The Beauty Queen's Makeover by Teresa Southwick

Author:Teresa Southwick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2005-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Kathryn linked her fingers with Nate’s and let him lead her through the family room and down the hall to the left—toward his bedroom. She tensed and instantly he looked at her, assessing, as if he were completely attuned to every cell, nerve and muscle in her body.

“Are you sure about this, Katie? If you’re not—”

She shook her head. “I’m sure.”

If he knew she wasn’t absolutely certain, he’d back off. She believed that with every fiber of her being. This was Nate, gentle and understanding. He had no idea why she’d been so upset that night, but he’d stayed with her and emotionally nursed her through the worst night of her life. Seeing him again had helped her regain a sense of safety which made this right. That and the warm wonderful feeling inside when he’d kissed her. Instead of disappearing, her response had grown more intense. The way her heart was pounding gave her hope that this could be the best night—the first night of the rest of her life.

In the hall, he stopped at the threshold of the master bedroom’s double-door entry and looked down at her. “This is it.”

She walked inside and glanced around, getting a vague impression of large, masculine, matching oak furniture. The bed was king-size, but that made sense for a man as tall as Nate. The comforter and blanket had been turned down, exposing the bottom sheet. He was still dressed in jeans and shirt, but she wondered if he’d been preparing for bed. Her gaze darted beyond it, to the sitting area with two wing chairs and a brass table lamp between them holding a book facedown.

More than a little nervous, she moved past the bed, maybe putting things off just a little longer. She picked up his book and saw that her hand was shaking. “The latest techno thriller.”

Still standing in the doorway, he lifted one broad shoulder. “It’s relaxing.”

“I suppose losing yourself in fiction is one way of relieving stress. I imagine you’re under a lot of pressure.”

“You could say that.”

Her gaze jumped to his and she saw the barest hint of a smile flirting with the corners of his mouth. But his eyes never lost their intensity and she knew what kind of pressure he’d meant. He wanted her. She knew that as surely as she knew she needed air to breathe and food to eat for survival. Now she knew she needed physical intimacy with this man for her soul’s survival. And somehow he knew she needed a little space first.

Some long-dormant instinct switched on. In a moment of crystal clarity she knew he was waiting for a sign from her, letting her make the first move. Something to let him know she was ready to take the next step. She wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t. If she said no, he would stop.

Please God don’t let me freeze up, she prayed.

She walked over to him in the doorway and took his hand, leading him to the end of the bed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.