had worked wonders on her mood.
“The corners of the letters are hard and sharp.”
“Well, yes. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Colt laughed and stepped farther into the room. He came close, so close she could hardly breathe. “No. No, you didn’t.” The last was whispered before he swooped down and took her mouth in a heated kiss. He parted her lips with his tongue and drew her in.
He was different from his brother in the way he kissed her. Russ tried to seduce her, and Colt tried to possess. It wasn’t teasing or flirty. It was full of passion and hunger. It was everything she’d secretly dreamed about, when he wanted her more than anything else in the world. He wrapped his arms around her, and he moaned in agreement when she whimpered in need.
And boy oh boy, did she need. She—
The plate between them clattered to the floor, and she jumped away in surprise. She looked and found it was upside down. “A sign,” she said a little breathlessly.
Nudging the plate to the side, Colt took its place. “Not a sign.”
He sifted his fingers through her hair, and she fought the urge to beg him not to stop touching her. She liked the feeling of his hands on her, the scent of him wafting around her, the rightness of him in her house. “I’m going to have to get going, baby,” he was saying. Good God, there was that word again. Baby. It made her feel sweet and gooey inside.
He was still talking, and she needed to pay attention before he was gone.
“I have a conference call in about an hour, and it’ll take me at least thirty minutes to get back to my hotel from here. I’d still like to take you to dinner, though. You tell me when is good for you, and I’ll be there.”
“How long are you staying?” she asked as she reached out to touch the soft cotton of his T-shirt.
“How long until you have an evening free?”
“Oh.” She hadn’t expected him to ask that. “I, uh…”
He chuckled. “I own the company I work for, so I can typically make my own schedule, but I do have work to do back home.”
“So, you’d stay or come back whenever I’m available?” He nodded and smiled at her with an indulgence no one else ever had. Except her father, and he’d say Colt was a keeper just for that one thing. She’d been the recipient of that indulgent smile of Colt’s before. The day after she was supposed to get married. On her porch. When she first admitted that she’d seen him not as her future brother-in-law but as a man. A hot, gorgeous, throw-me-down-to-the-floor-and-have-your-way-with-me man.
“I’d do my best.”
“This is you proving it, isn’t it?”
Colt grinned. “This is me trying.”
“Okay. Tell you what. I get off work at nine thirty. The store I work at is off Abercorn. I can meet you somewhere downtown on the river if you’d like. Around ten?”
“I’m staying at the Hyatt.”
“There’s a seafood tavern and grill that I love just down from there with outside seating.”
“See? Saying yes wasn’t so difficult.”
“I just wanted to see you again,” she said shamelessly.
“Good to know. I’ll be on the River Walk outside the Hyatt at ten. For now, though, I do need to go.” He kissed her on the top of the head and lingered a moment, just staring down at her.
“Colt?”
“There is so much I want to say to you, do to you. My self-control is about to go up in flames. I’ll see you tonight.” And with that, he was gone. Quickly. The front door closed, and Chrissie bent slowly to pick up the plate. The tool she’d used had done a really nice job, and she loved working with it. Too bad this piece, which she’d wanted to put her heart and soul into, was little more than scrap.
She grinned as she took the same path Colt had from the room. She had a job to get ready for and dinner to look forward to.
Chapter Four
Colt paced the hotel room from one end to the other. The alarm clock on the nightstand read nine forty-five. The watch on his wrist read nine forty-seven. His cell phone was several minutes ahead of that. He wasn’t sure which one of them was correct. All he knew was that he was supposed to meet her in less than fifteen minutes, and those minutes were taking a god-awful long time to arrive.
He’d been waiting months for