by Karen Docter
A peach bath towel, wrapped sarong-like around her slenderness, was all that covered her body exposing too many square inches of luscious skin for his peace of mind. Dan could hardly breathe, let alone talk. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself,” Tess breathed, leaning against the door.
Silky skin, glistening with moisture. Dewy eyes, the color of cinnamon. Husky voice, deep enough to drown a man’s senses.
Dan thought of red wine and tangled sheets, of candlelight and sweet caresses. This was how he’d imagined Tess would look when she made love. Warm, soft, and so damned sexy, his teeth hurt. He stifled the growl crawling up his throat and watched a stream of tiny bubbles slide over her collarbone. It traced an erotic line over the curve of one breast until the plush towel soaked up the moisture.
He cleared his throat when he realized Anthony could appear any second and easily decipher the forbidden thoughts zipping through Dan’s head. “It looks like I caught you at a bad time.”
“I was taking a bath,” she said. “I’m finished now.”
Dan was the one who was finished. He had to get out of there before he did something stupid...like blaze the same trail the bubbles had taken. The flimsy, terry cloth barrier wouldn’t stop him. “Maybe we’d better talk on the other side of the door, Tess. Ignoring nosy neighbors, you’ve got to be chilly in this draft.”
Without a word, Tess smiled and raised her arm to invite him into the apartment.
Watching her close the door and fumble with the lock, Dan’s eyes narrowed. He forced himself to look past her gorgeous skin and long legs so deliciously displayed to the bright flags of color on her cheeks. To the glassy-eyed look she turned on him. “Lady, you’re blasted!”
“I’m not blashted.” Tess stiffened, her next words uttered with obvious care. “I...am...re...laxed.”
He grinned. “If you’re not more than three sheets to the wind, I’m Elmer Fudd.”
She shook her head, her gorgeous hair working loose of the bun on top her head, falling in disarray around her damp shoulders. “Nuh-uh. You’re Dan.”
Her voice softened. “And, I always shee...seem to be thanking you for something.” Her shrug threatened the stability of the knot in her towel. “I was going to punch you in the nose, but—”
That was all the warning Dan received. Tess stepped close until her body aligned with his from chest to thigh. The air whooshed from his lungs. His arms spontaneously wrapped around her to catch the towel between them. In the next instant, he forgot why it was imperative to keep it from dropping to the floor.
Tess’s long fingers framed both sides of his jaw. With a little tug, she pulled him down and kissed the corner of his mouth. The slippery, wet kiss transferred several of the bubbles on her cheek to his face. He could feel them pop against his skin.
Though the caress was brief, tormenting fire blossomed beneath the spot her lips had brushed. It was a ride down the fine line that separates a kiss between friends and a tease between potential lovers. Dan knew which side of the line he rode and wished he didn’t. He dropped his clenched fists to his sides so he couldn’t do anything foolish.
Thoughts of making love to this incredible woman throughout the night made his words come out a little garbled. “Uhh, Tess, Anthony’s not going to like seeing his girl kissing a man in the altogether.”
“You’re not in the,” hiccup, “altogether. I am.” She ruined her logic with a giggle, her smooth arms creeping around his neck. Her voice lowered to a conspiring whisper. “You know, I’m not really Anthony’s girl since I introduced him to Cleo. He doesn’t care who I kiss, so you’re safe.”
Safety was the last thing on Dan’s mind while the scent of hot spices filled his lungs, smothering most of his oxygen supply. Damn. Now he had a clue as to why Tess was upset, he couldn’t take advantage of her. Anthony had to be a grade-A jerk to leave her for another woman.
Dan frowned when Tess swayed against him. He held her in place with his hands on her curvaceous hips, a torment under the circumstances. “Honey, how much have you had to drink?”
Her fingers played with his shirt buttons. “One, no, two....” she trailed off with a puzzled look.
It took him a few minutes to sort out that a combination of an overlong business function, several cocktails, and a pain pill for a killer headache had reduced her to her present state. He wasn’t sure where Anthony’s defection fit into the picture, but he’d figure it out.
