Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [35]
“I’m not moony,” she said. She hadn’t realized her feelings for Mitch had been so obvious. Of course, Brian was very perceptive.
“No, of course you’re not, sweetie,” Brian said with a grin, as if humoring her mood.
Her mood stank. After Mitch’s rejection earlier that afternoon, she hadn’t known whether to laugh or cry. She’d done a little of both, then sat quietly and calmly and thought about her relationship with Mitch.
It was done. Whatever fantasies she had about him were finished, and good riddance to them. Well, she had to admit, maybe her fantasies themselves weren’t done. After that kiss, that embrace, that flash of absolute electricity they’d shared, she imagined her fantasies were going to get a lot more intense! But her slight belief that maybe something would come of those fantasies…that was gone. Mitch had rejected her for the last time. Right now, he was probably feeling so embarrassed he wouldn’t come near her again. And that suited her just fine.
MITCH WASN’T THINKING totally clearly, but he knocked on her door anyway, muttering, “I owe you one, Kelsey Logan. You’ve got this coming.”
He shivered slightly as a draft swept up from downstairs, blowing under the towel he wore around his hips. Curling his toes on the cool wood floor, he wished she’d hurry up and answer. Every second she delayed made him think about heading back downstairs. But his reflexes were perhaps the tiniest bit slower because of his mood…and, possibly, the scotch. Before he had time to forget the whole stupid idea, Kelsey’s apartment door opened.
Kelsey had really expected Celia to be standing in her doorway with a plateful of cookies. Instead, a six-foot-tall, nearly naked, rock-hard, golden, lean man stood there.
“Hello, Kelsey,” Mitch said with a slow smile as he sauntered into her apartment. “Gee, seems I’m all out of soap. Got some I could borrow?”
Kelsey stared as Mitch moved past her. He was naked. Well, not entirely, she supposed. He wore a white towel around his waist, but otherwise, nothing. His dark hair was mussed, damp, as if he had just jumped in the shower, then jumped back out. A drop of water fell from one lock of hair and landed on his sculpted bronzed shoulder, slowly gliding a glistening path down the crisp, dark hair on his chest. She followed the droplet’s descent, and then allowed her eyes to travel farther down his body. A quivering sigh was the only sound she could manage.
Kelsey had a pretty good idea what men were supposed to look like. She’d been raised with two brothers, after all, and had enjoyed her fair share of male attention. But Mitch, well, she’d never seen a man who made her forget to breathe.
He was beautiful. His body was hard but not bulky. Lean, toned, with sinewy muscles that rippled along his chest and upper arms. His flesh was smooth, unmarred, a delicious light tan color. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry. The dark hair on his chest was sparse and tapered to a thin line down his flat stomach. The white towel interrupted her gaze, but she skimmed it and studied his firm legs. Even his feet were sexy.
Kelsey felt like one of those gaping, foolish men so often seen in comedy movies, ogling a gorgeous woman in a bikini. She quickly glanced up to see if Mitch had noticed.
He smirked.
“Ah-hem,” a voice intruded. Mitch glanced nonchalantly over his shoulder to the dark-haired man standing near the sofa. “Oh, I’m sorry, do you have company?” he drawled.
“I was just leaving,” the other man said. He eyed Mitch from head to toe, then glanced at Kelsey and gave her a huge grin and a wink. Mitch couldn’t understand why Kelsey’s date would be so amused at another man, nearly naked, bursting in on them, and why he would cut and run at the sight of the competition. But he really didn’t care. The guy was leaving. More important, he and Kelsey had both been fully clothed, sitting in the living room, when Mitch arrived!
Kelsey found her vocal cords and managed to say, “Uh, yeah, thanks, Brian.”
Brian surreptitiously gave her a thumbs-up as Kelsey returned his quick kiss