Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

humor. But just to prove I don't hold a grudge, you can pick the movie tonight."
    In spite of the fact that joining him on that bed again would undoubtedly be a mistake, she did it anyway. Scanning the labels on the old videotapes, she chose a favorite comedy of hers, Overboard. They both laughed over the silly plot, and both held their breath when Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn ended up making love. Holly scolded herself for not remembering just how steamy that scene was.
    The moment the first credit appeared she said good night, but her departure was halted when David sat up in front of her.
    "Hold it," he said as his fingers closed over her shoulders. "This still isn't working, is it?"
    "I don't know what you're talking about." She purposely kept her eyes averted. "Let me go, David. I didn't give you permission for this."
    Her gaze darted back to him a moment before his mouth pressed against hers. She tipped her head back and turned aside, as her fists pressed against his chest.
    He kept his grip on her shoulders as he murmured into her ear. "Just one real kiss. One without anger, without pretended indifference. Then I'll let you run away. You know you want to try that kiss as much as I do."
    "I do not."
    "Liar."
    His lips grazed her cheek and sought her mouth again. Instead of the pressure she expected, he brushed his mouth back and forth, teasing until she began to move to the lazy rhythm. She could not stop herself from closing her eyes to savor the exquisite sensation. Only then did he take the real kiss he had spoken of. As his mouth slanted over hers, his hands eased her backward until she was lying beside him.
    This kiss held all the surprising electricity of the first only this time she could tell he was caught up in the same maelstrom of wonder as she. Twice he broke the kiss and returned for more.
    She felt so warm, wrapped in a cocoon of luxurious velvet. Why did this man have to be the one to reawaken her desire? He had drawn one knee up and over her thighs, and she felt his male body hardening and tensing all along her own. What happened after their first kiss came back to her in a flash, and she pulled her head away.
    "I thought you weren't interested, Mr. Wells."
    "I'm not," he replied with a contradictory chuckle.
    "Liar." She slid her hand down his shirt to his belt buckle, but he grabbed her wrist and pinned her arm down on the bed beside her.
    "If you start that, you'd better be ready to finish it. Are you?" There was no hint of humor in his question.
    She blinked in an effort to reorient herself. For the moment her mind was fully occupied with the need to catch her breath. It took another moment to realize what she had almost done.
    David saw the confusion in her eyes and gave her a break. Gentling his hold, he placed a light kiss on her parted lips. "Easy now. I was just doing my damnedest to live up to my promise not to take anything more than a kiss. Gentlemen always keep their promises, you know." He grinned down at her and she relaxed in his embrace. "I have a confession to make," he whispered, stroking her hair.
    "Do I want to hear it?"
    "I hope so. The evening I saw you at the airport, I didn't really recognize Philip. I was trying to find out who you were."
    "Surprise, surprise," she said with a dry laugh.
    "Because I had seen you before and was intrigued as hell." He made her wait a few seconds for the rest. "About two weeks ago. In the lobby of the Kessler Hotel. You walked by and I felt like I'd been hit by one of Star Trek's tractor beams. It was all I could do not to follow you into the elevator." He felt her breathing change and purposely lightened his tone. "It's too bad I didn't know you then. You could have saved me a lot of time trying to get an interview with your friend."
    The color drained from her face and she sat up slowly. "My friend?"
    He nodded. "Yeah. Erica Donner. That was who you went up to the penthouse to see, wasn't it?" He gave a little shrug. "I noticed you got onto the private elevator."
    "Oh. Yes, of course. I remember."
    He sat up, but was careful not to crowd. She looked like it was taking every bit of her strength to sit still. "She's a real piece of work. Can't say as I understand you two being friends."
    "We, uh, haven't seen each other in years. Since college."
    His mind automatically called up the facts that Holly had graduated from Georgetown and Donner from Berkeley. But Donner had once attended Dominion as well. "Really? Where was that?"
    Her pupils