First, he had to cut his desire off at the knees. Dan watched the towel creep down Tess’s full breasts and battled his first impulse to let the pieces fall where they may. “Tess, maybe you’d better put on some clothes.”
Her lips pursed. “You aren’t very happy to see me.”
The hunger twisting his gut into an intricate knot contradicted her observation. “Sweetheart, if I were any happier, I’d have a heart attack,” he muttered. Loosening her arms around his neck, he shoved his hormone level down another notch. “I don’t want you to catch cold,” he said, louder.
She nuzzled his chest. “But, I’m not cold.”
Dan groaned, having already reached that conclusion. She might project a cool, businesslike image on the outside but, inside, she was enthusiastic, smart, caring and passionately involved in whatever she believed in. He suspected she loved as fiercely.
Which is why he found the strength to gently push her away. “Please,” he begged directing her fingers up to the damp towel.
Tess sighed audibly when his knuckles brushed warm skin. She allowed him to nudge her toward her bedroom, but looked over her shoulder one last time. “You won’t leave?”
“I’ll be right here, if you need me.” The promise was easy to make. Still, he was glad when she left the room and he could breathe again.
It was nearly half an hour later before he found Tess sprawled face down across her double bed. She’d managed to pull on a thigh-length silk robe before falling asleep but with her damp hair curling around her face and shoulders with abandon, the brief covering didn’t help his libido much.
With one finger, he tucked a tendril of dark hair behind her ear. He dragged the back of his knuckles down the satiny texture of her cheek. She stirred, murmured something against the cream-colored bedspread. A small snore parted her delectable lips.
Easing the stress card he’d given her from her limp fingers, he smiled at the color. “Yeah,” he whispered. “You’re relaxed, all right. But, honey, the idea is to be blue and conscious. We’ll have to work on that.”
Chapter Six
Tess stumbled through her apartment, driven to stop Anthony's shrill warbling. Usually, she loved awakening to her canary's cheerful song. Then again, her head didn't usually pound like the surf after a tropical storm, either. She had only one mission on her mind, find Anthony's fancy seed bell and shove it under his beak.
"It's too early for this, Anthony," she moaned, pushing at the swinging kitchen door. "Let me die in peace."
"It's after ten, Anthony's not here and, to my knowledge, no one's ever died from a hangover."
"Oh!" The unexpected sound of Dan's voice stopped Tess abruptly so the door swung back and smacked her in the forehead. Pain exploded behind her closed eyes.
When she reopened them, Dan stood before her in overpowering, deliciously masculine splendor. His feet were bare and he wore a cotton shirt over his jeans, but the jeans rode dangerously low on his hips and the shirt gaped open. All Tess saw was miles of hard muscular chest, liberally dusted with curly, auburn hair.
Steel, wrapped in copper velvet.
For one brief, wild, crazy instant, she flirted with the notion of reaching out to feel for herself if any of her fantasies came the slightest bit close to reality. She'd dreamed of lightly dragging her nails over his body, watching his muscles contract and play beneath her fingertips, listening for the hitch in his breath as she traced over a taut stomach to dangerous territory begging further exploration.
Dan looked like he'd crawled out of bed a few minut
es ago...or was preparing to crawl back into one. She wanted it to be hers, and that made her nerves jingle under the weight of the hangover beating at her head.
He held the door with one hand, one of her jumbo coffee mugs in the other hand. "Are you all right?"
"No, I'm not all right," she snapped. "There's a troll with a hammer in my head, a half-naked man in my kitchen, and an air raid siren disguised as a bird in my living room." To make matters worse, in her faded kimono and sleep-mashed hair, she was sure to look as awful as she felt. She wished she’d taken more time in the bathroom than to brush the nasty taste out of her mouth! "I probably look like something Colby dug up."
Dan grinned. "If my dog brought something like you home, I don't think he'd get into nearly as much trouble."
Her pulse skipped triple time at the backhanded compliment. "I hope that's coffee." She nodded toward the cup in his hand. "If it's not, there's still time to make a run for it. I'm not exactly a morning person."
