Read Between the Lines for Free Online Page B

than usually conscious of the strength in his large hands.
    All day long Amber's mind had been playing with sensual images conjured up by her vivid awareness of Gray's quiet strength. She had rerun the memories of his brief, casual kiss so many times in her head that she had every nuance memorized.
    She still didn't know if he'd arranged for the two-bedroom suite or if it had just been a fluke that they'd received it. But she did know that after her luggage had been deposited in one room Gray's suitcase had been taken to the other. The question of where he would choose to sleep tonight was haunting her now that the evening was progressing inexorably to a close.
    "This resort seems quite isolated," she ventured in a deliberately conversational tone as the waiter removed the last of the dishes. "Does Symington realize just how far this place is from town? The mountains start right there outside the window."
    "The isolation is supposed to be part of the charm," Gray told her. "People coming out West to a fancy dude ranch want the feeling of being really away from civilization."
    "As long as they have all the amenities at hand," Amber added with a grin.
    "Naturally. When you pay a mint for a few days in the desert, you want your money's worth. Like Ozzie said, this place offers everything you could want plus a nice feeling of getting away from it all."
    Amber leaned forward, not wanting her voice to carry. "Symington's group of investors is going to have to spend a fortune if they want to buy it."
    "Symington's investors have a fortune to spend. And they will if they think the deal is sound."
    Amber didn't need to be told that it was Gray's job to give his opinion on the soundness of the deal to Symington and his people. "How did the books look this afternoon?"
    "I barely got a chance to find out where the accounting office is located," Gray said dryly. "Delaney spent most of the time giving me a pep talk on his resort. But I've arranged to sit down with the accountant and the head bookkeeper tomorrow morning."
    "Will you need me?" Amber heard her own words and was oddly embarrassed. "Tomorrow morning, I mean?"
    He didn't seem to have picked up on the sexual innuendo in her words. "No, I don't think so. It will take me a while to get oriented." Gray looked at her as he signed the dinner tab. "Would you like to dance? There's a trio playing in the lounge."
    "Yes," Amber said, smiling brilliantly, "I'd like that very much."
    In the glass-roofed lounge, Gray started to take Amber's hand with a cool formality that sent a shaft of uneasiness through her. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with silent questions. He studied her face for a moment in the soft light and then he opened his arms. She walked into them without any hesitation at all.
    Amber could feel the warmth in his big hand as it pressed against the small of her back. His other palm enfolded her fingers. Gray drew her close against him, silently inviting her to put her head on his shoulder.
    With a small sigh, Amber accepted the unspoken invitation.
    "Do you realize this is the first time we've ever danced together?" she murmured.
    "I realize it." His fingers tightened briefly around her hand, and he inhaled the fresh, clean scent of her hair. "I think we fit together very nicely."
    "Yes," she agreed. "We do." Perfectly was the word she would have used to describe how well they went together on the dance floor. She couldn't help but wonder if they wouldn't fit together just as perfectly in bed. She nestled a little closer and was happy when Gray's arms tightened around her.
    It amazed Amber to find her mind so filled with erotic images tonight. Two weeks ago when she had listened to Gray's casual proposal she had been certain that the most she would ever feel for him was a pleasant, comfortable affection. But the sensual pictures dancing through her head tonight went considerably beyond pleasant, comfortable or affectionate. And the heat that seeped into her bloodstream