Free Designed for Love by Roseanne Dowell Page A

cheeks blazed. I should have expected
that. "I suppose I can pay you for your services." I cringed the
minute the words came out of my mouth.
    What made me say that? The murderous look
on Bill's face caused me to flinch. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way
it sounded. I just meant...Hell I don't know what I meant."
    Bill crossed the room in two steps. I
felt the heat from his body, he stood so close. "I'll go along with your
silly charade, but you're not getting off so easy."
    His eyes changed from silvery gray to
soft dusty gray. "I'll expect something from you too." He raised his
hand to quiet me.
    "No, I don't expect you to go to bed
with me for payment. But I won't be put off. I'll expect to spend some time
with you other than just in front of your boss."
    I relaxed somewhat. Glad he clarified
that.
    "For starters, I expect you to have
breakfast with me tomorrow. I expect you to go to the beach with me. And I
expect you to have dinner with me, with and without your boss. Fair
enough?"
    What could I say? "You drive a hard
bargain, Mr. Johnson. But okay, fair enough."
    "Oh, and for seconds, quit calling
me Mister. You wouldn't want to slip up in front of your boss would you?"
    I laughed. "No, I guess I
wouldn't."
    "Good, let's go have a drink to seal
the deal."
    I thought about refusing, but knew
better. After all this tension, a drink sounded damn good. "Lead the
way." I motioned Bill to the door.
    He opened the door and waited for me to
pass. "Do you have your key?"
    I snapped my fingers. "Glad you
reminded me." I went back in, picked up my key, slid it into my pocket and
joined him outside.
    He put his arm around my waist as we
walked to the lounge. Heat like a smoldering ember started deep in my stomach
from his touch. Sure hope Nick finishes these appointments soon. I didn't know
how long I could control myself.

 

 
 
    Chapter Thirteen

 
    I woke the next morning and looked at the
clock. Only seven, plenty of time to get ready for breakfast. Memories of last
night came to mind. I still felt the pressure of Bill's kiss. At least he
hadn't made any more advances to me in the lounge, not to mention he was the
perfect gentleman when he saw me to the door. I slid out of bed, stretched and
smiled.
    For some reason I looked forward to
seeing him this morning. As long as he kept his distance, I could handle it.
Besides, I did enjoy his company.
    I switched on the shower and waited for
the water to heat up, then stepped inside the stall and lathered my hair.
Dinner ought to prove interesting. How I was going to ward off Bill's affection
was another problem. I liked his touch. In fact I wanted more.
    Lots more.
    I rinsed my hair and lathered my body.
Thoughts of Bill's touch invaded my mind. I swore I could almost feel him
standing behind me, washing my back. His hands sliding around the front to
caress my breasts. I closed my eyes and imagined leaning back against his hard
body.
    The phone rang, interrupting my thoughts.
I rinsed off quickly, snapped off the water and wrapped a towel around me.
    What the hell was wrong with me? I never
had fantasies like that about a man. Not that I'd ever met a man who turned me
on the way Bill did. I fell across the bed and grabbed the phone.
"Hello."
    "Morning, Sunshine. Ready for
breakfast?"
    I glanced at the clock. Just past seven
thirty. "You said nine."
    "I know. I just wanted to say good
morning to my almost fiancé."
    I heard the teasing in his voice and
smiled. Almost fiancé. What would it be like to really be his girlfriend? I
shook the thought from her mind.
    Chill out, girl, a relationship and
marriage isn't part of your plan. Still, I couldn't help but laugh. "Let's
not carry this too far. Look, I have to go I just got out of the shower."
    "Okay, see you at nine."
    "Nine it is. Bye." I hung up
before he responded.
    Hopefully, we'd finish with Mrs. Gilmore
today and I could catch the next flight home. I needed to get away from Bill
before I did something stupid.
    A few