Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger (32 page)

Read Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger Online

Authors: Lori Copeland

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Contemporary, #Westerns, #test

BOOK: Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger
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Page 44
disappeared through the door, returning momentarily with a small Red Cross medical kit. ''Does it still hurt?"
His blue eyes looked at her painfully. "Yes."
Chandra patted his arm mockingly and leaned over to gleefully wipe away the slight trace of blood with a cotton ball dipped in alcohol.
He sucked in his breath and let go with a shocking expletive as the cold, stinging antiseptic penetrated the cut.
What a coward,
Chandra thought as she steadied his head with her hands and smoothed first-aid cream over the cut. She slapped a small Band-Aid across his forehead. "There! Good as new."
She started to move away when Garrett pulled her roughly up against him and brought her face next to his. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"
"Who, me?" Chandra asked innocently, her hazel eyes sparkling.
"Yeah, you," he teased, his mouth dangerously close to hers. "Sadistic little witch, aren't you?"
Chandra was finding it increasingly hard to breathe standing so close to him, her thin robe barely considered decent. She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue, mesmerized by the deep sound of his voice as he continued to chide her gently.
"I think the least you could do is kiss it for me and make it better. That's what my mother used to do."
"I'm not your mother, Garrett," she reminded him nicely.
"I'd noticed that," he grinned cockily, pulling her closer.
Chandra's eyes met his. He was looking at her, desire clearly written in his face. Chandra would never know why she reached over and started to hesitantly kiss the small wound on his forehead. All of a sudden her face was grasped between two large hands that steered her mouth downward. Her heart fluttered wildly as Garrett's mouth closed over hers. His kiss started gently, playfully, as his lips and teeth tugged lightly at hers. She was so stunned by his action she slumped against his broad chest, her hands coming out to encircle his neck.
He growled low in his throat and pulled her down on his lap.
 
Page 45
Chandra could feel the lean hardness of him as he drew her tighter into his arms. His mouth reached out to capture hers more roughly this time, his tongue gently pushing its way inside. Chandra began to tremble as he brought his hand up, running it lightly over the smoothness of her neck and face, stroking the lobe of her ear gently between his fingertips. His mouth moved sensuously with hers and his breathing deepened. Chandra could feel the hard ridge of his muscled thighs straining against her thin gown. Her insides churned with butterflies as her arms tightened her grip on his neck. In the year she had been engaged to Phillip, not once had he ever kissed her like this. Her blood was rushing and pounding in her head, and a strange gnawing ache was developing deep within her, a need that had to be fulfilled, not by just any man, but by this particular one.
Garrett broke the kiss off, breathing raggedly as he met her eyes. ''I was wrong. Now I have pain in two places," he said, moving suggestively against her bottom, making her aware of his unquestionable desire for her.
Chandra caught her breath and buried her face into his neck, breathing in the fresh, clean smell of him. "Garrett, please . . ."
He ceased his teasing movements and stroked her blond hair tenderly. "I'm sorry, sweetheart." He pulled her face around and kissed her eyes, nose, cheeks, working his way around to her neck, murmuring huskily, "You know you're a damn appealing woman." His mouth searched eagerly for hers again. Chandra met him halfway this time as their tongues mingled hotly together. He reached up to run his finger; through her thick, honey blond tresses, pulling her mouth firmly against his. Groaning deeply in his throat, he hungrily devoured the sweetness of her mouth. Chandra moaned deliciously as wave after wave of desire washed over her, her hands gripping his hair tightly.
"Chandrasweetheart . . ." he breathed passionately, his hands stroking her body urgently.
"Garrett . . . I . . ." Chandra had lost all sense of reality; all
 
Page 46
she could think of or feel was his mouth drugging her with long, warm kisses. ''We have to stop," she pleaded.
"Who says we have to?" His hands became bolder, slipping under her thin gown to run lightly down the length of her leg.
Chandra struggled to regain her sanity, pulling away from him. "
I
say we have to stop!" Chandra was trying to catch her breath as she reached out to grab his persistent hands.
Pulling her back for one more long, drugging kiss, he pleaded softly, "We're two adultswhat's the problem?"
Chandra pushed away from him and stood up breathlessly, unable to break out of his hold. This was sheer madness. What had gotten into her! "Garrett," she threatened weakly, realizing that at this moment she was as helpless in his arms as a newborn babe, "I don't fall into bed with every man I meet. . . ." Her voice trailed off helplessly.
Garrett pulled away reluctantly, his breathing heavy and irregular. "You wouldn't want to make an exception this one time . . . would you?" His slumberous eyes were misted with desire.
"No," she murmured firmly. "I don't make exceptions."
Garrett shuddered, releasing her instantly. "Sorry," he muttered tensely. "Forget I ever asked."
"Forgotten," Chandra muttered, her voice unsteady. She felt unreasonably disappointedhe had given up so easily!
The loud shrill of the telephone startled them both. Garrett walked over and shakily poured himself a cup of coffee, then sat down at the table as Chandra confusedly picked up the receiver next to the kitchen stove. "Hello?"
Dead silence met her ear for a moment, then she heard a very meek voice asking, "Ms. Chandra Loring, please."
Chandra was puzzled. Who could be calling her here? Very few people knew where she was right now.
"This is she."
"Oh my goodness, Chandra. This is Cecil Burgess."
"Who?"
"Cecil Burgess. Darrell's friend. I'm so sorry I haven't called
 
