Janelle Denison – Wild Fantasy (страница 2)

At the time, Mitch hadn’t been looking for anything binding or long-term, and judging by Nicole’s carefree, noncommittal attitude since her breakup with an up-and-coming city councilman about a year before, he was fairly positive she felt the same. In a split second he considered the possible strain to their mothers’ friendship if things didn’t work out between him and Nicole. He also considered the unwanted pressure and expectations that might be placed on either of them if they were to become involved. With these factors in mind, he had resolved to keep things between them casual, amicable and uncomplicated the whole way around.

But that decision hadn’t stopped him from wanting her. And it certainly hadn’t curbed Nicole’s inclination to tease and flirt with him when they were together, which only served to build and heighten the sexual tension between them.

He shook those thoughts from his mind just as Nicole turned her head in his direction, causing her silky, shoulder-length hair to ripple with shimmering highlights. Vibrant green eyes searched the area and came to an abrupt stop on him seconds before the hostess halted beside his table.

Surprise lit her gaze and a slow, beguiling smile curved her mouth. “Fancy meeting you here, Mitchell,” she drawled, her tone infused with familiar sass.

He inclined his head in greeting and smiled easily in return, feeling that beginning tingle of sexual chemistry the two of them generated whenever they were near each other. “It’s nice to see you again, Nicole.”

Very nice, indeed. Up close, she not only looked spectacular and incredibly sexy, but smelled soft and feminine, with a hint of warm, ripe apricot—an intoxicating, alluring combination that clenched his stomach muscles with heated awareness.

With effort, he shifted his gaze back to the hostess. “I’m here to have lunch with my mother, Heather. I think you’ve directed Ms. Britton to the wrong table.”

“Oh, no, Mr. Lassiter.” The young girl shook her head emphatically and placed another menu on the table. “Your mother and Mrs. Britton reserved a table together and instructed me to seat you both if they didn’t arrive first.”

Mitch watched Heather return to the front of the restaurant, letting her words sink in. “That’s…interesting,” he murmured, returning his gaze to his new table guest.

Nicole looked just as taken aback by the girl’s announcement but slipped into the vacant seat next to Mitch to await their mothers. “Interesting, to say the least, considering I was expecting to have lunch with my mother.” She hooked the thin leather strap of her purse over the back of her chair, then straightened in her seat to face him again. “She called this morning and insisted she had something important to talk to me about.”

“Same with my mother,” he replied wryly. “I can’t imagine what the two of them are up to that they’d both conveniently forget to mention a foursome.”

A naughty twinkle entered her gaze as she lowered her voice to a husky, teasing timbre for his ears only. “A twosome would be much more pleasurable, wouldn’t you say?”

Heat rushed through him at her daring double entendre and, though he knew she was merely toying with him as she always enjoyed doing, he toyed right back. “Oh, most definitely. What do you say you and I slip out the back door and sate our hunger privately?”

“Ummm.” The word rumbled provocatively in her throat, and she laced her fingers beneath her chin and considered his suggestion for a moment. “Sounds like a decadent proposition, but I don’t think our mothers would appreciate walking in on the gossip we’d leave behind.”

He laughed softly, humorously. “Your rebellious reputation precedes you, Nicole. You’re not one to shy away from anything that causes speculation or gossip.”

“Who, me?” Pressing the tips of her fingers to her chest, she tipped her head innocently and licked her glossy lips. The gesture made him wonder what her mouth tasted like deep inside. “Now what gives you that impression?”

Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Oh, let’s see,” he said, mentally picking through the various escapades his mother had insisted on sharing with him throughout the years. He thought about the upset her breakup with Jonathan Gaines had caused, and since he really didn’t know the exact circumstances revolving around that split, he found another episode to utilize instead. “What about the incident three years ago when you flatly refused your father’s very generous offer to be a receptionist at his medical office—”

She interrupted him with expressive green eyes rolling heavenward and a very heartfelt, “Oh, puleeze! That ‘generous offer’ was my parents’ attempt to mold me into a nice, traditional kind of girl, in a nice, traditional kind of occupation more suited for someone meeker and milder than myself.” She feigned a very realistic shudder.

