Love, Money and Amanda Shaw by Linda Barrett

Author:Linda Barrett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2000-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

HE HEARD THE SWOOSH of her slippers a second before he saw them—furry and pink—while he was removing his boots. He deliberately forced himself to raise his eyes slowly, to savor the woman he would find. Pink feet and purple long johns, not very sexy—on anyone else. But Amanda’s never-ending legs made fleece something to reckon with.

The long shirt skimmed her hips, those hips that drove him to distraction every day as he watched her walk through the hotel. For a moment, he pictured her legs bare, with only the sweatshirt for cover. Instantly, he ached. He throbbed. He kept his jacket on.

“Why are you still up?” His voice sounded gruff, even to his own ears.

“Oh, Zach,” she said. “Are you getting a sore throat?” Running to him, she reached for his forehead.

It was the sweetest gesture she’d made to him since she’d returned to the Diamond. Instinctively, he snagged her by the waist and hauled her onto his lap as he sat down. He didn’t respond to her question, but nuzzled her neck, instead.

Amanda quivered, then froze. The stillness in the room was repeated in the stillness of her posture. The clock’s ticking almost hurt her ears.

She turned on his lap then, and stared into the depths of those sooty-gray eyes. He sat motionless. She searched and found warmth, tenderness, a faint passion.

“Zach?”

“Yes?”

“What’s going on?”

And now she felt herself being studied as though she were under a microscope. A wary expression flashed across his face, and she lowered her gaze to her lap.

“Hey, sweetheart.” His hands caressed her cheeks. “Look at me again. Please.”

She did. And saw his eyes darken with emotion, with eagerness.

“What’s going on?” he asked rhetorically. “I’m not sure. But I’d like us to find out together.”

She nodded.

“And you know what else, Amanda?”

She waited.

“I’m pretty damn scared.”

Zach almost laughed out loud at her stunned expression. Wide-eyed amazement that was almost comical. He swallowed his chuckles and, instead, stroked her hair, silky and soft. Then his fingers explored the ridge of her straight nose, and finally outlined those lips that had always enticed him. Her tongue tasted his fingertip; he forgot to breathe.

Easy, boy, easy.

He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the forehead, then moved on to her smooth cheek and down to her tempting mouth. Gently at first, and then, when he felt her tentative response, he allowed his hunger to show. She answered him with a sweet demand of her own. He felt her tongue brush his lips.

His heart beat in triple time. Amanda felt wonderful in his arms. He inhaled her scent and kissed her again. Until he felt her pushing him away.

She jumped from his lap and looked toward the hall. “No more, Zach, no more.” Her voice quivered only slightly as she turned back toward him. “Good night.” And then she was gone.

He watched her leave—long strides, body erect—seeming totally in control. He closed his eyes and slumped in his chair. It had been a long day, an emotional day, a life-and-death kind of day.

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