by Betina Krahn
“You’re seeing her?” Heedless of the high-end suit he sported, Dan dropped into a chair on the other side of the desk and propped his feet on a low table. “Because if you’re not, it’s unfair to keep her away from the rest of us who actually live in the same town as her and could show her a good time.”
Memories of the kiss he’d just planted on Tori’s mouth returned with a vengeance. Judging by the way she’d sunk into his arms and wrapped herself around him, he’d say she’d been having a damn good time with him. The moment had been so hot and so sweetly gratifying, he’d been hard-pressed to find the will to let her go.
“I’m not seeing her.” He damn well wouldn’t until she got over the insane idea to just sleep together for the fun of it.
Too late, he realized Dan wasn’t the best confidant for that bit of honesty.
“Then you’d better pass along her digits before anyone else takes a crack at her.” Dan yanked a sticky note off a pad and slapped it on top of the papers in front of Luke. “Women like that don’t stay single for long.”
Possessiveness fisted in Luke’s gut.
“Maybe when hell freezes over.” He tossed the notepaper in the trash. “She wouldn’t be interested.”
“Why don’t you let her decide?”
Luke shot him a warning glare that—thankfully—shut him up. For all of two seconds anyway.
“You like her.” Dan sat up straighter. “Don’t leave me hanging here, dude. Who is she?”
He shook his head, unwilling to discuss Tori.
“She’s someone I need to look out for, okay?” He stood, irritated with Dan and keyed-up from seeing Tori. He was about to usher his colleague out the door when a woman cleared her voice at the entrance.
Tori stood there, still clutching that leather binder.
“Sorry to interrupt, but the attorney you recommended has left for the day—”
“I can help you.” Dan was by her side in a flash. “My office is right this way.”
Luke saw the guy’s tactics for the shove in the back that they were. Still, he had the feeling if he didn’t get Tori out of here right now, Dan would ask her out by the day’s end.
And what if Tori decided his buddy would make a good candidate for her Valentine’s Day hook-up?
“Does it look like hell has frozen over to you?” Luke asked, picking up his keys off his desk and tapping the switch to shut off his desk lamp.
“What?” Tori appeared confused, looking from Luke to Dan and back again.
Dan, on the other hand, didn’t appear all that surprised. He gave an easy grin, one that had won over lady law clerks and random happy-hour females alike back when they used to hit the bars after work.
“We’ll talk about this on the way home,” Luke clarified, ignoring his friend as he ushered Tori past Dan and out of the office. “I’ll give you a ride and we’ll get the paperwork settled in the car.”
Shutting the door behind him with a slam, Luke hit the button for the elevator, more than ready to have Tori to himself.
Dan’s interest helped Luke realize that if he was serious about protecting this woman, he didn’t trust anyone else around her before Valentine’s Day. Anyone but him, that is. Luke couldn’t deny that his old attraction for her had flared up with a vengeance.
And while they weren’t right together for the long-term, maybe she’d be better off with him in the here and now. At least until he could convince her that this was no way to start a real relationship. That she deserved better than a temporary lover.
Damn, he was just rationalizing something he flat-out wanted like his next breath.
“I don’t understand.” she protested, peering over his shoulder…
…looking toward the womanizing showboat who would scoop her up in ten seconds flat if Luke didn’t get her out of here fast.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close as the elevator doors opened.
“I’m taking you home.”
5
“THIS ISN’T FAIR.”
Tori folded her arms and shot Luke a chilly glare, incensed at having her advances refused earlier. Then, the moment another man showed interest in her, Luke suddenly couldn’t wait to spend time with her? She would never have guessed he could be such a hypocrite.
“What?” Luke eased her binder out from under her arm. “That I take care of filing the papers on your business, or that I offered you a ride home?”
“That you accuse me of wanting a meaningless affair.” And that was just for starters. “That you won’t entertain any thought of being with me, but you won’t let me spend ten minutes in the company of a man who might easily be persuaded—”
“Is that what you really want?” He jammed the emergency button on the elevator, halting the lift between floors.
A fire alarm sounded somewhere in the building.
“What are you doing?”
Had he lost his mind?
“Do you honestly want your fifteen minutes of fame with a guy like that, who takes every woman he meets to bed?” His eyes narrowed, his focus no longer on the binder he’d taken from her. He wasn’t happy with her, but she couldn’t help some small thrill of satisfaction that he was damn well paying attention now. “Didn’t the incident with the exconvict teach you to at least date casually before escalating things?”
“Do you know how long ago that happened?” She couldn’t even believe he’d bring that up after a decade. “And, yes, I’ve learned a lot about dating since then. Mostly, I suck at it. But I can’t ignore my judgment when it comes to men forever because of one misstep. And frankly, I’m not interested in having you play guardian to me when you’re not planning to explore the kind of chemistry that takes your knees out from under you.”
She was still reeling from that kiss and the knowledge that there’d been some kind of mutual attraction between them all along. An attraction Luke had ignored.
Since Luke glared at her in silence, she took the liberty of reaching to hit the emergency button again. The lift whirred back to life, shuttling them down to the parking garage level.
