Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [18]
“Oh, gosh, Mitch,” stammered Kelsey. “You have company. Please excuse me….” Kelsey stared wide-eyed at the woman on Mitch’s couch. “I can make do without the candles.”
She looked too innocent. That sweet “who me?” gaze looked as familiar to Mitch as the back of his own hand. She’d had the same look on her face years ago when she’d sabotaged one of Mitch’s teenage make-out sessions. The little brat had strolled out onto the darkened back porch and nonchalantly asked him, right in front of his girlfriend, if he was sure he should be kissing, considering the problems he’d had with “those little sores.” The girl in question had found an excuse to break up with him a few days later.
Tonight’s intrusion was completely intentional, just as that long-ago one had been. And Mitch knew exactly how to beat her at her own game. “No, Kelsey, don’t rush off. Stay. Have a drink with us. I’ll find you some candles, honey, I know how much you relish your bath rituals.”
Kelsey was confused by his reaction. Mitch should have been squirming by now, attempting to push her out the door, to explain a half-clothed female to his girlfriend. Most men would be in the midst of a panic attack.
But he wasn’t. He spoke in a low, sexy voice of his own, sending shivers down her spine. Staring with unabashed appreciation at her legs, he didn’t look uncomfortable or embarrassed in the least. He actually moved closer to her until she had to tilt her head back to return his stare. The intensity she saw in those deep blue eyes shocked her. The heat was palpable.
“Mitch,” an intrusive voice demanded, “I think an introduction would be appropriate.”
Mitch didn’t reply right away. Still gazing intently at Kelsey, he gave her a slow, seductive smile. Kelsey could barely draw breath as her eyes followed the movement of his sensuous mouth.
Finally he turned his attention to the other woman, who Kelsey had practically forgotten was even in the room. “Amanda, meet Kelsey. She lives upstairs. You could call her my semisibling. The sister I’ll never have.”
Amanda seemed a little relieved at the description, but Kelsey was not. Semisibling? Sister? She’d make him eat those words!
“Really, Mitch, you shouldn’t encourage the girl to run around your home half-clothed,” Amanda said with a forced smile.
Mitch laughed out loud. “That’s true. Young ladies shouldn’t run around in their nighties, Kelsey.”
Kelsey glared at him. She could practically hear her mother’s voice saying the same words to her when she was eight.
Mitch had obviously seen right through her ploy to destroy his evening. She was determined to wipe that grin off his face if it was the last thing she ever did. Thinking quickly, she forced a serene smile to her lips and moved a step closer to him. “I’m so sorry I burst in on you like this.” Her every word dripped with sweetness. “The candles really aren’t necessary.”
She smoothed the palms of her hands over her satiny robe as if straightening it, drawing his stare down her body. When she knew she had his undivided attention, she said, “That window in my bathroom is right over the tub, and it should be a full moon tonight. The light shines in at the perfect angle and makes the bubbles absolutely iridescent.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper, the sultry, sexy voice she used on her radio show, daring him to resist her. “Sometimes on moonlit nights I lie there in the dark, with my eyes closed, letting the water caress every inch of my body. I use a fragrant bath oil and it feels so silky and delicious.”
She was getting to him. Mitch was clenching his fists, and his breath came a little faster. She could see the pulse at his temple beating and knew he was gritting his teeth. She had to bite her bottom lip for a moment to avoid displaying a smile of triumph.
Finally, when she was able to go on, she said, “Then I slowly pour cupfuls of water on my skin. It’s so amazingly erotic when you can feel the warmth cascading over your flesh, nearly kissing you, yet you can