Like Silk

by Mary Lynn Baxter

  Brittany gasped, then lifted horrified eyes to Collier, who was looming over the man like a thundercloud ready to erupt.

  “Please, Collier,” Brittany pleaded in a tight voice, “go back and sit down. It’s all right.”

  “The hell it is,” he spat, his eyes still on the man, who was cowering against the back of the booth.

  The owner suddenly stepped into the picture, his eyes on Collier. “Is there a problem, sir?”

  “You bet there is. This man—”

  Brittany interrupted Collier. “Don’t worry about me, Winston,” she pleaded in a trembling voice. “We need to get my customer some more food.”

  “We can take care of that,” Winston said, his gaze still on Collier, clearly intimidated by Collier’s presence and the cold fury that emanated from him.

  “Please, Collier,” Brittany pleaded again, for his ears only.

  “Dammit,” he snapped. “You’re bleeding.”

  Brittany followed Collier’s eyes and saw that her pocket was stained crimson. The sight of her own blood was almost her undoing. To keep from fainting, she took several deeps breaths.

  That was when she felt Collier’s hand encircle her arm. “I’m taking you to the emergency room.”

  “No, let me go.”

  “Brittany,” Winston ordered in a contrite tone, “go to the washroom and take care of that. I’ll handle things here.”

  Before Collier could argue, Brittany pulled free of his hold, turned on wobbly legs and walked away.

  Seventeen

  “I’ll see that you get inside.”

  Brittany shook her head at Winston Tanner, who looked as uncomfortable as a fish out of water. “Thanks, but I can make it. I’m just fine. The doctor fixed me right up.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked anxiously, his thin face appearing even thinner under the streetlight.

  She forced a smile. “I appreciate you taking me to the emergency room. You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Yup, I did. And I’ll get your car back to you, too.” He shoved a hand over his balding head, then rubbed his day’s growth of whiskers. “You aren’t planning on suing me, are you?”

  Brittany blinked. “Sue you? Whatever for?”

  “You got hurt in my place, that’s what for.”

  “But it wasn’t your fault. That man was drunk. There’s nothing else to say.”

  “I’m sure there’s a lot more,” Winston added glumly, “but I’m glad you ain’t saying it.”

  Brittany reached over and patted his arm. “I’m just glad you’re not firing me.”

  “Lordy, that thought never crossed my mind.”

  “Well, then we’re even.” She made herself smile. “Thanks again for taking care of me. I’ll see you later.”

  That conversation had taken place a little over an hour ago, and Brittany still hadn’t been able to settle down. She’d had to take a sponge bath, because of the bandage on her hand. But thank goodness the cut hadn’t been as bad as she’d first thought. Even so, if she’d had her way, she wouldn’t have gone to the hospital. But when Winston had come to the back and taken a look at her hand, he’d ordered her to climb in his pickup.

  The doctor hadn’t stitched the wound, because it was more of a puncture than a cut. Still, she had lost a lot of blood, and it hurt like the devil. But at the moment, more than anything, she was exhausted.

  Before that animal had pitched a fit about his food, business had been booming. The cool, crisp evening seemed to have brought the customers out in numbers. As a rule, Friday nights were busy, but not that busy.

  Until the unfortunate incident, she hadn’t been complaining. She’d made a lot of money in tips, which was the reason she was there. Her male customers, especially her regulars, tended to tip generously. The guy who broke the glass was a stranger; he’d never been in the diner before.

  But then, neither had Collier.

  Groaning, Brittany plopped down on the sofa and closed her eyes. His image wouldn’t go away. She still couldn’t believe he’d been there. More unbelievable was that he’d witnessed the incident.

  She had never been so embarrassed, not because of what had happened, but again because Collier had been there. Cranky, out-of-sorts customers were common in the diner. She was used to dealing with them, even the belligerent ones. What she wasn’t used to dealing with was having someone around whom she cared about.

