal vase.

  Shelley set the plaque down near the wall and turned as Zach closed the door behind them. “Someone works fast.”

  “Someone,” he agreed, a smile tilting one side of his mouth. “Let me take your coat.”

  He lifted the weight from her shoulders and hung the fur in the closet, along with his dark wool. When he came back, he stopped far enough away that she understood she shouldn’t feel coerced. “Champagne?”

  But his eyes had changed, and in them Shelley saw the need she could feel tearing inside herself. She shook her head and closed the distance between them. “Later. Please…kiss me like that again.”

  Zach held her as if they were still dancing, one hand clasping hers, the other at the curve of her waist. Their bodies barely touched. Yet the pressure of his mouth demanded. Required. Compelled.

  Shelley responded with unforced pleasure. There had been no one as real as Zach in her life for a very long time. She needed his warmth, his closeness. Needed to think that she mattered, if only for tonight.

  She loosened his bow tie and felt him chuckle, deep in his throat. His palms skimmed her bare arms with a delicious friction, and she realized that the jacket for the dress was gone. The studs on his shirt gave her some trouble, so he got her zipper down first. Then she stood in front of him wearing just her slip and stockings.

  His blue eyes blazed as he slowly looked her over, and he whistled low and long. “Lady, as far as I’m concerned, you could have come dressed like this tonight!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  ZACH DIDN’T KNOW why Shelley was laughing, but he liked the sound. He liked the sight of her just within reach, wearing dark blue satin and lace. He liked the feel of her skin under his palms. And he loved the way she smelled.

  But she was too far away. “Come here,” he murmured, catching her wrists to draw her close.

  Her arms curved around his waist under his shirt, cool against his heat. “Better?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Zach dipped his head, found her mouth and settled back into her scent and taste, letting his mind shut down in favor of other systems. He skimmed his lips over her cheek, her ear. “Definitely better than champagne. I’m drunk on you, Shelley.”

  With a tilt of her head, Shelley’s mouth recaptured his. She eased his shirt off without breaking the kiss. Her hands lingered on the balls of his shoulders, then stroked the fabric down to his elbows. There she stopped.

  “Gotcha,” she whispered, trapping his lower arms inside the sleeves with the cuffs still fastened.

  “I’m not as talented without my hands.” Zach backed up as she put a palm against his chest and pushed. “But I’m certainly willing to give it my best shot.”

  “Later,” she said again. This time she pushed with both hands. Abandoning his halfhearted protest, he fell backward onto the bed.

  She came down after him, a featherweight on his chest, and took him into another kiss. Hunger flared up fast, edging him toward the limits of control. They were both panting by the time Shelley tore her mouth away.

  Slipping to the side, she ran a hand through the hair on his chest. “We’ve got all night. No hurry.”

  “Speak for yourself,” he muttered, straining his wrists against starched cotton, but without enough force to actually break free. “I was considering the priesthood until I saw you tonight.”

  “A long time, hmm?” Her fingers traced over his skin, just above the waist of his slacks.

  “You’re killing me.”

  She lowered her head, nuzzled his collarbone. “Good.”

  Crazy with need, Z
ach surrendered. If Shelley wanted the power, he’d let the lady have her way—for now, at least. Her small hands stroked and kneaded, and his breath got shallower with every touch. Her mouth scattered sparks across his skin. The woman was too dangerous to be safe. Too good to be left alone.

  She eased his zipper down, and Zach thought he’d lose his dignity right then. He focused on Shelley for distraction, the way her lips pressed together as she concentrated, how her lashes fanned dark across the curve of her cheeks. White-gold hair fell around her face like angel glass, but if she was an angel, he’d bet on her being one of Lucifer’s crowd. What she was doing to him tonight could only be classified as absolutely wicked.

  His socks, slacks and shorts disappeared, and her warm palms covered him. Zach groaned and closed his eyes. “I swear, Shelley, this isn’t going last if you don’t—”

  He shut up and opened his eyes as she rolled on a condom.

