Fit for a King by Diana Palmer Page B

wall with an unsteady

72
    Diana
Palmer
    Fit for a
King
    73

sigh. She hadn't
expected that. As a matter of fact, about the last thing she'd
expected after his outburst was for him to kiss her. He'd never kissed
her before tonight. Come to think of it, they'd never argued before.
She felt a lump in her throat as she realized that she'd just lost a
good friend and she didn't even un derstand why.
    His
footsteps died away, and all she heard was the gentle wind off the Caribbean.
She touched her lips, feeling their swollen fullness with wonder. Her tongue touched them and tasted him.
    It all
seemed like a dream. For some reason King had stepped
completely out of character, and for that matter, she had,
too. But none of it made any sense. Surely if King were pining away for
his sister-in-law, he wouldn't be capable of that kind of passion with
another woman. Or would he? She cursed her igno rance of men and
their basic makeup.
    Trying to
sort things out, she concluded that if King needed to use her as
a shield, he must have some kind of special feeling for Bess. The tender look
in his eyes when he'd gazed at his sister-in-law had afforded Elissa a
rare glimpse behind the mask of cool reserve King usually wore. Apparently,
Bess had al ways been special to him, and now, maybe for the first
time, he was confronting her in a new way—as a desirable woman, not just as a
relative.
    Elissa
sighed, remembering with guilt her own de licious abandon in
King's arms. She was sure the
    drinks had influenced
her. They'd obviously influ enced him, too. She went into her bedroom and flicked on the light, quietly removing the jump
suit and putting on a long, plain
cotton nightgown. King had reminded
her that anything he did to her would be
only out of desire for Bess. Was that completely true? she wondered. There were so many puzzles now. Their uncomplicated friendship had turned
into a mental wrestling match.
    She
brushed her long hair and crawled into bed. But once she turned
out the light, she could feel all over again the warmth of King's lips
on hers, his tongue pushing into her mouth in a kiss unlike any she'd ever
experienced. She felt her face go hot as she remembered just
how involved he'd gotten. And he'd accused her of throwing herself at him! Incredible, how much his sharp words had hurt. Of course, she'd been
spared his temper for the past two years. She might never have
seen it if he hadn't made such a blatant pass at her in the first place. Men!
    Well, her
sexy nightie was still lying on his bed, she remembered; she
hoped it gave him nightmares. She rolled over and closed her eyes,
counting waves and praying for sleep. You can just hold your breath until I do
you another favor, King Roper, she thought furiously.

Fit for a
King
    75

Chapter Four

    In her wild and confusing dreams, Elissa
felt King's hands caressing her, molding
her curves, teaching her new
movements, new sensations. She could see his face taut with passion,
feel the ripple of his muscles as he began a
pagan rhythm with his body....
    She sat
up straight in bed, drenched with sweat and trembling from the
effects of those sensuous and dis turbing dreams. Her own reactions
shocked her. Were all those years of suppressing her sensuality about to explode in her face? Last night
her old fears of inti macy had dropped
away, and she'd felt straightfor ward
desire for the first time in her life.
    It was
the vodka, she thought stubbornly, trying desperately to get
her delinquent emotions under con trol. After all, how could she forget that King had accused
her of throwing herself at him?
    "Sure
I did," she muttered as she went into the living room that
overlooked the beach. "Sure I did. I forced him to hold me
like that and kiss my..."
    She swallowed, ignoring the
instant hardening of her nipples. This was
outrageous! Where was her pride?
    She made
herself a cup of coffee and opened a packaged pastry, nibbling at it
halfheartedly as she began to scribble ideas for new designs