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Authors: Stephanie James
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hitched a ride for us to the middle of nowhere! You're the one who got us one room in a sleazy motel when I told you to get two! You're the one who assumed that just because we were forced to share a bed, I would let you make love to me! You're the one who seduced me while I was asleep, long after I'd made it clear I had no intention of going that far! You took advantage of me! And you ignored me at the last moment when I finally realized what was happening and told you to stop!"
"Of course I ignored you," he murmured, bending his head to brush his mouth affectionately across her forehead and then the tip of her nose. "You'd really have been angry at me this morning if I hadn't!"
"You're despicable!" She brought up a hand, wedging it against his chest and trying to shove him away. It was like pushing the Rock of Gibraltar.
"What if I told you I was also sorry?" he whispered tantalizingly, his mouth seeking out the vulnerable place behind her ear. Lazily his hand toyed with the wing of hair in the way.
"Sorry! Sorry for what?" she challenged, wishing she could cry but far too angry to do any such thing. She stood rigidly in his embrace, stoically ignoring the inviting gentleness of his mouth and the sensuous heat of his body. She had learned her lesson last night. Never again would she let her emotions run away with her common sense. What a fool she had been!
"For getting you involved in that stupid tavern brawl last night, for the cheap motel room, for stranding you two hours away from home in strange surroundings, for taking you out of your world and showing you something of mine...."
"Beginning to realize you handled it all wrong, are you?" she flung back waspishly, closing her eyes fiercely against the tenderness in his mouth and hands. She would not let herself be seduced again!
"Yes," he admitted wryly. "I never meant to put you in a temper like this! I never meant to spend our first night together in a place like this and I never meant to wind up in a honky-tonk with you, either. But you just kept pushing..."
"So now it's my fault again, is it?"
He sighed. "Why don't we call it quits and start over again? I'll take you home and we can do things right this time around. I'll go back to my Southern-gentleman accountant role and show you that I've put truck stops and barroom brawls behind me. Trust me, Dara ," he added on a low, husky note. "You won't regret it...."
"You're right. I won't regret it because I don't intend to let you try to repolish your image! I'll always have the memory of waking up in this place and hearing you tell me you were pleased with the transaction. Nothing will wipe that out of my mind, Yale! And I'm smart enough to know better than to cast pearls before swine twice!"
He whitened at that. She felt the sudden tension in him and knew a moment's genuine fear. Unconsciously, she touched her tongue to her lower lip, wondering if she really had gone too far this time. Eyes wide and reflecting an appeal of which she wasn't aware, Dara waited for his reaction.
"Your temper is as strong as your passion, isn't it?'' he finally observed in an even tone which startled her. She knew he was exerting a considerable effort to avoid wrapping his hands around her throat. The knowledge gave her a perverse pleasure.
"You haven't seen the half of it yet," she vowed feelingly, tossing her head with scorn. "Give me an opportunity and I'll prove my temper is a lot more interesting than my passion!"
A slow smile twisted his mouth as he ran a reminiscent gaze over her face and bare shoulders. "Nothing could interest me as much as the feel of you coming alive under my hands!" he retorted gently, eyes softening. "You are all the woman a man could want, my sweet Dara . Go ahead and threaten me all you like, it won't make any difference. You're mine now."
Her eyes narrowed. "I don't belong to you or any other man. Take your hands off me, Yale. I want to go home."
He hesitated, as if considering the best method
"Of course I ignored you," he murmured, bending his head to brush his mouth affectionately across her forehead and then the tip of her nose. "You'd really have been angry at me this morning if I hadn't!"
"You're despicable!" She brought up a hand, wedging it against his chest and trying to shove him away. It was like pushing the Rock of Gibraltar.
"What if I told you I was also sorry?" he whispered tantalizingly, his mouth seeking out the vulnerable place behind her ear. Lazily his hand toyed with the wing of hair in the way.
"Sorry! Sorry for what?" she challenged, wishing she could cry but far too angry to do any such thing. She stood rigidly in his embrace, stoically ignoring the inviting gentleness of his mouth and the sensuous heat of his body. She had learned her lesson last night. Never again would she let her emotions run away with her common sense. What a fool she had been!
"For getting you involved in that stupid tavern brawl last night, for the cheap motel room, for stranding you two hours away from home in strange surroundings, for taking you out of your world and showing you something of mine...."
"Beginning to realize you handled it all wrong, are you?" she flung back waspishly, closing her eyes fiercely against the tenderness in his mouth and hands. She would not let herself be seduced again!
"Yes," he admitted wryly. "I never meant to put you in a temper like this! I never meant to spend our first night together in a place like this and I never meant to wind up in a honky-tonk with you, either. But you just kept pushing..."
"So now it's my fault again, is it?"
He sighed. "Why don't we call it quits and start over again? I'll take you home and we can do things right this time around. I'll go back to my Southern-gentleman accountant role and show you that I've put truck stops and barroom brawls behind me. Trust me, Dara ," he added on a low, husky note. "You won't regret it...."
"You're right. I won't regret it because I don't intend to let you try to repolish your image! I'll always have the memory of waking up in this place and hearing you tell me you were pleased with the transaction. Nothing will wipe that out of my mind, Yale! And I'm smart enough to know better than to cast pearls before swine twice!"
He whitened at that. She felt the sudden tension in him and knew a moment's genuine fear. Unconsciously, she touched her tongue to her lower lip, wondering if she really had gone too far this time. Eyes wide and reflecting an appeal of which she wasn't aware, Dara waited for his reaction.
"Your temper is as strong as your passion, isn't it?'' he finally observed in an even tone which startled her. She knew he was exerting a considerable effort to avoid wrapping his hands around her throat. The knowledge gave her a perverse pleasure.
"You haven't seen the half of it yet," she vowed feelingly, tossing her head with scorn. "Give me an opportunity and I'll prove my temper is a lot more interesting than my passion!"
A slow smile twisted his mouth as he ran a reminiscent gaze over her face and bare shoulders. "Nothing could interest me as much as the feel of you coming alive under my hands!" he retorted gently, eyes softening. "You are all the woman a man could want, my sweet Dara . Go ahead and threaten me all you like, it won't make any difference. You're mine now."
Her eyes narrowed. "I don't belong to you or any other man. Take your hands off me, Yale. I want to go home."
He hesitated, as if considering the best method
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