He managed to restrain the urge to laugh at her description which clearly contradicted her own outlook on life. “And not being a traditional kind of girl you instead went out and found yourself a business partner and shocked everyone by starting your own sports enthusiast business.” Including her prominent councilman boyfriend at the time.

“All Seasons Outdoor Adventures, isn’t it?” Mitch asked. From what he knew, she and her partner, Guy Jacobs, not only put together packages for clients interested in outdoor recreational activities, but the two of them were guides on various hiking and rock-climbing expeditions, white-water rafting trips, and other daredevil sporting events, as well.

“Yes, that’s all true.” Her chin lifted in a mutinous slant that matched the multifaceted spark brightening her eyes. “The business has been extremely profitable, not that my father has ever acknowledged my success.”

And for some reason, her father’s approval was obviously important to her, despite her attempt to pretend otherwise. The tinge of hurt in her voice was slight, but unmistakable, and was quickly concealed with an indifferent shrug of her smooth, tanned shoulder.

The woman apparently had a soft spot beneath that sassy, aggressive, sexy facade of hers. “Personally, you don’t seem the receptionist type to me, either.”

“Thank you.” She beamed as if he’d given her a compliment of the highest degree, and lifted her water glass for a quick drink. “You know me better than I originally gave you credit for.”

And damn if he didn’t want to get to know her a whole lot better.

Unexpectedly, she leaned toward him and slipped her palm over the back of the hand resting on the table between them. His pulse leapt, and her smooth fingertips, chilled from the water glass she’d just touched, made his skin sizzle.

Her lush mouth curved into a smile filled with wicked intent. “So, shall we stroll out of this stuffy country club hand in hand like lovers and let our mothers come to their own conclusions when they hear the gossip about us?” She waggled her perfectly arched brows in a dare. “Could be tons of fun.”

One thing was certain in Mitch’s mind. If he took Nicole up on her brazen challenge and they ditched this luncheon, he doubted anything that happened outside this restaurant would be feigned. The vibrant fire in her eyes told him the attraction was real. And while she might pretend not to care about their mothers’ speculation about them, he was willing to bet it was all an act. They both knew their parents would jump on the opportunity to encourage any interest between them, and he didn’t think she wanted that, either.

He switched the positions of their hands, trapping hers beneath the heat and weight of his palm. His thumb rubbed the sensitive flesh between her thumb and forefinger, and she sucked in an audible breath.

He blinked lazily. “You know, I do believe you could tempt a saint to sin, and if it wasn’t for both of our mothers heading this way at this very second, I’d call your bluff and see just how far you were willing to take this game of yours.”

At the mention of their mothers’ approach she subtly retrieved her hand so they weren’t caught in such a compromising position. She sighed, a gusty breath of sound that held the barest hint of regret. “I guess we’ll never find out just how far I was willing to take things, now will we?”

He stifled a grin and instead gave her a private wink designed to leave her a little unbalanced. “Not this time anyway.”

NICOLE STARED at her lunch menu but was unable to concentrate on the array of entrées offered. While her mother and Joyce Lassiter chattered on about the fabulous sale at Bloomingdales they’d hit that morning, which had made them late for their lunch date, Nicole’s mind spun with other, more distracting, matters—like the gorgeous, too-appealing man sitting beside her, their sexy banter, and her traitorous body’s reaction to him and his arousing touch.

She drew a deep, stabilizing breath, which did little to alleviate the flutters in her belly. Mitch Lassiter always did have a way of shaking up her normally unwavering composure and generating feelings of restlessness that no man had ever evoked. He possessed the ability to turn her on with a look, a charming smile or just by speaking in that deep, rich voice of his. Not that she’d ever let him in on that intimate secret.