Nodding at her desk, he suggested, “Why don’t we finish that contest form, then I’ll help you hang the rest of your decorations.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she assured him.
“I want to. Besides, I have nothing better to do with my time today.”
“Oh. Well then, the next question is what three qualities do you look for most in a woman?”
“Attractiveness, honesty and sensuality.”
Shadow stared. “That was mighty quick. You don’t need time to think about it?”
Propping his elbow on the arm of his chair, he rested his chin in his palm. “Nope.”
Shadow smacked her pencil down on her desk. “In that order, I suppose?”
“Certainly. If a woman isn’t attractive, I wouldn’t pursue her in the first place. If I got to know her, and she wasn’t honest—a new criterion of mine—I wouldn’t trust her, and therefore wouldn’t want a relationship with her. If we started a relationship, and she was a cold fish, or a prude, there’d be no point in continuing.” He shrugged.
Shadow shook her head in dismay, but then quipped, “At least you’re honest about it.”
“Which part are you objecting to, Shadow? It can’t be the looks part, because you have to know how sexy you are.”
“I’m…average. That’s all.”
He just smiled. “I find it hard to believe you could be a prude.”
She scowled at him. “If you’re trying to find out if I’m honest, the answer should be obvious. I wouldn’t put out the effort necessary to lie. But what bothered me was that you didn’t think a sense of humor was important. Or honor. Or generosity.”
“They would have come in place after sensuality.”
She rolled her eyes. “Next question—what would you consider the perfect romantic evening?”
“You mean there’s only one?”
She clicked her teeth together. “You’ll have to narrow it down to your favorite.”
He shifted, propping his elbows on his knees, tapping his fingers together thoughtfully. When his eyes came to hold Shadow’s gaze, hers darkened in reaction. He said quietly, his words deep and slow, “Being alone with a woman, the sounds of a storm outside, a warm fire. Naked, with all the time in the world ahead of us.”
She looked taken aback by his deliberate and intimate use of “us.” She shook her head when she realized she hadn’t written his comments down, and hurried to do so, though her fingers shook slightly with the effort.
“Anything else?” Brent asked, enjoying her reaction.
“What…” Shadow cleared her throat, then tried again. “What do you like to do for fun?”
“Water ski, swim, jog.” He grinned at her. “Make love.”
Her pencil paused, then she quickly scribbled down his answer. “And what type of work do you do?” She was writing as she asked the final question, studiously avoiding his gaze, so she missed his expression of doubt and determination.
Beyond the bare bones, his work shouldn’t interest her.
Glancing up, she said, “You gave me a business card, but it doesn’t really say. Just your name and a number.”
He had many businesses, and even more managers to see to those businesses. That was why he hadn’t known about Shadow until boredom had forced him to come to Ohio, involving himself with his newest venture. He answered vaguely, hoping she wouldn’t press. “I’m self-employed, running my own affairs. As I said earlier, I’m in real estate.”
“Is it interesting?” Shadow asked as she wrote down the final information.
He looked at her bent head, the way her silky curls loosely framed her face. “More so each day.”
She smiled at Brent as she folded the papers. “That’s about it. All we need now is a picture. As I told you, Hot Shots here in the complex has offered to take the contestants’ photos for free. We can go there now if you like, or sometime later in the week.”
“If you have the time, we might as well get it over with.”
* * *
THE PHOTOGRAPHER WAS very friendly—a little too friendly, Shadow thought. The woman fawned over Brent, insisting he do the shot without a shirt, and Brent, surprising Shadow, decided to oblige her. He stripped off his shirt without a hint of modesty—not that modesty was necessary. He looked incredible.
Though his hair was light brown, the hair on his chest was darker, not overly thick, but sexy. He was muscular, with broad sinewy shoulders and sculpted biceps. His abdomen was hard, lean, divided by a slender line of that dark body hair. It swirled around his navel, then disappeared into his trousers.
Shadow’s heart began an erratic tattoo.
Just watching him, she flushed. Her eyes narrowed as the photographer moved Brent this way and that, taking far more shots than she had with the other contestants, her hands lingering on his bare skin. By the time they were done, Shadow wasn’t feeling particularly charitable toward the woman and left without saying farewell.
Brent ignored her mood, going right to work on hanging up the remaining decorations. She insisted on helping, and took immense pleasure in each light they connected, each wreath they hung. The November weather was characteristically biting, and by the time they finished, Brent’s cheekbones were red with the cold, Shadow’s nose just as rosy. They went inside, laughing, and plugged in the electrical cord.
Twinkle lights wound around the outside frame of the door and the overhang, where a huge wreath was centered. Inside, each window sported a different colored light, with a smaller wreath. The results weren’t uniform or elegant, but rather festive and fun. She liked it.
Shadow was taken off guard when Brent gave her a huge hug, enfolding her in his arms and lifting her off her feet.
“Thank you. I’ve enjoyed myself.”
Aware of Kallie watching surreptitiously, and of the few customers who gave them their attention, Shadow forced herself to pull away. She didn’t want to. She wanted to pull him down to the ground and have her way with him.
She sighed. “It was fun, wasn’t it? Thank you for helping.”
Brent, too, noticed their audience. He caught her cold hand, led her to her office and closed the door. In the next instant, she found herself pressed up against him.
“Brent?”
“I can’t wait until tonight to kiss you, Shadow.” He stripped off his leather gloves and his hands came up to cup her face, his palms warm and firm. He searched her face, lingering on each small detail, and a small smile flirted with his mouth. “You’re making me nuts, you know that?”
Shadow didn’t have time to answer. Brent lowered his head and touched his lips to hers—not tentatively, as she would have expected a first kiss to be, but purposefully, his mouth moving over hers, his body pressing closer until she was held securely against his length.
She could hear his breathing, smell the spicy scent of his aftershave, feel the heat and hardness of his body. Tension pulsed beneath her skin, a reaction she’d never felt before, certainly not from a simple kiss. When his tongue came out to lick over her lips, she opened, and he immediately took advantage of her quiet submission.
He tasted wonderful, she thought, curling her hands over his shoulders. Without conscious thought she closed her lips on his tongue and gently sucked.
Brent went rigid, then groaned. His body crushed closer, his breath pelting her cheek, hot and fast.
“Damn.” He drew away, his eyes