Tall, Dark And Daring

Yawning, she pulled the bedside clock radio on to her pillow and turned up the volume to prevent herself from sleeping. Why did she have to be attracted to such reckless men?

Oh, well. None of that mattered right now while she snuggled in the nest of blankets. She didn’t have enough time to nap, and the dreamy love song on the radio defeated the purpose of music in her ear, so she spun the dial until she found a polka station and cranked the volume to full blast.

No way would she sleep now.

Or so she thought until she lost herself in sensual dreams. She could feel the heat of Mitch’s hands upon her body, breathe the scent of his skin. They lay entwined on the old love seat in the library, their bodies a tangle of hungry limbs. The back of the love seat knocked a seductive rhythm against the wall.

Knock. Knock.

The sound transmuted, mingling with strains of Lawrence Welk.

“Tessa!” Mitch called her name. Too bad the hoarse cry sounded more like a shout of worry than one of ecstasy.

Knock. Knock.

“Tessa!” The object of her dreams shouted to her in time with an accordion riff blaring in her head.

She tried to blink her way out of her dream.

The door to her bedroom flew open. Mitch and a middle-aged woman in a maid’s uniform burst into her room.

“Are you all right?” Mitch’s brow creased in worry. He seated himself beside her and gently shook her bare shoulder. He flipped off the accordion. “The room next door complained about the noise. Sorry about busting in here, but I got worried when you didn’t answer the phone.”

A shiver tripped through Tessa at his touch. Her dreams were still too close to the surface for her to hide her reaction to him.

The little maid peeked around Mitch, biting her lip. “She looks okay. Perhaps she was only tired.”

“Thank God.” His gaze pierced Tessa so deeply she feared he could read her recent wanton thoughts. She might have yanked the covers over her head to escape him if he hadn’t turned away then.

“Sorry to have bothered you, Daniela.” He nodded to the maid. “Tell your son we’ll resume our practice schedule next week. Joey is really turning into a pro on his snowboard.”

The woman beamed with maternal pride. “He looks up to you so much. Thank you for all you do for him.”

Tessa blinked again as the maid left. She tried to gather her thoughts. “What time is it?”

He dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed and waved the clock radio in front of her nose. “It’s quarter past seven. I was just starting to wonder if you were going to keep our appointment when I got a call about the noise up here.”

Her sleepiness evaporated as the full impact of Mitch’s presence in her bedroom hit home. He sat so close his thigh pressed against her waist and hip. In light of the awareness zinging through her, the goose down comforter separating them seemed as substantial as a bargain brand tissue.

She was definitely not dreaming.

“I guess I fell asleep.” Too many cross-country trips for her clients. Too many Jell-O shots the other night. Only one more week and she’d reclaim her life.

He barely suppressed a laugh. “How could anyone fall asleep to the musical stylings of a German oom-pah band?”

She wriggled a few inches away from him in a vain attempt to halt the hormonal overload his thigh had instigated. The fact that she was naked beneath the sheets didn’t help matters, either. If she had to stand much more of this, she’d be wrestling Mitch to the mattress in no time.

“Sorry I’m late.” She tried to discreetly pull the covers closer to her chin. “If you give me five minutes, I’ll meet you downstairs.”

She hoped he would take the hint and go before she spontaneously combusted.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” He skimmed his hand over her forehead and leaned closer, a wolfish grin spreading over his face. “You feel kind of warm to me.”

He didn’t know the half of it.

Those long fingers called to mind the nights he had touched her, teased her in ways she hadn’t experienced before or since.

Heat kicked through her even though she wasn’t about to let herself be swayed. “I’m fine. I’ll be in the lobby in no time.”

She waited for him to leave, a prisoner of her nakedness under the covers.

He straightened but remained on the bed.

Mitch stilled his questing fingers, but his eyes were as predatory as ever. “Just out of curiosity, what have you got on under there?”

Every nerve ending leaped to life at his pretended interest, yet she would be damned if she would acknowledge it. Besides, she could handle his teasing. This was much easier than his caring.

“It’s really none of your business.” It strained her dignity to look coolly professional when she had a rat’s nest for a hairdo and had no choice but to lie down.

“I notice your bathrobe is hanging on the back of the door.” His voice turned husky and low as he jerked his thumb toward the length of navy blue terry cloth. “My guess is that it’s a hell of a lot less than that.”

Her skin tingled. Still, she pointed toward the exit. “I want you to go now.”

“Do you really?”

No.

“Yes.” She forced a determination into her voice she definitely didn’t feel.

“If we were playing our old truth or dare game right now, Tessa, I think I’d have to penalize you for fibbing.” He trailed a finger along her bare shoulder and then skimmed the length of her arm.

The touch reverberated through her, tickling nerves all the way to her thighs.

Lava streamed through her veins at the memory of past penalties. Mitch had been so very inventive….

But as delicious as those memories might be, Tessa had a job to do. She would never get it done by drooling over a man whose idea of commitment was to hire a management staff for his hotel property while he hopped the globe and broke hearts.

“I’m not here to play games this time, Mitch.”

The quiet seriousness in her voice seemed to call him from his teasing flirtation.

He scrubbed his hand over his forehead and nodded. “You’re right.”

She realized how unfulfilling being right could be when she experienced a rush of aching loss as he backed away from the bed.

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “No games this time.”

“No games.” Clutching the sheet more tightly to her, she assured herself that’s what she wanted.