Read Online Step Into My Parlor by Jan Hudson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jan Hudson
Tags: Contemporary
Ads: Link
He gave her a slow grin designed to melt steel.
Warmth sparked and smoked low within her. If she stayed, she was courting heartache. This man was too far removed from her world for her to be serious about. If she'd had another option, she would have walked out the door. But her practical nature reminded her that without money, there were no other options. She would have to trust him to keep their relationship platonic. She sighed. "All right. I ’ ll stay."
"Great!" His grin widened, and his eyes grew bright. "Eat up, darlin'. We're going to get your driver's license this morning. I figured you might have a hard time with my pickup, so I’ll borrow Fred's Toyota for you to take your test."
He attacked his eggs with gusto, but she only pushed hers around on her plate. Self-reproach crawled in her stomach with a hundred furry feet and made her queasy. It wasn't right to let him keep on believing that she was married, but it was an excellent defense against stampeding hormones. His and hers. At two o'clock this morning, after a restless night of tossing and turning, it had taken a great deal of willpower to keep from walking those few steps from her sensuously undulating bed and slipping into one covered with red satin sheets.
Her only salvation was the knowledge that she wasn't cut out for casual affairs. Perhaps she was prim according to today's standards, but recreational sex simply wasn't part of her value system. And she couldn't imagine any other kind of relationship with Spider. She tried to picture an unshaven man in jeans and black leather jacket, a cutlass dangling from his ear, sipping cocktails at an embassy reception in Washington or mingling with patrons at a gallery showing. It didn't compute.
Desire of the magnitude she'd encountered with Spider was totally alien to her experience. But she recognized that it was lust, plain and simple, and she refused to allow lust to win out over good sense. No, it was best that she not correct his mistaken assumption that she was married. She treasured the special friendship that had developed between them, but it was crucial that she and Spider remain friends and nothing more. When Vicki returned and helped her get this nightmare straightened out, she would be going back to Virginia to resume her life there.
With his head leaned back against the wall, Spider sat in a hard plastic chair molded for a much smaller person. Stretching out his legs, he crossed his feet at the ankle, tucked his fingers under his armpits, and stared at the tip of his
While he waited at the Department of Public Safety for Anne to finish her driver's test, he had plenty of time to think. And, as usual, his thoughts focused on Anne. There was nothing to do but admit it: He was crazy about her. Without making any effort, she had twisted his heart around her finger.
The door opened, and Anne came out wearing a big smile as she walked toward him.
"I did it," she squealed, waving a new license in her hand.
He couldn't help but grin as he unfolded from the plastic chair and stood. "I'm proud of you, sugar. I think this calls for a celebration. How about a beer and a hamburger at Fuddruckers?"
She giggled. "Is your stomach all you ever think about?"
He looked her up and down, and one corner of his mouth curled into a suggestive message. "No."
She gave him a playful swat. "I thought we'd settled that issue."
He laughed and hooked her arm through his. "Just kidding, sugar. Just kidding."
Anne was still riding high as she gamely tackled a giant cheeseburger with all the trimmings. "Can you believe that I made a perfect score on my driver's test? I was a little nervous when I had to fudge on the application—I guess you could tell from the way my hand was shaking—but I did it!"
Spider chuckled and took a swig of beer. "I'm proud of you, darlin ’ . I never doubted for a minute that you could handle it. Now eat up. I've gotta get back to the shop to meet a production crew from the ad
Warmth sparked and smoked low within her. If she stayed, she was courting heartache. This man was too far removed from her world for her to be serious about. If she'd had another option, she would have walked out the door. But her practical nature reminded her that without money, there were no other options. She would have to trust him to keep their relationship platonic. She sighed. "All right. I ’ ll stay."
"Great!" His grin widened, and his eyes grew bright. "Eat up, darlin'. We're going to get your driver's license this morning. I figured you might have a hard time with my pickup, so I’ll borrow Fred's Toyota for you to take your test."
He attacked his eggs with gusto, but she only pushed hers around on her plate. Self-reproach crawled in her stomach with a hundred furry feet and made her queasy. It wasn't right to let him keep on believing that she was married, but it was an excellent defense against stampeding hormones. His and hers. At two o'clock this morning, after a restless night of tossing and turning, it had taken a great deal of willpower to keep from walking those few steps from her sensuously undulating bed and slipping into one covered with red satin sheets.
Her only salvation was the knowledge that she wasn't cut out for casual affairs. Perhaps she was prim according to today's standards, but recreational sex simply wasn't part of her value system. And she couldn't imagine any other kind of relationship with Spider. She tried to picture an unshaven man in jeans and black leather jacket, a cutlass dangling from his ear, sipping cocktails at an embassy reception in Washington or mingling with patrons at a gallery showing. It didn't compute.
Desire of the magnitude she'd encountered with Spider was totally alien to her experience. But she recognized that it was lust, plain and simple, and she refused to allow lust to win out over good sense. No, it was best that she not correct his mistaken assumption that she was married. She treasured the special friendship that had developed between them, but it was crucial that she and Spider remain friends and nothing more. When Vicki returned and helped her get this nightmare straightened out, she would be going back to Virginia to resume her life there.
With his head leaned back against the wall, Spider sat in a hard plastic chair molded for a much smaller person. Stretching out his legs, he crossed his feet at the ankle, tucked his fingers under his armpits, and stared at the tip of his
While he waited at the Department of Public Safety for Anne to finish her driver's test, he had plenty of time to think. And, as usual, his thoughts focused on Anne. There was nothing to do but admit it: He was crazy about her. Without making any effort, she had twisted his heart around her finger.
The door opened, and Anne came out wearing a big smile as she walked toward him.
"I did it," she squealed, waving a new license in her hand.
He couldn't help but grin as he unfolded from the plastic chair and stood. "I'm proud of you, sugar. I think this calls for a celebration. How about a beer and a hamburger at Fuddruckers?"
She giggled. "Is your stomach all you ever think about?"
He looked her up and down, and one corner of his mouth curled into a suggestive message. "No."
She gave him a playful swat. "I thought we'd settled that issue."
He laughed and hooked her arm through his. "Just kidding, sugar. Just kidding."
Anne was still riding high as she gamely tackled a giant cheeseburger with all the trimmings. "Can you believe that I made a perfect score on my driver's test? I was a little nervous when I had to fudge on the application—I guess you could tell from the way my hand was shaking—but I did it!"
Spider chuckled and took a swig of beer. "I'm proud of you, darlin ’ . I never doubted for a minute that you could handle it. Now eat up. I've gotta get back to the shop to meet a production crew from the ad
Similar Books
