“You’re nothing like I imagined,” he said simply.
“Yeah, well, it’s hard work being a villain full-time. We need a little rest and relaxation occasionally.”
Ignoring her sarcasm, he picked up the remote and turned up the volume.
“Hey, don’t you have somewhere to go?” she asked.
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “In this weather?”
“Why not? You have a four-wheel-drive. I’m sure your parents would love to see you.”
“Sorry, just came from there.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of the family conferring on how they might oust her from Morris’s coveted mansion. Selling was one thing. Being forced out was another. “Great. Did you tell them I’m in town?”
“Of course.”
“What’d they say?”
“My mother started crying.”
She tossed the sack onto the bureau despite her hunger. “Gee, thanks for sparing my feelings.”
He leaned back, resting his weight on his palms. “I didn’t think you’d care.”
Lifting her chin, she gave him her best glare. “I don’t.”
The brim of his hat shaded his eyes, making it difficult to read his expression. He didn’t comment further, so she shoved the money he’d ignored a few seconds earlier into her pocket and glanced at the food. She wanted to eat, but there was still the small problem of persuading Mike Hill to leave her room.
“Aren’t you on your way out?” she asked.
He doffed his hat and stretched out on the bed she’d been using. “Actually, after what you did to me last night, I’m pretty tired, and—”
“What I did to you?”
“—there really isn’t anywhere I’m burning to go, at least not until the storm lifts.”
“I’m sure they have other vacancies.”
She caught a flash of white teeth as he grinned. “What’s the matter, Lucky? Do I make you nervous?”
They were sharing a twelve-by-twelve-foot room with two double beds. Of course he made her nervous. But she wasn’t about to admit it. “What makes you think you could make me nervous?”
“The fact that you keep fidgeting with the hem of that T-shirt, for one.”
“It’s a habit. I do it all the time whether I’m nervous or not.”
“Right.” He jerked his head toward the food. “Eat and watch the game. When the storm’s over, I’ll take you home.”
MIKE FELL ASLEEP within minutes, leaving Lucky to sulk about the way he’d taken over her room. He had lots of money. Why was he foisting his presence on her?
Her only escape was the bathroom, but she’d already taken a shower.
After trying unsuccessfully to become absorbed in the game, she decided she needed some sleep, too. With the television on to help drown out the storm, she climbed into the other bed, faced the wall and curled up. But a few seconds later, she couldn’t help rolling over to stare at Mike’s profile. Making love with him hadn’t been everything she’d hoped, but deep down she knew she was probably to blame for that more than he was.
And she had to admit, regardless of his identity, she’d never met a handsomer man.
LUCKY WOKE UP to silence. The wind had died down, the television was off and it was dark—so dark that she couldn’t tell whether Mike was still in the room.
Squinting to see in the glimmer of light that crept in from the parking lot, she rose up on one elbow and leaned toward the other bed.
“Is something wrong?” he said.
She jumped at the sound of his voice. He was still there, all right. On the near side. So close she could reach out and touch him.
The idea of touching him made her heart pound, and she immediately slid away. “No.”
“I shut off the TV. I hope you don’t mind. You were tossing and turning and didn’t seem to be sleeping well.”
“That’s fine,” she said. “What time is it?”
“Nearly two.”
“Is the storm over?”
“I think so, but it’ll be a while before the roads are clear enough to travel.”
“We can probably go home in the morning, though, huh?”
“Probably.”
There was nothing left to do but sleep some more—except, for some strange reason, Lucky was tingling all over. She knew she couldn’t lie still, so she decided to get up.
“Where are you going?” Mike asked when the bed creaked.
“My muscles are a little tense. I think I’ll take a hot shower.”
He didn’t say anything, so she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door.
MIKE LISTENED as Lucky turned on the water. He pictured her taking off her T-shirt and sweats, pictured her dropping them carelessly on the floor and stepping beneath the hot spray. He could see the water sliding over her head and shoulders and rolling down between the br**sts he’d kissed last night—
His body reacted so strongly, he cut off his thoughts. Since awakening almost an hour ago, he’d finally understood what had upset him about last night. It wasn’t Lucky so much as it was him. He felt he hadn’t done her justice. She was a beautiful woman who’d waited a long time to make love with a man. She’d offered to make love with him, and he’d taken her virginity as though it was nothing. He wanted to go back and do it right, wanted to show her what her body could feel beneath the right touch. That was the real reason he hadn’t been able to leave town, wasn’t it? The real reason he’d gotten himself snowed in and stayed in her motel room when he could have rented his own? He’d been looking for an opportunity to amend the recent past. But she was so intent on keeping her distance, she wouldn’t even let her fingers brush against his when he’d handed her that sack of food yesterday.
Still, there had to be some reason she’d trusted him in the first place….
Getting up, he decided there was nothing he could do but take the same risk she’d taken. If she rejected him, she rejected him. If she didn’t, they could try to live last night over again. Then maybe he wouldn’t feel he owed her anything and he’d be able to put her powerful attraction behind him once and for all.
LUCKY FROZE when she heard the door open. She was sure she’d locked it, but the lock wasn’t hard to unfasten, even from the outside. A fingernail or coin could open it easily enough and, evidently, Mike had used something because she felt fairly certain he was standing inside the bathroom. All doubt about that disappeared when the door closed and the lights went out.