Stolen Heat Read Free Page B

was an open bottle of champagne, not the beer hereally craved. With nothing else to drink, he poured two glasses and handed her one, hoping it’d keep her roving hands busy and off him until they got to her place.
    “Have a drink, Maria.” He took a long, deep swallow and blinked twice when the fizz went right to his brain.
    Maybe he just needed to drink himself into a stupor. It’d been a long time since he’d been on a bender. Get toasted, pass out, wake up in the morning with this whole night just one bad memory.
    “Peter, what’s bothering you?”
    “Nothing.” He drained the rest of his champagne, leaned forward and refilled his glass.
    “I can tell when you’re upset. Let me help.” Her hand ran up his leg, hovered on his inner thigh and drew long, lazy circles against his slacks. He managed one last swallow before she took the flute from his hand and set it in the drink holder to her left. Rolling to her side, she draped her leg over his, slid her hand inside his jacket and drew his earlobe into her mouth.
    He was trapped. That was how he felt, at least. Trapped with no way out and no good reason to go.
    Warm wetness met his ear. A deep, lust-filled purr radiated from her throat. Just as she was moving to slide onto his lap, the car braked hard, hurtling them both forward. They crashed into the seat in front of them, then hit the floor. Dazed, Pete glared up at the driver’s rearview mirror.
    “Sorry,” came a quiet voice from the front seat. “Red light.”
    He was just about to lay into the guy for not paying attention when he caught sight of familiar brown eyes peering back at him in the mirror, highlighted by streetlights shining in from the outside. Dark brown eyes. Like molten chocolate.
    He squinted to see clearer, sure his mind was playing tricks on him, but no, they were still there. Shimmeringstarbursts he’d looked into hundreds of thousands of times before.
    A long time ago.
    A lifetime ago.
    Tonight.
    He opened his mouth to speak, but the privacy glass went up before he could get the words out. The car lurched forward again, throwing him back once more.
    No way that just happened.
    “I can’t breathe…Peter.”
    It took a moment for Maria’s words to register, but when they did, he realized he had her pinned. He quickly eased up and pulled her to the seat. “Sorry. Are you hurt?”
    “No. I think I’m okay.” She glared at the dark window separating them from the driver. Color tinged her cheeks. Always the professional, though, she smoothed her hair and lifted her chin as if she hadn’t just been flat on her back, spread wide with her legs straight up in the air.
    Pete fixed his shirt in silence, more shaken than he liked. By the time he was done, the car was pulling to a stop in front of Maria’s building.
    “Well,” she said, reaching for her small handbag. “That was an interesting ride.”
    Interesting was an understatement. He waited while the chauffeur opened the door, then slid out of the vehicle and took Maria’s hand to help her out. “Wait here,” he said. “I won’t be long.”
    He caught up with Maria just as she was going inside. The bellman held the door, tipped his hat and smiled a friendly greeting as they headed for the bank of elevators. The double doors opened with a ping, but Maria didn’t make a move to step inside, and neither did he.
    “You’re not coming up, are you?” she finally asked.
    A pang of guilt shot through him at the hurt he thought he heard in her voice. “No.”
    She turned his direction and looked up with dark, un-surprisedeyes. Eyes that were very calm and, luckily, not the slightest bit upset. “Who was she?”
    It was his turn to be shocked. “Who?”
    “The woman at the auction. The one you went running after. Who was she?”
    Nobody he’d ever talk about. Not with her. Not with anyone. “Just someone I thought I recognized.”
    “Hm.” She pursed her lips as if she didn’t believe him. Then her expression hardened.