Read Online Wife for Hire by Christine Bell - Free Book Online Page B

but before she turned away, he stayed her with a hand on the shoulder.
    “However, all I can promise is this. I won’t lie to you to get my way, and I won’t ever do anything you don’t want me to. But don’t ask me to be strong enough for the both of us when you look at me the way you do. We’re different, you and I. I’m a selfish bastard and I take what I want. Right now, I can think of nothing I want more than you. And if I get the chance to sink myself into that sweet body of yours, I’m going to take it.”
    She gasped, crossing her arms over her chest, but he pressed on. “One other thing. Next time you volunteer ‘intimate details’ about our love life, you’d do well to remember this moment. Every time you challenge my manhood in public, I’ll feel compelled to prove you wrong in private. It’s in my DNA.”
    “That was a mistake. It won’t happen again,” she mumbled.
    He took a step back, giving her some space. “Maybe after dinner tonight we should work out some deeper issues to talk to the therapist about. That way we don’t let our imaginations run away with us and end up being inconsistent.”
    “Sounds good.” She opened her mouth to say more, but then closed it with a snap. With a trembling finger pressed to her lips, she stepped into the bathroom and then closed the door behind her.
    He felt strangely bereft once she’d gone, taking the hope of more kisses with her. And what a kiss it had been. His groin throbbed with an unrelieved ache. She was so responsive, so sexy, he could only imagine what it would have been like if she’d allowed him to take it further. It was like an anticipation he hadn’t even known was building had drained away in one fell swoop.
    What the hell was wrong with him? She was beautiful in a sweet, girl-next-door way, but he’d been around more than his share of beautiful women. He was no saint. He enjoyed companionship and some sweaty sex as much as the next guy. But not once had he allowed that to distract him from what he’d set his mind to do. Until now. It was unsettling to say the least. In no time at all, she’d burrowed her way under his skin with her goofy accent and her animated expressions. He wanted to watch her move and listen to her talk when what he needed to be doing was paying attention to the goings on here at The Healing Place.
    Yet another reason he shouldn’t get involved with her. He had a job to do and all this energy he was expending on Lindy was better spent figuring out Stephanopoulos’s game.
    Focus. He had to focus.
    He strode into the bedroom, determined to be better prepared for their next session. He wasn’t there for therapy, to improve a relationship, or gain a new understanding of the woman he loved. He was there for revenge. If at some point Lindy saw things his way and wanted to have some fun at night while they were at it, he was more than game, but he couldn’t let her get in his head any more than he already had.
    As he unpacked his bags, he did a mental run-through of what they’d learned so far. Twelve couples were staying at the resort, which, according to his research, was about the average since their opening a few months ago. At the brunch, he and Lindy had met a surgeon, a high-end real estate agent, and a husband and wife management consulting team. So far, there didn’t seem to be a common thread between the guests other than a desire to improve their marriages. They also ran the gamut financially, ranging from what he’d pegged to be mid-six figure salary types to multi-millionaires. On the surface, it appeared to be a random collection of well-off individuals, which meant Stephanopoulos was casting a wide net.
    He took a small notebook out of his briefcase and made some notes of his impressions, ending with “May be looking for lots of smaller $ scores rather than the white whale???”
    With that, he stowed his notes and set himself to the task of getting changed into evening wear. He had just selected