The confession twisted his gut. He went to stand behind her, longed to touch her, but feared she’d lose her battle with her tears if he did. “I can understand the second, but the first… I hate the thought that he did that to you.”
“The worst is, I let that bitterness spill over into my column. Into my whole life.” Turning, she faced him, but kept her eyes downcast. “That day in L.A., when we met, I had just come from a meeting with Gwen.”
“And?”
“She threatened to cancel my column if I didn’t turn my attitude around. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight, because I had this desperate idea that if I could find a way to see romance as something positive again, not something that led to soul-crushing heartache, I could save my job.”
“I see.” Some of the pieces began to fall together, and he wasn’t sure he liked the picture they formed. “So you went to the airport, saw me, and decided what?”
“To flirt.” She glanced up with an apologetic shrug. “Partly just to see if I even remembered how to do it.”
“Oh, yes. Trust me Kate, you definitely still know how to do it.” He felt like a fool. While he’d been blindsided by an instant attraction to an incredibly sexy woman, he’d been nothing more to her than an experiment. “Let me ask you this…” He nailed her with a look. “Would any man have done?”
“No!” she said, but the embarrassed flush of color in her cheeks made him wonder. “I was attracted to you, Mike. Still am, obviously.”
“Are you?”
“Can you doubt that after what happened the other night?”
“Ah, yes. The other night.”
“Speaking of…” She looked away again. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since then.”
“And?”
“And…” She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “I can’t work for you anymore.”
“What?” His heart jolted and he started to reach out to touch her arm, but stopped when she tensed. “What do you mean you can’t work for me?”
“Well, don’t you think it would be just a tiny bit awkward since you hired me to help you find a wife? After what happened… after we…” She made a helpless gesture but refused to look him in the eye.
“Kissed?”
“Yes, I think it would be awkward.”
“Why?” With his pulse racing, he laid his hand on her shoulder and tried to turn her. “Talk to me, Kate.”
She turned enough to address the front of his Hawaiian shirt. “Because if we keep spending time together we both know what will happen. And that would be a huge mistake.”
“How could something we both want be a mistake?”
“Because,” she pleaded, “we’re looking for entirely different things. You want something serious, and all I want is—” She shut her mouth abruptly.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Would you please look at me?” He cupped her neck and urged her chin up with his thumb. “Tell me. What do you want?” When her eyes lifted he finally saw what she’d been trying to hide: not mild attraction, but all-out desire. Strong enough and hot enough to match his own. But he also saw fear; he felt both in the rapid pulse against his palm. “You don’t have to be afraid. Just tell me what you want.”
She shook her head in denial. “I don’t want anything.”
“Liar.” He lowered his head, testing to see which would win, desire or fear. “You want this, don’t you? As much as I do.”
His lips brushed hers. She stiffened, but didn’t pull away. He deepened the contact, testing, tasting. Her body relaxed a fraction, began to lean into him. With a murmur of defeat, she surged against him. He nearly shouted in triumph as they came together in a clash as volatile as the storm outside. Their tongues tangled, giving and taking with equal abandon.
“Yes,” she sighed as her fingers slipped up along his chest. Her head dropped back as he kissed her neck. “I mean, no.” He vaguely realized her touch had changed, that she pushed at his chest rather than clung. “I can’t do this.”
“What?” He loosened his arms. “Talk to me, Kate. Just talk to me.”
“Talk?” Her eyes widened. “I can’t even think when I’m near you.”
“And you suppose I can?” He shook his head to clear it, then gave up. “To hell with it. We’ve done too much thinking already.” He ran his hands over her back, felt the shudder that raced through her. “I say we stop thinking altogether.”
“No.” Her hands fisted in his shirt as she dropped her forehead to his chest. “I need to think. I have to, but you keep confusing me.”
“Confusing you? Or scaring you?”
“Both!” Her head shot up, revealing frantic eyes.