  “There are toothbrushes in the other pocket,” he pointed out between clenched teeth.

  She rose above him—delicate, provocative as hell, with one blue satin strap slipping down over her shoulder. “I figured you’d be prepared.”

  Zach grinned tightly. “I made Eagle Scout, once upon a time.”

  She nodded. “I’m not surprised.” Then, holding his gaze, her own sultry and smiling and serious all at once, she took him inside.

  Blood pulsed through his bound wrists, behind his eyes, in his belly. He wanted to slow down, get his breath, control the aching, pounding craving to get there…

  But Shelley’s face mirrored his struggle, reflected the agony and the need and the yearning. Zach knew he wouldn’t last another second…and then she cried out and gripped him, with a strength that thrust them both into the heart of a shattering star.

  WRAPPED IN THE HOTEL’S thick red robe, Shelley curled up in the armchair by the window and stared through the predawn darkness at a snowstorm that hadn’t slowed in the least. Bumps and clumps on the curbs hinted that an effort had been made to clear the street at some point, but another foot or so had fallen since then. Not many people would be shopping for a house today. She didn’t need to go to work.

  At the thought, she turned her head toward the bed. Zach breathed deeply and stirred, but didn’t wake up. He lay on his side, bare chested and adorable, his arms still holding the space where she’d slept.

  Unbelievable. She’d spent the night with Zach Harmon. Seduced by his charm, enchanted by the charisma of a man who knew just what a woman wanted, she’d stopped thinking and let her needs carry them both away.

  Now…the moment for regrets. This incredible connection between them wouldn’t last. Shelley knew she didn’t have a recipe for the glue that welded relationships. No matter how wonderful the guy appeared to be—and Zach came across as damn near perfect—she couldn’t make love, or even lust, stick.

  Her heart sank with the admission. Zach would be fun to keep around, at least a little while. During the two years she’d known him, they’d met maybe five or six times. She’d always thought about him afterward, in more detail and for much longer than was smart.

  The result of those silly daydreams was this. This. A weekend fling, a moment out of time. He would walk out the door of this room and, no doubt, forget all about her, as he’d done after their other encounters. He’d never called her, had he? Never asked for a date?

  And she would resume her own life, presenting deals and negotiating contracts, cajoling stubborn buyers and obstinate sellers. Late at night, she’d go back to an empty house, turn on the television for noise and wait for the dreams to keep her company.

  “Hey.” At the word, Shelley opened her eyes and found Zach awake. “What are you doing over there?” The rumble in his voice reminded her of a drowsy lion’s purr.

  Aware of his gaze, she stretched slowly. “Watching the snow.”

  “Still?”

  “More than two feet now.”

  “Too bad.” He grinned, and the sexy message revved up her heartbeat. “We’ll just have to stay inside and play games.”

  “Parcheesi?” She decided she might as well get as much of Zach as she could while he was here. The more she had, the more fuel there would be for dreams when she was alone again. “Monopoly? I’m very good at Monopoly.” Walking toward the bed, she untied her belt and let the robe drop to the floor.

  “Oh, yeah? So’m I.” His gaze stroked over her as she came closer, and her skin heated everywhere he looked. “We’ll have a playoff sometime. But right now…” The sheet fell to his waist as he sat up and reached for her. Shelley sighed as their bare bodies touched. “Right now I’ve got other amusements in mind.”

  “Show me,” she invited. And he did.

  MUCH LATER that morning, room service delivered brunch while Shelley was still in the shower. “If you don’t hurry, I’m going to start without you,” Zach called through the door. “I’m starving!”

  “I’ll be right out.” Turning off the water, Shelley wrapped up in a towel and used another one to wipe off the mirror. The woman there wasn’t wearing her usual mask, but she didn’t have the supplies to recreate the image. No makeup, except powder and lipstick, no rollers and mousse and spray, no jewelry. No clothes, except the blue dress. And the robe.

  She dried her hair and combed it as best she could, donned the robe and then gazed at her naked face. How could she go out there like this? What would he think?

