Sultry Escapes: Waking Up to You

She knew she should just tell him the situation, be honest and let him know what was happening. But in order to do that, she’d have to tell him why she’d agreed to a sexless marriage, and why it was okay for her to cheat on her fiancé.

She couldn’t out Tommy to somebody he didn’t know. Nobody had that right. Especially because, even if she didn’t reveal the name of her future husband, once the press got hold of her engagement and marriage, Oliver would realize who she’d been talking about. It wasn’t like he was some foreign, overseas stranger who would never give her another thought. He lived right in California, worked for her grandfather. His family lived in San Diego, and he probably still had plenty of work ties to L.A. No, he wasn’t the type who would run tattling to the press the minute he heard the news, but what if he accidentally said something to the wrong person? Tommy could be hurt—badly—because of her. She just couldn’t risk it.

Telling him the truth was out. But lying was just against her nature.

Was there a happy medium? Could she walk the tightrope and take what she wanted more than anything in the world—a wild affair with Oliver—without jeopardizing her best friend’s reputation?

Oliver watched her from the floor, his dark eyes catching glimmers of firelight, reflecting them. He cast a long deliberate stare over her, gazing from her face, down her throat, to the single bare shoulder revealed by her blouse. She’d been wearing a raincoat when she came in, but hadn’t wanted to get his couch wet. At least, that’s what she’d told herself. Actually, the thought of him looking at her, like this, hadn’t been a small part of the reason she’d taken the coat off.

Something was happening between them. Heat—quiet but intense—flared. But the problem bore repeating: what a mess.

“This has been pretty inevitable, hasn’t it?” he asked, his tone simple, to the point. As if he’d given up resisting something they had both known was going to happen.

“Yes, I think so.”

He wanted her. That was obvious. He’d been fighting it, as had she. But it seemed they’d both had enough of playing games. The attraction between them had been thick from the moment they’d met. They were always headed to this moment. Always.

Find the happy medium, an inner voice urged.

She couldn’t let it go that one last step toward becoming this amazing man’s lover until she’d clarified a couple of things. No, she couldn’t reveal Tommy’s secret, but she had to be as honest as she could be. “You need to know something.”

He didn’t seem to be paying attention. Instead he got on his knees, crawling closer to the edge of the couch. His glittering eyes were narrowed, his lips parted, his hair was damp and hanging in his face. He looked earthy, primal and…hungry.

“Oliver…”

“Unless you need to tell me you’re a virgin or a nun, I don’t think there’s anything else I absolutely have to know right now.”

She couldn’t help laughing a little at his vehemence. “What if I needed to tell you I was gay?”

He moved closer, dropping his hand on her calf. “Then I’d tell you you’re a liar.”

She swallowed hard, feeling the heat of his palm through her jeans. He squeezed lightly.

Quivering in reaction, she managed to insist, “I really do need to make something clear.”

He hesitated. Her heart ached as she thought of doing anything to sabotage what she sensed could be one of the most sensual, erotic nights of her life, but she had to at least try to make things as open as possible.

“Whatever happens can’t go beyond this week.”

He smiled a little, looking relieved. Okay, maybe he had just wanted a one-night, or one-week, stand. Which shouldn’t have bothered her, since a week was all she had. But her insides twisted, anyway.

Stop overanalyzing. Maybe he’s just relieved you didn’t say you were transgendered.

She forced herself to go on. “I meant it when I said I don’t have a lover or a boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean I’m free. I have made a serious commitment and I intend to keep my word. Once I leave here next week, when Grandpa gets home, this is completely over.”

He eyed her intently. “You want to tell me what the commitment is?”

“I could try, but it wouldn’t be easy for me to say too much without breaking someone else’s confidence,” she said, hoping that wouldn’t be a deal-breaker.

“Understood,” he said with a nod. She already knew he valued integrity and wasn’t totally surprised he hadn’t insisted she spill everything.

“You’re an adult, you want me and you’re not married. As long as all three of those things are true, then, honestly, right at this moment, I don’t give a damn about anything else.”

He fell silent. So did she. Their stares locked.

Finally she spoke. “All those things are true.”

He moved closer.

“But I do have a request to make. Can we just agree that, if we, uh…” She could feel her cheeks warming. “If we enjoy tonight…”

His spontaneous laugh made her smile. The man did not suffer from any lack of confidence.

“If we do, and we want to spend the rest of the week together, that’s great,” she explained. “After that week though, it’s never mentioned again, never referred to. You don’t contact me…. I don’t contact you?”

“No strings? Absolutely no regrets?”

“Exactly.”

He didn’t jump for joy the way most men probably would have at hearing a woman admit she wanted a nostrings sexual affair with him. “You’re serious?”

“Very.”

He didn’t answer for a moment, considering. Then, at last, he slowly nodded. “My life’s too crazy now to even consider getting tangled in any strings. If that’s really the way you want to play it, that’s the way it’ll be.”

Another long stare. A silent assent.

Then an exchange of slow, sultry smiles.

They’d made a bargain. They would be lovers.

She had a week. And she intended to enjoy every minute of it.

8 (#ulink_de579ab4-4716-522a-81b8-b4df01953482)

ONCE THE WORDS had been said, the deal struck, Candace let all her questions, doubts and worries fade away. She might not have a long-term future with Oliver, and her life might be taking her in directions she could never have imagined, but for now, for tonight at least, she intended to enjoy herself with a man who made her whole body come alive.

“I have a bed upstairs in the loft,” Oliver murmured, sliding his hand down her calf.

“I like it right here,” she said, not willing to waste the time moving, not when she was finally going to get what she’d so desperately wanted.

His approving nod said he agreed. When he reached into his pocket and withdrew a condom, she knew he’d been anticipating this moment. Considering she’d picked up a box at the drug store and had a few tucked into her purse, she couldn’t pretend to take offense. She could only be grateful.

The man was gloriously handsome at any time of day, in any lighting. But when he tugged at his shirt and pulled it up and over his head, tossing it to the floor, she had to admit he did amazing things for firelight.

His body was perfectly shaped. The shoulders so broad, the chest beautifully sculpted. Months of hard, physical labor had obviously eradicated any sign of the L.A. lawyer and turned him into a muscular god, with incredibly defined abs, a lean waist and slim hips. A light swirl of hair encircled his nipples, trailing down into a thin line that disappeared into the waistband of his jeans.

She licked her lips, wanting to see where that happy trail led. But after kicking off his shoes, he stopped, leaving his jeans in place.