“You don’t have to be scared.” He leaned in close. “Just kiss me, Kate. Stop thinking and kiss me.”
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she breathed as he laid a trail of kisses beside her mouth. She turned her head a fraction, letting their mouths brush. “It’s a terrible idea.”
“Speak for yourself.” He cupped the back of her head. “I happen to think it’s a brilliant idea.” Tired of waiting at the edge of the pond, he dove in headfirst, let himself drown in the textures and flavors of her mouth. He felt her go under with him, her arms wound about his neck.
“Mike, wait.” She struggled up for air. “This isn’t fair to you.”
“How could something I want this badly not be fair to me?”
“Because you want forever, and all I want is this.”
“Then take it.” He took her hand and teased her palm with a kiss. He saw her eyes go heavy, felt her body tremble. “Seize the moment.”
“As long as you realize”—her voice came out in a husky whisper—“this can’t go anywhere. If we do this, we both agree it’s just…”
“Sex?” He moved his mouth to her wrist, delighting in the rapid beat of her pulse.
“Yes.” She met his eyes squarely, even as color rose in her cheeks. “There’ll be no promise of happy-ever-after. No false commitment. Just what we have here and now.”
His eyes hardened. “Fine. If that’s what you want.” He swept her into his arms.
“Mike!” she shrieked. “What are you doing?”
“Giving you what you want.” He strode toward the bedroom.
“You don’t have to carry me. Besides, I’m too heavy!”
“The day a Cameron can’t carry a woman to bed is the day I change my name.” When he reached the master suite, he tossed her into the middle of the king-sized waterbed. Her eyes widened as he climbed onto the bed and crawled toward her on all fours until he hovered over her. Beneath her, water sloshed, while lightning and thunder raged beyond the windows. She felt as if she’d been cast into a lifeboat on a storm-tossed sea. “You want mindless, emotionless sex? Then that’s what I’ll give you.”
Her heart slammed into her throat, but before she could answer, his mouth came down over hers. Hard. Demanding. Excitement flared, blinding her in a white-hot rush. Yes, this was what she wanted, needed. Not the polite exchange between two people who shared their bodies because they shared a bed. When love died, sex became just another part of being married, like doing the laundry and paying the mortgage.
This, however, was anything but polite. With savage efficiency, he pulled her top over her head and tossed it across the room. His mouth descended to the swell of her breasts above her lacy peach-colored bra.
Gasping, she arched beneath him, caught by a wild recklessness she’d only dreamed of, read about, written about, but never thought to experience herself. Lust shot through her as his hands moved down her body, caressing every curve until he cupped her bottom and brought her hips firmly against his rigid arousal. “Touch me, Kate. However you want. I’m all yours.”
Emboldened by his husky words, she slipped her hands beneath the shirt and discovered the body that lay beneath. She’d wondered about the feel of it, oh, how she’d wondered, and now she knew. Hard, heated flesh greeted her at every turn
from the solid chest to the taut stomach. One of his thighs moved between hers, pressing and rubbing with deadly skill. She writhed within his embrace, thrilled by his strength and his urgency.
She lifted her hips as he removed her shorts. His eyes darkened when he discovered the lacy peach thong that matched her bra. When his gaze traveled back to hers, she saw amusement mix with approval. “I take it ‘passionate peach’ is your favorite color?”
A chuckle escaped her at the reference to the lipstick she’d dropped in L.A. How could any man be so arrogantly aggressive and light-hearted at the same time? The combination proved irresistible. “Absolutely,” she said in her most sultry voice.
With a growl, he kissed her mouth, her neck, worked his way down to her breasts. Rather than remove the bra, he lowered the lace just enough to reveal the coral nipples that waited beneath. “God,” he said, shaking his head. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
“Perhaps you could show me.”
And he did. With every touch, every kiss, he took her to places she’d only imagined—wild, wonderful places that left her breathless and greedy for more.
