Lady's Choice by Jayne Ann Krentz Page A

put your mind to seducing me?" She twined her arms around his neck and brushed his hard mouth lightly with her own soft lips.
    "Juliana." Travis breathed her name on a hoarse, urgent groan. He caught her head between his hands and crushed her mouth hungrily beneath his own.

    Juliana responded instinctively, willingly and with all the pent-up eagerness that she had been fighting to keep in check.
    "Hold it," Travis ordered, although his arms were already tight around her waist. "I've got to figure out what's going on here. You say our business arrangement is separate. That is has nothing to do with this end of things. And you claim you still love me. So what is all this? You think that if you let me back into your bed I'll suddenly decide I have to offer marriage, after all?"
    "Who knows? You might, you being such an ethical type and all."
    He shook his head in slow wonder. "You never give up, do you?"
    "No. But I don't want to talk about marriage right now."
    "Good. Neither do I."
    Travis kissed her hard and then took her hand firmly in his and started toward the bedroom. He turned out lights en route and by the time they reached the end of the hall they were deep in the never-never land of night and shadow.
    "Travis?" She smiled up at him as he drew her to a halt near the bed. She trailed her fingertips along his shoulder, enjoying the strength she found there.
    "I've been going out of my mind wondering when it would happen with you again." Travis caught her earlobe between his teeth as he began to unbutton the top of Juliana's silky hostess outfit.
    "I should never have set that month deadline the first time around," Juliana confided, leaning into his vital warmth. "I should have known I'd never last that long."
    "We agreed after that first night together that what we have between us is very special." Travis finished unbuttoning the yellow silk top and eased it off her shoulders.
    Juliana felt the whisper softness of the fine material on her skin and shivered with anticipation. Travis looked down at her bare breasts and his crystal eyes glinted in the darkness. His palm closed gently over one budding nipple and Juliana inhaled deeply.
    "You feel so good." Travis's mouth found the curve of her throat. "So right."
    "So do you." She tugged at his tie and tossed it aside. Then she unbuttoned his shirt with fingers that trembled. As soon as she had freed him of the shirt, she locked her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his bare shoulder. The crisp mat of hair on his chest grazed her nipples. She wriggled against him experimentally, enjoying the teasing sensation.
    Travis laughed softly, the sound husky and very sexy in the darkness. He slid his palms beneath the waistband of Juliana's silk pants and pushed them down over her hips. A moment later she stood nude in his arms.
    "This is how it's supposed to be between us," Travis muttered as he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He settled her on the pillows and stood back to rid himself of the rest of his own clothing.

    "I know." Juliana lay gazing up at him, glorying in the solid, hard shape of him. The strength in his shoulders and thighs appealed to all her senses and the boldness of his arousal pleased her on a deep, primitive level. But it was not simply the physical aspect of Travis that captivated her and made her so aware of him on a sensual plane, she realized. There were other men just as solidly masculine and far better looking.
    "You look very serious all of a sudden," Travis observed as he came down beside her on the bed, a small foil packet in one hand. "What are you thinking?"
    She looked up at him as he loomed over her. "I was just wondering what it is about you that makes you so sexy."
    He grinned, teeth flashing in the darkness as he dealt with the contents of the packet. "You're trying to figure out why you couldn't resist me any longer?"
    "Um-hm." She trailed her fingers through his hair and tangled one leg between his.
    "Don't think