Weddings Collection. Кэрол Мортимер

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СКАЧАТЬ had to do with the heat. But not the kind that was coming from outside. This was a heat that came from within. A heat generated by the very touch of his mouth to hers. By the thoughts that contact created.

      And by the longing that appeared instantly.

      His arms closed around her, pulling her to him. His body came alive everywhere it touched hers. Kevin could feel flames licking at him, could feel desires coming out of nowhere, assaulting him.

      Demanding to be recognized.

      To be appeased.

      He wanted what he rarely even thought about anymore. He wanted to make love with her.

      The thought exploded in his head like a grenade that was on a delayed firing pattern. Stunned, Kevin pulled his head back as if some sudden electrical force had jolted through him.

      It took her a second to realize that the kiss was over, that there was air between them instead of the intimate press of flesh. She looked at him in surprise. “What is it?”

      “I should be getting back. Now.”

      He said the last word so urgently, so forcefully, she knew that he had to be feeling the same shock waves through his body that she felt through hers. It was as if her body had been drenched with dew, only to have it sizzle off her skin.

      It took her more than a moment to gather herself together.

      “Right.” She drew a breath, her mind fuzzy. What was it that he did to her? “They’ll be looking for you,” she murmured.

      He stepped outside. After the darkness within, late hour or not, there was entirely too much daylight to deal with. He shaded his eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

      “What time?” she called after him.

      One corner of his mouth rose as he crossed back to her. “I thought time didn’t matter here.”

      He had her there. She scrambled for an excuse. “It doesn’t, I just—”

      Kevin laughed. “I’m only kidding.” He wondered if April would mind letting him use her car again. “Nine all right?”

      “Half the day’s used up by then. If you want to get anything done, you’ll have to come earlier.” She was only half kidding.

      “Earlier then,” he promised as he got into April’s car.

      “Earlier,” she murmured, watching him drive away. She stood watching for a long time.

      That had been a very vulnerable moment, she thought.

      Very slowly, June ran her fingertips along her lips. She could still feel the pressure, still taste him. She knew she should be grateful to Kevin. That had he been someone like Haggerty, or one of the others, he would have used the opportunity to talk her out of her clothes and into a prone position.

      Yes, she should be grateful, she thought, her hand dropping to her side.

      But all she was, was frustrated.

      With a sigh, June went back inside. The screen door slammed against its jamb, announcing her less-than-pleased demeanor.

      “Where have you been?” Like a jack-in-the-box, Alison popped up from the chair and flew to her brother’s side the moment he walked in through the door. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was supposed to stay at their place tonight and he was very late. “Do you realize I was ready to have Max start combing the area for your body?”

      Though he appreciated his sister’s concern, from his standpoint, there was no reason to get so upset. “I’m thirty-seven years old, Alison. I’ve got an uncanny sense of direction and I can take care of myself.”

      “This isn’t downtown Seattle, Kevin. There aren’t signs on every corner to help you along your way. People get seriously lost out here. And,” she finished dramatically, “turn up seriously dead.” When he made no comment, she turned expectantly toward her husband. “Help me out here, Luc. Tell him.”

      But Luc was content to sit back and let the drama unfold without him. He knew better than to get into the line of fire. He waved her on. “You’re doing just fine without me.”

      “Men,” she sighed in disgust. And then her eyes narrowed as she looked at her brother. “You still haven’t answered me. Where were you?”

      He was extremely easygoing, but that wasn’t to be mistaken for being a doormat. He’d never been one of those. “Haven’t you got the roles reversed a little here? I’m the big brother, you’re the little sister.” He looked at her pointedly. “The very little sister.” Even in heels, which she wasn’t wearing, Alison barely came up to his chest.

      An accusing glint entered her eyes. “You’re evading the question.”

      Kevin looked over Alison’s head toward his brother-in-law. “She’s gotten a lot more demanding since she’s left home.”

      Luc chuckled quietly. “This air’ll do that to you,” he agreed.

      Close to the end of her patience, Alison fisted her hands on her hips. “Kev-in.”

      Luc pretended to take refuge behind his book. “Uh-oh, when she draws your name out like that, you’re in trouble. I’d answer her if I were you.”

      It was never his intention not to answer her, just not to have it come across as if he were enduring the third degree. “I stopped by the farmhouse.”

      At first, she didn’t know what he was talking about. “What farmhouse? The abandoned one?”

      He thought that an apt description for the place where June was living. “No, June’s, although it might as well have been abandoned.” He began to walk out of the room. “Never saw anything before so desperately in need of work that hadn’t been condemned by the board of health first—”

      Moving quickly, she put herself in front of her brother. He was not going to escape this easily. “Back up here, you stopped at June’s?”

      “I just said that.” Glancing toward Luc, Kevin struggled to suppress his grin. He could almost see the questions multiplying in his sister’s head. “Keep up, Aly.”

      She bit back her temper. “I will if you stop jumping around to unimportant things.” This definitely had promise. “What were you doing at June’s place?”

      “Well, for the first few hours I was fixing her tractor.”

      Alison’s brows drew together. She looked toward Luc, but he was proving to be no help whatsoever. She was on her own here. “Is that some kind of euphemism for—”

      Kevin almost laughed out loud. “A machine, Alison, I was fixing an antiquated machine so that June could use it on the farm.” He looked over her head at Luc again and deadpanned. “Just exactly what is it that you’ve done to her?”

      The expression on Luc’s face was the last word in innocence as he continued thumbing through his book.

      “The nights СКАЧАТЬ