His laughter rumbled pleasantly through her as he drew her away from the door and handed her his mug. "You'll feel more human after a dose of caffeine."
"It'll take a mega-dose this morning," she murmured. The need to kick-start her brain prompted her to gulp the hot black coffee without the benefit of milk and sugar. Her reward was a scalded tongue.
"I picked up breakfast." Dan turned away. "Bacon, eggs, and the best sourdough toast you've ever tasted."
Watching him settle strips of raw bacon in a frying pan, Tess's stomach flipped over. "I'm not really hungry," she assured him with a delicate shudder.
A sympathetic smile sharpened the definition of the intriguing indentations that framed his mouth. "Then, it's a good thing I also have my secret weapon."
There were several in his arsenal. Thankfully, he seemed unaware of her susceptibility to all of them. "Secret weapon?"
"Pastry. I found the most sinful bakery this side of the Rocky Mountains four blocks from here. I guarantee, one bite and you'll crave more." He returned to his task at the stove.
Pushing away her more lustful cravings, she strove to make sense of his presence in her kitchen. The first whiff of frying pork tantalized her nose before she gave up that exercise, too. "What are you doing here, Dan?"
A wary frown creased his forehead. "I don't suppose you're referring to breakfast."
"No. I'm not."
"You do remember asking me to stay?"
She shrugged. "Uh, where...?"
"I slept on the couch, Tess." Dan flipped off the electric burner and leaned back against the counter, his arms crossed over his broad chest. "What do you remember?"
Not enough, and all too much. She'd obviously shed more than her clothes when she climbed into the bathtub last night. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I should have punched you in the nose instead."
He corrected her. "You mean you should have punched Anthony. He's the one who left you alone last night."
Her face lifted to the ceiling, she groaned. Could she have made more of a mess of things? "It's not what you think. Anthony didn't abandon me."
Dan was quick to make excuses for her missing lover. "Of course not. I'm sure, when he comes to his senses and dumps what's-her—na...um, he'd be nuts not to come back."
Tess choked back a laugh. It didn't take all that long to lose control of the conversation. "Do you think I should take him back if he does?" she asked, suddenly curious.
"I'm not sure I'm the best person to—"
He paused when he saw her smile. "What's so funny?"
"If I were upset about Anthony's new squeeze, do you think I'd want to be reminded of her?"
When Dan remained silent, Tess's discomfort grew. She blurted the truth more baldly than she'd intended. "Anthony is not, and never has been, my boyfriend. He didn't leave me for another woman." The rest escaped in another rush of words. "Anthony and Cleopatra aren't people. They're my canaries."
Straightening away from the counter, he worked through her confession. Several strong emotions darkened his eyes. Confusion. Disbelief. Anger. All those...and something more she couldn't begin to interpret, it disappeared so quickly.
Tess's stomach churned with regret. Her head pounded in chastisement. She should never have allowed her lie to continue, let their friendship suffer because she was too weak to fight the way he made her feel. It wasn't his fault he'd brought to life senses she'd purposely allowed to atrophy after her fiancé left her, stirred up yearnings and dreams she'd thought towed off in the twisted wreckage of the car that crippled her father.
Dan had every right to walk out of the kitchen, out of her life, without a backward glance. Sweet mercy, she hoped he didn't. His smiles of greeting, his jokes when she made her rounds each morning these past two weeks had become incredibly important to her. Like her coffee, Dan McDonald had become a fix she didn't want to do without.
He crossed the room to loom over her. One word cracked through her regret with the snap of a whip. "Why?"
Whatever she said was bound to reveal too much. "I had to tell the clinic doctor something she'd accept."
Thunderclouds developed in his eyes, reminding her of a tropical storm building on the ocean's horizon. "Tess."
"I know it was a dangerous thing to do, but I didn't want to bother you anymore." The hurried excuse sounded lamer stated aloud.
His finger swept over her mouth, erasing her half-truth. "But, that's not all, is it? You deliberately led me to believe you were involved with someone."
If her knees weren't shaking so badly from that one light touch she would have bolted from the accusation. "Dan, I'm sorry."