He shed his shirt, kicked free of his shorts and boxers. Her bra and thong quickly followed. Naked at last, they rolled together, a tangle of eager hands and desperate bodies until she pressed him to his back and straddled his hips.
“The nightstand,” he mumbled against her breast as he flung one arm outward, groping over the sheet.
“What?” She frowned in confusion as he slowly destroyed her with his clever tongue on her nipples.
“I’ve got to… hang on. Don’t go away.” Twisting sideways, he reached the nightstand, rummaged through the drawer, then came back with a small foil packet.
A condom. Of course! She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it herself and insisted upon it. She, who doled out lectures on safe sex, had completely forgotten the number one rule.
But then, she hadn’t had to think about such things for a very long time. She watched in fascination as he rolled it on. Then he reached for her and her thoughts scattered.
“You want me, Kate?” he asked against her neck as his hands moved her hips into position. She felt his hard shaft press against her moist entrance. “Then take me. I’m all yours.”
How could she have known that surrender from a man would thrill her so? How could he have known? She didn’t care. She laced her fingers with his and carried his hands above his head, holding them there. Sinking over him, she took what he offered. Her head fell back as she gloried in the feel of his hard length inside her, the power that it gave her. When she rocked against him, he followed her lead. The tension built slowly at first, then faster as she quickened the pace. It wasn’t enough. And then it was too much. Too much feeling. Too much wanting. Too much everything.
In a final surge of passion, they came together like a wave hitting a rocky shore. Thrust upward, airborne, they remained suspended for a moment in that perfect time and space before they fell together back to earth, into each other’s arms.
Chapter 14
*
MIKE HAD LIED. While the sex had been mindless, it definitely had not been emotionless. At least not for him. And, he suspected, not for Kate. She lay beside him, utterly boneless, with her leg draped over his thighs as she nestled her head into the crook of his shoulder. Her hair smelled of rain and some floral-scented shampoo. Smiling, he allowed himself the luxury of running his hand over her soft skin.
This was not a woman who gave her body where she hadn’t already given her heart. The thought warmed him even as it frustrated him because he knew instinctively that she wasn’t ready to admit it. In spite of what had just happened, too many barriers remained between them. He tightened his embrace a fraction, wanting to cling to the moment a little longer.
She raised her head and blinked at him, as if trying to figure out exactly how she’d come to be naked in his bed. He cupped her chin and stared straight into her eyes. “If you dare say that this was a mistake, or that it shouldn’t have happened, or that it won’t happen again, I may have to strangle you.”
She burst out laughing, which at least took care of her confused expression. “Well, that’s honest.” To his delight, she stretched languidly against him like a cat wanting to be petted. “And I won’t say it was a mistake. I’ll simply say it was…” A grin curled her lips. “Inevitable.”
“Yes.” He relaxed and tucked a coppery curl behind her ear. Such soft hair, yet so vivid and unpredictable. “From the moment I met you, I knew I had to make love with you.”
She drew in a breath, preparing to say something, when the doorbell rang.
They both froze.
“Are you expecting someone?” she whispered, as if whoever stood at the door, in the midst of a thunderstorm, might hear her.
“Only your friend Jim,” he whispered back.
“Ohmygod, I completely forgot.” As if a starter had fired a gun, they both dove for their clothes.
“What am I going to do?” she asked. “I don’t want him to find me here like this.”
“It’s okay. Don’t panic. You were supposed to meet him here, remember?”
“Yes, that’s right. But I told him I’d meet him this afternoon. What’s he doing here so early?” She closed her eyes as color stained her cheeks. “I can’t believe… It’s not even noon, and we just—”
“Yeah.” He grinned in true male satisfaction. “We certainly did.”
“Oh goodness.” Her laugh bubbled out, even as her cheeks heated with a blush. “Jim’s going to take one look at me and know .”
