Christmas with a SEAL. Tawny Weber

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      FRANKIE HELD HER BREATH, her heart beating so hard she was surprised her dress wasn’t shaking. Eyes wide, she waited to see what he’d do. After a second he glanced at the door leading back to the party. She tried not to pout, sure he was about to refuse.

      Then, with a small frown, he set down the champagne bottle and held out a hand.

      Look at how he made that look as if it was his idea. She grinned as she placed her hand in his and let him lead her out of view of the door. Of course, Phillip Banks of the Maryland Bankses was high society through and through.

      Kinda like a prince.

      Which, given her status in that same state, made her a pauper.

      She wiggled her toes in her beribboned Lucite heels, figuring she could rock the role of Cinderella for just one night.

      They reached the far side of the patio, a bronze fire pit casting a magical glow over them as Phillip faced her, his hand curling around her waist.

      Amusement fled.

      So did thought.

      All Frankie could do was feel.

      Staring into Phillip’s brilliant green eyes, she gave over to delight, loving everything that was going on in her body as they began to sway to the music.

      Excitement.

      Curiosity.

      And a sexual rush that was doing wild things to her insides.

      Tingling things. Wet, hot things.

      Things that made her wonder what it would be like to strip naked and see what other moves he had.

      The music picked up and Phillip’s arched brow was her only warning before he twirled her out and then pulled her back into his arms.

      Oh, baby.

      “I’m impressed. You have to have a special kind of rhythm to move like this,” she said with a breathless laugh. “I guess dance lessons do pay off.”

      “You say that as if you know me,” he noted quietly, his gaze intent.

      She opened her mouth to tell him she did before closing it again. Just because she knew him didn’t mean he knew her. She wasn’t sure they’d ever actually said more than hello to each other before tonight.

      Admitting how she knew him would mean telling him she was little Francesca Silvera, the housekeeper’s granddaughter. The tomboy who’d had a secret crush on him all the way through school. Who’d endured haystack hair for a year after dying her red curls blonde to try to look more like his prom queen girlfriend. She’d been the laughingstock of the sixth grade.

      Hey, a girl needed some secrets, right? It wasn’t as if he was ever going to come back to the Banks estate and find out who she really was. So why shouldn’t she enjoy the encounter for what it was—two people, practically strangers, who were very attracted to each other. At least, she was very attracted to him.

      Phillip was hard to read.

      “Frankie?” he prompted, his voice a little huskier than before.

      “You’ve got a polish that most guys only have if they’ve taken lessons,” she lied, giving him a saucy look. “On top of that, you definitely move like a man who knows what to do with his body.”

      “Are you flirting with me?” he asked, sounding baffled.

      Delighted, she laughed. Poor guy. He clearly hadn’t been flirted with enough in his privileged lifetime if he had to ask.

      “Do you mind if I do?”

      A tiny frown creased his brow. Before he could resolve whether he minded or not, Frankie decided to tilt the odds in her favor. She moved a little closer, her fingers sliding from his shoulder to skim along the back of his neck.

      She wet her lips, smiling a little when his gaze shifted. She’d spent many a teenage year dreaming of him looking at her this way. At first she hadn’t had a clue what she’d do if he did give her that look. But thanks to the library, HBO and three older female cousins, it wasn’t that long before she could fill in all the juicy details of her fantasy.

      And life had just handed her a golden opportunity to live out that fantasy, to get more specific about those details. She knew she would regret it if she didn’t make the most of it.

      “I don’t think flirting is a good idea,” he told her, his voice deep.

      “Oh, СКАЧАТЬ