Red Sky At Morning - DK4 Read Free Page B

mind?”
    The corner of his mouth twitched. “Get to the city much?”
    That surprised her. “No. I try to not cross the Mason-Dixon unless I have to,” she replied dryly, giving Alastair a look. “Why?”
    Bob folded his hands together. Dar noticed they were nice, strong ones, with well-tended nails and just a hint of callus along the top of his index fingers. “I’m pretty proud of the place. I’ve lived here since I was shorter than the fire hydrants outside. Will you let me give you a quick tour?”

    10 Melissa Good Dar considered the request. “If you put an itinerary together for tomorrow night, sure,” she agreed amiably. “It’s been a long day.” He was attractive, and a sharp businessman, and it never hurt to build a few bridges when one had the chance to. Especially with the sales and marketing side of the house, with which she tended to be forever at cross-purposes.
    “You’re on.” Bob grinned, then pushed back from the table and stood up. “Al, it’s been a pleasure as always.” He inclined his head.
    “See you at the soiree tomorrow.” His eyes shifted. “And you, as well, I hear, Madame. Looking forward to hearing the presentation.” With a slight bow, he turned and threaded his way through the now truly busy restaurant, disappearing into the New York night once he cleared the door.
    KERRY STROLLED SLOWLY along the sidewalk. It was after her meeting and she was enjoying the bustling crowds as they passed around her along busy South Beach. The atmosphere around her was laid back and relaxed, people seeing and being seen, and she felt a sense of anonymous comfort as she dodged a Roller Blader and paused to peer in a shop window.
    Fashions. Her nose wrinkled a little. South Beach tended to the avant-garde and eclectic. And though Kerry wouldn’t exactly consider herself stodgy, she couldn’t quite imagine wearing most of what she saw.
    Outside her bedroom, anyway.
    She pushed the door open anyway and went in, letting her hands riffle through the rich, exotic fabrics as she made a brief, polite eye contact with the girl behind the desk. “Hello.”
    “Hi,” the girl replied, in an agreeable tone. “Howaya?”
    “Fine thanks.” Kerry paused, her attention attracted by a rack of leather somethings. “Oo.” She pushed aside two pairs of pants and peered at a studded leather bustier, biting the inside of her lip as she tried to imagine herself wearing it.
    “Nice, huh?” The girl was now at her shoulder. “That designer’s great. He’s local,” she said. “A lot of people wear his stuff to the clubs.”
    Clubs. Dar wasn’t much for clubs, and Kerry really wasn’t either, finding them noisy and chaotic though possessing a thrumming energy she sometimes appreciated. “It is nice,” she agreed.
    “You want that for you?” the girl asked, her voice doubtful.
    Kerry gave her a sideways look. “Don’t look like a biker rebel club chick, huh?” She caught a flash of herself in the mirror behind the counter, acknowledging that her Midwestern blonde conservative appearance probably leant itself to the girl’s dubious expression.
    “Well.” The girl gave her a half grin. “You never know, you know?
    But most people who come in here, they’re pretty radical already.”

    Red Sky At Morning 11
    The door to the shop opened, and the girl looked up. “Excuse me,”
    she said. “If you need something, just holler.” She ducked between the racks to greet the newcomers, male and female voices rising in a thickly accented question as she approached.
    Kerry turned back to her rack, and took the bustier off the hook, holding it up. It laced all the way down and was cut to fit very tight, studs outlining the breasts adding a blatantly sexy touch. “Hm.” She nibbled her lip. “But what on earth would you do with it, Kerry?” She started to put the hanger back, then she stopped, and turned, heading for the cashier’s desk. “I’ll find a place to wear it even if it’s just to