Trading Secrets Read Free Page B

tonight was going to represent the end of an era for her. The end of a lifelong caution where relationships were concerned. The end of the anger and fear that had been implanted in her in California when she’d found herself trapped in someone else’s nightmare. Tonight was indeed a celebration of the new beginnings she had been creating for herself in Dallas.
    The thought made her shift slightly, seeking the reassuringly solid planes of August’s chest. Dreamily she rubbed her cheek on the crisp white cotton of his shirt and allowed her fingers to gently knead the smooth, firm lines of his back. He felt like a well-muscled stallion beneath her touch. A little restless, surely hot-blooded, and excitingly strong. Her light laughter was muffled against his chest.
    “Now what?” Matt inquired huskily.
    “I was just thinking that I’ve always wanted a horse of my own. That’s all.” A wonderful, spirited stallion. She smiled secretly.
    The remark threw off his careful footwork. “It sounds like some kind of adolescent sexual fantasy.”
    Sabrina’s mouth curved. “Perhaps it is.”
    “One you haven’t outgrown?” he asked disapprovingly.
    “Oh, I’ve sublimated.”
    “How?”
    “With an Alfa Romeo GTV-6. If you ever come to Dallas I’ll give you a ride in it. Beautiful car. I love it.”
    “How did you get the car?” he asked curtly. Sabrina’s languid amusement faded. “I bought it myself. Want to see the pink slip?”
    “That wouldn’t prove anything, would it? If someone else bought it for you he would probably have had it put in your name.”
    Sabrina hesitated a fraction of a dance beat, enough to ruin the carefully plotted rhythm Matt had established. Both of them came to an awkward halt in the middle of the floor. “And you’re thinking of him and that bothers you.”
    His mouth tightened. “Of whom?”
    “Someone you imagine is waiting for me back in Dallas, perhaps?” she suggested gently.
    “Is there someone?”
    “No.”
    “Oh, hell. Never mind.” He pulled her back into the predictable pace of the dance. “Don’t say anything else. Just come here and I’ll promise to keep my mouth shut, too.”
    He was worried, Sabrina decided compassionately. He was concerned about her obligation to another man. It wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned it. It was none of his business, but she found his touch of conscience endearing. Part of some male code of ethics, no doubt—no poaching on another man’s territory. She sighed. Her fingers slipped along his shoulders as she wordlessly tried to convey that he was the only one she was thinking of tonight.
    “Do you want another drink?” Matt asked as the music faded. He moved Sabrina off the dance floor with what seemed suspiciously like a sense of relief. She guessed he wasn’t particularly fond of dancing. It was gracious of him to indulge her.
    “No. I think I’ve had enough.” She was feeling pleasantly high, a little nervous but also rather excited. “Would you care to take a walk through the gardens?”
    He shrugged but his arm closed around her shoulders and he led her out into the heavily landscaped grounds of the hotel. Moonlight gleamed on the bay, and the lights of a cruise ship anchored in the harbor sparkled brilliantly; an exotic string of jewels floating on velvet. Matt’s arm felt warm and heavy around her and Sabrina leaned languidly against his side. He was hard and strong. The flat planes of his thigh were un-yielding. She wanted to let herself glide over that hardness, feel the thrust of it against her.
    “Picturing me in a saddle and bridle?”
    “Never.” She laughed. Deliberately Sabrina came to a stop and turned in the circle of his arm. Their eyes met in the moonlight, and she refused to reconsider her plans. Slowly she lifted her arms to his shoulders, her fingertips finding the soft hair at the nape of his neck.
    “Matt?”
    “You want me, don’t you?” he breathed.
    “Yes.” It was the truth and it