Fit for a King Read Online Free PDF Page A

They
searched her face, only to drop and linger on her full breasts, and
suddenly she wished her neckline were a bit higher. He hadn't seemed to
notice her body in the very re vealing nightgown, but he was unusually attentive now.
    "We
shouldn't keep your sister-in-law waiting," she said. For the
first time, he was making her ner vous. Eyeing him warily, she walked
around him, her composure starting to shatter. As usual, when a man came
on too strong, she began to draw into her shell.
    His lean
hand shot out unexpectedly, and he drew her toward him,
clamping her waist so that she couldn't move away.
    That
proximity was new and a little frightening, and she looked up
into his dark eyes uncomprehend- ingly. "What are you doing?" she
asked nervously.
    "Trying
to ruffle you a little," he murmured darkly. "You're
too neat and pretty to go out there and convince Bess we're lovers."
    "All right, then, how's
this?" She ran her hand roughly
through her hair.
    He shook
his head. "Not good enough." His eyes dropped to her soft mouth, and for the
first time in their relationship he wondered
how it would feel to have that soft mouth under his lips.
     
    39
    Fit for a King
    She felt
his strong fingers bite into her waist, and her eyes widened. "Hold it,
now, big fella," she cau tioned gently. "I'm not on the menu,
remember?"
    His
eyebrows rose curiously. "Are you afraid of me, tidbit?" he
asked in a tone he'd never used be fore. It was deep and slow and sultry,
like the look in
his dark, faintly amused eyes.
    "That
doesn't enter into it," she replied. "I won't let you use me for real. I
won't substitute for your sister-in-law,
King."
    His face
hardened. "I don't recall asking you to," he returned curtly, releasing her.
    "Good.
As long as it's just an act, we'll get along fine," she said
sweetly, although her legs were wob bling from his unexpected nearness.
She could almost drown in that heady, expensive cologne of his, which clung to
her skin from just that brief contact with him. The situation was
far too intimate, and she quickly changed the subject to divert them both.
"Is Bobby anything
like you?" she asked. "I've never met him, you know. They were always back in Oklahoma when I was down here."
    "We don't look a lot
alike," he mused after a minute, finishing his cigarette. "You'll
see for yourself soon enough."
    She forced
a smile. "Don't worry so much," she said, attempting to
ease his obvious anxiety. "They'll leave soon, and you'll
get your life back together."
    With a rough sigh, he put out the cigarette and

40
    Diana
Palmer
    Fit for a
King
    41

stuck his hands into
his pockets. "I hate being in this position," he
said unexpectedly, glaring toward the door.
    "Doesn't
your brother pay her any attention at all?" she asked quietly.
    "He's
very competitive," he replied. "He doesn't like running a close
second to me. He never has. With the oil glut bringing the price of crude
down, we've both had to diversify. But I've done it with more suc cess than
he has. Now he's going to catch up or kill himself. Unfortunately,
Bess has become a casualty."
    "Do they have children?"
    He
grimaced. "Bobby wanted to wait until they were completely secure."
    "Aren't they, by now?" she probed gently.
    He glanced
at her. "They're comfortable, but they've gotten used
to credit in a big way. Bess has diamonds and a sports car, but it could all go
up in smoke
tomorrow. That's how close they're living. Bobby's
scared, and with good reason. This Jamaica project will either pull him out or
break him, and he knows that,
too."
    Elissa
didn't say anything, but she felt sorry for Bess. For a wife, the worst thing
in the world must be having a husband who never noticed her. Elissa's parents
were always together at home, even if they were doing different
things. They might be apart physically, but when they looked at each
other, you knew
that they were always one.
    "Talking
about it won't solve this problem," he said after a minute.
"You don't mind carrying out the