Summer Desserts

She knew, without effort, she could wrap her arms around him and stay just so for the rest of her life. So through the hazy pleasure came the first stirrings of fear.
    Oh, God, how far had she gone in such a short time? She’d always been so certain her emotions were perfectly safe. It wasn’t the first time she’d been with a man, but she was too aware that it was the first time she’d made love in the true sense of the word.
    Mistake. She forced the word into her head even as her heart tried to block it. She had to think, had to be practical. Hadn’t she seen what uncontrolled emotions and dreams had done to two intelligent people? Both her parents had spent years moving from relationship to relationship looking for…what?
    This, her heart told her, but again she blocked it out. Sheknew better than to look for something she didn’t believe existed. Permanency, commitment—they were illusions. And illusions had no place in her life.
    Closing her eyes a moment, she waited for herself to settle. She was a grown woman, sophisticated enough to understand and accept mutual desire that held no strings. Treat it lightly, she warned herself. Don’t pretend it’s more than it is.
    But she couldn’t resist smoothing his hair as she spoke. “Odd how pizza and champagne affect me.”
    Raising his head, Blake grinned at her. At the moment, he felt he could’ve taken on the world. “I think it should be your staple diet.” He kissed the curve of her shoulder. “It’s going to be mine. Want some more?”
    “Pizza and champagne?”
    Laughing, he nuzzled her neck. “That, too.” He shifted, drawing her against his side. It was one more gesture of intimacy that had something inside her trembling.
    Set out the rules, Summer told herself. Do it now, before…before it would be much too easy to forget.
    “I like being with you,” she said quietly.
    “And I you.” He could see the shadows play on the ceiling, hear the muted sound of traffic outside, but he was still saturated with her.
    “Now that we’ve been together like this, it’s going to affect our relationship one of two ways.”
    Puzzled, he turned his head to look at her. “One of two ways?”
    “It’s either going to increase the tension while we’re working, or alleviate it. I’m hoping it alleviates it.”
    In the darkness he frowned at her. “What happened just now had absolutely nothing to do with business.”
    “Whatever you and I do together is bound to affect our working relationship.” Moistening her lips, she tried to continue in the same light way. “Making love with you was…personal, but tomorrow morning we’re back to being associates. This can’t change that—I think it’d be a mistake to let it change the tone of our business dealings.” Was she rambling? Was she making sense? She wished desperately that he would say something, anything at all. “I think we both knew this was bound to happen. Now that it has, it’s cleared the air.”
    “Cleared the air?” Infuriated, and to his surprise, hurt, he rose on his elbow. “It did a damn sight more than that, Summer. We both know that, too.”
    “Let’s keep it in perspective.” How had she begun this so badly? And how could she keep rambling on when she only wanted to curl up next to him and hold on? “We’re both unattached adults who’re attracted to each other. On that level, we shouldn’t expect any more from each other than’s reasonable. On a business level, we both have to expect total involvement.”
    He wanted to push the business level down her throat. Violently. The emotion didn’t please him, nor did the sudden realization that he wanted total involvement on a very personal level. With an effort, he controlled the fury. He needed to ask, and answer, some questions for himself—soon. In the meantime, he needed to keep a cool head.
    “Summer, I intend to make love with you often, and when I do, business can go to hell.” He ran a hand down her side and felt her body respond. If she wanted rules, he thought furiously,he’d give her rules. His. “When we’re here, there isn’t any hotel or any restaurant. There’s just you and me. Back at Cocharan House, we’ll be as professional as you want.”
    She wasn’t certain if she wanted to calmly agree with him or scream in protest. She remained silent.
    “And now,” he continued, drawing her still closer, “I want to make love with you again, then I want to sleep with you. At nine o’clock