One-Click Buy: February 2010 Harlequin Blaze

by Betina Krahn

  “He might. He didn’t make an appointment, so I don’t know what time he plans to show up. If he comes, tell him I’ll be back soon.”

  “Tenley, I am not going to make excuses for you. The man has come all the way from Chicago. The least you could do is talk to him.”

  Oh, she’d done a whole lot more than talk to him already, Tenley mused. If her grandfather only knew the naughty things he’d done to her, he’d probably lock the front door of the gallery and call Harvey Willis to escort Alex out of town. “I’ll only be a few minutes, so—”

  The bell above the gallery door jingled and she heard someone step inside. Tenley forced a smile. “There he is,” she said. Clutching the envelopes in front of her, she wandered out of the workroom and into the showroom. Alex stood at the door, dressed in a sport jacket, a crisp blue shirt and dark wool trousers. His hair was combed and he’d shaved and he looked nothing like the man she’d left that morning.

  “Hello,” she said, unable to hide a smile. There were times when she forgot just how handsome he was. Boys like Alex had always been way out of her league. They dated the popular girls, the girls who worried about clothes and hair and…boobs. They always had boobs. Tenley glanced down at her chest, then crossed her arms over her rather unremarkable breasts.

  “Hi. I’m here to see T. J. Marshall.”

  Tenley swallowed hard. It was now or never. Her grandfather wouldn’t take part in the subterfuge, so Tenley was faced with only one choice. She cleared her throat and straightened to her full height. “I’m T. J. Marshall. At least, I’m the one you’re looking for.”

  He didn’t seem surprised. “Yeah, I kind of figured that out on my own.” He crossed the room and held out his hand. “Alex Stamos. Stamos Publishing.”

  Hesitantly, she placed her fingers in his palm. The instant they touched, she felt a tremor race through her. He slowly brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her fingertips. “I missed you this morning,” he whispered. “I woke up and you weren’t there.”

  “See, that wasn’t so difficult.”

  Tenley jumped at the sound of her grandfather’s voice. She tugged her hand from Alex’s and fixed a smile on her face. “Alex Stamos, this is my grandfather, Thomas Marshall. Also known as T.J. Or Tom.”

  Alex held his hand out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. You have a very talented granddaughter. Did she tell you we’re interested in publishing her graphic novel?”

  “I’ve always thought she had talent. She used to draw little sketches in all my books. Drove me crazy. I thought she might be an illustrator someday. She never did like books without pictures.” He chuckled softly. “Well, it’s a pleasure, Alex. I’ll leave you two to your business.”

  When they were alone, Alex reached out for her hand again, placing it on his chest. “Why did you leave?”

  “I figured I’d better get out of there or the whole town would be talking.”

  Alex gave her fingers a squeeze. “So, what do you think they’d say if I took you to breakfast? There’s a nice little coffee shop down the street from the inn.”

  “You didn’t stay for the cinnamon rolls?”

  He shook his head. “Hmm. Cinnamon rolls. Tenley. Cinnamon rolls. Tenley. The choice wasn’t tough.”

  “All right,” she said. “But you’re buying.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Tenley grabbed her jacket and they stepped out into the chilly morning. “How did you figure it out?” she asked as they headed away from the harbor.

  “I was flipping through some of those books your grandfather mentioned. There were drawings in the margins. At first I thought they were just crude scribblings, but then I came across one that looked very familiar.”

  Tenley knew she ought to apologize. But that might prompt a discussion of her motives and even she wasn’t sure why she’d kept her real identity a secret from him. “I didn’t intend to deceive you. I just didn’t want anything to…I wanted to be able to…I wasn’t ready…” She shook her head, feeling her cheeks warm with embarrassment. “It’s sometimes easier not to get too personal. At least, that’s always worked for me in the past.”

  “So, I’m just one in a long line of uninformed men?” he asked.

