Mail-Order Cinderella by Kathryn Jensen

Author:Kathryn Jensen [Jensen, Kathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 6

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T heir first night, she wore her favorite oversize shirt and cozy leggings; he came to bed in loose-fitting sweats and was endearingly careful not to touch her at all. They lay on their backs at opposite edges of the mattress, staring up at the white ceiling, talking in whispers about whatever came to their minds. She told Tyler things in the dark she'd never spoken of to another living soul. Sweet confidences she'd barely allowed herself to think.

He confided in her, too. His torn feelings over his role in the Fortune clan. His fear that something might stop construction of the hospital—like the investigation into his foreman's death. He hated waiting in lines and loved dogs. He never hesitated to take on a physical challenge that carried him up a sheer cliff on ropes or down a black-diamond trail on skis, but he had an unreasoning fear of spiders. Tyler never said so, but Julie was sure no other women had heard these confessions from him.

Knowing he trusted her to keep his secrets was like stepping into a soothing shower of confidence. But inevitably the sadness returned, because there was an all-too-clear reason for his not spending hours sharing his deepest feelings with those other women. He'd been too busy making love to them. He obviously didn't find her as irresistible, and that hurt.

The third night she shared Tyler's bed felt like midsummer. It hadn't been hot enough to use the air conditioner during the day, and Julie had left the windows in the condo open to catch the rare breeze off the desert. Tyler exchanged his sweats for a clean T-shirt and boxers, but beads of sweat still clung to the small hairs at the back of his neck.

"You look so uncomfortable," she commented as they climbed onto opposite sides of the bed. "Maybe I should close up the house and turn on the air after all."

"It will cool down soon enough," he said. "Leave the windows open."

But she could feel heat radiating from his body, between the sheets, and soon she was too hot to sleep. "Let's be sensible about this," she murmured into the dark. "Before I came, what did you usually sleep in?"

"Nothing."

She could feel him grinning. Was he just trying to get a rise out of her? "How about a compromise? You can take off your shirt if you leave on your boxers."

"Thank God!" He dramatically tossed off the covers. She watched in the moonlight as be stripped off his T-shirt. She held her breath as he hesitated, his thumbs tucked into the waistband of his shorts as if considering dropping them to the floor as well.

"Don't you dare," she warned him.

He shrugged and gave her a sheepish look that said, Can't blame a guy for trying.

"Now you," he said, crawling back under the sheet.

Julie's mouth went dry. She tried to swallow but failed. "I'm fine as I am."

Suddenly, he rolled over on the bed, pressed his mouth to her cheek then flicked his tongue out.

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