hers while a sudden silence hung between them, warm and sweet and wild.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, and darkness invaded his eyes as she slid her free hand to join the other, discovering the hard, cool contours of that massive bronzed chest with a smoldering excitement. She couldn’t recall ever seeing Ralley with his shirt off, or wanting to. But she loved the sight and the feel of this man, the texture of his skin, the tone of the muscles, the faint scent of expensive cologne that clung to him, the magic in those hard, warm lips... She felt as if she were drowning in him, and she never wanted to be rescued.
“Enjoying yourself?” he murmured, watching the lights dance in her eyes, color her cheeks.
With a shock she suddenly realized where she was, whom she was with and what she was doing, all at once. She drew in her breath sharply, pushing away from him to stare up into his eyes with shamed fascination.
That stare said it all. Something dark and quiet lay in his eyes, relaxed the hard lines of his face for just an instant. He smiled—a slow, smug smile that made him look faintly wicked and devastatingly attractive.
“I’ll race you to the wall,” he challenged, narrow-eyed.
“You’ll probably beat me, too,” she replied, joining in the game. If he wanted to ignore what had happened, she’d go along. It was probably for the best, anyway.
But long after they’d parted company at the elevator, and she was dressing for lunch, she remembered the hunger in that rough kiss. His wife was dead. But had he been a long time without a woman in his life? That might explain a lot. But it was disappointing, too. Nikki ran a brush through her hair with a long sigh. Trust me to lose my head over a man I’ll never see again, she grumbled to her reflection. Just my luck these days.
Cal had already told her that the conference would most likely last all day. He was having lunch with his associates and would probably have supper with them, too.
But he might have time for a nightcap, he’d added, and if he could manage it, he’d call her. She’d smiled and said that was fine and walked away. But she’d felt like wailing. She hadn’t wanted to leave him. She’d wanted to spend the rest of the day with him, sightseeing or swimming, or just talking. She wanted to learn more about him, what he did, what his life was like. She wanted to be kissed again in that wild, hungry way.
She put her suitcase back in the small closet with a sigh. This must be that second childhood she’d heard about. Ridiculous to get that nutty about a man she’d only known for two days.
She went down the hotel arcade to the chain restaurant for lunch, treating herself to a delicious hamburger and fries and coffee while she watched the seagulls play over the water.
Next door was the restaurant and lounge where she’d had supper last night with Cal. It seemed so long ago now. They’d learned a lot about each other since then.
When she was through, she wandered back down Bay Street and browsed through the shops, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she saw elegant emeralds, colorful imported fabrics, perfumes and all kinds of exotic imports. But something was missing. The wonders that had been so exciting before were just routine now. It wasn’t the same anymore, being alone.
She thought back to the days before Ralley’s interest in Leda became obvious, to things they’d done together. Strange, she couldn’t remember Ralley ever enjoying simple things like window-shopping or strolling down streets. He was only interested in football games, noisy parties and talking shop with other reporters. But at the time, she’d forced herself to like those things, even though it went against the grain of her own nature. Nikki wasn’t a sports fan. She hated noise, alcohol and people who played Russian roulette with mind-warping drugs. Her tastes ran to symphony concerts, the ballet and art exhibits. Ralley wouldn’t have been seen at any of them. She wondered now what they’d ever had in common, besides infatuation. Poor Leda. But perhaps she’d shared those interests, too, as well as being in love with the tall, sandy-haired reporter. Nikki hoped she had. That one year of happiness was all fate had allowed her.
And Nikki had been wary of men ever since. The humiliation of sending out wedding invitations