  Her breath caught in her throat. “No! You’re not like anyone I’ve every known. I thought if you knew, you wouldn’t want to sleep with me.” She cursed softly. “I wanted you and you wanted me. All that other stuff is just…business.”

  “I have rules about mixing business with pleasure. Very strict rules.”

  “You haven’t mixed the two. Not yet.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She straightened. “I haven’t agreed to do business with you, Alex, so all we’ve had is the pleasure part. You haven’t broken any rules…yet.”

  Alex laughed, shaking his head. “Whatever made me think this was going to be easy? God, I thought I’d come up here, do my little presentation, charm you and get you to sign on the dotted line.”

  “You have charmed me,” she said.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard I have a way with women,” he muttered. “But do me a favor. Don’t say no until I’ve told you the plan. Consider my offer and if you don’t like it, then I’ll—I’ll make you another offer.” He stopped and grabbed her arms, turning her to face him. “But be assured of one thing, Tenley. You are going to sign with me.”

  “You must have a lot of confidence in that charm of yours,” Tenley said.

  “It worked on you, didn’t it?”

  “I think you’re forgetting who seduced whom.” She started walking again, then turned back to him. “Maybe I should hire an agent. Just to make sure I get the best deal.”

  “At least an agent would make sure you didn’t pass on a great deal. He’d say, don’t be stupid. Sign the contract.”

  In truth, Tenley was interested in how much her novel might bring. After talking with her grandfather, she’d begun to see the wisdom in his words. She’d be silly to turn down a chance to make money from her art. But she had no idea what a project like hers was worth. There was the money to discuss—and a few other conditions.

  “But an agent will take fifteen percent,” he added. “You don’t need an agent. I’m going to give you a good offer.” He caught up to her as they turned down the main street, toward the inn. “I had a nice time last night. Did you sleep well?”

  Tenley nodded. “I did.”

  “I’m going to stay another night,” he said.

  “I thought you’d be leaving today.”

  Alex took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. “Nope. I’m going to stay until I convince you to sign with us. And after that, we’re going to go over all the things that need to be done with your story to make it better.”

  When they reached the coffee shop, Alex opened the door for her and stepped aside for her to enter. The shop was filled with all the usual customers. Morning coffee was a daily ritual for a number of the folks in town, choosing the same seats every day.

  Her entrance caused a quite a stir, with everyone turning to watch as the hostess seated them in a booth near the front windows. She handed them menus and asked about coffee. Alex ordered a cup and Tenley asked for orange juice.

  “Why is everyone staring?” Alex whispered.

  “I don’t usually come in here,” Tenley said. “It’s like Gossip Central. If you want the town to know your business, you just mention it during breakfast at The Coffee Bean. Here, information moves faster than the Internet.”

  They ordered breakfast, Tenley choosing a huge platter with three eggs, bacon, hash browns, a biscuit and three small pancakes. Alex settled for toast and coffee.

  “Not hungry?” she asked.

  “I usually have a bigger lunch,” he said. “So, I think we need to talk business.”

  “Let’s not,” Tenley said, slathering her biscuit with honey. She took a huge bite and grinned at him. “Sex always makes me hungry. I find that my app
etite is in direct proportion to the intensity of my orgasms. This morning I am really, really hungry. You should be, too. We did it three times—no wait, four times, last night. That has to be some kind of record.”

  Alex glanced around. “Do you really think this is an appropriate topic for breakfast conversation?”

  Tenley slipped her foot out of her boot and wriggled her toes beneath his pant leg. “You know what I like the best? I like the way you look, right before you come. Your lip twitches and you get this really intense expression on your face. I love that expression.”

  She loved the way his body tensed and flexed as he moved inside of her, she loved the feel of his skin beneath her fingers and the warmth of his mouth on hers. Tenley loved that she could make him lose touch with reality for a few brief moments. There weren’t many things that she did well, but seducing Alex was one task at which she excelled.

  Alex cleared his throat. “Stop.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t like being teased, especially in public.”

