King cleared his throat and stared hard at Elissa. “How astute of you to notice, Bess. Actually, Elissa and I had a little tiff, but it’s nothing, really.”
“Yes,” Elissa began, glaring at him. “I simply lost control and threw myself at—” Suddenly she found herself being grabbed by the hand and dragged into a bedroom.
“Rape!” she yelled, and Bobby surprised everyone by bursting out with laughter.
King closed the door behind them, his face livid. He leaned back against the door, watching her retreat to the window.
“Stop that,” he growled. “You’re slitting my throat!”
“Good. I’ll bet you bleed ice water,” she returned, her eyes wide and accusing.
“I shouldn’t have said what I said last night,” he began slowly. “I’m sorry. I can’t begin to explain why I did it.”
“You were drunk and so was I,” she replied to save face.
His eyebrow made an arch. “On three drinks?”
“I’m not used to liquor of any sort,” she defended herself. “And unless I’m mistaken, you don’t drink much, either.”
His powerful shoulders rose and fell. In his white slacks and a red-and-white knit shirt, he looked impossibly handsome. His dark eyes ran up and down her body, and she knew he was remembering, as she had, how it had been between them. Her heart pounded once again at the sheer impact of that memory.
“Bobby postponed his flight until tomorrow morning,” he said a few moments later. “He thought it would be fun if the four of us flew back to the States together.”
“I can’t,” she protested. “Warchief—”
“I’ve got a sitter, as usual,” he returned. “I can’t stay here or Bess will get a migraine or find some excuse to stay with me. Bobby, as you can see, is immersed in his work. He doesn’t even realize what’s happening.”
“You poor man,” she said coolly.
He glared at her. “Do you think I can help it?”
“No.” She sighed, turning away. “I don’t suppose she can help it, either.”
He came up behind her, his warm, strong hands clasping her arms. She trembled at their touch, so aware of him physically that it made her ache.
His fingers contracted rhythmically, as if he liked the silky feel of her skin. His breath in her hair was warm and not quite steady.
“We can fly to Miami, and then I can drive you to your parents’ house. That will accomplish two things—satisfy my sense of honesty and get Bess out of my hair.”
So he wasn’t planning to stay, thank God. But what would her parents say at this unexpected visit? They were bound to wonder why she’d cut her vacation short and why King was with her. This entire situation was totally ludicrous. Yet, despite herself, her heart went out to King in his predicament, and she reasoned it wouldn’t hurt her work any to touch base in Florida. Maybe her parents wouldn’t have to see King, and they’d never know that anything was amiss.
“All right,” she agreed. “I’ll go.”
“Good girl.”
She turned and looked up at him. “Yes, I am,” she said quietly. “Try to remember that the next time you decide to make a pass at me.”
He searched her soft blue eyes. “You and I are an explosive mixture, aren’t we?” he asked, his voice deep and measured.
Her nails were making quiet patterns on his shirtfront while she looked at him. “Until last night, I never really understood why women couldn’t stop men from making love to them,” she confessed. “It’s very hard to stop, isn’t it?”
He smiled indulgently. “Well, a woman can tease a man until he’s desperate to have her.”
“I tease sometimes,” she admitted slowly, searching his darkening eyes, “but I don’t really mean it. Not as a come-on.” She lowered her gaze to his throat. “I’ve always wanted to be more like Bess,” she said. “Sophisticated and worldly and very desirable. But the minute a man comes too close, I freeze. All those old inhibitions rear up, and I run. But I don’t mean to be cruel. It’s...like a fantasy.”
He tilted her face up to his. “I think I’ve always known that, Elissa,” he said quietly. “And I know you weren’t teasing me. Not deliberately, anyway,” he added with a smile. “Though you did get a little wild.”
She blushed feverishly.
“What I’m trying to explain,” he continued, tracing her cheek, “is that I was frustrated and I couldn’t do anything about it. I ended up saying a lot of things I didn’t mean.”