True Love

Yes, she minded. Since the day she had arrived, the hotel had served as her safety net. Instead of telling him her true feelings about the matter, she shook her head and said, "No."

Nicholas smiled. "Good. I thought it would be nice to get away from the hotel for a few hours. Besides, you and I need to get our stories straight."

Shayla waited until she was seated comfortably in the backseat of the limo with Nicholas before asking, "What stories?"

"The ones about our engagement. I understand Ming is not hosting some short-order dinner party. A number of Chinese dignitaries and quite a few important American businessmen will be attending. News of my engagement may surprise some, and I want to at least know something about my fiancée, in case I'm asked."

Shayla blinked at him. She hadn't thought her little white lie would cause this much trouble, and said as much.

"As you told Paul yesterday, you had to do what you had to do. I don't have a problem with the story you came up with. Engagements can easily be broken. And I'm not concerned about my business associates from the States. I can deal with them later. I just don't want Ming and the others to think they were deliberately deceived in any way. I have a feeling Ho Chin will be there, and I'm not sure he fully bought the story of our engagement. He may try his hand at digging holes in it."

Shayla nodded, and the limo made its way through the streets of Hong Kong to the restaurant.

Shayla's hand tightened around her wineglass as she answered another round of Nicholas's questions. The evening was not going as she had planned. She was supposed to be asking the questions. However, he was determined to find out everything he could about her for the dinner party.

"So let me see what information I have so far," he was saying. "Pink is your favorite color. You like jazz music. You have a weakness for chocolate. You prefer seafood to steak. Your most favorite place is the Islands, and doing volunteer work with charities is important to you."

Shayla nodded. "Now I think I deserve answers from you to those questions, as well."

Nicholas took a sip of his wine. "Believe it or not, you and I enjoy a lot of the same things, although pink is not my favorite color. Green is," he said, smiling. "Like you, I prefer jazz music. I enjoy chocolate, although I wouldn't go so far as to call it a weakness. I prefer a plate of plump fried shrimp to a T-bone steak any day, and I've enjoyed my visits to the Islands, too. My favorite place is St. Thomas."

He took another sip of his wine. "And I also firmly believe that a person should help those less fortunate. I've always devoted my time and money to a number of worthwhile charities. My favorite is Dream Maker-a group of other businessmen and I work closely with a foundation that helps fulfill the dreams of terminally ill children. I'm chairman of the board of that particular one."

Shayla didn't like this, finding out about the personal side of him. She preferred sticking to the business side. She didn't want to think of him as a separate individual, one with a life that wasn't connected to Chenault Electronics. She decided to move the conversation to one that was more to her advantage.

"Now that you have the Ling Deal, what's next?"

Nicholas smiled. He was still pleased with the way things had turned out. "Chenault is involved in a number of projects, some more important than others. Once you get back and get settled, I'll go over all the ones you'll be working on."

"Anything major?"

Fortunately for Shayla, Nicholas did not pick up on the eagerness to know in her voice. "All my projects are major. The most important ones are being worked on at the Jacksonville, Florida, office. However, there are a number that will be handled out of both Jacksonville and Chicago."

Two hours later Shayla and Nicholas had returned to the hotel. Although Shayla didn't feel the evening had been a complete waste, she did wish she could have obtained more information about Chenault's major projects.

When Nicholas walked her back to her suite, she turned to him after retrieving her key from her purse. "Thanks for dinner, Mr. Chenault."

Nicholas's gaze swept her face. "Considering the fact that we're supposed to be engaged, don't you think we should get into the habit of calling each other by our first names for tomorrow night's affair?"

A frown drew Shayla's eyebrows together. She didn't like the idea. Calling him "Mr. Chenault" had kept things on a business level. But still, she had to agree with his suggestion. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense, Mr. Chen-I mean Nicholas."

"We don't want to take any chances, do we?"

