Between the Lines by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

artificial smile. She wasn't sure yet what explanation to make to Gray. She could try telling him the hotel was full and this was the only room available, but he could check that out. She could try telling him the truth, but he might balk. She could try jumping on him the moment they entered the room, but Amber wasn't sure that would work. He was an awfully large man.
    One thing was for certain, she decided as she watched Gray saunter across the lobby with a newspaper in one hand. She wasn't going to back down tonight. It was unlikely she'd ever have this much nerve or sense of daring again. Surely saving a man from a couple of hoods gave a woman some rights, especially when that man was her husband.
    Gray looked up from the headlines and saw Amber waiting for him near the elevators. She was tossing a key in one hand, and there was a determined expression in her eyes. The look was similar to the one she'd had earlier in the evening when she'd pretended she was carrying a gun in the straw purse. Instinct warned him that she'd nerved herself for a showdown.
    The knowledge sent a flicker of fire through his blood. Maybe she was right to push him. He'd been a fool to play the gentleman this long. Already he could feel his body tightening in anticipation. The sensation was not unlike the tautly alert feeling he'd experienced waiting for Roger and Ozzie to make their move.
    As he got closer, he could see more than just feminine determination in Amber's beautiful, expressive eyes. There was a measure of anxiety there also. Gray found that rather endearing. She was still feeling reckless and bold from her adventure earlier in the evening, but she wasn't completely sure of herself.
    The emotional sizzle caused by the near brush with violence was translating itself into something else, something equally elemental and compelling. Even if he'd wanted to resist her tonight, Gray was suddenly not at all sure he could have done so. He, too, was still aware of a residual energy and a restlessness that was left over from the scene in the desert. Above all, he was deeply aware of the fact that this woman was his wife. She belonged to him, and he had yet to claim her. He'd been an idiot to wait this long.
    Amber chewed a little on her lower lip as she watched Gray approach. She couldn't read his eyes, but that didn't matter. She wasn't going to quit now. When he reached her side she held up the key. "We're all set. I got a room on the seventh floor."
    "Fine. We won't need a bellboy. Not for these two pieces of luggage," Gray said smoothly, holding the elevator door for her.
    Amber's palm grew damp around the key. She couldn't think of anything to say as the elevator cruised upward to the seventh floor. Gray didn't seem inclined to keep the conversation going, either. When they arrived at the right floor, he walked silently out of the elevator behind her. She was suddenly vitally aware of the size and mass of him as he followed her to the door and stood waiting while she unlocked it.
    At the last possible instant Amber frantically began trying to think of ways to explain the fact that the room only contained one bed. As she pushed open the door, the words began tripping out of her mouth. She was horrified by the rambling monologue, but she couldn't seem to halt it. "The hotel is almost full, Gray. I was lucky to get this room. There's only one bed, but the woman at the front desk assured me it was a huge king and there should be plenty of room for both of us. I mean, I know you're accustomed to sleeping by yourself, but this is something of an emergency, or at least it's a highly unusual situation, and since we know each other so well and everything I figured that there wouldn't be any harm in sharing such a big bed for the evening. After all, we are married. It's not as if we're strangers or even just business partners, is it?" She broke off to look up at him helplessly as he calmly closed the door and locked it.
    "No," Gray agreed, setting down