  She took another bite of her biscuit and then held it out to him. “You should eat more. You’re going to need your energy. We should go skiing. Have you ever been cross-country skiing?”

  “Never,” Alex said.

  “Or skating. There’s a nice rink in Sister Bay. And you can rent skates. Do you know how to skate?”

  “I used to play hockey when I was a kid. But I’m not much for the cold. I prefer warm-weather activities. I like windsurfing. I go hiking. I like to water-ski.”

  “We have all that here. Just not now.”

  “Tenley, I want to talk about this contract.”

  “Always about business,” she muttered. “I find business very dull. And if you’re trying to charm me, you’re not doing a very good job. If I want to go skating, then you should be happy to take me.”

  “I don’t have anything to wear,” he said.

  “We have stores here. You’ll need some long underwear and a decent pair of boots. And some good gloves. Those leather gloves won’t last. We’ll go shopping after breakfast.”

  It was nice to have a playmate, both in and out of bed. Alex made a good companion. He was funny and easygoing and he seemed to find her amusing. And he made her shudder with pleasure whenever he touched her. What more could a girl want?

  She grabbed a piece of bacon from her plate and slowly munched on it. With Tommy’s death, she’d lost her best friend. Since then, she hadn’t tried to find a new one. Alex was the first person she really wanted to spend time with.

  “All right,” he said. “We’ll talk business at dinner.”

  “At my place,” she said. “I’ll cook.”

  “You’re not going to distract me again,” he said. “I want you to promise. And I think it would be better if we went out.”

  Tenley shrugged. “We’ll see.”

  “If you don’t promise, I’m going to kiss you, right here and now.” He glanced around. “What would the gossips say about that?”

  “Go ahead,” Tenley said. “I dare you.” In truth, she wanted him to accept the challenge. She wanted to shock everyone watching, to make them wonder just what poor, pitiful Tenley Marshall was doing with this sexy stranger.

  When he didn’t make a move, she leaned across the table, took his face in her hands and gave Alex a long, lingering kiss. She didn’t bother to look at the crowd’s reaction. Tenley chose to enjoy the look on Alex’s face, instead. “I don’t make a dare unless I’m willing to back it up.”

  He licked his lips, then grinned. “Bacon,” he murmured. Reaching out, he snatched a piece from her plate. “Maybe I’m hungrier than I thought.”

  5

  ALEX CURLED INTO Tenley’s naked body, pulling her against him and tucking her backside into his lap. He usually didn’t spend a lot of time outdoors during the winter. But since he’d come to Door County, he’d realized just how delicious it felt to spend the day outside in the cold and the evening getting warm in bed.

  Though this had begun as a business trip, it was slowly transforming into one of the best vacations he’d ever had. Previous vacations had always been solitary escapes, a time to get away from his social life and focus on himself. But his time with Tenley was making him question why he hadn’t enjoyed those holidays in the company of a woman.

  Perhaps because he didn’t really know any women who shared his interests. The girls he dated weren’t really interested in hiking the mountains or rafting river rapids. But Tenley had probably experienced more of those things than he had. “Are you awake?” he whispered.

  “Umm. Just barely.”

  “What do you think of rock climbing?”

  “Right now?” she asked.

  “No, in general.”

  “It’s difficult to do in the winter,” she said. “Cold hands, slippery rocks, big boots. But there are some nice spots around here if you come back in the summer. We could go.” She rolled over to face him. Her hands smoothed over his chest and she placed a kiss at the base of his neck. “You should try kayaking. And hiking at Rock Island is fun. But that’s all summer stuff. We could snowshoe. Have you ever been snowshoeing? I’ll take you tomorrow if you’d like.”

  “Interesting,” he said.

  “It is.” She sighed, then rolled on top of him, stretching her naked body along the length of his. “And then there’s sex. Sex is a year-round thing in Door County.” Her lips found his and she gave him a sweet kiss.

