Алисон Робертс – At His Service: Her Boss the Hero: One Night With Her Boss / Her Very Special Boss / The Surgeon's Marriage Proposal (страница 20)
‘No.’ For some obscure reason it felt like an insult. As though she might not be attractive enough to have had the opportunity. Or too uptight to consider sex before marriage acceptable. ‘And don’t call me that.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t like it.’
‘Hmm.’ Tama sounded interested now. ‘What else don’t you like? Apart from sleeping with men, that is.’
Mikki wanted to hit him. ‘I didn’t say I didn’t
‘Good. Delighted to hear it.’
He sounded delighted. Why? What business was it of his, anyway?
‘What about you?’ Mikki countered.
‘I
Mikki snorted. ‘Very funny.’
‘And you’re the first woman I’ve slept with in … oh, ages.’
‘Yeah, weeks, I bet. And you’re not
‘Not yet,’ Tama conceded graciously. ‘But I will.’
Mikki held her breath unconsciously. There was such promise in those few words but did he mean slumber or sex?
‘You’re not breathing,’ Tama said softly.
‘Yes, I am.’ Mikki let her breath out with a whoosh. ‘See?’
‘Just as well. I was just starting to think I might need to resuscitate you.’
Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? Mikki swallowed. She hadn’t imagined that tone of disappointment beneath the light banter. Was he looking for an excuse to kiss her? Desire kicked in and her heart missed a beat and sped up. It felt so obvious she was afraid Tama would be able to feel it as well. She tried to slow her heart rate by slowing her breathing. But that made it very quiet.
‘Uh-oh,’ Tama murmured. ‘You’re doing it again.’
He was so close Mikki could feel the words as much as hear them, and the distance closed as he spoke so that by the time he spoke the last word it simply morphed into a kiss. The talking finished but his lips kept moving on top of hers. Gently. And then more firmly.
It was a conversation all of its own with all the nuances that speech could contain with the tiny variations of pressure and position. Despite the deafening level of sound desire was trying to make, Mikki could ‘hear’ the underlying communication.
The kiss went on. And on. Desire was tightly reined in, which made it possible for this conversation to seem relaxed. A pleasure in itself that was not necessarily leading to anything else.
As naturally as the verbal communication had become non-verbal, the process was reversed.
‘Nice,’ Tama murmured as he drew back slowly. ‘Very nice.’
‘Mmm.’ Mikki ran her tongue over her lower lip. It still tingled. It still tasted of Tama. ‘Nice’ was far too pale a word.
‘You’re still safe,’ Tama told her. ‘I don’t do relationships.’
‘Oh?’ The statement should have been reassuring. Where did that frisson of disappointment come from? ‘No.’ The affirmation was definite. ‘How old are you?’
‘Thirty-six.’
‘And you’ve never had a relationship?’
‘Define “relationship”.’
‘Urn …’ Mikki had to think. ‘If you see someone more than a couple of times it becomes a relationship because you have the expectation of seeing them again. You
‘Does it involve sex?’
‘At some point, if it’s an adult relationship, then sex is involved. That’s what makes it a relationship rather than just a friendship.’
‘OK. In that case, I take it back. I’ve had heaps of relationships.’
‘If you go into it knowing that it’s short term, it’s not a
‘Like marriage and mortgages?’
‘I guess.’
‘Then no. I was right. I’ve never had a real relationship and I don’t intend to. Any hint that a woman wants that stuff and I’m outta there. Not my scene. How ‘bout you?’
‘It’s not something I can see in my immediate future,’ Mikki said confidently. ‘But I wouldn’t say “never”. Maybe, one day, when I meet the right person, I’ll change my mind.’
‘Really?’
‘Sure. Why not?’
‘Because you’ve seen what it can do to someone.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You said it nearly destroyed your father when your mother died. He must have loved her very much. They must have had the best kind of relationship.’
‘They did. And, yes, he adored her.’
‘And it was nearly the end of the world for him when he lost her. It must have been unbearable. I’ve seen that happen, too. Why put yourself at risk like that?’
‘Because …’ Mikki was getting an insight into herself through Tama that she’d never considered. Was she the same? Had she run from any relationship that looked like it was getting serious because she didn’t want to risk the fallout if things went wrong? ‘It must be worth it. It’s that “better to have loved and lost” theory.’
‘I don’t buy into it,’ Tama said dismissively. ‘There’s other good stuff to be found in life. Like this …’
He was kissing her again. And this time it felt even more natural than the first time. His taste was familiar and … wonderful. His warmth seeped into every cell in Mikki’s body and the movement of his lips sent impulses that brought her whole body alive. Made it tingle with energy and contentment and desire all at the same time.
And then his tongue touched hers and Mikki lost any ability to analyse how she felt. The world had already been banished to this tiny space and now her awareness shrank much further. She just existed in that point of contact between herself and Tama. A white-hot flame that flickered and grew and consumed everything else. Including oxygen. Mikki finally had to pull back to drag in a breath of air. ‘This isn’t good.’
‘What?’ Tama sounded astonished. ‘I thought it was pretty fantastic myself. Best kiss I’ve had in … oh, ages.’
Mikki suppressed a smile. ‘I meant it’s not a good idea. We can’t have sex, Tama.’
‘No. That would require a little less in the way of clothing than we currently have and it would be silly to risk dying of hypothermia.’
‘I meant not at all.’
‘We’re only kissing.’
‘And kissing is generally the first step on a path that leads to a lot more.’ It would be too disappointing to get more of Tama’s kisses and know they were leading to nothing more. Better to pull the plug right now. ‘What happens when we’re not sleeping on top of a mountain? Tomorrow, say, or next week?’
‘Do you want a lot more, Mouse?’
‘No.’
‘You sure about that?’ Tama’s lips were teasing hers again.
‘We
‘Would it?’