Page 47
before now, but I was only released from the hospital a few minutes ago.''
"The hospital?" Chandra's mind couldn't grasp the situation yet. Garrett was quietly drinking his cup of coffee, leafing nonchalantly through the morning paper.
"Yes, on the way to the party last night some drunk hit my car and I spent the night in the hospital. I hope you weren't inconvenienced too much by my not being there." Cecil's voice held a note of despair.
"No, I . . . made it just fine. I hope you weren't hurt."
"Just a few bruises, but I'll be without a car for a while. The other driver wasn't insured."
Naturally,
Chandra thought fleetingly.
With Cecil's luck, what else could he expect!?
"I certainly appreciate what you tried to do for me, Chandra. Maybe I can thank you in person someday," Cecil said kindly.
"That would be nice,
Cecil,
" she emphasized. Garrett's eyebrows shot up. "I'll look forward to that. Thank you for calling." Chandra replaced the receiver on the hook and glared at the dark-haired man sitting at the table.
"Boy," he observed as he casually turned the paper to the sports section, "there're more Cecils, around here than a cat has fleas!"
"Don't be so smug. I told you there really was a Cecil," she said heatedly.
Garrett leafed absently through the paper. "I didn't doubt that there was a Cecil."
Suddenly the strong emotions of the last twenty-four hours caught up with Chandra as she felt silent tears begin to slip down her face. It was bad enough to make such a stupendous mistake, but why did it have to be with a man as appealing and virile as Garrett?
Garrett glanced from behind the paper and saw tears sliding down Chandra's pretty face. With a deep sigh of exasperation he got to his feet and came over to kneel by her chair.
"Now what did I do?"
 
Page 48
''Nothing," she sniffed.
"Nothing, hell! Why are you crying!" he asked.
"Why didn't you stop me last night from making such a fool of myself?" She turned tear-filled hazel eyes on his serious face.
Shaking his head wearily he answered, "I didn't know what you were up to, Chandra. Hell, for all I knew you were just some pushy broad looking for a good time!"
"Don't call me a broad. I hate that." She blew her nose into a wadded-up paper towel she had in her hand. "And stop cussing," she reminded him again curtly.
"Damn! Anyway, when you walked up and introduced yourself as my wife . . . well, damdarn, Chandra, what was I supposed to think?"
"What did you think?" Chandra couldn't resist asking.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes," she answered bravely.
"I thought you were crazy as helheck. But when you said Rhodes was looking for a married man, well . . . I would have answered to Rover last night if it would have gotten me the job. That's what makes me so mad, Chandra. I
had
that job in the bag with my qualifications. There was no way Rhodes could pass me up. Then you came breezing in and announced to the world that you were my wife . . . well, it made me maddamn mad!"
"I said I was sorry. I can't undo it Garrett, or I assure you I most certainly would," she sobbed.
"Why in the world didn't you get your facts straight . . . or have Cecil pick you up here?" he raved, beginning to pace the room restlessly.
"Darrell called before he left on a flight to give me Cecil's descriptionhe was just too sketchy and
you
were tall, had brown hair, and were standing next to the punch bowl at seven o'clock. That's where he said Cecil would be. You even looked like you were expecting someone after that hussy left. You even glanced at your watch once," she defended angrily.
"Well, hell!" he sputtered in exasperation. "I wanted to know what time it was. I had had a long day." He stopped his pacing
 
Page 49
and reached into his back pocket to pull out a large, clean white handkerchief. ''Will you please knock off that crying? It drives me up a wall. That's one of the reasons I'd never marry. Women and their up-and-down moods. Always blubbering all over the placeit gets on my nerves."
"I'm sorry, Garrett," she sniffed. Chandra was sitting quietly as he kneeled down and mopped at her face, none too gently. "I don't cry very often."
"Just control yourself when I'm around," he mumbled sternly as he stood back up.
His sudden kindness made Chandra dissolve in a new round of tears. "I don't know what Phillip's going to say about all this."
Garrett jammed his fist on his lean hips and looked at her in frustration. "Now, who in the hell is
Phillip
?"
"My fiancé."
"Your what?!" Garrett's mouth dropped, his face growing tense.
"He's my fiancé," Chandra said. "We're supposed to be married at the end of this month. What's he going to say when he finds out I've posed as your wife and you stayed all night with me?"
"Don't get so shook, dammit. We didn't stay all nighttogether." Garrett looked disgusted. Chandra sniffed and reached for a paper towel to blow her nose, fingers trembling. "You really going to marry this guy?" Garrett's blue eyes had lost their twinkle.
"Yes," she whispered softly. She couldn't look at him.
"Well, I still say there's nothing to get so upset about. Phillip"Garrett hesitated when he spoke the other man's name"doesn't ever have to know about last night."
"What will you do about the job?" Chandra asked him tearfully.
"With a little luck I should wrap it up this morning." He looked at her slim figure sitting so forlornly in the chair. Her blond hair was tousled and her face was flushed from tears. He put a large hand out to touch the softness of her cheek, wiping

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