  Was it possible she was the perfect woman? He’d always imagined his ideal mate to be tall and blonde and eager to please. And though Tenley did excel in the bedroom, she did it on her own terms. There was no question about who was in control. Maybe he’d been looking for the wrong perfect woman.

  “Is there anything you wouldn’t try?” he asked.

  “Scuba diving,” she said. “Being underwater scares me. It would be like drowning alive.”

  Well, there it was. She wasn’t perfect. Alex loved scuba diving. “Interesting,” he said.

  “You know what would be really interesting? If you’d get up and make dinner for us.”

  “Don’t you think you’re taking this slave-boy thing a bit too far? Just because I want that contract, doesn’t mean you can take advantage of me.”

  She sat up and clapped her hands, her face lighting up with amusement. “Oh, a slave boy. I’ve always wanted one of those. I think that’s a wonderful idea.” Tenley crawled over the covers until she was stretched out alongside him, her head at his feet. She wiggled her toes. “Rub my feet, slave boy.”

  Alex let his gaze drift along her naked body. Would he ever get enough of her? Though he’d only known her for a few days, he’d come to think of her body as his, as if he were the only one smart enough to see what an incredible woman she was.

  Grabbing her foot, he rubbed his thumbs against her arch. “How’s that?”

  “Oh, that feels so nice.”

  He pressed his lips to a spot beneath her ankle. “How about that?”

  “That’s nice, too. But don’t stop rubbing.”

  “So, let me tell you about what we can do for your novel.”

  “Please don’t. I just want to relax. Talking about business makes me nervous.”

  “Do you plan to fight me on this every step of the way? If this is some plan to drive me crazy so I’ll leave, it’s not going to work.”

  “Would sex work?” she asked.

  “Sex?”

  “Yes. If I seduced you right now, would you be satisfied?”

  “I’m always satisfied when you seduce me.” Alex picked up her other foot. “What are you afraid of, Tenley? Most artists would jump at the chance to sell their work.”

  “I don’t really know what I’m doing,” she said. “I didn’t go to art school. I haven’t studied writing. I have no technique, no style. I’m afraid if I have to produce something, I’ll just…freak out.”

  “You don’t seem like the type to freak out. Besides, some of the greatest writ
ers and artists never went to college. So that excuse doesn’t fly. What else?”

  “That story was personal. What if I only have one story in me? And now that it’s out, there’s nothing left.”

  “No problem. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we’ll focus on the novel you have written. Anything else?”

  “Are you going to work on this book with me?”

  “Yes. You’ll also have an editor to work with once the contract is signed. But if you want me to stay involved, I will. This imprint is my idea, so I am going to have my fingers in it until it gets up and running.”

  “So, you and I will be…business associates? And we’ll pretend that we’ve never seen each other naked. And that we’ve never touched each other in intimate ways.”

  He chuckled. “That’s going to be very difficult to forget.”

  She sat up, crossing her legs in front of her and resting her arms on her knees. “But how will it work, when I see you? Don’t you think it will be strange?”

  Alex saw the confusion in her eyes. “Because we’ve been lovers? I don’t know. I guess we’re just going to have to make it up as we go along.”

  To be honest with himself, Alex hadn’t really thought about the end of their affair. He wasn’t sure why it had to end. The passion they’d shared was real and intense, not something that could be tossed aside without a second thought.

  Was Tenley worried she was about to become another notch on his bedpost? Like all those other women who’d registered their complaints on that silly Web site? Sure, he didn’t have the best reputation, but where was it written that a guy couldn’t change?

  “Tenley, I want to get to know you better. I don’t want to think this will be over when I go back to Chicago.”

  A tiny smile twitched at her lips. “Me neither.”

  “Then let’s do it. Let’s get to know each other. You start. Ask me any question and I’ll answer it. Go ahead.”

  She regarded him shrewdly. “All right. Do you want to have sex with me all the time, or are there times when you’re thinking about something else?”