Free To Catch a Man (In 30 Days or Less) (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) by Judy Angelo Page A

South Africa, meeting with government
officials, then his first meeting with Moekebi.  The child was thin but with
eyes so bright and full of life you couldn’t help but be buoyed up by his
spirit.  Then there was the opening of the boys’ home and the installation of the
teachers.  And, to Stone’s horror, there was also a clipping of him in native
dress doing a traditional dance.  He’d forgotten about that.
    Indie howled with laughter at that
one.  “Oh, my Lord, what were you thinking?” She was laughing so much tears
filled her eyes.  “No, that was not the act of Stone Hudson.  That had to be
Gladstone doing that dance.  There’s no way a ‘Stone’ would be doing that.  You
can’t even dance!”  And with that she burst into peels of laughter again.
    “You’d better take that back,” he
growled.  “Or else.”
    “Or else what?”  Her mouth curled
in amusement and defiance.
    “Or else you’ll be punished,” he
said, moving closer.
    “Yeah?  How?”  she challenged, her
eyes flashing in the light.
    “Like this,” he said with a groan,
then he was reaching for her, unable to deny himself any longer.  He dragged
Indie off the sofa and onto his lap and then he dipped his head and was kissing
her with all the desire he’d been holding back for so long.  As his arms
circled her, pulling her close, his mouth held hers captive, demanding her
response, and when she gave it, kissing him back with a fervor matching his
own, he moaned. 
    When Stone finally lifted his head
and looked into Indie’s eyes they were no longer sharp but had turned
misty-green with passion.  She sighed and leaned against him, soft and pliable
in his arms.
    It was too much.  He lowered his
head and kissed her again, this time more softly, more sweetly, more deeply,
until she was clinging to him.
    “Stone,” Indie whispered, “I’ve
wanted this for so long.”
    Stone’s heart swelled inside him. 
Indie wanted him.  Could it be possible that she wanted him as badly as he
wanted her?  He could only hope.  But her whisper was enough to give him that
hope.
    “Oh God, Indie,” he groaned.  “I
want you…too much.  But I’ve got to stop now or else…”  He didn’t say the
rest.  He knew exactly where this would end if he didn’t regain control.  Stone
slid Indie off his lap and back onto the sofa.  Then he got up and shoved his
hands into his pockets.  As he looked down at her he shook his head.
    “It’s okay,” she said with a small
smile.  “I understand.”  She got up and reached out to touch his arm.  “Walk me
to the door?”
    He stared down at her, his eyes
burning into hers.  “See you tomorrow?
    She lifted her eyebrows.  “We’ll
see.”
    “Have dinner with me again.”  He’d
said that on an impulse, but he meant it.
    “I’ll do better than that,” she
said.  “Tomorrow I’ll fix dinner for you.”
    That took him by surprise.  Things
could not have worked out better.  “I’ll be there at six.”
    She went on tiptoe and kissed him
on the cheek then she whispered in his ear, “I look forward to it.”
    ******
     
    Twenty-four days to the deadline
and things were heading in the right direction.  And the surprise was, she
hadn’t even been the one to send them down that road.
    Just like she’d planned, he’d
kissed her.  Because he wanted to.  She hadn’t had a thing to do with it. 
Well, almost nothing. 
    She had to admit that she might
have had just a tiny bit of influence on him.  She’d worn that perfume she knew
he’d fallen in love with that first night they’d had dinner together.  She’d
seen his reaction when he breathed in the fragrance.  And then she’d worn her
killer blouse, the one that revealed a whole lot of shoulder and just a hint of
cleavage.  And, to top it all off, she’d given him the ‘eye’ just like Tessa
had taught her, keeping her eyes half closed and setting her lips in an
inviting pout.
    And then he’d kissed her,