An Innocent Affair by Kim Lawrence Page B

hair from her sleepy eyes. He’s never seen a woman with less artifice—strange, when she made her living from creating an illusion.
    â€˜How long have you been watching me?’
    â€˜Long enough to know you sleep like a baby.’
    â€˜I’ve got a clear conscience.’
    He didn’t respond to this light challenge, although he did reflect that conscience depended on personal standards. He couldn’t believe she was this uncomplicated. People just weren’t.
    The sheet had slipped to reveal the upper slopes of her magnolia-pale breasts. She had the most perfect skin he’d ever seen. One rosy areola peeked cheekily out above the white cotton. He rubbed his finger along the fascinating area and felt the pinkness ruche under his touch.
    â€˜You know all my weak spots. I don’t know any of yours,’ she complained huskily.
    He had one big weak spot, and it stood five-eleven in bare feet. Vulnerability wasn’t something that made Alex happy, but sliding his hand beneath the covers totouch Hope did. If a man had to be confronted with dilemmas, he reflected, this wasn’t such a bad one.
    Alex pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist and moved with devastating effect along the inner aspect of her arm.
    â€˜Alex…?’
    â€˜Mmm…’
    â€˜You get a lot of pleasure from foreplay, don’t you?’ That much had been deliciously obvious the night before.
    He lifted his head. ‘I get a lot of pleasure giving you pleasure. Are you trying to tell me you didn’t—’
    â€˜Hell, no.’ She quashed that theory swiftly. ‘The thing is, sometimes a person can feel a bit… I’m trying to be delicate, here, but it’s not easy. A person can feel a bit urgent. Actually, the moment I opened my eyes and saw you I wanted… Are you laughing at me?’
    â€˜Moi?’ he said, all smug innocence. ‘Go on,’ he urged. ‘This is fascinating.’
    â€˜You’re a rat-faced, smug—’ She broke off and gave a sigh of defeat. Alex looked startled as she grabbed his hand. ‘ This is how I feel,’ she said, leading his hand to the slick heat that indicated the degree of urgency that filled her. A voice somewhere told her she’d become totally wanton and shameless, but she was unrepentant. ‘I want you inside me— now. ’ A low moan vibrated in her throat as his fingers curled against her parted sex.
    â€˜That can be arranged.’
    â€˜You beautiful man, you,’ she sighed. ‘I love you.’
    Â 
    They were seated at the kitchen table eating scrambled eggs when Adam entered the room. He stood stamping his feet on the flagstone floor.
    â€˜It’s bloody freezing out there—’ He stopped mid-sentence when he finally noticed that Hope wasn’t alone.After one slack-jawed instant her brother-in-law recovered his poise and continued to peel off his gloves. ‘Is that coffee I smell?’
    â€˜Help yourself,’ Hope said, steeling herself for the comments she knew would follow. Alex hadn’t betrayed so much as a flicker of discomfiture. She watched enviously as he shovelled another forkful of egg into his mouth. There’s absolutely no reason to feel self-conscious, she told herself. But the awkwardness persisted.
    â€˜Car broke down, did it?’ her brother-in-law asked, leaning against the work surface with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand.
    â€˜No. Do you have a problem with that?’ Alex placed his elbows on the table and looked squarely at his friend. There was more curiosity than hostility in his voice.
    â€˜Why should he?’ Hope interrupted tartly at this juncture.
    She wasn’t even prepared to field Anna’s inevitable questions about Alex’s intentions, without having Adam start! How the hell am I supposed to reply, she wondered bleakly, when I don’t know myself? In Alex’s own words, he was only concerned