Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger (35 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
4.46Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
 
Page 63
it, Garrett, don't you move from that chair,'' she cautioned sharply.
Garrett looked up at her from his chair, his brown hair tousled, his blue eyes slightly glassy, giving her an angelic smile. "I won't move," he promised sincerely.
"You'd better not if you don't want to embarrass yourself," she warned again grimly as she walked over to the kitchen door. "I'll be right back."
Hurriedly she made her way through the boisterous crowd, looking for Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes. She finally found them in deep conversation with the Parsonses. After a somewhat vague explanation had been given for her and Garrett's early departure, she excused herself and found the nearest phone. She gave a sigh of relief when she was assured a cab would be there momentarily. Gathering up both their coats, she hurried back to the kitchen.
Garrett was still sitting placidly in the chair she had put him in. When she walked through the door a smile lit his face again. "Are we still going home so I can make love to you?" he asked brightly.
"We're going home, but not for that reason," she told him sharply, trying to get his coat on him before the cab came.
"I thought that's why I had to sit there in that chair while you were gone," he grumbled disappointedly, doing little to assist her in getting his coat on. "So we could go home and"
"Just hush up and get this coat on, Garrett!" Her patience had run out. If the Rhodeses should happen to wander in here and find their new Vice President in this drunken condition, Garrett could kiss his new job good-bye.
Which, come to think of it, might not be a bad idea,
Chandra thought spitefully.
At least this whole charade would be over with and my life could return to normal
.
With both coats finally on Chandra led him out the back door, the blast of cold, winter wind hitting them full force. The cab had just pulled up at the back entrance as the couple emerged. She managed to push Garrett into the back seat before curtly giving the cab driver her address, then climbed into the back seat beside him. Garrett immediately had her in his arms again. "Come here
 
Page 64
and keep me warm, sweetheart,'' he invited in a low, sexy voice, his hands going into the warm confines of her coat, reaching for her intimately.
Slapping his hands away irritably Chandra took hold of them and held them prisoner in her lap. "If you weren't so drunk you'd have your face slapped for all this pawing."
He jerked his hands loose and grinned at her angelically in the dark interior of the cab. "But I'm drunk, so you'll have to overlook my bad manners." He brought his hands back around her waist, burying his face in her neck and kissing his way down the front of her dress. His breath was warm and sweet on her bare skin, sending tiny shivers of longing through her body. Chandra felt his hand brush against her breast exploringly.
"Have you forgotten that I'm engaged to another man?" she snapped, jerking his hands away once more. She was becoming increasingly uneasy at the wild, wanton feelings he was bringing alive in her.
"Nobut I could, dammit, if you would quit reminding me of it!" he mumbled testily, his mouth moving along her neck once again. "Why in the hell do you want to go and get married? Wouldn't you rather have your freedom than be tied down to one man for the rest of your life?"
Chandra closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his warm mouth moving seductively along the sensitive part of her ear. She caught her breath as his tongue began to trace wet circles around the lobe. "I happen to want just one man in my life. I want to keep house for him, have his children. . . ." she whispered weakly as his tongue worked its way down into the valley of her breast. He trailed feather kisses intimately around the gentle swell of her bosom, his breathing heavier now.
Phillip! I have to think of Phillip,
she chanted silently, her eyes squeezing tightly closed as wave after erotic wave of longing washed over her. How could she sit here like this and enjoy what he was doing!? What was it about him that could turn her knees to jelly and make her forget that she was soon to be married? Right now he was making her feel as if she were the most desirable woman in the
 
Page 65
world. Funny, although Phillip was every ounce a man, he had never aroused her in the wild, crazy way that Garrett so easily accomplished.
''You can have my children," he suggested huskily, his breathing matching hers.
Chandra's heart leaped wildly at his softly spoken words. "Careful, Garrett, you'll sober up and find yourself with a real wife," she murmured, her mouth playing moistly with his.
"No wife!" he groaned firmly. "Just come and live with mebe my lover," he whispered, his voice ragged. "I'll give you everything a wife should have, sweetheart, I'll take care of you. It could be good between us. . . ." He paused. "Hell, it could be more than good between us, it could be dynamite!" His mouth closed hungrily over hers.
"No . . ." she whispered helplessly, squirming away from his advances and his soft words. "No, I want more than that out of life. We would never make it together, Garrett, we are too different. Oh, why am I even trying to talk to you when you're in this condition," she snapped irritably as he slumped tiredly against her shoulder.
The cab pulled up in front of the deserted house, and Chandra maneuvered Garrett out the door. She hurriedly paid the fare, and the cab sped off into the dark night.
"How would you like to hear my version of 'Man of La Mancha,' " Garrett offered generously, stepping ahead of her to position himself in front on the steps. He let out the first, deep, loud note of a song before Chandra had firmly clapped her hand over his mouth.
"Garrett! The neighbors," she warned bleakly.
"I'll sing loud enough for them to hear it too," he assured her belligerently, his voice sounding miffed because she wouldn't let him finish the song.
"Just turn around and walk quietly into the house," she encouraged, pushing him ahead of her firmly.
Chandra unlocked the door and flipped on the lamp in the
 
