By His Desire Read Online Free

He leaned towards her again. “If something happens that you don’t like, all you have to do is say so. You can call off the deal anytime. To get the painting, you have to stay with me the whole week, and you can’t say no to anything. If you do say no, or if you want to leave, the only consequence is that you don’t get the painting. That’s it.”
    His hand was still on hers, and she found herself lost in his blue eyes. How many times in high school—and long afterwards—had she fantasized about being in Keith Logan’s bed?
    Her skin prickled with heat and desire.
    He thought the only reason she would ever agree to this was because of the painting. But the painting had nothing at all to do with what she said next.
    “Okay.”
    For a second he just stared at her. Then his hand tightened on hers.
    “You mean that?”
    “Yes. I’ll do it.”
    Saying the words filled her with a kind of recklessness she’d never experienced before. She felt wild, like she might be capable of anything.
    When the wave of recklessness was followed by a wave of anxiety, she reminded herself that she could call off the deal anytime.
    The waiter came to their table with the check, and Keith let go of her hand. He took care of the bill, and then he met her eyes again. “I’ll send a car for you tomorrow afternoon. What’s your address?”
    As she gave it to him in a shaky voice, she wondered what in the hell had gotten into her—and how long it would take to wear off.
     

 
    Chapter Two
    Keith had no idea how he got through the next day. He was useless for all practical purposes, and when Valerie finally asked what the hell was wrong with him he just shook his head.
    “Would you believe I’m actually taking your advice?”
    “Yeah? It’s about time. What advice, specifically?”
    “It’s a long story. I’ll see you tomorrow at the board meeting.”
    He’d forced himself not to call his housekeeper about Sarah until now, when he was finally heading home for the night. He’d told himself that by not asking, he was at least giving himself one day to hope and anticipate, even if she had decided not to go through with it after all.
    But now, as he slid behind the wheel of his Jaguar, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed home.
    “Yes, Mr. Logan?”
    “Hi, Nancy. I was just calling to find out if Miss Harper arrived this afternoon.”
    “Oh, yes, she’s settled in nicely.”
    He was filled with a relief so intense he felt almost light-headed. “Good. Great. How did she spend her day?”
    “Well, she put her things in the guest room you’d told me to prepare for her, and I brought her a plate of cheese and crackers and a glass of Burgundy. She wandered around the house a little and spent a lot of time looking at your art collection in the upstairs gallery. Then she went into the downstairs study with her laptop and did some work. She had dinner about an hour ago.”
    “Did you give her my letter?”
    “Yes. With the dessert, just like you asked. She went to her room after dinner, and I heard her filling the bathtub a few minutes ago.”
    His mind filled with the image of Sarah taking a bath in his house, and he almost drove off the road.
    “Okay. That’s good. I don’t think we’ll need anything else tonight, Nancy. Why don’t you head home?”
    “All right, Mr. Logan. Do you want Paul to stay?” Paul was her husband, and also his chef.
    “No. I had a late lunch and I’m not really hungry.”
    “We’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.”
    So when he pulled into his garage and went inside the sprawling mansion, he knew that he and Sarah were alone in the house.
    It was eight-fifteen. He’d told her in his letter that he would come to her at nine o’clock, so he couldn’t cheat and go now, even though his heart was pounding and she was all he could think about. But he was the one making the rules, and he wasn’t going to break them.
    So he went to his bedroom suite instead, loosening his tie as he climbed the