Read Online Escapade by Susan Kyle - Free Book Online Page B

touched his brandy snifter gently to her full lower lip, which was devoid of lipstick. “Taste.”
    “I don’t like brandy,” she began.
    “It’s an acquired taste. Acquire it.”
    He smiled slowly, and she couldn’t resist him. She tasted it and made a face as it stung her tongue.
    “You’re the one indulging in it. Why force me?” she asked, watching him reach out to place the snifter on the bar.
    “Because.”
    She smiled back at him, delighted at his playfulness, then stunned when he casually draped his arm around her. Amanda’s heart ran wild at the closeness, at the feel of all that warm strength and power so near. He looked tall and intimidating at this range. Far too handsome for comfort with the overhead light making metallic patterns in his blond hair, with his dark eyes narrow and sensuous looking into hers.
    Her breath caught as his fingers stroked down the side of her neck. His voice was deep and soft in the stillness. His eyes searched hers. She could feel his breath on her parted lips. “Being near you makes me hungry.”
    Amanda quivered and drew in her breath at the suggestion of such intimacy.
    He cocked an eyebrow at the betraying gasp and let his gaze fall deliberately to her mouth. He dragged his thumb over it. She wanted him. He wanted her. He kept fighting the temptation to give in to it, but it got worse by the day.
    He moved away from her abruptly and picked up his drink.
    “I must be more exhausted than I realized,” he said dryly as he bent his head to light a cigar. “Where do you fancy eating tonight?” he asked.
    Amanda was still trembling inside, but if he could shake off that kind of sensual temptation, so could she.
    “I still like seafood.”
    He turned, with frank admiration in his eyes. He didn’t like most women, but Amanda was unique: an independent woman with a mind of her own who could still be very, very feminine when she wanted to. “So do I. Go change and we’ll go.”
    “Okay,” she added, and hesitated. She looked worried.
    He sighed. “You can trust me. I don’t have plans to seduce you on the table.”
    She sighed. “Pity,” she murmured, tongue-in-cheek.
    She could learn to play his game if she had to, she thought to herself.
    He cocked an eyebrow. “I told you. I’m not that kind of man. I want some assurances, or I’m not leaving the island with you.”
    She laughed delightedly. She could manage her turbulent emotions with humor. Right now it was the only safety valve she had. “Oh, all right,” she muttered.
    His gaze slid over her without expression, although there was an unfamiliar glitter in it. “Whenever you’re ready,” he said quietly.
    He made it sound like a statement of intent. “When I’m ready?”
    “Are you going to dress?” he asked with polite interest. He flicked his wrist and checked the time. “Because I’ve got a long-distance call coming in three hours that I have to be back here for.”
    “Oh. Sorry. I’ll hurry.”
    He was, she thought as she rushed upstairs to dress, the most exasperating man she’d ever met. He wasn’t like Josh lately. He was intense and watchful. He’d wanted to kiss her, but he seemed always to catch himself in time. She wanted to push him off balance and see what happened. Something was bothering him, something deeply personal. She wished she could ask what it was.
     
     
    B ack in Montego Bay, a frustrated Brad had spent a fruitless evening and morning trying to seduce one saucy little blond waitress. He hadn’t had any success, and his own woes were playing on his mind.
    The call he’d just received was from Las Vegas, from a flunky who worked for the casino owner to whom he owed a fortune. Perhaps, he thought, if he could speak to the owner himself, he could buy enough time to tell Josh how much trouble he was in. He hadn’t managed that much nerve just yet.
    He picked up the phone in the suite he’d rented and dialed a stateside number, waiting impatiently for it to