Free Songbird by Syrie James Page A

terrific.”
    “ Don’t get too excited. The back half of the house still thinks it’s the dead of winter.”
    She tried to hurry him through to the master bathroom, hoping he wouldn’t notice her bedroom’s state of disarray. To her dismay, he stopped beside her unmade, four-poster bed, and wrapped one hand around a carved bedpost which reached his chin.
    “ You weren’t kidding,” he said. “You’ve really got one hell of a bed here.”
    Remembering her remark the day before about her antique headboard, she followed his line of sight. He was paying more attention to the thrown-back comforter and exposed rumpled sheets, however, than to the exquisitely carved mahogany.
    She gave him a shove toward the bathroom. “You have no respect for antiques.”
    “ I do,” he said. “I have a deep and abiding respect for antiques.” He yanked back the shower curtain over the porcelain bathtub. “I’m looking at one right here. A pink bathtub! Where would you find a pink bathtub nowadays?”
    Her mouth opened and she took a sharp breath, watching him closely. Should she tell him? The bathtub was green. She closed her mouth again.
    “ You’re right,” she said. “You hardly ever see pink anymore.”
    He seemed unaware of his mistake or her reaction to it, and she was glad. Quirking a brow in her direction he asked, “Want to take a bath?”
    “ No!” She tried to sound irritated and failed miserably. She handed him a wash cloth and towel from the linen closet and turned on the water in the tub. “I’m going to rinse my feet off. Or do you want to go first?”
    “ No, please. Be my guest.”
    Standing alongside the tub, she dipped one foot under the running water. Bending forward, she washed the sand from between her toes and then switched legs. She was halfway through before she realized what a view her too-brief cutoffs must be providing Kyle. She jerked upright and whirled around.
    “ Don’t mind me.” The glimmer in his eyes made her cheeks flush red-hot.
    “ I’m done. I’ll just wait for you in the other room.” Desiree grabbed her towel and escaped out the door, her feet dripping as she ran.

    ***

    “ That was delicious,” Kyle said, finishing the last of the coffee she’d laced with tequila and a generous helping of cream. “I don’t get Mexican coffee too often up in Seattle.”
    She sat beside him on the living-room couch, her bare feet, now clean and dry, tucked beneath her. “A definite drawback to being a northerner.”
    “ There are other drawbacks I can think of.” Putting down his cup, he drew her into his arms, his lips against her hair. “I had a great time tonight.”
    “ So did I.”
    He held her against him for a moment, then bent his head and pressed his lips lightly against hers. He smoothed her cheek with his fingertips and kissed her again, and again, lingering longer with each soft touch of his mouth on hers.
    A cloud of desire enveloped her, wrapping her in its swirling depths. She wanted to give in to her body’s yearning, to press herself against his hard strength and let his body imbue her with warmth. Instead, she gripped his shoulders lightly and whispered his name against his lips. “Wait,” she said. “We should—”
    “ Should what?”
    “ Say good-night. You’re going home tomorrow, and—”
    “ Am I?” He brushed his lips against hers. “That depends on you.”
    “ On me?”
    He nodded, drawing back slightly. “I’ll be tied up in a meeting all day tomorrow, but the truth is, I’m in no rush to fly home. We’ve got Friday night and the whole weekend ahead of us. If you’ll let me see you again, if you want me to stay—I’ll be here until the last possible second—until Monday morning at dawn.”
    Surprise rendered her speechless. Her heart began to pound.
    He searched her face for an answer. “Do you want me to stay?”
    He took advantage of her moment of hesitation to lower his mouth to hers. His hands roved across her shoulders, then