Lacey collapsed on the bed, her breaths coming out in short bursts. Brent’s body still covered hers as he also tried to control his breathing. The mating, the coming together, had been absolutely amazing. It had been everything she had hoped for.
When Brent withdrew from her body, it was all she could do not to groan at the loss of his heat. He rolled beside her, lying on his back, and turned his head to her.
Lacey was at a loss of what to say. She had carefully planned the seduction so shouldn’t he take charge now? But as they stared in each other’s eyes, she wondered what to do next.
“Did you get what you wanted from me?” he asked quietly.
She frowned as he sat up. What did that mean? He couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy their coupling as much as she did. She could tell he did. She was shocked when he rolled off the bed.
“Wait. You’re leaving?” She rose to her knees. Sure there was another reason for the sudden stiffness of his body and coldness in his eyes.
“Was there something else?”
Lacey just stared at him. Was there? She wasn’t sure. She had come with the sole purpose of seducing him and she had. Now shouldn’t he take her in his arms and hold her? That was what she’d expected, wanted.
“I…I thought…”
Brent laughed. “You thought what?”
She shrugged, unsure of how to act, what to say. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I’ll be here all weekend.”
“Well, I guess it didn’t take as long as you figured to get me in your bed. You can run along home now.
I know you’re not attending a conference this weekend. I checked.” Heat crept up her cheeks. “Yeah, well…I…”
Brent looked down as he towered over her. “Don’t be shy now. Your actions tonight prove you are far from sweet and innocent as I once believed.”
Her mouth dropped open. He was insulting her? Making what they had shared a quick roll in the hay. A one-night stand.
But then she realised that’s what it was to him. While she had prepared herself for the rejection that he might not want her, she never entertained the thought that he would only want her for one night. She cared for him as more than a friend and had stupidly thought he might too. Tears burned behind eyes.
She was humiliated and heart-broken. Instead of showing him how much he hurt her, she let her anger take over.
“You knew I’d lied, and you came anyway,” she challenged.
His smile was cocky, but it still made her insides melt and liquefy. “I was curious of what you had planned. It seemed you went through a lot of trouble. The least I could do was show up.” Lacey had heard enough. She wasn’t going to let him stand there and tell her that he hadn’t wanted her.
That he had just shown up. It was more than insulting to her. It was…well, she couldn’t think of a word that was bad enough. “You’re a bastard.”
He nodded his agreement. “Yes. Yes, I am.” He turned and headed out of the bedroom into the living area where his clothes had been dropped to the floor.
Lacey followed him, steaming mad. How dare he? She watched as he pulled his slacks back on. “You didn’t have to fuck me.”
He laughed again. “I told you to be sure. I did what any reasonable man in my position would have.” Lacey could feel a new wave of tears forming. She wouldn’t cry in front of him. “Just leave. Get out of my room,” she said as calmly as she could before turning and locking herself in the bathroom.
Inside, she turned the cold water on in the sink and splashed it on her face. She'd just been played the biggest fool. And the worst thing was that she deserved it. She had felt an instant attraction for Brent from the beginning. She enjoyed their email bantering back and forth.
But, despite their bantering back and forth, she didn’t really know the man she’d just slept with. And truthfully that had been part of the fantasy.
Brent watched Lacey walk away and out of his sight. Damn, he could have handled that better. He had known she was up to something when she’d sent him an email telling him she would be coming to town for three days and wanted to see him.
He’d always enjoyed talking to her. She was much more than just a pretty face. She was smart, funny, and sweet. He knew he would love spending time alone with her. The conventions they both attended always had crammed schedules and left him exhausted. This had been a chance to see her out of that environment.
When he had found out there weren’t any conventions or conferences over the weekend at any of the hotels, his curiosity had been piqued. He’d had the vague thought she was there just to see him, but had pushed it aside. Lacey wasn’t an affair kind of woman. She’d never given him any reason for him to think she was interested in more than being a friend. They had met years ago when she had attended a writers’
convention he had been at. She had been there as a fan, plus she owned her own bookstore. They had struck up a friendship and started to email back and forth immediately once they’d returned home.
Lacey was different from his other fans. He could carry on a conversation with her about everything and anything. She wasn’t like the scores of women who would sneak into his hotel room in lingerie and throw themselves at him. He’d considered her a friend.
He had been shocked when she’d opened the door in that outfit. It left nothing to the imagination and made it perfectly clear what she wanted. When she had gone about taking the lead and seducing him, he had been so turned on he thought he might explode.
She had looked incredible. Her blonde hair falling over her shoulders, her blue eyes clear and bright. She was slender with curves in all the right places. She was a pleasure to look at with clothes, but without…
my God, she had taken his breath away.
Brent had given a lot of thought about what it would be like to have Lacey’s body under his, the way she would moan and cry as his body pushed into hers. He’d had more than one dream of her on her knees taking him in her mouth. Brent felt his body harden at his thoughts.
Yes, he should have handled that better. The look of devastation on her face had been enough to twist his heart painfully. But he’d had to be cruel, he told himself. It was the only way to make sure what happened tonight wasn’t repeated.
If she thought they could just have a fun weekend together then go back to the way things had been, she was kidding herself. He felt too much for her to fall in with the categories of his youth, when he would take a woman just to have her. He wanted more and had since he first saw Lacey, but he now knew what she thought of him. To her, he was just a nice face, with a good athletic body, and a creative mind.
She didn’t want the same thing he did.
He would have to stay far away from her now. He wouldn’t let himself settle for less than he deserved.
A loving wife and family, and over the last few years, Lacey had been the woman in those fantasies.
Now that he had tasted her, he knew one taste would never be enough. He ached to take her body in every imaginable position there was then make up a few more of their own. She had been hot and spicy, smooth and silky—she had been great.
As his erection strained against the material of his slacks, Brent shook his head. The damn woman should have known better. He headed for the door and made sure he slammed it behind him as he walked away from her.
Chapter Two
Lacey waited as the cab driver took her suitcase out of the trunk. Her stomach was jumping, and her hands were sweating. The hot July sun glared down at her. It had to be over a hundred and ten degrees here. Why would anyone want to live somewhere it was so damn hot?