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Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
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alleviate it. If anything, that had only aggravated matters. Katy was the cause of the problem. Unfortunately, she was also the cure.
Garrett leaned into the hot water, letting it pound over his head and shoulders while he tried to think his way through the wholly unexpected situation in which he found himself. He felt baffled and angry, cheated in ways he couldn't put into words. In the whole time he had known her, Katy had never looked at him the way she had this morning. He realized he had grown accustomed to the seemingly bottomless well of respect and admiration and shy feminine longing he had seen in her clear gray eyes for the past two months. He was completely dumbfounded by the change in her.
Garrett opened his eyes and stared at the swan-headed, chrome-plated shower fixture in front of him. A silly, romantic doodad, that fixture. The whole blasted hotel room was a silly, romantic, flower-scented version of a film-set French boudoir.
The elaborate wedding production had surprised him. He hadn't expected Katy to go in for that kind of hoopla. But her choice of a honeymoon suite had really amazed him. It had surprised the hell out of him, in fact. This didn't seem like Katy's kind of place at all. And all that chatter about love. The woman obviously had an unexpectedly romantic streak in her nature. Garrett felt totally unprepared.
A frivolous, romantic side to Katy was something he had not allowed for when he'd made his plans.
That realization brought him up short as a new, disturbing possibility flashed into his head. Maybe this whole mess was the result of that hidden streak of romanticism in Katy. Maybe that same element in her nature had led her to expect a lot more than what she had gotten last night.
The thought was painful in the extreme. Garrett got out of the shower and reached for a towel. Slowly he began to examine the possibility that he'd really made a mess of things last night. Perhaps he'd moved too quickly. He had wanted her so badly. She had been shy but apparently willing, and she had responded beautifully. He knew from the way she had reacted that she had never experienced that kind of sensual satisfaction before in her life.
She had given herself to him wholeheartedly.
But just maybe it had all been something of a letdown for her, Garrett acknowledged uneasily.
Just maybe Katy's romanticism, coupled with her limited amount of experience, ,had led her to expect nothing less than an aurora borealis flaring across the bedroom ceiling, a full orchestra playing in the background and a shimmering, cascading, dazzling display of stars.
Garrett groaned. As he had told himself during the reception, he wasn't any Don Juan or Casanova. He'd hoped gentle, intelligent, even-tempered Katy would be satisfied with what she had gotten for a bedmate, but maybe she wasn't.
He shouldn't have fallen asleep right after making love to her last night. Bad mistake. Katy had apparently spent the remainder of the night wide awake telling herself she'd been shortchanged in the husband department. By morning she had worked herself into a real fit of hysterics.
But underneath the strange display of feminine emotion, Garrett knew the real Katy still lurked. The woman he had gotten to know during the past two months must still be there somewhere. He had to find a way to reach through the fireworks and retrieve the good-natured, rational, hard-working woman behind them. Desperately he tried to think of the best approach. He had to find the key to calming her down and making her see sense again.
Garrett sucked in his breath as the answer leaped to mind. It was obvious now that he'd thought of it. The key to handling Katy was to remind her of her obligations. She was fundamentally honest, a woman of integrity. It was always a mistake to use brute force on a creature as sensitive as Katy, but a little judiciously applied guilt might work wonders. All he needed was time. She was bound to return to normal sooner or later.
Garrett leaned into the hot water, letting it pound over his head and shoulders while he tried to think his way through the wholly unexpected situation in which he found himself. He felt baffled and angry, cheated in ways he couldn't put into words. In the whole time he had known her, Katy had never looked at him the way she had this morning. He realized he had grown accustomed to the seemingly bottomless well of respect and admiration and shy feminine longing he had seen in her clear gray eyes for the past two months. He was completely dumbfounded by the change in her.
Garrett opened his eyes and stared at the swan-headed, chrome-plated shower fixture in front of him. A silly, romantic doodad, that fixture. The whole blasted hotel room was a silly, romantic, flower-scented version of a film-set French boudoir.
The elaborate wedding production had surprised him. He hadn't expected Katy to go in for that kind of hoopla. But her choice of a honeymoon suite had really amazed him. It had surprised the hell out of him, in fact. This didn't seem like Katy's kind of place at all. And all that chatter about love. The woman obviously had an unexpectedly romantic streak in her nature. Garrett felt totally unprepared.
A frivolous, romantic side to Katy was something he had not allowed for when he'd made his plans.
That realization brought him up short as a new, disturbing possibility flashed into his head. Maybe this whole mess was the result of that hidden streak of romanticism in Katy. Maybe that same element in her nature had led her to expect a lot more than what she had gotten last night.
The thought was painful in the extreme. Garrett got out of the shower and reached for a towel. Slowly he began to examine the possibility that he'd really made a mess of things last night. Perhaps he'd moved too quickly. He had wanted her so badly. She had been shy but apparently willing, and she had responded beautifully. He knew from the way she had reacted that she had never experienced that kind of sensual satisfaction before in her life.
She had given herself to him wholeheartedly.
But just maybe it had all been something of a letdown for her, Garrett acknowledged uneasily.
Just maybe Katy's romanticism, coupled with her limited amount of experience, ,had led her to expect nothing less than an aurora borealis flaring across the bedroom ceiling, a full orchestra playing in the background and a shimmering, cascading, dazzling display of stars.
Garrett groaned. As he had told himself during the reception, he wasn't any Don Juan or Casanova. He'd hoped gentle, intelligent, even-tempered Katy would be satisfied with what she had gotten for a bedmate, but maybe she wasn't.
He shouldn't have fallen asleep right after making love to her last night. Bad mistake. Katy had apparently spent the remainder of the night wide awake telling herself she'd been shortchanged in the husband department. By morning she had worked herself into a real fit of hysterics.
But underneath the strange display of feminine emotion, Garrett knew the real Katy still lurked. The woman he had gotten to know during the past two months must still be there somewhere. He had to find a way to reach through the fireworks and retrieve the good-natured, rational, hard-working woman behind them. Desperately he tried to think of the best approach. He had to find the key to calming her down and making her see sense again.
Garrett sucked in his breath as the answer leaped to mind. It was obvious now that he'd thought of it. The key to handling Katy was to remind her of her obligations. She was fundamentally honest, a woman of integrity. It was always a mistake to use brute force on a creature as sensitive as Katy, but a little judiciously applied guilt might work wonders. All he needed was time. She was bound to return to normal sooner or later.
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