Angel Be Good Read Online Free PDF Page A

want?"
    "A kiss just like the last one."
    "Oh."
    "Disappointed?"
    "Of all the . . . Of course not!" She didn't
want to examine the possibility that he might be right.
    He tossed the remote and caught it again.
"So, what's it going to be?"
    She took a step toward him. He grabbed her
roughly by the waist and pulled her onto his lap. "That's more like
it."
    Her heart pounded and her head swam. It felt
too good in his arms. She was in danger and knew it. She tried to
stand up, gain a little distance from him, but he gently held her
in place. Then his lips descended on hers and she was lost.
    Good lord, the man could kiss. He nibbled
her lower lip then claimed her mouth. Heat. Hot. Fiery flames
leaped through her body wherever he touched her. His hands splayed
about her waist, his thighs beneath hers, his chest leaning into
her own, his mouth devouring her with an urgency, a need reflected
by her own body.
    She pulled back before her craving for him
became a necessity. Letting out a breath of air, she opened her
eyes. He watched her, his gaze inscrutable.
    She couldn't let him know how she'd very
nearly given in. He was powerful enough without her own
capitulation. "The remote?"
    He looked confused for a moment, then
sheepish. "I think I dropped it."
    Daphne chuckled. Obviously he'd been
affected, too. She stood, then scrambled beneath his chair and
grabbed the remote before he had a chance to pull another trick on
her. Still on her knees, she asked, "You ready?"
    He ran his hand through her hair. "I'm
yours. Have your way with me."
    Blushing, she struggled to her feet. "That's
not what I meant, and you know it."
    He laughed, the conceited son-of-a-gun. Just
because his kisses were toe curlers was no reason for him to act so
cock sure. She darted to the chair on the other side of his desk
and took a seat.
    He laughed again. "Spoil sport."
    She tossed her head and punched the play
button. The TV burst into life, almost startling her although
Leonard had explained what would happen.
    The camera panned a snowy rural scene, then
narrowed to focus on a small cape cod, with dormers and a front
porch that ran the width of the house. Coming through the doorway,
it centered on a Christmas tree—small, decorated with colored bulbs
and flashing lights, a number of gaily wrapped parcels resting
below. The view expanded to show a tiny boy, perhaps two or three
years old, kneeling beside it, his eyes lit with anticipation.
    Turning, the boy addressed the only other
occupant of the room, a sweet looking woman in her mid-twenties.
"Mommy, will Santa be here tomorrow?"
    "I'm certain he will. You've been a very
good boy."
    He grinned and crossed the room to climb in
her lap.
    Nat leaned across his desk and snatched the
remote from Daphne's hand. The scene froze.
    "What the hell is this?" he demanded.
    Daphne blinked. "It's the past. At least,
that's what Leonard told me it would be."
    "How did he get a video of this?" His face
twisted, his lips compressed, white, Nat exhaled before continuing.
"I can't believe he'd stoop this low."
    "Nat, trust me, Leonard wouldn't do anything
wrong."
    Nat knew one thing, he didn't trust Leonard.
"I don't know what he wants, but I'm not going to watch this. I
wonder how my mother recorded it? The technology just wasn't
available . . . " He preferred to think about how they'd
accomplished the mechanics rather than the shock he'd felt at
seeing his mother for the first time in so many years.
    "I don't think your mother did. It's a
miracle. You know, angelic magic."
    "You know what you can do with your magic."
He snorted and leaned toward the VCR. Leonard was playing a tough
game and until Nat knew what Leonard's agenda was, Nat wanted no
part of it. He only liked games where the rules were clearly
spelled out in advance, games with rules he could work to his
advantage.
    He punched the eject button, intending to
get the tape and put it away. But the cassette didn't emerge. He
ran his fingers inside to see if the tape