  This time, Zach knocked on the door. “Shelley, come on. Your eggs will be cold.”

  “Okay, okay!” Maybe he’d be too busy eating to notice her. She took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door.

  Zach waited for her outside, wearing an identical robe. He curled his fingers into her hair. “You look great.” His kiss was sweet and soft and so gentle she wanted to cry. When she opened her eyes, he grinned. “Now,” he said, “let’s eat.”

  They sat beside the window, watching the storm. “I called my mom, just to check on her.” Zach crunched his bacon. “She’s fine. The TV’s saying this is the worst spring blizzard in twenty years.”

  She suddenly remembered what he did for a living. “Do you get called into work on days like this?” Would the end come so soon?

  “Sometimes. I checked in there, too. So far, the power’s stayed on and the situation’s under control. I left the station this number if they need me.”

  So she could keep him for a while. Shelley relaxed a bit. “I’ll bet the ski slopes stay open until the end of April, now, even into May.”

  “We can hope. I’ll have to see about taking my sisters up for a weekend.”

  A chance piece of information she’d overheard long ago came to mind. “How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

  “Eleven of us, plus two parents. We never went anywhere all together because there wasn’t enough room in the car.” He winked at her over the breakfast dishes. “Lucky thing church was within walking distance.”

  His grin drove good sense out of her head. With his hair mussed and his blue eyes bright and the red robe setting off his tan skin, he looked like a magazine centerfold. His bare legs had somehow tangled with hers under the table, so even getting a decent breath took concentration.

  Shelley struggled back to sanity. “That must be why you have such magic with kids. Allyson is always talking ‘Uncle Zach.’”

  “Your daughter is a special case. I manage to see her whenever Dex and Claire bring her to town—we always have a good time.” He toasted Allyson with his coffee cup. “She reminds me of my 14-year-old baby sister, Carol. Both of them are bright, impulsive, a little hard to control.”

  The description certainly fit Allyson. “Your parents have trouble with Carol?”

  Zach’s smile faded. “My dad died of lung cancer four years ago. That’s when I left the army.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  He nodded. “No reason you should. Carol took it really hard, and she’s been tough to reach ever since. I get called in whenever there�
��s a problem—she listens to me more than anybody else. But that’s not saying much.”

  “A big family must be fun. I didn’t have brothers and sisters.”

  “There were plenty of times I wished I could be an only child.” After thinking a second, he shrugged. “Still are, for that matter. These days, at least, I can go home and get away. You couldn’t pay me enough now to give up my privacy.”

  “You don’t want kids of your own?” That surprised her. She’d never seen more perfect dad material.

  “You’ll have noticed I make pretty damn sure that’s not going to happen.” He flashed that sexy grin. “Families mean complications, and I’ve already got enough of those—along with plenty of brothers and sisters to carry on the family genes. I figure I’ll be known as eccentric Uncle Zach, who spent his life standing the line between right and wrong but wasted his free time on wild, wicked women.”

  He shoved the table out of the way, drew her into his lap and loosened the belt on her robe. “Like you, lady,” he whispered roughly against her skin.

  Shelley gripped his shoulders, shuddering as his tongue traced the arch of her throat. “I admire a man with a long-range plan,” she managed to reply before his wandering hands made words impossible.

  THEY GOT new towels, shooed the housekeeper away and watched movies late into Saturday night. Zach picked the first one, a big budget historical he’d missed in theaters. Shelley’s choice was romantic comedy.

  “Aha,” he crowed as the credits rolled. “You’re a closet romantic. The pragmatic and successful Ms. Hightower enjoys love stories. I bet you read them, too.”

  She sat up, pointed the remote and clicked off the TV. “Who has time to read?” But her cheeks reddened.

  “I like historical romance myself,” he said casually. “I’m into history.”

  “You read romance novels? You’re kidding, right?”

  Zach grinned at her skepticism. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “But—”

  He stretched out on his side and propped his head on his hand. “Good stories, good research, an interesting relationship. Is that strictly female territory?”