“Kate, it’s not like it’s written across your forehead.” She glanced up while pulling on her shoes, and he had to admit, someone would have to be a blind fool to look at that flushed face and those swollen lips and not know. “All right, but so what? You’re entitled.” Standing, he took her by the shoulders, and kissed her forehead. “Now, wait here while I answer the door.”
“No!” She grabbed his arm. “Are you crazy? He knows I’m here, my car’s out front. If I hide, it’ll just look worse.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
The doorbell rang again. “You go down to your workroom,” she said as they headed across the living room. “I’ll answer the door.”
“On one condition.” He squeezed her hand. “That you come downstairs when you’re done talking to Jim.”
“I will.” After a quick kiss, he darted past the glass door and disappeared down the stairs.
Thank God for frosted glass , Kate thought as she took a moment in the foyer to compose herself before she opened the door. “Jim,” she said with a bright smile. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here so early.”
“With this weather, I couldn’t do any work at the other house, so I figured what the heck.” He came in shaking off rain. “Damn but it’s rainin’ like a son of a bitch out there.” As if suddenly struck by a thought, he looked at her. “So, what are you doing here so early?”
“I, uh… Mike wanted me to look around and give him some suggestions about… window treatments for his workroom, which is why we didn’t hear the bell the first time it rang. We were downstairs. Looking at his windows.”
“Uh-huh.” Jim nodded knowingly. “Didn’t hear the bell the first time it rang. You know, Linda and I have had that problem a time or two.”
She cringed as she realized how inane her excuse sounded—if she hadn’t heard the bell the first time, how could she have known it rang more than once? “So—” Clasping her hands together, she turned toward the kitchen. “Now that you’ve gotten the mess cleaned up, are y’all ready to start the actual work?”
“Just as soon as I pick up the materials.” He headed through the dining area, pulling out a notepad. In the kitchen, he looked up at the gaping hole. “You know, this really wasn’t my crew’s fault. Whoever built the house didn’t attach the ceiling to anything. The only thing holding it up was the wall. So, when that came down, so did the ceiling.”
“I’ll be sure and tell Mike. I wouldn’t want him to think I’d hired an inferior contractor,” she teased.
“Thanks.” He flashed her a shy smile as he scribbled a note on his pad.
“Speaking of…” She made a vague gesture toward the stairs. “If you don’t need me up here, I’ll just go talk to Mike some more… about those window treatments.”
“Sure, fine. I’ll be out of here in a second.” He nodded distractedly, still jotting down notes. “Oh, and Kate?”
“Yes?” She turned back.
He grinned at her. “Your shirt’s on inside out”
***
“I SWEAR, I am going to die,” Kate said as she reached the bottom of the stairs. To Mike’s delight, laughter followed the dramatic statement. “I’ve never been so embarrassed in my entire life.”
Vivid color stained what little of her face he could see, since her hand covered the upper half. “That bad?”
She lowered her hand to roll her eyes at him. “I told you he would know.”
“Read it on your face, did he?” Mike’s grin faded in surprise as she whipped her shirt off over her head.
“That, and my dang shirt’s on inside out!” Her breasts jiggled enticingly within the confines of her lacy peach bra as she fixed the shirt and jerked it back on. “I can’t believe that we—That I—”
“Kate,” he said calmly, “come here.”
“Why?” She eyed him warily.
“Just come here.” When she obeyed, he took her hand and pulled her off balance so she landed in his lap.
“Mike!” She laughed and wiggled to escape. The laughter told him sex had changed things, blasted through at least some of the barrier she’d been holding between them. He couldn’t have been happier.
“Careful,” he warned as her round bottom rubbed him in some very interesting places. “You’re about to get yourself into trouble.”
“Oh, no.” She went still. “I think one embarrassing incident per morning is my quota.”
“That’s better.” He sighed and draped his arms about her hips. “Now, first of all, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re a grown woman who’s entitled to a personal life. And secondly”—he grinned—“how much fun would the world be if we always behaved ourselves?”
Good Guy Heroes Boxed Set Page 14
