Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [63]
Kelsey entered the dark brownstone, locked the front door behind her and reached her hand toward Mitch’s door. Before she could grasp the knob, a hand closed around her wrist. She screamed.
“Kelsey, baby, it’s only me!” Mitch said.
Her heart pounded a mile a minute and Kelsey raised a shaking hand to her face. “Would you stop doing that?” she shouted. “You scared the heck out of me again!”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, really. I was just trying to surprise you. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“No, I’m fine, you just startled me. I’m tired. For some reason I didn’t get much sleep the past couple of nights,” she said, now smiling crookedly.
Mitch opened the door and led her into his apartment. He slid her coat off her shoulders and tossed it onto the couch, then gently rubbed the tense muscles on the sides of her neck.
“Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but you ain’t gonna get much sleep tonight, either. At least not for a while.”
He kissed the sensitive spot of skin where her neck met her shoulders, and Kelsey instantly felt the tension drain from her body. It was replaced by heat, anticipation, desire. All the feelings Mitch’s touch aroused.
He was right. She didn’t get to sleep for a long, long time.
IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED, Kelsey was happier than she had ever thought possible. Mitch was attentive and adoring, incredibly romantic and thoughtful. Each night when she got home from work, she’d find him waiting in the well-lit foyer to sweep her into his apartment. She never took for granted that he’d be waiting, not wanting to upset the perfect balance their relationship had reached. But he was always there.
He fulfilled her every desire. One night she came home from work and found his bed covered with rose petals. A bowl of red strawberries and a fondue pot with melted chocolate sat on the table.
“You heard my show on fantasies, didn’t you!”
“Guilty,” he said as he dipped a juicy berry into the chocolate and held it to her mouth.
She bit into the succulent fruit, licking the chocolate that dripped down his fingers. “Lady Love can be pretty useful, can’t she?”
“I try to forget that you and Lady Love are the same person. But I have to admit, she does have some terrific ideas.”
“She’s got great inspiration.”
Mitch pulled away for a moment and frowned. “Kelsey, what happens here is just for us, all right? I would hate it if you ever brought our personal life onto the air with you.”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “Gee, it’s awfully warm in here tonight.” Kelsey unbuttoned her slacks and wiggled out of them, sliding them to her feet as slowly as she could. Mitch watched her every move, and she pretended she didn’t notice his eyes darken and his breath come more quickly.
He knew she was trying to change the subject, and allowed her to succeed. While Kelsey sat back down on the bed next to him, Mitch dipped another berry for her. As he lifted it to her mouth, he accidentally dripped a thick drop of chocolate onto her bare thigh. Pushing her back onto the pillows, Mitch slowly and thoroughly licked the sweet candy away. After that, the dripping chocolate was anything but accidental.
Lady Love’s fantasies didn’t compare with the reality of Kelsey’s nights.
HER DAYS WEREN’T BAD, either. When they weren’t making love, Kelsey was doing her best to make Mitch misbehave. She loved teasing him in the middle of his research, shocking that studious look off his face by cranking up the stereo and dancing around his living room. She liked that he’d drop his work to take her out to see a stupid movie just because she asked him to. The fact that the movie stank and he enthusiastically threw popcorn at the screen with her made it that much better.
So far, the only bone of contention between them was her job.
“Mitch, we’ve been over this,” Kelsey said one afternoon as they sorted laundry in the basement. “You said yourself I’m doing a great job and that Night Whispers is a terrific show.”
“Yeah, it’s a terrific show. If anyone else