“You are one absolutely stunning woman from head to toe, sweet Hannah,” he said in near reverence.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Feeling her face grow warm again, this time with pleasure, she turned away, opening the other bag to search out footwear. Like him, she didn’t bother with shoes, slipping into satin ballerina slippers.
In the meantime, Justin moved to open a dresser drawer, making do with a pair of heavy-duty socks to keep his big, narrow feet warm.
He held out his hand to clasp hers. “Now, let’s go rustle something up for lunch-” he shot a look at the dark beyond the window “-or supper.” He laughed. “Hell, for all we know, it may be a midnight snack.”
“Not quite,” Hannah said, letting him lead her from the room. “I looked at the clock. It’s only nine-fifteen.”
“Only, she says.” He groaned, and fumbled for the light switch as they entered the kitchen. “We haven’t eaten since early this morning. We’re both ravenous…and the woman says it’s only nine-fifteen.”
Hannah laughed, at him and at herself. She must be losing her mind, she decided happily, because she not only didn’t mind him calling her woman, she was beginning to like it. No doubt about it, her mind was starting to disintegrate. She masked her laughter with an exaggerated groan at the sight of the table still cluttered from their breakfast.
“Yeah,” Justin agreed, propping his hands on his hips. “It’s a mess. Tell you what, sweet Hannah. I’ll make a deal with you.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “What kind of deal?”
He frowned and shook his head in sad despair of her. “You have a suspicious mind, Ms. Deturk.”
“Damned straight, Mr. Grainger,” she retorted. “What deal?”
“Here’s the deal. I’ll get dinner, if you’ll clean up the breakfast debris.”
“Deal,” Hannah accepted at once, fully aware she was getting the better end of the arrangement. Crossing to the table, she went to work, while Justin went to the fridge.
“That was delicious,” Hannah commended Justin, raising her wineglass in a salute. “You’re a very good cook.”
“Either that,” Justin said, inclining his head and raising his own nearly empty glass in acknowledgement of her compliment, “or you actually were famished.”
“I was,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I’d have praised anything you set in front of me.” She grinned. “I’d have eaten the meal, but I wouldn’t have praised it, or your culinary skill.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a skill. I simply can manage to prepare a reasonably palatable meal. Now, my mother, she’s a skilled cook.”
“I like your mother, by the way,” Hannah said. “She is a lovely woman. I admire the way she handles her husband and her overgrown sons…all three of whom I also like.”
“Three?” He appeared crushed. “Just my father, Adam and Mitch? What about me? Don’t you like me?”
Hannah’s expression and tone went hard and serious. “If I didn’t like you, Justin, do you really believe for one minute I would be here with you now?”
“No.” He gave a quick shake of his head, his voice as serious as hers had been. “No, Hannah. I don’t, for even a second, believe you would be here now, if you hadn’t found something about me to like.” The seriousness fled, and the gleam sprang back into his eyes. “What is it that appeals to you? My body? My…”
“Is fantastic,” Hannah interjected, holding back a laugh. “And you use it to advantage.”
Justin arched a brow but continued with what he had started to say, “My personality?”
She mirrored his dark arch with her lighter eyebrow. “I didn’t know you had one.”
He laughed.
Her pulse leaped and her senses freaked. How was it possible for one man’s laughter to cause such exciting sensations inside her, Hannah mused, loving the feelings, yet scared of them at the same time.
“I like you,” Justin offered the unsolicited opinion. “I like your gorgeous body, too.”
“I kind of figured you did,” she responded wryly.
“But I’d like to do a further exploration of the terrain.” He grinned…more like leered. “Just to be sure.”
“Uh-huh.” She eyed him warily. “But that will have to wait. My plane left hours ago. I’ve got to phone the airline, see if I can book another flight.”
“You’ve already missed your flight,” Justin pointed out, his voice soft, persuasive. “Why can’t you wait till morning to call and reschedule?”
“I, er…” She faltered at the brazen look of renewed passion in his eyes. At her hesitation, he shoved back his chair and stood.
“Come on, let’s get the supper things cleared away,” he said, collecting his plate and cutlery.
Rising, Hannah began to follow his example. “And after the supper things are cleared away, we’ll go to the bedroom…”
“Good,” he flashed a self-satisfied grin at her.
“To pick up the clothing we discarded and scattered all over the bedroom floor.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, not meaning one yeah.
Ten minutes later Justin found himself hanging the damp towels on the mounted wall racks in the bathroom. “You know, this could have waited till morning, as well,” he called to Hannah, who was busy neatly folding their clothing.
“Yeah, yeah,” she mimicked his agreement. “But you’ll be thanking me tomorrow.”
In truth, Justin did thank Hannah in the morning, but not for remaining resolute about picking up their stuff. He thanked her with words and caresses and deep, searing kisses for what he swore was the most fantastic night of his life.
Seven
“What about Beth?” The gleam in his eyes grew brighter. “Didn’t you like her?”
It took a few minutes for Hannah to make the connection. She and Justin were in the middle of breakfast. This time he had cooked oatmeal, served with brown sugar. He was watching her, waiting for the dawn of comprehension to break over her sleep-and sex-fogged mind.
“Oh, your sister, Beth.” Hannah felt like a dull wit. At least she hadn’t said, “huh?” “I like her, very much. She stopped by Maggie’s apartment a few days ago. We had a nice chat. Besides being warm and friendly, she’s a gorgeous woman, a striking combination of your mother and father.”
“Yeah, she is,” Justin agreed, popping another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. After swallowing the oatmeal, he downed half the orange in his glass. “Adam’s wife, Sunny, is no slouch either.”
Nodding, Hannah took a ladylike sip of her juice. “She’s lovely, and their daughter, Becky, is absolutely adorable. I immediately fell in love with her.”
He chuckled around the last of his cereal. “She has that effect on everybody.” He arched a quizzical dark eyebrow. “You like kids?”
“Very much.” Finished eating, she dabbed her mouth with the paper napkin she had spread over her lap, and gave him a teasing smile. “Some of my best friends have kids.”
“So,” he said, getting up to fetch the coffee carafe to fill their cups. “What about you?”
Frowning, Hannah gave him a blank look. “What about me?”
“Don’t dodge, sweet Hannah,” he chided. “I’ve told you about myself. Now it’s your turn.”
Her mind may have been a little slow that morning-apparently a wild night of unbelievably fantastic sex had that effect on her-but it hadn’t come to a complete stop. “You did no such thing,” she retorted. “You quizzed me about my opinion of your family.”
“Well, I sure couldn’t give you my opinion of your family, since I haven’t met them.”
“Now who’s dodging, Mr. Thinks-He’s-So-Clever Grainger?” She grinned as she mimicked his one eyebrow lift.
He took a careful sip of his steaming coffee and grinned back at her. “Okay, what do you want to know…all my deep, dark secrets?”