Face-Off Read Online Free PDF Page B

the tang of rain-tinged salt air, and when he pulled her in closer, she slid her arms up around his neck, kissing him back with passion. He loved her contrasts, the shy schoolteacher one minute and the bold, sexy woman the next.
    They kissed for a while until they were both panting louder than the ocean, and she wrapped one leg around him, rubbing the back of his calf with her high heel. The gesture was so spontaneous he wondered if she even realized she was doing it.
    â€œWould you like the full tour?” he murmured.
    â€œOh, yes,” she said against his mouth.
    He took her hand and led her inside. He flipped on a light and as he tried to see the room through her eyes, wondered if he should have hired a decorator. But she smiled. “I would have imagined that your living roomwould be all big-screen TV and, I don’t know, hockey trophies.”
    â€œTV’s behind there,” he said, pointing to the rustic cabinet he’d bought when he first got the place. Of course, the TV hidden behind the distressed wooden doors wasn’t exactly puny and it was plasma, but he didn’t bother to explain all that.
    For the rest, he’d bought most of the furniture from the old couple who were selling the place. It was sturdy and to his uneducated eye he thought it all went with the place. He still thought so. The furniture was wooden-framed, a lot of it made by the previous owner out of driftwood, with all the upholstery in blues.
    â€œIt’s so rustic, but real, you know?” she said.
    â€œYeah.” Exactly what he’d always thought.
    He showed her where the bathroom was and the kitchen, which really did need a reno, even though he kind of liked the scarred old Formica counters and light oak cupboards.
    Then he pointed to the closed doors that were his office (even though he didn’t do any work) and guest bedroom (even though he didn’t have any guests).
    He really didn’t want to play tour guide any more. He wanted her in his bed. And badly.
    With that thought in mind, he said, “And here’s my bedroom.” And he led her through the main room to his bedroom. He felt her hesitate on the threshold, her hand going suddenly rigid in his. She was so sweet, he couldn’t help himself from turning to nibble on her lips, to kiss her until the rigidity left her body and the passionate woman was back in his arms.
    He led her forward into the room and she pulled away from him to say, “Oh, how beautiful.” She wasn’t referringto the original artwork he’d bought at some charity auction, but to the floor-to-ceiling windows. He could watch the ocean from his bed all day and all night. It was probably the main reason he’d bought the place.
    The bed and bedding were his only nod to true luxury. He figured with the beating his body had taken over the years, a great bed was a necessity. And if Egypt had been picked clean of cotton so he could enjoy bedding that had cost more than his first car, then he was sorry, but he definitely enjoyed the comfort.
    He turned down the bed, then drew her forward. She was smiling, but he could sense her shyness. He had no idea what her background or her story was, but he knew quite suddenly that he had to treat her carefully. Take it slowly.
    â€œYou know what I thought about over dinner?” he asked, nibbling her lips, then kissing her thoroughly.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œHow pretty your neck is.” He kissed her again. “Long and elegant, like a dancer’s.”
    â€œMy neck?”
    She didn’t sound like it was the greatest compliment of her life.
    â€œAmong other things.” He ran a fingertip along her collarbone. “I probably need to get you out of these clothes to confirm how pretty everything else is.”
    She snorted. The most unladylike thing he’d ever seen or heard her do. “It’s not all that exciting.”
    â€œYou let me be the judge of that,” he said, and