The Man's Outrageous Demands Page 0,37
being flipped didn’t hurt that badly. It had looked pretty painful when she’d been watching Sam and her brother a few days ago. “Well, I guess I deserve that, although I’m not sure why.”
He reached down a hand to help her up. She accepted but he pulled her right into his arms. “I didn’t sleep well because I was thinking about how much I should have stayed in your room last night and made love to you instead of leaving you with that chaste kiss.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t thought the kiss was very chaste personally since it had ignited every nerve ending in her body. But she accepted that he was much more experienced than she was in this area. She also wasn’t going to challenge him about it while he was in this kind of mood.
“Step over there and put your hands up like this,” he said and Marabeth obeyed instantly.
The next hour was fascinating for Marabeth. She loved learning from Sam even though he was relentless. They went over the same move again and again until he thought she had it perfect. There were kicks and lunges, arm movements and body turns. Marabeth felt silly at first but when Sam explained the balance involved and how to use that balance to one’s advantage, she embraced the lessons with enthusiasm.
“Good job,” he said and stood up. Marabeth was breathing heavily as she tried to keep up with him but he hadn’t even broken a sweat. “I’ll see you tonight for dinner?” he asked, putting his hands on her hips and looking down at her.
Nodding and trying to slow her breathing down which was a useless effort since she was now in his arms and the expectation of a kiss was increasing her breathing, she put her hands on his chest and looked up at him. “What time?”
“Seven again?”
“That’s fine,” she said and watched him walk away. She was painfully disappointed that he didn’t kiss her again but told herself that it was probably a good thing. She’d be a basket case soon if she wasn’t careful. She wanted his touch but should learn to temper her needs with caution and reason.
The day flew by for Marabeth which was odd since she didn’t really have anything to do. She was still restricted from leaving the palace with no explanation so she had to cancel her appointments which weren’t urgent, thankfully. Instead, she raced her horse against the clock and was impressed with how fast he could run. Then she relaxed by reading a book she’d been trying to start for the past several months, never finding the time before because of her busy schedule.
She also researched several new charities that had been introduced to her. It always amazed her how many charities just popped up that were completely false but were asking for her presence at some function or another. She knew several people created foundations simply as an excuse to meet her and that irritated her. But she accepted that as part of the job.
She had no idea what to wear to dinner that night so she chose a simple pair of black slacks and a white, turtle neck sweater since it was starting to turn cooler. She let her hair flow down her back and only pinned the front to the top of her head to keep it out of her eyes.
Marabeth smiled as she opened the door to reveal Sam standing there, leaning against her door with a bouquet of flowers. “How lovely,” she said, and didn’t mean just the flowers. Sam was wearing a pair of khaki slacks and a white collared shirt, open at the top. He looked incredibly sexy and she wished he’d just take her into his arms and kiss her, wrapping her up in his strength.
Where had that thought come from? She frowned as she took the flowers, letting him follow her into her suite. Wasn’t she still mad at him? Wasn’t he still the irritating, domineering man who was pushing her into a relationship she didn’t want?
Where had her spine gone? Could she not maintain her anger in the face of overwhelming charm?
How irritating, she thought as she stopped in the middle of her sitting room.
“Is something wrong?”
Marabeth jumped at his deep voice so close behind her. She swung around to look at him. “No, why?” she asked, trying to appear calm despite her confusing feelings.
“You’re frowning at the flowers as if a snake were about to jump out of them. I