In Bed with Beauty Read Free

times to the supposed weaker sex to ever allow himself to be that weak. In his twenties he’d ignored the lessons he’d learned at his father’s knee and tried to create the family he’d always craved. He’d failed and never attempted it again. “Believe me I do.”
    “Bitter?” she asked.
    He thought about it. He held no ill will toward womankind, had enjoyed many a night in a woman’s arms. But there was clearly a battlefield when it came to the two genders. Men, or at least Harris, felt ill equipped for the battle.
    “Just realistic.”
    “Oh, realistic. Are you one of those guys who doesn’t believe in love?” she asked.
    She leaned forward on the seat, her dark brown eyes sparkled. Suddenly he wanted to do something juvenile like challenge her to a dare. She was the kind of woman who’d relish it.
    She wasn’t like other women he’d met before. She sparkled with a joie de vie that he’d never had, and the selfish, cold part of him wanted to keep her close so that he could bask in her warmth. But he knew she wouldn’t stay for long. Then again, she didn’t have to, he reminded himself. He only wanted her for the length of his stay in Florida.
    Many women had tried to change him. Tried to teach him to love, but Harris knew some things came into a man’s life too late. And love was certainly one of those things for him.
    “Honey, no man believes in love,” he said.
    Her eyes shuttered and he realized she’d categorized him. Genus Male, Species Hopeless.
    “Just lust, huh?” she asked.
    “Well lust is quantitatively provable,” he said. He needed to touch her again. Earlier when they’d shook hands he’d been preoccupied with getting back on the road so he wouldn’t be late for his appointment. But now he wanted to linger. That reaction shook him. He wasn’t given to unpredictable actions and didn’t intend to start now.
    “You have a point,” she said.
    “I usually do.”
    She gathered her purse, dug inside it for her sunglasses. “What about relationships that last after physical desire fades?”
    He saw Ray moving around to open the door. Harris wasn’t too sure about this new driver. His normal one, Jeffrey O’Neil, wasn’t available due to a family emergency and it seemed Ray King didn’t really understand his role. Harris had learned early on that staff wasn’t family and should be treated like employees. He would remind Ray of this as soon as they dropped Sarah Malcolm off. He’d learned early on that roles were important and to make sure everyone understood the part they were to play.
    Part of him saddened that this encounter was going to end so soon. “What about them?”
    “Why do they continue?” she asked.
    Honestly, he’d never had one last after the intense passion faded. He didn’t know why they did. He’d noticed that some of the woman he’d dated had tried to strike up a friendship with him after some time had passed. But Harris knew that relationships of any kind weren’t for him. He was more comfortable with the silence. “Friendship, I guess,” he said.
    “That’s all.”
    “I’ve never experienced one, but I’d guess a long-term monogamous relationship lasts because of the memories of hot sex and the bond of friendship.”
    “You really are a guy,” she said at last.
    “Did I try to convince you I wasn’t?” he asked.
    “No,” she said, blushing.
    “Should I prove to you I am?” He wanted her to say yes. But he’d never blow off his meeting for the chance to spend the day with her. No matter how much he wanted to explore the hot currents that burned between them. He slid forward in his seat so that their knees brushed.
    She had great legs. It was one of the first things he’d noticed about her. Nicely rounded calves and smooth shins. Her legs were bare, her feet shod in backless sandals. There was a silver toe ring on her second toe.
    “Why are you suddenly so talkative?” she asked, tugging at the hem of her skirt. He noticed earlier