“I gathered that.“ He tightened his arm around her. “You sure are big on women being able to take care of themselves, aren’t you?“
“It’s important to me.“
“So important that you’ve never taken the risk of marriage or the risk of having kids.“
Diana tensed. “Hey, don’t you start in on me. Robyn’s already given me a lecture on the subject of being an overly ambitious, tough, aggressive businesswoman, remember?“
“So, why are you one?“ Colby asked abruptly.
For an instant he thought he’d gone too far. She was utterly rigid beside him. “If that’s the way you think of me, why are you here tonight?“
“Because I know that beneath all that ambition, toughness and aggression, you are one sexy lady who has a nifty way of driving me stark raving wild.“ He grinned unabashedly and kissed her soundly. “And any woman who looks as sweet and soft and tasty when she’s wearing a robe and slippers as you do has definitely got other talents besides her business skills. So tell me why you grew up thinking you could never rely on a man.“
She lay still, looking up at him in surprise. “You’re a little more perceptive than I would have guessed, Savage.“
“Don’t look so astonished.“ He was mildly annoyed. “I’m not totally insensitive, you know. It was obvious from the way you lectured Robyn tonight that something has made you afraid to trust men. Was it just that guy who left you for his ex? Or is it all the lousy male bosses you’ve had over the years?“
“It’s a lot of things, Colby. And it all boils down to a conviction that it’s safer to rely on yourself. You can hardly argue with me on that score. You’ve got the same opinions on the subject.“
“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, in my case, it’s probably because I’ve always felt that I was out there on my own. Aunt Jesse was hardly an anchor in a storm, and there’s never been anyone else I could count on. I got used to taking care of myself. What about you?“
“A similar story. Except that I was lucky enough to have my mother. Dad took off when I was less than a year old.
He never sent Mom a dime. Just disappeared. Poor Mom had gotten pregnant in high school and married without graduating. Her parents helped out but they didn’t have much to spare. My mother has worked hard all her life, but you can imagine the kind of minimum-wage jobs she’s had to take. There were Christmases when the only gift under the tree was the one she talked the Salvation Army into giving me.“
“And you swore you were never going to get into that situation. You never wanted to take the risk of being financially dependent on a man.“
“That’s the long and the short of it.“
“Did it occur to you that you may have carried your quest for independence to an extreme?“ Colby asked dryly.
“I’ve been reasonably content. I’m in a position now where I have everything I want and I can afford to make my mother’s life a lot easier.“
“You told Robyn tonight that you can’t always have it all.“
“That’s just being realistic. Life is often a series of trade-offs.“
“Tell me something,“ Colby ordered softly. “Have you ever really trusted a man? Trusted him to take care of you?
Trusted him to be strong for you? To be there for you?“
“Have you ever really trusted a woman that much?“ she countered.
“No,“ he admitted somberly. But I’ve never met a woman quite like you, before, either, he thought.
“I think you understand me, Colby. We have some things in common, don’t we?“
“Yes.“
They were quiet together for a long while before they both fell asleep there on the lumpy old sofa.
9
Diana awoke feeling pleasantly crushed. It took her a few minutes to realize she was on the sofa, and that Colby was the crushing force that was being applied along the length of her.
“Beats waking up in a cave,“ Colby muttered without opening his eyes. At that moment, Specter stepped close to the sofa and put his damp nose against the first available chunk of warm human skin he found. He whined demandingly. Colby swore. “Tell that dog that if he wants to survive until nightfall, he’d better get his wet nose away from my back.“
“I think he wants to go outside.“
Colby opened one eye. “Then why don’t you let him out?“
“Because you’re on the outside of the sofa. It would be much easier for you to get up and let him out.“
“There will be snow in August before I do that dog any favors. I’ve got more interesting things to do this morning.“ He slid a warm palm over the curve of Diana’s hip.
“Letting him out first thing in the morning isn’t exactly a favor. It’s more of a necessity.“
Specter emphasized the point with another sharp whine. He moved his cold nose up the length of Colby’s spine, pushing the rumpled khaki shirt out of the way as he went.
“All right, all right. I surrender. I can take anything but wet-dog-nose torture.“ Colby rolled to his feet and stretched hugely. “Come on, you great slobbering beast. Outside. I may use you in a book one of these days, you know that?“
Specter leaped forward enthusiastically. Diana listened to the front door open and close and thought about how nice it was to have the man she loved waking up with her in the mornings. A woman could get addicted to this special kind of luxury. It would be dangerous to indulge herself too much.
She opened her eyes to find Colby standing beside the sofa, shedding the jeans in which he had slept. Dawn light danced on his powerful, naked shoulders. There was a possessive intentness in his gaze that sent small shock waves through her nerve endings.
For an instant, time went still in that strange way that it did sometimes when she was with Colby. She saw the fathomless desire etched in the hard lines of his face and felt the waves of his fierce will lapping at her. He was so strong, a legendary warrior, a man who dominated everything and everyone around him. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the knowledge that she was engaged in a battle.
She was caught, trapped, chained…
And then Colby was grinning down at her, gray eyes warm and lazy with early-morning sensuality.
Yes, he was dangerous, she thought. But how could she resist? Diana opened her arms to him, and he came to her at once.
A long time later, Colby again rolled off the couch, this time rubbing his bristly jaw. “Too bad I forgot to bring along a razor. I wouldn’t have this problem if you were living with me.“