Her backside bumped against the cupboard when he trapped her by placing both hands flat on the counter. His heat seeped through her kimono, scorching her skin in ever-widening circles from two separate fronts. "'Sorry' doesn't tell me why you created a man to hide behind, Tess," he said, his voice low, rough. "Who the hell are you hiding from?"
Desire, desperately close to the surface whenever he was near, flared and released the words. "You...me...us."
Something tangible shifted in the air between them. Tess had taken a step off an emotional cliff, like a lemming seeking destruction, and she wasn't sure she'd survive the crash waiting for her on the rocks below.
"And we'd be a bad thing together, wouldn't we?"
His agreement shouldn't have hurt, but it did. "Terrible."
His head lowered until his lips were less than a promise away. "Then tell me, Tess, why 'terrible' feels so right because I'll be damned if I can figure it out."
Without waiting for a response he closed the infinitesimal distance between them, the emotional storm she saw in his eyes breaking on her lips in a hard, scorching kiss. There was demand in his kiss, a question. Weeks of restraint crackled between them, his or hers, she couldn't tell. Didn't care. All her fantasies had culminated in this one, primitive assault of his mouth.
An eternity later, Dan's fingers drifted through her hair, softening the caress, his palms cool against her hot cheeks. The world around her disappeared, until her only points of reference were Dan's hands and mouth, his scent, his breath mingling with hers.
There was nothing terrible about the way he plundered one corner of her mouth and slowly – God, ever so excruciatingly slowly – worked his way to the other side, little nips he soothed with his tongue. Each touch fanned the fire in her belly, setting off another series of goose bumps under her skin, until she shivered under the heat.
Sweet mercy, she wanted to make love to this man! His kiss, alone, held so much, promised everything. A tangle of emotions and feelings washed over her again and again, a cleansing tide, until she eagerly awaited the next wave. Anticipated it with delight. Expectation. Yearning.
Suddenly, kisses weren't enough. Her love-starved body screamed for more points of contact. A voice at the back of her mind whispered urgent messages that propelled her to touch the silky curls on Dan's chest, to draw closer so she could taste his warm skin.
He j
erked back. "Whoa!"
Stunned by his abrupt withdrawal, Tess stared. "What's wrong?"
"If you don't want me," he said, a pained look on his face, "just say so. Pouring coffee into my pocket is a bit drastic."
"But, I didn't—"
She bit back the denial when she saw the empty mug in her limp hand, the dark stain spreading down the front of his jeans clearly defining his arousal. With a cry of horror at what she’d done, she brushed past him to pull an ice pack from the freezer. When she spun around she ran directly into Dan, crashed back against the open freezer dislodging stacks of TV dinners and pot pies which fell over her shoulders, bounced off his bare chest, and then scattered to the floor.
His hands closed on her arms. "What are you doing, Tess?"
How he could sound so nonchalant when he had to be in pain, Tess didn't know. "We need to put ice on this burn." She lightly touched the damp bulge.
Dan closed his eyes briefly, groaned, and she quickly snatched her hand away, sure she'd completely emasculated the poor man. "If you’d only let me hel—"
He held her off. "That would be adding insult to injury, don't you think?"
When she saw his eyes twinkled with humor, not pain, that his smile was genuine, she felt her face flush. The coffee must have cooled before she dumped it all over him in her eagerness to climb under his skin. "I should have gone with my first impulse and punched you in the nose."
His crooked grin unraveled her resolve. "I liked your second impulse better."
She did, too. If Dan hadn't broken off the kiss, she'd be tearing off his clothes and making love to him on her kitchen floor right this minute and, from all appearances, Dan wouldn't have objected. Her attention now drawn to other, thankfully undamaged, parts of his anatomy, she couldn't tear her eyes away. As she watched, Dan seemed to grow fuller, larger.
"Tess?"
Stifling a low moan of frustration at the way his husky tone wrapped around her name, she turned away. Her fingers fumbling, she busied herself picking up the packages of frozen food and shoving them back in the freezer. Oh, to cool the fire that raged through her traitorous body as easily!