Shayla nervously gnawed on her bottom lip. She immediately stopped when she noticed Nicholas's gaze fasten on her mouth. "I guess not." She then held her hand out to him. "Thanks again for a nice evening."

Nicholas looked down at the hand she was offering him. A part of him knew he should take it and remove himself from her company immediately. Another part, though, wanted to do something he'd been dying to do since first meeting her. He glanced up from her hand to her face. "I don't think it's proper for an engaged couple to shake hands, Shayla. What happens if we're placed in a position where we'll have to kiss?"

A knot formed in Shayla's throat and heat settled in the pit of her stomach at the very thought of that possibility. The lump in her throat tightened, and the heat in her stomach grew more intense when she saw Nicholas's gaze had again fastened on her mouth. "I doubt that'll be necessary. The Chinese aren't big on public displays of affection."

"That may be the case, but Americans are, and a number of them will be there. I think we should get in a couple of practice sessions," he said, leaning toward her.

When Shayla realized his intent, she went still. How on earth would she be able to survive his kiss? Before her mind could provide an answer and before she could catch her next breath, Nicholas's lips captured hers. He tasted of the wine they'd had at dinner and the heat of desire. The mixture was intoxicating. On a sigh, her mouth opened under his, inviting the invasion of his tongue.

His kiss was possessive and urgent as it began mating rhythmically with hers. Automatically, instinctively, her tongue began moving with his as her emotions whirled and skidded out of control. Something in the back of her mind told her that she desperately needed this-the deep urgent mating of his tongue with hers, the release of the emotional turmoil within her, and the fierce heat that was totally consuming her.

From somewhere else, the voice of reason flashed through her delirious mind and tried convincing her that she did not need this. But when Nicholas's kiss deepened, becoming even more demanding, and his arms tightened around her, bringing her even closer to the muscled breadth of his chest, she thought that even if she didn't need this, she wanted it, anyway. She eradicated all thought from her mind, languidly content to be in his arms, savoring the heady taste of him.

The sound of a door opening and closing startled Shayla from the sensuous insanity possessing her. Since they were on a private floor with only three suites, the person who opened the door had to have been Paul. No doubt he had been a witness to their torrid kiss. Although her body was still somewhat out of whack, she forced her mind back on track, broke from Nicholas's kiss, and took a step back.

"Nicholas," she said breathlessly, "that was enough practice. I think we'll get it right if the time comes."

As Shayla's gaze settled on Nicholas's features, she saw that his lips were moist and glistening. His eyes had a glazed look that made the pupils appear a fiery gold. She also noted that they were both breathing hard.

"Yeah, I think you're right," he responded softly in a deep husky whisper. His gaze glued to her lips, he was ready to practice some more if she let him.

"Good night, Nicholas." Shayla opened her door and hurried inside, quickly closing it behind her.

Chapter 8

Later that night Nicholas discovered that no amount of physical exertion could remove the fierce desire be felt for Shayla. After she'd entered her room, he had gone to his own, changed into a jogging outfit, and left for the health club. Luckily for him, the facility stayed open all night.

After an hour of nonstop running around the inside jogging track, he returned to his room, took a shower, then crawled into bed completely exhausted, only to remain awake with his mind filled with thoughts of Shayla and the kiss they had shared. He had regretted kissing her the moment he had done so, but the softness of her lips and the sweetness of her taste had made him keep right on kissing her. She had felt so good, so right, so perfect in his arms. And now that he had savored her taste he wanted more.

She had returned his kiss with equal abandonment. Her tongue had mated furiously and urgently with his, withholding nothing. Shayla Kirkland was a passionate and sensuous woman. Even when she had abruptly brought the kiss to an end, a look of total surprise and wonder had flushed her features. Neither of them could deny the heat that had surged between them.

Seeing that he could not sleep, he got up and tried watching television. When he couldn't find anything that held his interest on the English channel, he tried one of the international stations. It only took a few minutes to discover that solution wouldn't work, either.