The motion seemed to snap Luke out of his stupor. His expression shifted to something even more inscrutable.
“Has it occurred to you that I want to play guardian because I care about you?” He took a step toward her, closing the distance between them to a few negligible inches.
The proximity touched off a skip in her heartbeat as her senses went back on high alert. She said nothing and he stepped closer still, forcing her back against the rear wall of the small cabin just as the doors opened on the street level.
Why did he want to play white knight? How could he think she needed saving, just like her family? Didn’t he understand her well enough to know that the last thing she wanted was someone trying to stifle her sense of adventure when she’d finally found the courage to take a few chances again?
“Tell me, Tori,” he pressed, never missing a beat. “Would you even be interested in me this week if it wasn’t for this Valentine’s Day mania?”
She steeled herself against the raw appeal of his remembered kiss. If she didn’t extricate herself from him now, she could easily fall under the spell of this man. And she wasn’t ready for the kind of relationship he alluded to. Not when she’d worked so hard to blaze her own trail in life.
Right now, she needed to leave and regroup. Rethink what she wanted since a “simple” affair wasn’t going to happen with this man. He was too calculated. Too deliberate. He’d never do anything without good reason, and maybe for him, red-hot chemistry just wasn’t enough of a justification.
So, edging past him out into the lobby, she put a safer distance between them, even though her tingling skin protested the move.
“I get stuck with Valentine’s Day mania all year, thanks to my career. So I consider myself a trooper for thumbing my nose at Cupid for years. And just so we understand each other, I’m not in the market for a protector. On the contrary, I’m looking for a man who’s ready to walk on the w
ild side and not look back.” She took a deep breath, knowing her blood wouldn’t cool for a few hours at least. “If you’re ever ready to be that man, you know where I live.”
LUKE TIPPED HIS FACE into the spray kicked up by his boat as he returned from a fishing trip later that week. He’d hoped the quiet time on the water would help him figure out what to do as far as Tori was concerned but he was still as frustrated and keyed-up as he’d been two days ago when she’d stepped into her car outside his law firm and taken off without a backward glance.
He could have stopped her. He’d even planned on taking her home with him after his talk with Dan made Luke realize he didn’t want anyone touching her but him. But something she’d said had rattled around his head—something about not trusting her judgment. Luke had regretted bringing her past back up, but maybe he’d needed to hear for himself that Tori had changed. She wasn’t the wild child of the family anymore. Luke had guessed as much, based on the success of her business and the fact that she’d carved out a nice life for herself far away from her family’s influence. But hearing about the whole Valentine’s Day manhunt had thrown him for a loop. Made him think maybe she still didn’t take enough time to evaluate dating prospects.
But maybe he just hadn’t wanted to think about her with anyone else.
Now, he slowed the engine as he steered his way from the bay into the channel between the houses on the water. He hadn’t caught many fish and what he’d taken, he’d already cleaned and stored. The boat still needed to be hosed down tonight, but Luke had showered in the craft’s tiny bathroom before the trip back, knowing he’d pass Tori’s house on the way.
Knowing he would stop.
She wanted a walk on the wild side? He planned to take her there as soon as possible. And while she’d been ticked off at him two days ago, he had chemistry on his side. She’d even admitted as much.
Twilight fell, though the sun hadn’t fully set, streaking the sky pink while the homes along the water began to brighten up. Pathway lights flicked on with daily timers, the whole neighborhood in almost perfect sync.
Except, of course, for Tori’s place.
He could see the little bungalow as he rounded a pie-shaped lot that bulged out into the channel. Tori’s home was a vintage 1930s structure, a Florida original just like its owner. The farmer’s daughter hadn’t molded her home into the upper-middle-class suburban style, preferring a few torches near the water and a line of paper bag lanterns lining the walkway from the water. In fact, he spotted her now, lighting those very lanterns with a long stick, a modern-day fairy in a batik skirt and bare feet.
He cut the engine, but she never even glanced up from the lanterns as she moved along the stone path. A shadowy canopy of bougainvillea blooms blew in the breeze from an arbor spanning half of her yard. With no noise from his boat to drown out the sounds around him, he could hear some folksy, bluesy singer wailing out a tune from her yard. She must have a speaker propped in her kitchen window again, a trick he knew she used when she wanted to have drinks or dinner on her patio.
“Tori.” He didn’t mean to call her. The name slipped from his lips as he found himself surrounded by so many things that made her the unique person she was. The container garden that bloomed year-round with one thing or another. An orange tree that had never been touched with pesticides.
Wind chimes. Night-blooming jasmine.
She straightened as he tied off the boat, her stiff posture evident even in the last purple light of dusk.
“Hi.” She nodded as she blew out the flame on the twig she’d used to light the lanterns.
Up until this past week, she would have waved him inside like she always did when he stopped by during his semiannual visits. Smiling. Comfortable.
As much as he missed the warmth of her sunny smile, he was grateful tonight that “comfortable” was no longer a facet of their relationship. Now that he’d made up his mind to take her up on her steamy proposition, he could hardly restrain himself.
“I brought you some snapper.” He didn’t grab the cooler though. Filling her freezer was mostly an excuse to see her.
