Twins on the Way. Janice Maynard

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СКАЧАТЬ me have your phone. I want you to have a picture to remember me by.”

      She was somewhat bemused when he cooperated. Scooting up against him, she tapped a couple of icons and held the phone at arm’s length. “We have to document this night.”

      Unfortunately, her arms were short and Gavin was tall. She couldn’t actually hold the camera far enough away.

      He took it out of her hand. “Give me that.” With one hard arm curled around her waist and the other extended, he framed the two of them in the small screen. “Say cheese,” he muttered.

      Just as he hit the button, she reached up and kissed him on the chin. Afterward, she bounced on her toes. “Let me see, let me see.”

      The shot was surprisingly sweet. She studied Gavin’s face in the image. Even if she hadn’t met him in person, she would be impressed with the man in the picture. He looked like a throwback to the steely-eyed cowboys of the past. All brooding machismo and sizzling intensity. “I like it,” she said. “You’re very photogenic.”

      He lifted an eyebrow. “No. I’m not. Let’s get out of here.”

      She followed him obediently, smothering a smile. Apparently a man like Gavin took her compliment as an affront to his masculinity. Since she had wounded his pride, she held out the car keys. “I don’t have to drive.”

      He shook his head and slid into the passenger seat. “Yes, you do,” he said, his eyelids drifting shut. “I’m taking a nap between here and the hotel so I’ll have the energy to rock your world.”

      Laughing out loud at his tongue-in-cheek boast, she started the car. Maybe he was serious. He didn’t even flinch when she whipped out into traffic. But minutes later when she eased into a spot in the parking garage, he sat up and ran a hand through his hair. “What time is it?” he asked, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

      Cassidy glanced at the dashboard. “Almost four.”

      He grimaced. “There’s something unnatural about a city where no one sleeps.”

      “They sleep,” she protested, vaguely defensive about her hometown. “But not necessarily from midnight until morning.” Though Gavin Kavanagh would never be anything other than handsome, he definitely looked the worse for wear. Dark circles beneath his eyes and a pale undertone to his skin bespoke his exhaustion. “I should go,” she said impulsively, squashing her disappointment. “You need to get some rest before you fly out.”

      The look he gave her sizzled nerve endings in some very interesting places. “I can sleep when I’m dead,” he growled. “You’re not going anywhere.”

      The arrogance was justified given her propensity for throwing herself at him tonight. But it rankled nevertheless. “Is that a threat?”

      He cupped her neck with one hand and pulled her into his kiss. “Call it what you want, Cassidy Corelli. But if I’m going to be a guinea pig in your goofy cousin’s wedding charade, then I think I’m entitled to a fake honeymoon, too.” He claimed her mouth with knee-weakening mastery. “C’mon, Cass. I need a bed. ASAP.”

      “Because you’re tired?”

      He got out and came around to her door, helping her to her feet. “Because I need you. Now.”

      * * *

      Gavin had never been more serious or more desperate to have a woman. Granted, it had been several months since the last time he’d been naked with a female. In addition to his youthful catastrophic history in misjudging the fairer sex, when he lost himself in his work, his hermit leanings tended to take over. He liked people. But solitude gave him energy. Sharpened his mind. Spurred his creativity.

      When it came to Cassidy, however, he was neither clearheaded nor particularly intelligent. His brain was not in the driver’s seat. He wanted her. Fiercely. Madly. In a way that wiped out all his normal reservations. With an insanity no doubt induced by sleep deprivation and champagne and recent celibacy. But insanity nevertheless.

      Later, he would not be able to recall the exact sequence of steps that took them from the artificially illuminated parking garage to the thickly carpeted hallway where his room was located. But through it all, he kept Cassidy by his side, hip to hip, his arm around her shoulders.

      She laughed at him when he fumbled the key card from his shirt pocket and took three tries to open the door. “Are you sure this is your room?” she whispered.

      The door swung wide. “Don’t you remember? You were here not that long ago.”

      She passed him, entering the suite with a swish of hips and a low chuckle that went straight to his gut and hardened his aching sex even more. “All these hallways look alike.”

      The door closed with a muffled sound. For the first time, his charming, funny tour guide seemed momentarily abashed. Her eyes wouldn’t meet his. Graceful hands fluttered as if not knowing where to land.

      He restrained the urge to grab her, an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Problem, Cass?”

      She licked her lips. “No.”

      The simple negative didn’t sound convincing. “What’s wrong?”

      “Nothing.” She kicked off her shoes as she had earlier, still not looking at him. “Would you mind if I take a quick shower...alone?”

      He frowned, immediately suspicious. “If you think waiting will make me want you more, you’re crazy. I’m far past teasing, I promise you.”

      Her chin came up at last and she grimaced. “I’ve never showered with a man. It may not seem like it, but I’m shy in certain situations. I won’t linger, I swear. I want this, too.”

      Something about the vulnerability and honesty in her bittersweet chocolate gaze convinced him she wasn’t playing games.

      Nodding tersely, he put some distance between them. “Go, then.”

      When she disappeared, he drew in oxygen with a sharp inhale. Was Cassidy Corelli some kind of scam artist? Would he awake to find his billfold missing? Or was she what she seemed...an artless, far-too-young-for-him ingenue with a propensity for flirtation?

      He paced automatically, doing everything he could think of to get himself under control. The last woman he’d slept with had been an artist in Asheville. They’d met at the home of mutual friends and acted on a quiet attraction that proved to be physically satisfying. Despite having much in common, their relationship had ended after six months due to a lack of fire.

      That wasn’t going to be a problem with Cassidy. Though this current encounter had all the earmarks of a one-night stand, what he felt at this pivotal moment was far more volatile than simple attraction. It wasn’t that he wanted Cass. He craved her...with an intensity that alarmed his well-ordered existence.

      Thankfully, she was true to her word. She reappeared in a very short amount of time wearing the same robe she had modeled earlier. He cleared his throat. “All done?”

      She nodded, staring at him.

      “Give me three minutes,” he said. In the shower, he washed rapidly. The taut skin covering his erect sex was almost too sensitive to touch. СКАЧАТЬ