Read Online ZenithRising by Marilyn Campbell - Free Book Online Page B

But it happened exactly as all magical
things should.
    He eased out of her body and led her into the bathroom for a
quick cleanup. The totally sated look in her eyes made him feel like a
superhero. Despite being completely drained himself, that look was enough to
get blood flowing to his lower regions all over again.
    Instead of taking her right back to bed however, he swiftly
wrapped her in the robe, making sure she was snugly covered from chin to
ankles, then redressed himself. “Believe me when I say it is taking all my
exceptional work ethic to do this. But I need to get started on the book.”
    “Oh, of course. I’ll be ready to head out in a minute.”
    He had mixed feelings about how quickly her expression
switched to work mode. “Wait.” She stopped in the middle of the living room and
he closed the distance between them in three strides. He pulled her close and
gave her a slow, seductive kiss as his hands ran down her back and palmed her
buttocks. “Okay, now I’m ready.” She smiled and turned toward her room
but he tugged her back again. “Maybe just one more.” They were both chuckling
too much for their mouths to properly come together. “Hey, I don’t call you
Sugarlips for nothing.”
    She poked his chest with her index finger. “You promised not to call me that at all.”
    “Really? I don’t remember making that promise.”
    She gave him a playful shove and slipped away.

Chapter Five
     
    Maggie’s body continued to tingle with pleasure as she
dressed, brushed her teeth and hair and applied her speed version of makeup.
Knowing they would be outside in the heat, she chose a lightweight sundress and
flat sandals. Not certain what all she would need on their walk-around, she
removed the hotel property map from the informational notebook. She packed
that, her pad, several pens and a few other items in a shoulder bag rather than
carry a purse. When she returned to the common room, Noah was on the couch,
skimming a local glitz magazine. Her breath caught as though it were the first
time she’d ever seen such a devastatingly masculine creature.
    He stood as soon as she approached. His gaze slid over her
and his smile broadened. “You are temptation personified. I think I need to add
something to your job description. From this moment until I order you
otherwise, it is your responsibility to keep my mind on work and my hands off
you. Okay?”
    Relieved to have him set such a practical rule, she fixed a
stern expression on her face and saluted him. “Yes sir. Until you give me a
counter-order, you and I are strictly author and assistant.” She patted her
shoulder bag. “I think I have everything I need except for the recorder you
mentioned.”
    He reached into the chest pocket of his t-shirt and
extracted a palm-sized, black device. “It’s voice activated so there’s really
nothing for you to do as far as recording. But maybe you could glance at my
pocket once in a while to make sure a light comes on when I’m talking. The
built-in battery is supposed to be good for years but just in case…”
    “I’ll have my pad and pen ready to leap to the rescue.”
    He nodded. “That’s right. I knew I was bringing you along
for something besides your sweet—”
    She quickly hushed him with her fingers on his mouth.
“Work-related only.”
    He pretended to pout before going on. “When we get back here
you just need to connect it to my laptop and the computer will convert
everything to text. The program isn’t perfect though so I will need you to skim
it and make corrections if needed then print it out for me.”
    “Cool.” It was the only word that came to her.
    “Yeah. I like gadgets.”
    They checked the map on the way to the lobby and confirmed
they had toured every foot of the ground floor of the main building the evening
before. Noah said he needed to repeat that walk and check out the three towers
of rooms but decided to cover the outdoors before the temperature and humidity
hit the