Red Hot Reunion - Bella Andre Page 0,43

yesterday. First in the hot air balloon. Then the hot springs. Followed by a “cooking lesson” she’d never forget. “Having sampled from your menu I know exactly why.”

Suddenly she was halfway out of bed, in Jason’s arms, her naked br**sts pressed against his crisp button-down shirt.

“If I didn’t have to meet with my publisher, you’d better believe I’d have you tied to the bed, your long legs spread for me, begging for me to f**k you again and again with my tongue.” He ran his hands over her br**sts, past her waist, between her legs. “With my fingers.” He pressed her hand to his erection.

“With this.”

Emma shivered, the image he painted so close to the vividly erotic dream she’d had less than a week ago in which bondage and begging had played a major role. At the same time, she was slightly disappointed that, yet again, he felt the need to make it perfectly clear to her that she was nothing but a sex toy to him.

After last night, she’d nearly convinced himself that they were moving beyond pure sex into a more emotional bond. Like the one they’d had back in college. Obviously, she’d been mistaken.

Still, that was what she had signed up for and since she wasn’t ready to leave yet, she refused to betray her disillusionment.

“Cancel your appointment,” she whispered. “Stay here with me.”

But evidently, Jason had a heck of a lot more willpower than she did. And was a great deal more committed to his career than she was, considering she’d dropped her business like a hot sack of coal with barely a second thought.

“Sorry, babe,” he said, dropping her back to the bed rather unceremoniously.

She tried not to feel hurt by how easily he could shove away his need for her. After all, hadn’t she burst into his world unannounced two days ago? What right did she have to claim his time wholly and

completely?

And hadn’t he already given her so much pleasure?

“You’re right,” she said, pulling the covers up over her bare br**sts in an effort to regain some control.

“You need to take care of business. And so do I.”

He turned to her, his hand on the doorknob. “Aren’t you on vacation?”

She bit her lip guiltily. “Not exactly.”

Jason frowned, but didn’t ask for clarification. On the one hand Emma was relieved that she didn’t have to explain herself. But at the same time, she hated that he didn’t care enough to ask.

“I’ll call you tonight.”

Emma’s smile returned.I’ll call you tonight was exactly the kind of thing a boyfriend would say, rather than a part-time lover who couldn’t wait to get her out of his hair. “Great!” she chirped. “Have a fantastic meeting.”

He closed the door behind him and she propped the pillows behind her back, enjoying the view out the French doors. She could lie here all day doing nothing.

Only, she couldn’t. Because lying around eating bonbons wasn’t her thing. She was a worker, a doer, and now that she knew Jason was going to be busy all day, now that he’d reminded her that work needed to be done, she already felt lost. Empty-handed. They’d been tourists yesterday and it had been the most wonderful day of her life. The thought of venturing out to wineries, to galleries, to shops without him felt impossibly lonely. But she couldn’t just sit around his house all day either, waiting for him to come back and make everything okay.

A girl could only fool herself for so long. Real life awaited and the best way to start her day was to check her voice mail and e-mail in Jason’s tidy home office. She did have clients who depended on her, after all, and even if she was busy running away from her life, she acknowledged that it wasn’t exactly fair for her to run away from their business affairs as well.

Five minutes later, Emma was knee-deep in more than a hundred messages that had accumulated since Saturday night. Oh God, what had she been thinking? She couldn’t just turn off a switch and escape. Not when all these people needed her, depended on her. Just because she’d had two fantastic days and three hot nights with Jason didn’t mean that she wasn’t still stuck. Because she was.

Depressed again, her eyes blurring as she read and re-read the same e-mail, she pushed back from the desk and hit the off button on Jason’s computer.

No! She couldn’t go back to her awful life. Not yet. Not when she’d barely begun