  Forbidden fruit.

  That was how she saw Collier, and she was oh, so tempted to take a bite. But she’d never get the chance. Even if he’d entertained the notion of seeing her again, tonight would have nixed that.

  A waitress. Come on. He was more than likely thanking his lucky stars he’d walked in and blindsided her. Yet he hadn’t pretended not to know her, which earned him high marks. He could have just ignored the brouhaha and not stepped in. Even so, she couldn’t afford to attach any significance to his actions.

  He remained forbidden fruit.

  Forbidden fruit or not, he’d made her aware of her sexuality as no other man ever had. She’d never really enjoyed having a man’s hands on her body; she had more or less endured. Not so with Collier. He had shown her what making love was supposed to be like between a man and woman.

  And when he’d charged to her rescue in the diner, that sexual high had kicked in once again, despite her pain and embarrassment. For a second, she’d wanted to give in and let him take control, take care of her. But that second had passed quickly, especially after she saw the look in his eyes. He’d been ready to tear that creep from limb to limb.

  Which would have bought him a trip to the police station.

  Still, it had made her proud that he’d wanted to defend her, for whatever reason. But that feeling, too, had been short-lived when she remembered he was with a woman, obviously the woman he intended to marry.

  Unwanted tears slipped from under Brittany’s closed lashes. She brushed them aside, knowing that wallowing in self-pity and what-might-have-beens would be futile.

  Like it or not, she had to move on.

  “Are you upset with me?”

  “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

  “Because you haven’t said two words since we left that place.” Lana gave an angry toss of her head, which sent her long hair swishing across her face.

  Collier was still in her car, though they were back at his office, where he’d been trying to get out of the Jag for a while now but without success.

  “It’s been a long day,” he responded in a tired voice.

  “And remember, I still have work to do.” He realized that was a lousy excuse, but it was the best he could do at the moment. That pile of papers on his desk was the furthest thing from his mind, and he had no intention of looking at them anymore tonight.

  Lana didn’t have to know that, though. He just wanted her to leave him be. But, unwilling to be rude and send her off with hurt feelings, he’d held his tongue. However, his patience was fast dissolving.

  “You’re pissed because I took you to that dump.” Her words were a flat statement of fact as she peered at him from under long lashes, thickened with mascara.

  “You know better than that.”

  “Well, it was an experience, anyway.” She smiled, then rolled her eyes. “What a creep that guy was. And that poor waitress. If that had been me, I’d have taken the plate and tossed that pile of crap in his fat face.”

  “It was all I could do not to put my fist in his fat face.”

  Lana was quiet for a moment, then she said in a strained voice, “You know that woman, don’t you?”

  He didn’t respond.

  “I kept waiting for you to say something about the incident, about her, but so far, you haven’t.”

  “There’s nothing to say,” he said in a clipped tone. “You saw everything that went down.”

  “Right, but I still get the feeling I’m missing something.”

  He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Forget it. It was jus
t a bad experience. Go home, take a bath and crawl into bed.”

  She ran the tip of her tongue across her lower lip in a provocative manner. “So how ’bout you joining me later, darling? Crawl into my bed with me.” She repeated the movement. “Daddy’s out of town. First we could indulge ourselves in a bottle of champagne, then play a while in the hot tub…” Lana let her voice trail off.

  Collier got the message, but he wasn’t biting. At one time, before Brittany, he would’ve taken her up on her offer in a heartbeat. Now he could barely stand to touch her or be touched by her in return. What had he done to himself? What had he gotten himself into?

  “Another time.”

  “Damn you, Collier. You’re turning into a real bastard.”

  He got out of the car, then turned and peered back at her. “Take care.”

  “And you go to hell!” She jammed the car in gear and spun off, leaving a trail of rubber behind.

  Collier didn’t wait for her lights to disappear before he dashed to his vehicle, jumped in and took off. He had to get to Brittany. He had to assure himself she was all right, that she’d taken care of that nasty cut. Dammit, he should already have been there instead of humoring Lana.

