Free A Most Shocking Revelation by Kristi Gold Page A

ask.”
    She studied her own hands, now clasped tightly in her lap. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy. I just got a little bored and decided to take a look around. I didn’t touch anything other than the picture.”
    He rubbed her thigh in a slow, sultry rhythm. “I don’t mind you looking anywhere you want to look or touching anything you want to touch.”
    The way he was touching her now had Valerie feeling as if she could go up in flames and come down in a pile of cinders. “What are you doing home? I thought you said you had to work all day.”
    He stopped his soft stroking but kept his hand firmly planted on her leg. “Actually I came by to drop off the rest of your things. I went by Harvey Joe’s and picked them up.”
    Panic constricted Valerie’s chest. “You didn’t have to do that. I would have gone back in a day or two.”
    â€œNot a problem. You don’t have all that much, unless I just didn’t see everything.”
    Hopefully he hadn’t seen everything. “Only some clothes and a couple of boxes.”
    â€œYeah, that’s what I brought with me. I put your hanging things in the closet and the stuff from your drawers on top of the box of books.” He studied her a long moment, causing her to look away. “I noticed they were college textbooks.”
    So much for pretending she’d been a lifelong waitress. “I went to the local university for a while, but after my grandmother died, I had to quit.” Not exactly a lie, even though she did have her undergraduate degree and was well into working on her master’s. But if she told him that, then he would wonder why she hadn’t pursued her career in St. Louis instead of settling in Royal.
    â€œI noticed the books had mostly to do with psychology,” he said.
    â€œYes. The human mind fascinates me.”
    Gavin’s smile turned into a grin. “Me, too. Almost as much as the human body.”
    Valerie’s all-too-human body was making itself known with a racing pulse and a rolling heat. “Why does this not surprise me?”
    â€œGuess it shouldn’t surprise you at all after last night.” He lifted his hand from her leg and draped his arm over her shoulder. “And about that, I owe you an apology for pressuring you.”
    â€œYou didn’t pressure me,” she said.
    â€œYeah, I did.” He stroked his thumb along her jaw. “But I have to admit, I’ve thought about it all day long.”
    Gavin got that look about him, the one that told her he was about to kiss her. And he did, with gentle yet effective persuasion that had Valerie opening to him without hesitation and leaning toward him as if he had power over her like the moon over the tides. The things he could do to her with his mouth were beyond anything she had ever known. The way she responded was totally out of character for her normally cautious self. She welcomed the soft stroke of his tongue and met it with her own, enjoyed the feel of his hand traveling from her waist to her hip and back up again.
    â€œI don’t have time to do this right now,” he murmured as he feathered soft kisses along her neck and down the column of her throat.
    â€œThen leave before…”
    He raised his head and stared at her. “Before what?”
    â€œBefore I can’t let you leave.”
    He pushed off the bed, forked one hand through his hair and let go a rough sigh. “You’re killing me, Val.”
    â€œSorry, that wasn’t what I meant to do at all. And I believe you started it by kissing me first.”
    He took his hat from the nightstand and placed it on his head. “Yeah, and we’re going to have to finish it soon or I might beforced to permanently reside in the company vehicle to preserve my dignity, if you catch my meaning. Kind of hard to do when you’re out on a call.” Leaning over, he gave her