Free Mexican Nights by Jeanne Stephens Page A

arms. At first, she held herself stiffly; but Jack didn't seem to notice, and eventually she began to relax and drift sleepily with the music. Hazily, she realized that both her arms were around Jack's neck and both his arms were around her waist. She smiled, her head resting against his cheek. It was so warm and comforting in Jack's arms.
    "I'd like to dance all night," she murmured drowsily.
    "There are a lot of other things we can do besides dancing," Jack whispered huskily, and when she looked into his face, his blue eyes were so warm and friendly that she lifted her lips to his cheek.
    Somehow he moved so that his mouth took the kiss. His lips felt warm and gentle—welcoming but not demanding. "Nice," murmured Terri, who was very near to being asleep on her feet.
    Jack took this as an invitation for an encore, but this time his kiss was more urgent, and when Terri tried to pull away, he held her locked in his arms and the kiss became definitely demanding.
    Finally, she managed to pull away. "Hey, let me come up for air," she said with a breathless little laugh.
    Jack pulled her back into his arms. "Don't be coy," he muttered. "You knew there was more on my mind than dancing when you came in here."
    She turned her face away. "No—no, I didn't—"
    An angry little frown creased his handsome forehead. "Come on, Terri, cut the act."
    Suddenly, she was shoved down on the couch, and Jack was on top of her, his lips squashing hers. What had happened to the gentlemanly Jack Ledbetter? Some knight! As Terri tried to twist away from him, slow fury built in her. How dare he hint that she had asked for this! Weren't there any chivalrous men left in the world?
    Finally, she couldn't take any more, and, pushing his head away, she let out a piercing scream.
    "What's wrong with you? Keep quiet, will you—you want to wake the neighbors!"
    Terri shoved furiously at his dead weight. "Let me up, you drunken oaf!" Her flailing hands hit several targets—his jaw, his shoulders, his ear.
    Trying to protect himself with his upraised arms, he lurched to his feet. Terri jumped up and ran for the door. Then, remembering her purse, she turned and scooped it up from the coffee table.
    Jack had regained his balance and was trying to smooth his blond hair back into place. "Terri, come back here! You're acting like a madwoman!"
    She had gained the hall and sped along the silent corridor to her own room, trailing her purse by its long strap behind her. At her door, as she was searching through her purse for her key, Jack caught up with her. He looked sheepish and worried.
    "Stay away from me, Jack Ledbetter!" she warned.
    "Shh! It's two o'clock in the morning."
    "Thanks for the bulletin," Terri sniffed, at last seeing her key at the bottom of her purse. Her fingers closed around it.
    "Terri," Jack said in a low, earnest voice, "I don't know what happened back there. I'm sorry—"
    "
What, in God's name, is going on out here
?" The voice thundered in the corridor like a sonic boom, and Derek Storm, a bathrobe tied unevenly around his long body, stepped out of the room across the hall.
    His dark hair was tousled by sleep and he was barefoot. In spite of his fierce scowl, he looked so comical that Terri started to giggle.
    Derek's piercing gaze passed from Jack to Terri, and he looked more disgusted by the second. At last, Terri had managed to get the key in the lock. Still giggling, she opened the door and, staggering inside, she flopped across the bed.
    Vaguely, she heard voices in the hall for a few moments, and then Derek pushed his way into the room; unfortunately, she had neglected to shut the door securely.
    He turned on a table lamp and stood over her bed, glaring down at her sprawled figure. "You're drunk," he accused.
    "Don't be silly," she said between giggles. "I was never more sober in my life." Then, abruptly, she turned serious. "I was never so
humiliated
in my life! I thought Jack Ledbetter respected me."
    Roughly, Derek began to