Marriage by Mistake

stupefaction. "You don't want to check my work?"
    "No." Dean put a hand on Roger's shoulder. He nudged him in the direction of the door.
    "Well, if that isn't—" Roger began, sounding pleased. He never got the chance to finish his sentence. Or maybe he did and Dean simply didn't notice, for by that time he'd opened the door. His eyes had found Kelly, sitting out in the anteroom. Kelly with her silky legs crossed at the knee. Kelly with her smile of a thousand watts. Immediately Dean's brain went into its familiar scrambling routine; his brain and all the organs running in a straight line down from it.
    Kelly didn't even try. Dean understood that now. She didn't want to make him crazy. He also understood that it was useless to resist this thing. All he could do at this point was run through it.
    Eventually they would reach the end. Sensations would attenuate, desire would cool. Eventually.
    Right now, however, desire was anything but attenuated.
    "Kelly." Dean cleared his throat. "Right on time."
    She gave him a smile. That was all. It made his heart go ballistic, made his blood heat. But that was okay. Despite the flashes of scary lightning, Dean had decided it was okay, even good, to experience this rush, this excitement.
    The more excitement now, the sooner it would pass.
    "Wouldn't want to miss a minute," Kelly said.
    Yes, she said that, right in front of Mrs. Barnes, Roger, and whoever else happened to be cluttering the outer office. Dean felt his air supply choke.
    With an effort, he swallowed. "All right, then. Let's go."
    ~~~
    He took her to the Parker House. Kelly had a moment of doubt about that. But once he'd closed the door behind them, once he'd started kissing her, slowly, leisurely, and without a trace of desperation, she relaxed.
    It would be nice to make a good memory here.
    "I only have ninety minutes," he murmured, when he finally lifted his mouth from hers.
    Kelly felt a bubble of relief. He was keeping track of time, showing her he could. "That's all right," she whispered back.
    He drew off her suit jacket. "I'll make it up to you tonight."
    "You don't have to—" But Kelly didn't finish the thought because Dean took her mouth again. He kissed her deeply, thoroughly, while his hands cupped her buttocks and drew her close against his hips. Slowly, he rotated.
    Kelly clutched his shoulders. "Keep that up," she muttered, "and you won't have anything left to 'make up' to me tonight."
    "Mm," was all Dean said, and he pulled her blouse from her waistband.
    Precisely ninety minutes later, he put Kelly into a cab at the porte cochere of the hotel.
    "Tonight," he said, and kissed her. A second later she was looking at his back as he strode efficiently up the street.
    It had all been...very good. As sweet and tender as she could have wanted. But there were a host of questions in Kelly's eyes as, through the window of the cab, she watched Dean walk away.
    ~~~
    At noon on Tuesday, Felicia sat in a taxicab as it wended its way through Boston traffic. She had to resist the urge to bite her fingernails. She hadn't done so since she was twelve and she wasn't about to start again now, no, not even if she was on her way to her little lunch date with Troy. He'd made it clear she could not delay the thing one more time.
    Today, they'd get it over with.
    In silence, the cab driver maneuvered his way to the side of the road.
    "Ah, yes, this is the place," Felicia murmured. She could see Troy, leaning against the side of the building with his hands stuck in the pockets of a pair of crisp gray chinos. He straightened when he saw her in the slowing cab.
    Drawing in a breath, Felicia gathered both her purse and her self-possession. When Troy reached the cab and opened the door for her, she gave him her most proper, garden party smile. He didn't smile back. He held out his hand. The arm that supported her out of the cab was very strong. All that tennis, no doubt. Felicia lowered her lashes to conceal the way his touch made her shiver.
    Once out of the cab, she let go of Troy's hand, and took a few steps toward the restaurant. She pretended to find the façade just fascinating while Troy paid the cab driver behind her. Meanwhile, she did her best to recover.
    A few seconds, that was all it had taken for Felicia to become aware all over again of Troy's animal sensuality, and to feel intimidated by it.
    "Okay." He'd come to her side. Felicia forced herself to look over and smile. He smiled back, just as falsely. Yes, they