Lucky Charm by Valerie Douglas Page B

but the way Carly had leaned in to whisper in his ear had been intimate, though. It hadn’t taken him long to recover, if it looked the way it seemed. Of course, Ariel knew nothing about him. She might have kept him out of his own bed, or someone else’s. No rings didn’t necessarily mean not taken. It wasn’t as if she’d taken the time to ask the requisite questions. His skillful hands had brought up the raging fire within her and she’d responded. That was the chance she’d taken by having sex with a stranger. He’d given her the opportunity to stop. She was the one who’d chosen not to. Feeling disappointed was foolish. She had only herself to blame.
    Really, though, she couldn’t bring herself to blame either herself or him, it had been wonderful while it lasted. That was all that it was and all she’d said she wanted it to be.
    None of which helped her feel any better.
    Ariel started walking simply to walk, not knowing if she was going in the right direction. Walking out of the bar without finding out which way to go was stupid. What had she been thinking? She knew better, with her sense of direction. For some foolish reason she felt like crying and that was stupid, too. It had been a one-night-stand, what did she expect? Nor should she have expected anything else. It wasn’t her place to judge him, either, after all, no one had told her to bring him back to her own motel room.
    One-night-stands weren’t her thing, or anything else, not for three years or more. It had been an impulse brought on by need, by loneliness and a longing she didn’t want to admit she felt. She didn’t know the man and this was the price you paid for making rash decisions.
    A taxi turned the corner. She lifted one hand.
    She was so distracted she didn’t hear the footsteps behind her until it was too late.
    A hand gripped her arm and swung her around.
    “You can’t leave now,” a familiar voice snapped.
    Ariel looked up and sighed.
     
    For a minute, Matt was torn. The disappointment in Ariel’s eyes burned. What was she thinking? That he’d jumped right from her bed into someone else’s? As if he was the kind of man who looked for notches on his bedpost, the way Steve did? In a way, he couldn’t blame her. What else would she think? That was what she thought she’d saw. Should he let her go thinking the worst of him? That ate at him. He was here for a reason, though, and he had to remember that. That was what he should concentrate on. The only problem was he couldn’t bring himself let her go thinking that of him – not only for himself but for her. There was that look in her eyes. He wasn’t that kind of man and he’d be damned if he was going to let her think he was.
    Then he saw Steve heading for the door Ariel had just exited, an unpleasant look on his face. Something about that expression didn’t look promising.
    That was the last straw.
    Patting his pockets, he said, “Damn, I forgot my wallet in the car, I’ll be right back.”
    They barely noticed him leave. Carly and the other girl were debating their commission structure, which of them had gotten the better deal and whether Marathon was ripping them off.
    He walked out to the street, looked in both directions and saw Ariel up near the intersection just as Steve reached her. Took her arm and wrenched her around.
    “Let her go,” he shouted.
    Steve turned, startled. He flung up his hands. “I was just making sure she was safe,” he said.
    A glance was all it took to have the other man take a step back.
    “Sure you were,” Matt said.
    Backing away, Steve hurried back toward the nightclub.
    The cab was heading for the curb. He didn’t have much time. Ariel’s black-fringed blue eyes looked back at him, her expression wary, tired and disillusioned.
    Oh, hell .
    Ariel took a deep breath. The confrontation with Steve had been bad enough. Her heart still pounded. She’d been relieved when she’d heard Matt’s voice, seen his expression. All it had