lover. The thought didn’t terrify her, and that puzzled her. In fact, her body began to tingle in the oddest ways, and that really puzzled her.
Then the bedroom door opened, and King stared at her over the head of the most beautiful blonde Elissa had ever seen.
The blonde wore a look of helpless longing and unholy torment. And King’s expression was a revelation as he glanced down at her. For a face that rarely gave away a trace of emotion, it was suddenly explicit with tender interest. Who was the woman? Elissa wondered. And why would King want to discourage her when he was so obviously attracted to her?
Elissa was so confused that she almost forgot to play her part. This vulnerability in King was so unexpected. But there must be a reason he wanted that lovely woman with him to think he was involved with someone else, and this was obviously no time to ask questions.
“Well, hello, darling,” Elissa said in her best husky voice. She tugged the covers up demurely and yawned delicately. “I fell asleep again,” she added meaningfully, and she waited for the blonde to react.
CHAPTER TWO
THE REACTION WAS almost instantaneous. “Oh!” The woman faltered, stopping beside King as if frozen to the spot. She stared at Elissa with huge, soft eyes, clearly struggling to find words, and her delicate skin colored, making her even more beautiful. “Ex-excuse me.”
“I didn’t expect you to still be here, Elissa,” King said with a smile that was obviously forced.
Elissa played her part to perfection, letting her eyes droop sleepily. “I’m sorry if I’ve overstayed my welcome.”
“Don’t be absurd,” he replied. “There’s no reason you shouldn’t stay if you like. Bess, do you mind...?” he asked the blonde. “There’s a guest bathroom just down the hall.”
“I’ll...I’ll use that one, of course.” She looked totally flustered, Elissa noted sympathetically. “Excuse me,” she whispered, her voice almost breaking. She turned and nearly ran down the hall.
King closed the door and leaned back against it, his face without expression, his dark eyes looking at Elissa without really seeming to see her. He never gave away much, but that hard face was faintly pale under its rugged tan.
Elissa climbed out of bed, oblivious to her state of undress. He wasn’t looking, anyway. He paid very little attention to her as a rule, and if she’d wondered why in the past, she now had a suspicion. She went to stand in front of him, her head back, her eyes curious.
“Okay,” she said. “Why don’t you tell me all about it. I’m a clam when I need to be, and you look as if you need a friend pretty badly.”
His jaw tightened. He looked down into her blue eyes, and she could see his control waver, just for an instant, before he got it back. “That’s Bess,” he said finally. “My brother’s wife,” he added significantly. After a pause, he continued tonelessly, “He’ll be along in an hour or so. He’s still in a business meeting.”
She remembered his mentioning Bobby and Bess, and she also remembered that he never talked much about them. Now she had a sneaking hunch she knew why. Her eyes narrowed as she took in his look of utter dejection.
“Is one of you in hot pursuit of the other?” she conjectured, smiling gently at his faint surprise. “Since I’m guessing, she’s after you, I imagine, and that’s why I was shanghaied into decorating your bed.”
“It isn’t quite that simple,” he murmured, searching her wide eyes.
“Why don’t you try telling me about it,” she suggested softly.
Still gazing intently at her, he seemed to consider that possibility, took a deep breath and then began. “They came down month before last while Bobby was working to get a hotel complex started. He’s been deeply involved in negotiations, and now he’s finalizing the subcontracting bids,” he explained. He paused.
“Go on,” Elissa prompted gently.
“Bess has been lonely, so instead of going back to Oklahoma, she’s been depending on me for amusement.” He stopped, then continued haltingly, “But a couple of nights ago, the amusement did a disappearing act, and things started to get serious.” Again he stopped, then rushed on. “So I started grasping at straws and told her I was involved with you. If you hadn’t sent me that letter asking me to get the utilities on, I might still be in hot water. But I knew you’d be in tonight, so I made sure Bess would come over. To catch you in a compromising situation,