Page 66
living room. She shrugged out of her coat and laid it across the back of the sofa, then helped Garrett remove his.
''Thank you," he said courteously. "Let me help you with yours," he offered blindly.
"Mine's already off, you imbecile," she scoffed.
"Well, then," he slurred, swaying slightly toward her, "let me give you a little kiss for helping me with mine."
"No more kisses tonight. It's time we were in bed," she said firmly, turning him in the direction of the stairs.
"I agreelet's go to bed," he grinned, draping his arm around her neck. "Your room or mine?"
"Bothyou're sleeping in yours, I'm sleeping in mine," she said, as they started up the stairs.
"Well, maybe you're right. I need to be more in control of my facultite . . . flacxitiv . . . more sober when I make love to you," he relented, stripping off his jacket and throwing it over the banister. He reached up to loosen his tie, then jerked it off, throwing it on the floor as he walked. By the time they reached his bedroom door and Chandra turned to face him, she saw with despair that he was standing behind her clad only in his brief underwear, a challenging grin on his face. "I knew you would want me to be ready for bed the minute we got here," he told her reasonably.
"Good grief!" she exploded, her face flushing a bright pink. "Couldn't you have waited until you reached your own room?"
"Don't be mad at me," he grinned sweetly, reaching out to pull her up against his broad, heavily haired chest. "You
know
how drunk I am," he reminded her again petulantly.
This was more than she could take! He buried her face in his chest with his large hands. Her stomach fluttered in despair as the fresh, clean, male scent of Garrett reached her. Her hands were trembling as she once again pushed him back regretfully. He had one of the most attractive bodies she had ever seen. Tall, broad shouldered, lean waist and hips, powerful thighs. . . . Her eyes stopped momentarily in another area, the skimpy briefs leaving nothing to her imagination. He certainly had nothing to
 
Page 67
apologize for there. Dragging her eyes on down, she noticed his entire body was coated heavily with light brown hair. All she could think of to say at the moment was an inadequate, ''You're so hairy."
Garrett's mouth was on the move again as he turned her face up to meet his. "Yeah, hope you like your men hairy," he whispered, kissing her nose gently.
"No. I don't. Phillip . . . isn't hairy," she murmured, trying to avoid his searching lips. "II like men just like Phillip," she lied.
"Damn! Why do you always bring up that man's name?" Garrett dropped his arms, and it was he who pushed her away this time.
"I'm going to
marry
Phillip. Can't you understand that?" she told him.
"You're a fool," he stated calmly, walking on into his bedroom. "I'll bid you good night now." He bowed again to her, and Chandra smothered a smile at the picture he presented. A very courtly knight bowing to his lady in his briefs! "Foolish lady," he continued, "may your dreams be filled with nothing but hairless Phillips." Chandra stepped back as the door slammed loudly in her face.
With a weary shrug of her shoulders she made her way on down the hall to her own bedroom. After a quick shower she fell into bed, exhausted by the events of the evening. She assumed Garrett was asleep since she hadn't heard anything more out of him. She smiled to herself, thinking of the hangover he would have in the morning.
It would serve him right,
she thought smugly,
if he couldn't get out of bed for days
. He had better be properly thankful that she had gotten him away from the party before he made a complete fool of himself.
Unwanted thoughts of his kisses sprang up in her mind as her body began to relax slowly. No matter how she tried to deny it she knew that his kisses and caresses had been something new and totally thrilling to her. Maybe it was because he was so experienced, for she had no doubt that a man like Garrett would
 
Page 68
be a pro in the area of making love. Phillip had excited her . . . to a small degree, but comparing the two, well . . . she was afraid Garrett won, hands down.
What a total waste of such a beautiful man,
she thought wearily, her eyes closing. No woman would ever be able to claim him as hers alone. For some unknown reason, Chandra's eyes grew misty with unshed tears. That thought seemed to tug at her heartan annoying ache tightened in her throat. She had to put him out of her mind and out of her life. She would be married in a little over three weeks. That's what she had to concentrate on now. She turned over on her side and punched her pillow roughly.
Darn you, Garrett Morganson!
she fumed.
A loud, shrill whistle suddenly filled the air, its abrupt sound startling Chandra. She sat straight up in bed and listened intently. Again the shrill whistle echoed through the quiet house, this time followed by a deep voice, ''Chandra! Hey . . . Chandra Loring!"
Garrett! She had thought he was asleep an hour ago. She lay back down, hoping if she didn't answer he would leave her alone.
"Come on, Chandra, answer me, honey. I know you're awake. I heard you turning over," he told her bluntly.
"What do you want, Garrett?" she sighed tiredly, knowing that if she didn't answer him now he would only persist until she did.
"I've been lying here thinking. You like men who recite you poems, so I've decided I'll recite you one. Are you listening, sweetheart?"
"That's all right, Garrett," Chandra called back. "You don't have to right nowmaybe in the morning." He was still obviously drunk as a skunk.
"No, if you want poetryyou'll get poetry! I'll even buy you some flowers if you want them," he offered good-heartedly.
"Go to sleep, please," she tossed back uselessly. By the tone of his voice she knew she was going to hear his poem, regardless!
There was a brief moment of silence from the other room, raising Chandra's hopes that he had given up and gone back to

Other books

Fix Up by Stephanie Witter
Falling Further by Hearts Collective
Bite (Bloodlines Book 1) by Crissy Smith
Pursuit of Justice by DiAnn Mills
The Witch's Desire by Elle James
Falling Out of Time by David Grossman