  What he should have done was take her to the hospital.

  Furious with himself, Collier pounded the steering wheel with a fist, then released a shuddering breath. He knew what he was doing was not smart. A sudden and bitter laugh erupted from his throat. When had he done anything smart of late? He had no business whatsoever showing up at her door.

  He didn’t even know if she would let him in, although it wasn’t all that late. No matter, he had to try to see her. Where Brittany was concerned, it was as if his emotions were on a feeding frenzy. He couldn’t stay away from her, and when he was with her, he couldn’t keep his hands off her.

  Cool it, he told himself, feeling the blood literally pound in his temples, fearing he was going to have a stroke. But when he’d seen that blood on her apron, he’d gone berserk. If the owner hadn’t been standing in his way, he would have jerked that big, beefy guy out of his booth and rearranged his ugly face.

  He didn’t get mad often, but when he did, he didn’t always think straight, which had been the case tonight. In one way, he was thankful the owner had been in between. In another, he was sorry he hadn’t gotten the extreme pleasure of teaching that piece of scum a lesson.

  Another bitter laugh erupted. He could see the headlines now. God, his dad would have had a heart attack. As to the federal appointment—well, he could have kissed that goodbye.

  Was Brittany worth that?

  Sweat poured off him, though it was chilly both inside and outside the vehicle. He should turn around and head home. No, he should turn around and head to Lana’s. At least, with her, he recognized himself. When he was around Brittany, he became a different person, someone he didn’t know.

  Suddenly he longed for his old rational self, the rat race of the life he had grown comfortable with, had come to depend on. Yet the thought of not seeing Brittany again was unthinkable.

  Collier wiped the sweat off his brow seconds before he pulled against the curb in front of her trailer house. It appeared she was at home and not in the hospital. Lights were on. Shouldn’t that satisfy him? Absolutely. All he had to do was put the car in Drive and go.

  No way.

  While the lights gave him some comfort, he couldn’t settle down until he saw her face-to-face. Feeling like a foreign substance was stuck in his throat, he got out and walked up the rickety steps, then knocked on the door.

  And waited.

  Eighteen

  Brittany opened her eyes with a start, her widened gaze quickly surveying the room. Something had awakened her, though she hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep. She sat still and waited to see if she heard the sound again.

  A knock. Someone was at her door.

  Was it…? Her heart raced with excitement. Stop it! Don’t set yourself up for more pain. Of course it wasn’t him. More than likely Collier was making love to his lady friend about now. She winced at that thought, then put it out of her mind. Winston had probably returned to check on her.

  Then her heart raced with fear. What if it was the man who had pitched a hissy fit at the diner? It wasn’t him, either, she told herself, irritated with this stupid game she was playing. He didn’t have a clue where she lived. Besides, he was probably passed out in his car or some alley.

  Simple solution. Why didn’t she just get up, go to the door and find out who was there?

  “Brittany?”

  Her heart stopped along with her legs. Just hearing his voice and knowing he was on the other side of the door filled her with both renewed excitement and sheer panic. Calm down, she told herself. She had to stop making mountains out of molehills. He might not even opt to come in. He might just have stopped by to check on her.

  Still, that was something, much more than she’d ever thought he’d do.

  Once her knees had quit knocking, she closed the distance to the door and grasped the handle. “Collier?” She had no idea why she said his name, maybe to buy herself more time to get a grip on her emotions.

  “May I come in?” He paused. “Or would you rather I didn’t?”

  Loaded question.

  “It’s okay,” she said, realizing she had on the same robe she’d had on the other time he’d surprised her. Naked underneath. Should she go change?

  “Brittany?”

  She heard the urgency in his voice and decided it made no difference one way or the other what she had on. Nothing had changed. He’d already seen her body. And touched it. Thrusting those memories aside, as well, she took a shuddering breath and unbolted the door.

