He pointed to the burger slopping over the sides of her platter. âBring another one of those, would you? Rare. And two more beers.â
Â
This was crazy! Absolutely insane! Behind Haleyâs polite mask, her thoughts spiraled perilously close to hysteria. She couldnât believe she was sitting across a table from Luke Callaghan, engaging in the seductive, sensual game played the world over by men and women who meet in bars.
She knew it was a game. She also knew that Luke was far more adept at it than she was. If the stories sheâd read about him in the tabloids held even a photon of truth, the handsome, jet-setting millionaire had racked up more wins in this particular arena than any rock star or overmuscled, over-paid jock.
Common sense and the self-preservation skills Haley had honed these past years told her to push away from the table. Now. This very moment. Walk out of the smoky lounge. Walk away from Luke.
Maybe if the visit to her mother hadnât left her so raw and bleeding, she might have done just that. Or if sheâd ever been able to exercise any common sense around Luke Callaghan. All the man had to do was smile at her in that careless way of his and she melted like the tangy cheddar dribbling over the sides of her burger.
Sheâd stay for another half hour, Haley swore silently. Just long enough to finish her meal. She wouldnât satisfy the curiosity that gleamed in his blue eyes. She couldnât. But sheâd store up every minute of this unexpected interlude to take back to London with her.
She stuck to that plan through their burgers and beers. Luke downed his in man-size swallows. Haley took considerably smaller bites of the cheeseburger and nursed her second beer sparingly. She was fiddling with the mug, knowing it was time for her to leave, when another ballad drifted above the muted conversation and clack of pool balls. Martina McBride this time. One of her new hits that was just making its way across the Atlantic. A smooth, mellow song about an old love and missed chances.
Her gaze lifted to Lukeâs. An old love. Missed chances. A new life that had yet to bring her the private passion sheâd once felt for this man. It was still there, she acknowledged. Buried deep under the layers sheâd pulled over herself these past years, but still there. It would always be there.
âMcBrideâs good,â Luke commented, meeting her gaze. âToo good to pass up. Care to take a turn around the floor?â
A polite refusal formed on her lips. Luke saw it coming. In a preemptive move, he pushed back his chair, rounded the table and held out his hand. Memories of the disaster that had followed the last time sheâd slipped her hand into his kept Haley in her seat.
âOne turn.â Undeterred by her obvious reluctance, he smiled. The tanned skin beside his eyes crinkled. âItâll help settle those fries.â
Two seconds passed. Five.
Slowly, Haley entwined her fingers with his.
As she let him lead her to the dance floor, her doubts and insecurities fell away. One touch, and she knew this dance would lead to another. One feel of his body against hers, and she gave up fighting the hunger he stirred in her. Strangely she no longer felt the least hesitation. She wasnât a frightened girl any longer, torn between her desire for one man and the desperate need to escape another. She was a woman, with a womanâs needs and a womanâs cravings.
Tomorrow sheâd honor her promise to her mother and return to London. Tonight sheâd create an indelible memory to take with her.
Â
Luke felt the change the instant he took her in his arms. Without knowing how or why, he understood sheâd altered the rules of the game. She didnât put up so much as a token resistance when he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. Thigh to thigh, they moved to the music.
Lord, she felt good. As if sheâd been
Karla J. Nellenbach
Caitlin Sweet
DJ Michaels
Gertrude Chandler Warner
Bonnie Dee
Lara Zuberi
Lygia Day Peñaflor
Autumn Doughton
PJ Schnyder
Adam Gittlin