Read The Bachelor's Bed for Free Online Page B

neck.
    â€œWhat the—”
    She squeezed him close, pressing against him all those warm curves in a spine-breaking hug. Before he could lift his arms to push her away—and he most definitely would have pushed her away no matter what his hormones were screaming—she stepped back.
    â€œI have work to do,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t be hugging you all day long.”
    He had work, too. Didn’t he? He opened his mouth to say so, but Lani shimmied past him to hold open the door, her body and smile rendering him deaf, blind and dumb.
    How in the world had he fooled himself into thinking this was a good idea?
    Â 
    I T WAS A BALMY , sticky evening, the kind only midsummer could bring.
    Colin wolfed down a quick bowl of soup for dinner, preoccupied with some critical adjustments he needed to make on his project. Forgotten soup bowl at his elbow, he sat at his kitchen table, furiously scribbling notes. He’d used up nearly the entire tablet when he heard the car.
    It was hard to miss as it backfired, sounding like the fourth of July.
    Then Lani was at his back door with a duffel bag and a smile that lit up the hot Southern California night.
    Something within him warmed to match it.
    He opened the door and she moved in, invading his space with her cheerfulness, her bright eyes, that sexy scent of hers.
    At least she wasn’t wet anymore, or cold, thank God.
    But then again, it was hard to tell in the shapeless summer dress she wore. She’d layered it over a loose T-shirt and high-top tennis shoes, and if he hadn’t seen her incredible body earlier, he could never have imagined it.
    Before he could move away, she gave him a quick hug, which so startled him he froze.
    At his reaction, she froze, too, and pulled back. “So…” She bit her lip, looking a little unsure of herself. “You did want me to come back tonight, right?”
    His mother wasn’t coming for two days. But Lani was looking at him with those unbelievable eyes and he didn’t know what to say. And was she always going to touch him for no reason?
    If so, it was going to be a hell of a long engagement.
    He had originally approached this whole fictional fiancée situation as he would anything—management by objectives. It wasn’t something he looked forward to, but it had to be done. And how hardcould it be? They’d already known each other a full year.
    Except, she was unpredictable. She was also too… happy, a definite personality disorder in his book.
    She tugged at his hand to get his attention, and just that small connection had a current of awareness shooting through him.
    Oh, yeah, he was in big trouble in the hormone department.
    â€œI thought we should practice,” she said. “You know…being a loving couple?”
    Never mind that he’d thought so, too, before; it was no longer a good idea.
    When he didn’t say anything, she ran her teeth over her full bottom lip. “I don’t know about you,” she said, “but it’s not something that comes naturally to me.” She blushed. “I mean—”
    â€œI know what you mean.” He had to let out a dry laugh. “It doesn’t exactly come easy for me, either.” If she only knew he’d been there, done that and bought the T-shirt. But if he was ever stupid enough to marry again, and if his wife had the body of his pretend fiancée, he thought he just might attempt to learn how to be loving.
    â€œI’m not that great an actress,” she admitted. “I think I’ll need a couple of days.”
    A couple of days would kill him. He had no idea ifhe could keep his hands to himself that long. “I don’t think—”
    â€œOh, but I do.” She smiled angelically. “We have to be convincing, Colin.”
    â€œYes.” His mother could detect trouble five hundred miles away.
    â€œWe should also put an announcement in the