hasn't already started?"
she asked sweetly, deliberately glancing across the pool to where Jeremy had
just entered and was searching for a vacant lounger.
Holt
shrugged. "I know."
"Spying
on your guests again?" she chided irritably.
"I
prefer to think of it as keeping an eye on you," he murmured placatingly.
"Why?"
she snapped.
"You know the answer to that I'll bet even back in
Iowa a woman knows when a man is contemplating pursuit!"
"But, Holt," Lacey retorted, fighting back the
rush of warmth she was experiencing at his unsubtle words, "you can't be
implying that you're interested in me personally. After all, you don't approve
of me. And you're much too self-controlled to allow yourself to go crazy over a
woman of whom you don't approve!"
Even as she taunted him in self-defense, Lacey felt the
surge of excitement at having him finally state his intentions. He was the
wrong man. Not at all the sort with whom she would seriously consider beginning
an affair. But the sensual electricity which flowed between them was
undeniable and she knew that even if he wasn't right for her in some ways, he
nevertheless had the power to create some of the sensations she had been
longing to discover.
"What gives you such faith in my self-control?' he
inquired with a new silkiness in his voice that touched off faint alarms in
her.
"You've been a model of restraint since that breakfast
on the boat," she reminded him kindly. "I'm sure you're determined
not to suffer any further lapses."
"I
wasn't aware you'd even noticed my restraint"
"Noticed and admired it," she assured him, not
stopping to consider the potential danger in baiting him like this. The
excitement of the tightrope was growing stronger, more alluring. "You do
set a fine example for us more impetuous types. But, then, it wouldn't do to
become involved with a woman who was as free-spirited as I am, would it?"
"No," he admitted blandly. "Not unless I
found a way to curb the free spirit"
Lacey's eyes slitted. For just an instant she saw something
in him which wasn't at all restrained or controlled. It was gone almost
immediately but she knew with a small chill that she'd caught a glimpse of a
very primitive male intent which lay below the surface of Holt Randolph.
"It can't be done," she said flatly. "As we
say back in the Midwest, I've got the bit between my teeth. I'm going to run as
far as I can for as long as I please until I find exactly what I want"
"You're so determined to run that there's every
possibility you'll race right past your goal without ever seeing it!"
"I doubt it," Lacey countered airily, "but
even if that should happen, there are always other goals, other
destinations."
"You're
bent on sampling them all?"
"As many as I can!" She saw no point in compromising
her statement by mentioning that she still retained a portion of her inborn
common sense. It sounded much more dramatic this way!
"What if this affair you're looking for turns out to
be very long-term?" he suggested coolly. "Won't that tie you
down?"
"Affairs, by their very nature, don't tend to last
long." She eyed him stonily.
"As soon as you grow bored or restless or as soon as
something more amusing comes along, you'll be on your way, right?"
"There's no sense trying to force an unhappy
relationship. Or are you one of those old-fashioned types who believes two people
should stay together regardless of how miserable they are?"
"No," he denied slowly. "But I'm pragmatic
enough to realize there are going to be some rough times in every relationship,
and I wouldn't want to be involved with a woman who was lured away when
something brighter appeared on the horizon."
"Then you certainly don't want to mess about with
someone flighty like me," she retorted in understanding accents,
deliberately trying to goad him.
"You may not be as radical as you think you are.
You're the one, after all, who told me she wanted more than a one-night
stand," he reminded her firmly. "And look at the evidence.
she asked sweetly, deliberately glancing across the pool to where Jeremy had
just entered and was searching for a vacant lounger.
Holt
shrugged. "I know."
"Spying
on your guests again?" she chided irritably.
"I
prefer to think of it as keeping an eye on you," he murmured placatingly.
"Why?"
she snapped.
"You know the answer to that I'll bet even back in
Iowa a woman knows when a man is contemplating pursuit!"
"But, Holt," Lacey retorted, fighting back the
rush of warmth she was experiencing at his unsubtle words, "you can't be
implying that you're interested in me personally. After all, you don't approve
of me. And you're much too self-controlled to allow yourself to go crazy over a
woman of whom you don't approve!"
Even as she taunted him in self-defense, Lacey felt the
surge of excitement at having him finally state his intentions. He was the
wrong man. Not at all the sort with whom she would seriously consider beginning
an affair. But the sensual electricity which flowed between them was
undeniable and she knew that even if he wasn't right for her in some ways, he
nevertheless had the power to create some of the sensations she had been
longing to discover.
"What gives you such faith in my self-control?' he
inquired with a new silkiness in his voice that touched off faint alarms in
her.
"You've been a model of restraint since that breakfast
on the boat," she reminded him kindly. "I'm sure you're determined
not to suffer any further lapses."
"I
wasn't aware you'd even noticed my restraint"
"Noticed and admired it," she assured him, not
stopping to consider the potential danger in baiting him like this. The
excitement of the tightrope was growing stronger, more alluring. "You do
set a fine example for us more impetuous types. But, then, it wouldn't do to
become involved with a woman who was as free-spirited as I am, would it?"
"No," he admitted blandly. "Not unless I
found a way to curb the free spirit"
Lacey's eyes slitted. For just an instant she saw something
in him which wasn't at all restrained or controlled. It was gone almost
immediately but she knew with a small chill that she'd caught a glimpse of a
very primitive male intent which lay below the surface of Holt Randolph.
"It can't be done," she said flatly. "As we
say back in the Midwest, I've got the bit between my teeth. I'm going to run as
far as I can for as long as I please until I find exactly what I want"
"You're so determined to run that there's every
possibility you'll race right past your goal without ever seeing it!"
"I doubt it," Lacey countered airily, "but
even if that should happen, there are always other goals, other
destinations."
"You're
bent on sampling them all?"
"As many as I can!" She saw no point in compromising
her statement by mentioning that she still retained a portion of her inborn
common sense. It sounded much more dramatic this way!
"What if this affair you're looking for turns out to
be very long-term?" he suggested coolly. "Won't that tie you
down?"
"Affairs, by their very nature, don't tend to last
long." She eyed him stonily.
"As soon as you grow bored or restless or as soon as
something more amusing comes along, you'll be on your way, right?"
"There's no sense trying to force an unhappy
relationship. Or are you one of those old-fashioned types who believes two people
should stay together regardless of how miserable they are?"
"No," he denied slowly. "But I'm pragmatic
enough to realize there are going to be some rough times in every relationship,
and I wouldn't want to be involved with a woman who was lured away when
something brighter appeared on the horizon."
"Then you certainly don't want to mess about with
someone flighty like me," she retorted in understanding accents,
deliberately trying to goad him.
"You may not be as radical as you think you are.
You're the one, after all, who told me she wanted more than a one-night
stand," he reminded her firmly. "And look at the evidence.
Similar Books
