Breathless by Bonnie Edwards Page B

more heavily with every passing day.
    Colt would be here soon, and she dug out fresh sheets and found some lavender water to sprinkle across the bedding.
    Seduction.
    She sighed and heated. Colt would love this. The room looked pretty and fresh and inviting.
    As for cooking, she now felt comfortable lighting the stove. A stew that had been left by a grateful new mother bubbled in a pot. The scent was delicious.
    She had no idea if Stella could cook, but the lack of ingredients in the house when she’d arrived made Blue doubt it. Either that or she survived on her patients’ grateful contributions. Her own lack of skill in the kitchen seemed to be another way she and Stella were similar. She ignored the mental reminder that Stella was an artist in her spare time, while Blue had been addicted to renovation and real-estate shows on television.
    Her interest in decor had already brightened Stella’s apartment and decluttering was well under way.
    The putt-putt of Colt’s car came to her from the back alley.
    He climbed down and reached onto the passenger seat for his medical bag and a bouquet of wild flowers. She dug a vase out of the cupboard in the second bedroom and filled it with water while he bounded up the back stairs.
    When he stepped into the kitchen, she drank in the sight of him. He slipped his hat off his head and grinned while he held out the flowers for her. She took them, gave them a sniff, and remarked, “And what payment would you expect for these?”
    He flushed and crowded her against the table, then leaned over her. She dropped the flowers to the table at her back. “Much the same payment I’ll give you for that delicious stew I smell.”
    Something dangerous and delicious shifted behind his eyes. He’d gone dark and exciting. He wanted sex, hungered for it, for her. She edged along the table to the end, then fled out of the kitchen. Her long skirt made her stumble, so she lifted her hem to her knees with a whoop.
    Barely able to contain her giggles, she led him down the hall to the living room, correction, she thought, it’s called a parlor. His feet pounded behind her slowly and with great, thundering thumps. The man put on a show that made her laugh harder and toss in a sexy squeal every few steps. She felt his hand brush her shoulder, so she sped up and danced on the far side of a round table.
    His eyes gleamed, while his teeth flashed with every phony growl he produced. She wanted to collapse with the giggles, but she was having too much fun.
    It was Stella having fun. Blue couldn’t remember ever playing this way. Not for the sheer joy of it! She covered her mouth to contain her laughter, while he flung off his jacket and tossed it over an ornate chair in the corner.
    He dodged left; she ran right and scooted back down the hall, unbuttoning her dress as she went. He’d get a great shock when he discovered she wore no underwear! She didn’t think Stella would have been so bold, but Blue was up for anything.
    As long as it was with Colt Stephens.
    She glanced over her shoulder and saw him with one foot up while he unhooked first one boot, then the other. While he concentrated, she slipped into her bedroom and hid in the closet.
    He ran past the bedroom door, feet sounding much lighter now that he was in his socks. She contained another giggle and heard him blunder about in the kitchen, growling like a bear as he searched in vain.
    She stripped naked as she waited for him to track back to her room. It didn’t take long. The closet door flew open, light poured in, and she jumped into his arms all in one motion.
    He caught her naked backside and fell back onto the bed with her.
    “Caught you!” she said.
    “But I was the hunter,” he managed to say between nibbling kisses.
    She worked at his shirt buttons while straddling him. “Hah, little do men know. Men chase us until we catch them. That’s how it really works.”
    He chuckled and feigned surprise. “Well, then, I’ve been