Free Come Fly with Me by Sherryl Woods Page B

simple meal filled her, something far more interesting happened. She began to forget all about the snow outside. She even began to forget why she was in Boulder in the first place. Slowly but surely, she fell even further under the spell of Mark Channing’s considerable charms.
    He was an admirable host, witty and intelligent and obviously drawn to her, though she still couldn’t quite figure out why he had been so intent on this virtual kidnapping. She wasn’t sure if it even mattered anymore. Shewas here now and, in the strangest way, she felt she belonged here. It was a sensation that puzzled and fascinated her. It probably should have terrified her, but she refused to examine it that closely. For the moment it was enough that she felt warm and mellow and desirable.
    When they’d finished eating, she started to help clean up, but Mark waved her toward the sofa. “That can wait. Let’s go sit by the fire.”
    They sank down side by side on the comfortable sofa with its dark-toned, overstuffed cushions. Shadow lifted his head slightly, noted their presence and moved a little closer, his head resting on Mark’s boot.
    â€œYou know something, Lindsay Tabor?” Mark said softly, his fingers playing in the curls that edged her face, brushing all too casually against skin that seemed to burn with a fever of growing desire.
    â€œWhat?” she asked breathlessly.
    â€œYou’ve never told me a thing about yourself. All last night you kept turning the conversation back to me. Now I want to know about you.”
    â€œThere’s not much to tell. Morrie gave you a pretty accurate summary.”
    Mark chuckled. “I don’t think so. At least,that’s not the Lindsay Tabor I’ve seen in the last twenty-four hours. Oh, you’re stubborn and scrappy and bright all right, but you’re funny and warm—”
    â€œNow,” she retorted dryly.
    â€œI wasn’t talking about the temperature.” His fingers gently caressed the silky skin of her neck and the flames grew hotter deep inside her. “Why do you find it so difficult to admit you might be a caring, tender woman underneath that businesslike facade?”
    â€œIt’s not a facade,” she protested.
    â€œOkay. Bad choice of words. But you’re much more than a tough-minded lawyer. You’re a woman,” he said, his voice growing soft, weaving a magical spell. “A lovely, intriguing woman...” His lips hovered a mere hairsbreadth from hers. “A woman whom I want very, very much.”
    Firelight made his dark eyes sparkle with dazzling lights and Lindsay wanted nothing more than to lose herself in the desire she could read in those eyes. The coil of tension inside her was winding tighter and tighter until she thought she would explode with an unfamiliar longing. A tender touch, a persistentcaress, a passionate kiss and she would be lost.
    But those were emotions, demanding physical needs, drawing her to him. Intellectually, she knew it would be a dreadful mistake to give in to them. Not only did she have business to conduct with this man, she also had no intention of cluttering up her life with a serious involvement. And any involvement with Mark Channing would be serious, at least for her. He had reached some previously untouched part of her from the moment they’d met in the airport. His gentle, romantic words and warmly appreciative gazes had made her all too susceptible to possibilities and dreams she’d never before considered for her life.
    It was odd how all that snow had managed to build a layer of ice around her heart again, only to have it melt beneath the blazing fire that danced beguilingly in Mark’s eyes. The man clearly had more tricks up his sleeve and he seemed to have a psychologist’s knack for unlocking long-buried thoughts.
    Suddenly she was remembering those long-ago days when she’d had a complete family, a mother and a father who