Read Online Captive Kisses (Sweetly Contemporary Collection) by Jennifer Blake - Free Book Online Page B

still their shaking. Her
thought processes were anything but concise. She went over the same ground
again and again, trying to make sense of a smile, a word, a gesture. What was
the purpose behind his offer of a truce? Had it been meant to lull her into a sense
of security? He was a persuasive man, was Charles. It had not been easy holding
out against his soft phrases and the look of concern in his eyes. But should
she have held out, that was the question. What was there to be gained by
keeping to her animosity? Her straight-forward defiance kept him on his guard,
whereas, if she should abide by his truce, he might become so complacent that
he would cease to keep such careful watch.
    There was another possibility that had occurred to her. Why
couldn’t she make some use of this physical attraction he seemed to feel for
her? If he thought she was falling victim to his charms, he might be even less
likely to keep her under his eyes every minute of the day and night.
    She would have to be careful. It would not do to capitulate
too quickly. After her uncompromising stand, nothing would be more likely to
arouse his suspicions. She would have to be subtle in her role as smitten
female. He was not the kind of man to take lightly being used in such a way.
More than that, if she should proceed too quickly and convincingly, she might
well find herself with a more positive physical reaction from him than she was
prepared to handle. It was not part of her plans to share his bed voluntarily,
sacrificing self-respect and honor for the sake of her neck. If it should come
to that, she would have the satisfaction of fighting him tooth and nail, of
leaving him more to remember her by than a split lip and a nail burn down his
neck.
    Because she had nothing else to do, Kelly cleared away the
dishes, returning the gold-and-brown kitchen to its former state of shining
cleanliness. While she was at the sink, she heard Charles go out. A short time
later, she heard the rumble of a motor as it was kicked into life. Moving out
onto the veranda, she was in time to see a man in a boat leaving the clump of
trees further along the shoreline, the sleek white craft making a wide are as
it headed out across the lake. It must have been the burly guard from the guest
cottage, for Charles could be seen coming along the shore, making his way from
the spot from which the boat had left.
    The boathouse was just there, Kelly remembered. The judge
had built it nearer to the guest cottage than the main house since he did not
want it blocking his view of the lake. But though the low-lying wooden
structure protected an ancient aluminum fishing boat that she and the Kavanaugh
brood had paddled everywhere, and also a fiberglass bass boat fitted up with
high-powered outboard motor, trolling motor, depth finder, and every other
gadget for ferreting out sport fish, the judge had never owned such a fast and
expensive rig as was disappearing in the distance.
    Where was the guard going in such a hurry? How long would he
be away? And while he was gone who was going to guard the elderly man Charles
had called “the senator”? Did Charles expect to be able to handle both him and
herself, or was the older man lying bound and gagged, or perhaps drugged, alone
in the guest cottage?
    Kelly swung away from the door, a sick sensation in the pit
of her stomach. She did not feel like facing Charles just now. With such
thoughts preying on her mind, she was afraid she could not be civil to him,
much less conciliatory.
    In her room, Kelly busied herself making up the bed,
straightening and putting things away. It was only as she had her suitcase half
unpacked and its contents put away in the closet and dresser drawers that she
realized how far she had come toward accepting the situation, rather than just
pretending. She hesitated a moment, then decided with a shrug to finish the
job. She might as well be thorough since she would not put it past Charles to
inspect her room at any time.
    She