Sultry. Mary Baxter Lynn

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СКАЧАТЬ her many times what it meant, but she’d never once told him.

      “It means whatever you want it to, sonny boy.”

      That explanation hadn’t made sense then any more than it did now, but it made him think with sad affection of his grandmother, who’d practically raised him.

      Cramped or not, the cottage was the perfect home for him, consisting of a combination living room, kitchen and dining area. It even had a fireplace, an amenity that he probably wouldn’t use. The rest consisted of a bedroom and adjoining bath. But he didn’t demand much for himself. No unnecessary baggage for him.

      He’d dropped that three years ago, when he’d simplified his life.

      Thirty minutes later, Mitch was out of the shower and had a beer in his hand. Following a long draw on the cold draft, he set it down while he slipped into a pair of worn jeans, then tromped barefoot into the living room.

      Once he was seated, Mitch swung his head toward the kitchen. He was hungry as a bitch wolf with nine sucklings. Yet he was too dog-tired to cook himself anything to eat.

      This was when he missed his grandmother and his ex-wife, though he hated to admit the latter. Whenever Wendy had been at home for any length of time, she would cook for him.

      He would bet she had cooked for her lover, too.

      “Aw, shit,” he muttered, hating it when he thought about her, but hating it more when he talked to himself. Not a good sign.

      Mitch polished off the rest of the beer, his gaze once again straying toward the refrigerator. Surely he had a TV dinner he could toss into the microwave.

      His thoughts shifted to the big house and the feast that the boss and his daughter were most likely sinking their teeth into about now. Instead of tossing that absurd thought aside, Mitch’s mind homed in on Lindsay, and lingered there.

      She had been the reason he’d used the chain saw all day. He had cut a huge oak that had fallen during a storm into fire logs. His intention had been to work out his sexual frustrations so that he wouldn’t think about anything or anybody.

      Had it worked? Nope.

      He could still remember every word Lindsay had said to him and the way she’d looked at him, her lovely naked eyes a mixture of sadness, curiosity and something else—that same something that he’d felt mirrored in his eyes: instant and liquid desire.

      Ah, what a crock. She didn’t want him. She already had a stud to service her—the one he’d seen her with on the porch the other evening. Yet she didn’t look like anyone was making love to her. No one that lovely ought to be that hauntingly sad.

      Maybe that was why he couldn’t get her off his mind, why he couldn’t stop savoring everything about her, especially the memory of her shiny, styled hair, those sexy freckles that dusted her nose, those pouty, Kewpie doll lips quirked in doubt, and her tight little butt.

      When she’d whipped that butt around, he’d watched her run off, and been reminded of a lithe and classy Thoroughbred. He had stood there long after she’d disappeared, feeling like he’d just been karate-chopped from behind.

      And he was still nursing that same painful feeling, because that last uninhibited gesture had left him with an unwanted ache in his groin—an ache he hadn’t had in a helluva long time.

      As badly as he hated to admit it, that ache hadn’t subsided. In fact, he had a hard-on right now, just thinking about her. What was the deal? He was no longer in control of his emotions; that was the deal.

      Well, that was just too bad. Lindsay Newman was a no deposit, no return sort of woman. He’d best keep that in mind.

      Seven

      “Gosh, it’s good to see you.”

      Lindsay smiled at her friend Mary Jane. “It’s good to see you, too. It seems like ages.”

      Mary Jane’s saucy grin added to the twinkle in her green eyes. “What with you gallivanting around the globe, it’s kind of hard to stay in touch.”

      “Pooh,” Lindsay responded good-naturedly, knowing that M.J. wasn’t really jealous. Besides, she had the means to travel, only she was afraid to fly. “And I would hardly call a trip to London globe-trotting.”

      Mary Jane flapped a hand. “Well, whatever.”

      “So let’s grab a seat before they’re all gone.” Lindsay pointed toward a table in a far corner. “Go for that one.”

      This Italian restaurant was her favorite, and she ate here often. Today, however, her favorite waitress wasn’t here, nor was the manager. Both always gave her preferential treatment.

      “Whew, I’m glad to be out of the heat!” Mary Jane exclaimed. “Darn, but it’s hot. And muggy.”

      Lindsay flicked a strand of red-gold hair out of her eyes and stared at M.J. “It’s supposed to be, my friend. It’s summer.”

      “Well, you can have summer. Sometimes I wish I lived in the North Pole.”

      Lindsay frowned. “Uh-oh, things must be bad at work. I hear an underlying whine in your tone. Anything I need to know about?”

      “Nah, except I’m overworked and my boss is an asshole.”

      “Mary Jane!”

      She didn’t look the least bit contrite. “Well, he is.”

      Lindsay grinned. “Aren’t most men, at some time or other?”

      The waitress appeared at the table, and once they had placed their orders and were alone again, Mary Jane shook her bobbed dark blond hair and said, “So tell me what’s going on.”

      “You mean with Peter?” Lindsay asked innocently.

      Mary Jane almost spat out the sip of water she had just drunk. “Now, why would I ask you about that prick? You know my opinion of him.”

      Lindsay’s grin widened. “We’re awful. You know that, don’t you?”

      “No, what we are is truthful.”

      Lindsay merely shook her head.

      “So has your idea gelled yet?” Mary Jane asked, switching the subject.

      Lindsay kept a straight face. “Idea?”

      “You know what I’m talking about—that certain thing you were going to tell me about. Your secret, if you will.” Mary Jane snapped her fingers. “Duh. Ring a bell?”

      “Of course it does, silly. I was just giving you a hard time.”

      Although Mary Jane grinned, there was a perplexed look on her face. “My, but you’re full of vinegar today. Whatever’s going on sure suits you. I haven’t seen you this relaxed in a long time.”

      “I haven’t been this excited in a long time.”

      Before СКАЧАТЬ