Temperatures Rising by Brenda Jackson Page B

hospitality. Although I didn’t have time to prepare anything, so I orderedfrom a nice Chinese restaurant around the corner. I understand you like Chinese food.”
    “And who told you that?” he asked, looking at her intently.
    “Um, I think I overheard one of the technicians mention it one day during lunch. So do you enjoy Chinese food?”
    He leaned back in his seat. “Yes, I enjoy a number of things and Chinese food happens to be on the list.”
    “Good. It will only take me a second to set things up.” She turned toward the kitchen.
    “Sherri?”
    She turned back around. “Yes?”
    He met her gaze, and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he definitely had an agenda. He confirmed it when he asked, “Dinner isn’t the only thing I’m getting tonight, right?”
    Her reaction to his bold question was instantaneous. Her nipples hardened and heat began forming between her thighs. “Why? Is there something else that you want?” she asked, trying to keep her body from quivering.
    He smiled, and her gaze shifted from his eyes to his mouth. She immediately recalled the kisses they’d shared, and just thinking about the intensity of them had goose bumps forming on her arms.
    “Yes, there’s something else I want. Do you want me to tell you what it is?”
    She swallowed deeply. Not at any time did she doubt that he would. “I don’t think that will be necessary, and as far as what else you’ll be getting tonight, we will have to see. Some things are better when they are not planned or expected.”
    He shook his head. “I happen to disagree. I have nothing against spontaneity, but it’s nice to know what’s in store. Accidents can happen when things aren’t planned or expected.”
    She nodded, catching his drift. But in this case, as he would find out later, he had nothing to worry about since she was in good health and on the pill. “True, but a smart man and woman are always prepared regardless.”
    Deciding not to say anything else on the subject, she moved toward the kitchen.
     
    Terrence watched Sherri walk away. He was definitely prepared, since he’d put several condoms in his wallet. And just in case they decided to make it an all-nighter, he’d put a few in his jeans pockets, too. To be quite honest, although he’d hoped that she would, he’d been sort of surprised that she had calledhim. He wasn’t sure of the reason, but he was not about to complain.
    He heard her moving around in the kitchen and decided to check out the various paintings on the wall. A friend once said you could tell a lot about a woman by the pictures on her walls. In that case, Sherri must love animals, because he noticed several framed portraits of them. And one could safely say she liked live plants, judging from the many she had. Obviously she did a good job keeping them alive. Too bad he couldn’t say the same about himself.
    “Dinner is ready.”
    He glanced over in her direction and every nerve ending in his body vibrated. He meant to tell her earlier how much he liked her outfit and how good she looked in it. This was only the second time he’d seen her dressed in anything other than a business suit, and he couldn’t wait for later when he got to see her wearing nothing at all. Deciding the sooner they finished dinner the sooner they could move on to other things, he crossed the room to her.
    “I hope you’re hungry,” she said.
    He couldn’t help but smile at that. He was hungry, and once he got a taste of what he really wanted, he planned to gobble it up. “Yes, I’m hungry.”
    And then, taking her by surprise, he leaned forward and captured her mouth with his, causing heat to immediately flare within him. And her. He felt it when he used his tongue to tangle with hers, stroking pleasure she probably didn’t want to respond to. But she was doing so anyway.
    He broke the kiss and pulled in a deep breath. Just that first sensuous vibration made his stomach tremble and tempted him to lean over and