“Thank you.” She reached for the scarf tied around her hair and loosened the knot, unleashing the mass of blond waves to fall around her shoulders while the silk floated to the ground.
The gesture was more careless than purposely seductive, and just like that, Luke recognized her most powerful sensual weapon. Sure, he’d felt a thrill at the sight of all the sexy photos she’d snapped that first night at her place. And seeing her in that trench coat, re-creating one of those scenes, had aroused him even more. But nothing attracted him quite as much as Tori in her natural element. Vibrant. Unaffected. Coaxing beauty from everything around her.
“Is that all you wanted?” She walked closer, an ankle bracelet jingling with each step until she stopped a few inches away from him.
He had to clench his fists to keep from reaching out to her.
“No.” The scent of night jasmine and her shampoo washed over him, drawing him deep into an attraction unlike anything he’d ever felt before. “I wanted to apologize for the way I acted that day at the office.”
Her nod was small, almost imperceptible, unless you knew her well.
“I’m sorry I suggested you’d have a meaningless affair with anyone.” His eyes wandered over her shoulders bared by the skinny straps of a purple tank top. “I know you better than that.”
“I probably shouldn’t have been so blunt in my original proposal anyhow,” she admitted, shifting her stance so that the ankle bracelet chimed again. “I’m sure it sounds crazy to you that I could be so influenced by the Valentine hoopla, but honestly, my work is so full of hearts and flowers and sexual innuendo that I’d have to be a robot to be immune to it.”
His mouth went dry at the thought of her arranging all those provocative photo shoots. Lighting half-naked bodies for the most titillating effect. Dreaming up the most seductive scenes to capture the imagination. He wondered how long he would have lasted without an outlet for the heat her job stirred.
“It would get under anyone’s skin,” he agreed, more certain than ever he had to act now on this attraction. She wouldn’t stay single forever.
He was damn lucky he hadn’t already missed his chance.
“You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?” She raised a suspicious brow, but he heard the teasing note in her voice.
Just like old times.
But he wasn’t retreating to safe territory yet. Not when there was still a chance he could use an affair as a starting point. A way to get close to her.
“No.” He reached for her hand and twined his fingers through hers, his thumb idly circling the place where the destiny tattoo lay, right on the throbbing of her pulse. “And if I wanted to make you feel better, I wouldn’t use words to accomplish the deed.”
TORI WOULD NOT LET herself misread the cues.
So if Luke wanted to think she was horribly slow-witted, that was okay. She refused to make the first move with him again when he’d been very clear about how he’d felt regarding a physical relationship with her.
For this reason, she did not fly into his arms like scrap iron to a magnet. Instead, she held herself utterly still while her brain struggled to understand his words.
Her body hot and bothered, her mind foggy with desire and confusion, she remained mute. Unyielding. It was only the urgent beat of her heart she could not control, and it reverberated through her so loudly she knew he must recognize the storm inside her.
But just when she thought she could stand no more, he wound his arm around her waist and dragged her close. His mouth covered hers and she had all the clarification she needed. The manhunt was over and they were both going to enjoy the spoils.
Restraint fell away like grain to the thresher. She released his hand to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts to the hard expanse of his chest. Excitement hummed and tingled. A million different sexy images flashed through her mind, r
ecalling all the times and all the ways she’d wished she could try out the seductive vignettes she dreamed up for her photo sessions. With him.
His mind clearly made up where she was concerned, he backed her up the stone pathway until her rump met the resistance of a tree trunk. His body surrounded hers, his flesh simmering with heat as she moved her trembling, wandering hands over him. Any thought of what they once were to each other burned away as she touched him. She could never see this man as a mere friend. His kiss was so consuming, so frankly sexual, she felt like his lover already.
Or maybe that was just what she wanted to be.
The night breeze ruffled her skirt, lifting the sheer fabric until he helped it along, gathering her hem in his hands. She shivered despite the mild evening, anticipation coursing through her darkly as her mind’s eye pictured what they must look like. Her—suspended against the porch post, melting for want of him. Him—keeping her captive with a touch that set fire to her senses.
For a long moment, he didn’t put his hands on her at all. He simply held her skirt high, letting the breeze have its way with her while his tongue plundered her mouth. She gripped his shoulders tight to steady herself, her fingers fisting in the cotton of his clean T-shirt.
Then, breaking the kiss, he lifted her hair to speak into her ear.
“Unless you want me to undress you right here, you’d better come inside with me.”
Blinking away some of the sensual haze, she calculated the steps to her bedroom. Even the kitchen table was too far.
“The hammock.” She pointed toward the far corner of the porch where a length of canvas tied between two posts was hidden from the water by the bedsheet she’d hung out to dry earlier in the day. The white cotton fluttered gently, the eyelet edging snagged on a honeysuckle hedge.
“Perfect,” he murmured, looking into her eyes.
Wrapping her arms around him, she held tight as he lifted her. He carried her to the oversize swing and deposited her in the middle of the slack fabric.
For a moment, he watched her in the moonlight, his gaze undressing her. His hunger spurring hers. She broke the moment by slipping her hand into the waistband of her skirt and shoving it down. Off.