Kiss an Angel(51)

“Matter of fact, I’d just about decided to talk to you about her.” He transferred the toothpick from one corner of his mouth to the other. “I figure, even though she’s a thief and you seem to hate her guts, you don’t have the right to work a pregnant woman so hard.”

“Who told you she was pregnant?”

“We all just figured. The night of the surprise party, you didn’t exactly look like a happy bridegroom.”

Alex clenched his jaw. “She’s not pregnant.”

The toothpick drooped in Brady’s mouth. “Then why the hell did you marry her?”

“None of your damn business.” He stalked away.

It was a little before midnight when they were done working. As usual, when he entered the trailer, Daisy was asleep, but instead of being tucked away in a nest of rumpled sheets as she normally was, she lay on the couch in her costume, almost as if she had sat down for a few minutes and dozed off without planning to. He decided it was one thing to toughen her up, but it was another to drive her to the end of her strength, and at that moment he knew he couldn’t keep working her so hard. As far as he was concerned, she’d paid her debt to society, and it was time to ease up.

Her dark hair fell onto the couch pillow in silky streamers, and her lips were slightly parted. She slept on her stomach, and his mouth went dry as he saw that sweet little ass sticking up, covered only by the diamond-patterned web of her black fishnet stockings. The narrow ribbon of sequins at the center made the sight that much more alluring. Forcing himself to look away, he stripped off his clothes, stalked into the bathroom, and plunged into an ice-cold shower.

The noise of the running water must have awakened her because, when he came out wrapped in a towel, she stood at the sink with his blue terry cloth robe tossed on over her costume. Although she’d turned up the sleeves, her small hands barely peeked out from beneath the cuffs as she opened a loaf of rye bread.

“Would you like me to fix you a sandwich?” She sounded more chipper than she had in days. “I fell asleep before I could eat, and now I’m hungry.”

His robe parted, showing the curves of her breasts beneath the sequin flames on her costume. He dragged his eyes away and instead of thanking her for the offer, snapped at her. “If Sheba catches you lying around in one of her costumes, she’ll have your hide.”

“Then I’ll just have to make sure she doesn’t catch me.”

The renewed spirit in her voice lifted his own mood. “I guess, you can’t be expected to learn everything at once.”

She turned, but whatever she had been about to say seemed to die on her lips. Her gaze trailed down over his chest to the pale yellow bath towel looped low on his hips.

He wanted to yell at her, to tell her not to look at him like that unless she wanted to find herself on her back. His flagging self-control slipped another notch.

“Would you—uh—like your robe back?” she asked.

He nodded.

She tugged on the sash, slipped out of it, and passed it over to him.

He let it fall to the floor.

She stared at him. “I thought you wanted it.”

“I wanted it off you.”

She licked her lips, and he watched her struggle for a response. Even as he called himself every kind of fool, he knew he couldn’t stay away from her for another night.

“I’m not sure exactly what you mean by that,” she said hesitantly.

“I mean that I don’t think I’m going to be able to keep my hands off you any longer.”

“I was afraid that’s what you meant.” She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “I’m sorry, but I’ve decided I can’t do that with you. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Why is that?”

“Because it wouldn’t be sacred. I place value on making love. It’s not something I would do with just anyone.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Pulled by a force he couldn’t resist, he walked over to her.

She drew back against the counter, even as she continued to meet his eyes. “I couldn’t do it casually.”

“I hope this means I don’t have to worry about catching any of those nasty little sexually transmitted diseases you mentioned to that waitress a couple weeks ago.”

“Of course not!”

“Good. You don’t have to worry about me, either. I’m clean as a whistle.”

“That’s very nice for you, but—”

“Has anyone ever mentioned that you talk too much?” He set the heels of his hands on the counter behind her, effectively trapping her.

“We need to talk about this. It’s important. It’s—”

“What we need to do is stop talking.” He cupped her waist with his hands. “We’ve played cat and mouse long enough, angel face. Don’t you think it’s time we get serious?”

Her perfume drifted up to tantalize him. He gazed down at her body, so enticingly revealed by the skimpy flame red sequin costume, and her soft breathing stirred the hair on his chest.

“How—how can you even think about doing something like this with a person you don’t respect?”

Her eyes drifted shut as he dipped his head and nuzzled the side of her neck with his lips. “Why don’t you let me worry about that?”