  “Are you all right?” he asked right off, his eyes traveling over her body before coming back to meet her gaze.

  As always, they stared at each other for several precious seconds before sanity seemed to return and jolt them back to reality.

  “Come in,” Brittany said in a breathless tone, feeling hot all over, as if the heat from his eyes had scorched her body. As much as she would have liked to deny what was happening between them, make it go away for her own peace of mind, she couldn’t.

  If only she could look at him and not see him naked.

  She shut the door behind him, then leaned against it for support. He took two steps and swung around, his features tormented. He looked as if he’d been the one who’d gotten hurt, not her. His hair was mussed. He needed a shave. And the lines around his incredible eyes were deeper. He’d gotten rid of his tie, which left his shirt open at the neck, exposing a sprinkling of dark, crisp hairs. What would it be like to run her hands through them?

  “You never told me if you were all right.”

  “Can’t you see I’m okay?” she responded in that same breathless tone.

  “What happened after I left the diner?”

  She hesitated, hating to tell him she had gone to the E.R. She didn’t know why, except it might make him feel bad because he hadn’t taken her. Even though he shouldn’t be here, and they both knew it, she didn’t want him to feel bad about anything. She wasn’t his worry or responsibility. Just because they had an unspoken craving for each other’s bodies, that didn’t mean they had to include the rest of the package.

  “Brittany?”

  “Winston, the owner, took me to the E.R.,” she reluctantly admitted.

  His features contorted that much more. “Dammit, I knew I should’ve gone with my gut.”

  “How would you have explained that?”

  Though softly spoken, her pointed words hit their target. He lost what little color remained in his face. “That would’ve been my problem,” he muttered harshly.

  She didn’t respond.

  “How badly were you cut?”

  “Puncture wound, actually. No stitches.”

  “Thank God.” Collier paused and shoved a hand through his hair, leveling his pain-filled eyes on her once again.

  “
Hey, stop beating up on yourself.” She forced a smile, though it was weak, at best. She yearned to reassure him that she was okay, but short of physically touching him—which she couldn’t let herself do—there didn’t seem to be a way. “You came to my rescue, and I’m grateful.”

  “If I could’ve gotten my hands on that scumbag, I—”

  “Don’t, Collier,” she pleaded, stepping closer.

  “It’s just that I can’t stand the thought of any man ever damaging your lovely skin again.”

  “Why did you come here?” she whispered, almost choking on the words.

  Several heartbeats later, he said, “I couldn’t stay away.”

  “Oh, Collier…”

  “Please don’t send me away,” he said in a broken voice, stopping just short of begging.

  Later, she didn’t know how it had happened. Perhaps her trembling legs simply refused to support her any longer. She only knew his arms were around her and they were clinging to each other as if they would never let go.

  “Oh, Brittany, Brittany,” he whispered, showering her face with tiny, moist kisses before claiming her mouth in a deep, long one, his tongue seeking, then mating with hers.

  Lust. Gift wrapped in pure magic.

  She thought her lungs were going to rupture from the sheer ecstasy hitting her in waves. She didn’t care if she never saw him again after tonight. She intended to make the most of their time together, of him, and savor it for a lifetime.

  “I want you,” he rasped. “I’ve always wanted you.”

  His hands had untied her robe and were wandering over her body, lingering long enough in all the right places to force a cry from deep within her.

  But it was when a hand settled between her legs and two fingers slid inside her wet warmth that she went into a frenzy. She crushed her mouth to his, then latched onto his lower lip, sucking it.

  “Touch me,” he begged.

  Without waiting for her to take the initiative, he grasped her hand and placed it on his crotch. For an instant Brittany’s fingers remained still; she was filled with the breathless wonder that she was actually touching him there. But her inactivity didn’t last long. He was already rock-hard, and she began to rub him with her palm before taking the liberty of unzipping his slacks.