"What would you have me do? Deny that I'm attracted to you? You look like a damned centerfold, for heaven's sake."
"Big deal. My figure is an accident of nature. It's not who I am." She threw her legs off the couch and stood, angered that he could make her feel so much when she'd sworn off men, sworn never to get involved with someone who couldn't see beyond her face, or even try to. "You know what I think?"
"I'm sure you will tell me regardless," he murmured dryly.
She ignored that. "I think you don't trust yourself to test the waters. I think you've forgotten how to act normal instead of like a growling, demanding bear woken from hibernation."
"I know you want that, Laura, but I can't allow it. I won't."
Her hands on her hips, she stared across the room, noticing his fingers clench the wineglass. "And I don't get a vote? Your opinion of me is sinking by the second, I see."
"No, but past experience has taught me well," he said patiently, wishing she was wearing more clothes and not standing near the fire. "I simply hate the way you make me feel."
"Hate? Oh, a girl could just melt over all this praise, Richard. But then, you made your feelings clear the other night. I guess it's good that I'm here only till you can care for Kelly like a real parent." She walked past him.
"Then you will never leave."
That stopped her in her tracks just beyond the chair, and as she looked down at him, sympathy and anger dueled inside her. The fire shone over his dark hair, his broad shoulders, and part of her wanted to sink onto his lap and feel him against her. Another part of her wanted to knock some sense into him. "I can't stay here forever, Richard."
Abruptly he left the chair, moving behind it. "We have a legal contract."
She heard the flicker of panic in his voice and knew she shouldn't have threatened, but he was just so dang stubborn. "Yes, we do," she assured softly, and when she lifted her hand toward him, like a striking cat, he snatched her wrist, holding her back.
"Never try to touch me. That's part of it."
They stood unmoving, and Laura's skin tingled with anticipation. One tug and she could bring him into the light, but she couldn't destroy his trust. He couldn't change overnight. "I'll make a deal with you," she said softly, and felt his finger flex on her wrist. "You don't hold my pageant wins against me, and I won't try to get a peek at you."
He chuckled, and the sound rippled along her spine.
"Agreed." He released her.
She nodded, then took a step away, her hand sliding across the top of the high-backed chair, and Richard felt as if it were sliding over him. His fingers tightened on the wineglass, nearly snapping the delicate stem as she walked out of the living room. He couldn't watch.
"One more thing," she said, pausing in the doorway.
He turned. Her back was to him. "Yes?"
"I'm an honest woman. I rarely hold anything back. If you make me mad, I will tell you why, and—" she twisted slightly, looking back at the man in the shadows "—I'm not going to pay for her betrayal … nor her lack of strength."
She was referring to Andrea, and Richard knew she was right. The two women were nothing alike, and yet, even as they antagonized each other in the dark, he never wanted to see her look at him like Andrea had. "You say that when you haven't seen me."
"I don't need to see you, Richard, to know the kind of man you truly are." She walked into the hall toward the staircase, and her bare foot had scarcely touched the first step when he was there, behind her. She froze, not turning around.
The heat of his body penetrated her robe and Laura closed her eyes, waiting. Her knees nearly buckled at the feel of him so close, and she reached for the banister.
"You think I am so honorable," he said into her ear, his warm breath sending a shiver down her throat.
"I know you are."
"Well, maybe you should remember that it's been a while since I've been around a beautiful woman. Hell, any woman."
"How flattering," she whispered, feeling her throat tighten.
"You should be flattered. Because you're the only thing that's ever made me want to come out of the shadows."
Her stomach fluttered and her mouth went dry.
"Damn it, Laura," he said, his voice rough with the same want and need that stormed through her. "When I look at you, all I want to do is to taste you—"
A bolt of pure heat rocketed through her, and she clapped a hand over her wildly beating heart.
"—feel your naked skin under my mouth—"
She swallowed a moan.
"And be—" his voice lowered to a husky pitch "—deep inside you."