Double trouble Read Online Free Page A

on his chest, feeling the muscular strength of him. She was achingly aware of his virile pulsing, a vital force that made a syrupy warmth flow through her veins like hot honey.
    '*I was thinking the same thing about you," she said softly. ''I've never felt this way before. Not about anybody. And I—I'm not usually this frank, either," she felt obliged to confess. ''Disclosure is normally such a risk but with you I feel I can say anything, whatever I'm thinking, and not worry about all those male-female games of strategy." With Matt Minteer, love wasn't a risky chance, it was a sure thing.
    Matt groaned. Her sweet confession marked the end of his self-restraint. It was just too much to fight his own in-

    stincts, his own needs. The iron self-control that had been both his blessing and his curse, dissolved. He wanted this woman more than he could ever remember wanting anyone, even Debra. He wanted to kiss her, to touch her, to brand her as his. The presence of hundreds of people was, amazingly, no deterrent at all.
    Matt lowered his head to hers. Kay la watched him, her eyes smoldering with a hunger she didn't think to hide. He was going to kiss her and she wanted him to, desperately. What did it matter that they were at the head table in the hotel ballroom with the party's political elite, a gaggle of lobbyists and members of the media as eyewitnesses? She and Matt were in love, and as that old song went "Everybody Loves a Lover." In fact, somebody had tried to sing a rendition of that very song tonight.
    ''Senator Minteer!" The sharp nasal voice of the waiter pierced the intensely private moment, leaving both Matt and Kayla oddly disoriented. "Sir, do you dig the planet Earth?"
    Already badly jarred by the untimely interruption, Matt could only gape and mutter, "Huh?" Kayla was too dazed to say a word.
    "There is a way to supply energy naturally, without polluting our mother planet " the waiter continued. His.
    voice seemed to be fading in and out. But he was definitely ' talking about—
    ''Windmills?" Kayla repeated incredulously. The room was starting to spin again. Or maybe she was the one who was spinning, whirling by lights and tables filled with loud, laughing people. "I—I'm starting to feel as if I'm on a windmill, going around and around." She stared at Matt in confusion.
    "It's all right, sweetheart," he soothed, standing up and taking her hand. "It's getting too hot m here. There are too many people and not enough air. Let's get out of here."

    She and Matt left the ballroom hand in hand and were approached by a uniformed bellboy as they headed toward the lobby. 'Tollow me, please," he said.
    Kayla and Matt exchanged conspiratorial grins, pleased that this perceptive young man was aiding their escape. They followed him along a quiet carpeted corridor, pausing to steal quick, hungry kisses along the way. The bellboy waited patiently, motioning them onward with a polite, ''ITiis way, please."
    They trailed after him, stopping when he did, in front of a door. "Here's the room," the bellboy said and opened the door.
    ''Oh, the room," Kayla repeated, stepping inside. It was very dark. She heard a quiet, ''Good night," and then the door closed behind her, blocking out the light from the hall. Now it was pitch-black.
    "I can't see a thing," Kayla said. "I have my hand right in front of my face and I can't even see it." She heard someone giggle and realized with astonishment, that it was herself. She was as confused by the sound as she was by the total darkness. Heavens, she never giggled!
    "Where are we?" she asked, taking a step into the black void. She stumbled a little. "I could use a Seeing Eye dog," she murmured. "Could we turn on a light?"
    "No." It was Matt's voice, deep and husky and whiskey-smooth. Kayla sensed his presence behind her. "If this is a dream, it's the best one I've ever had in my life and I don't want to wake up. Come here, sweetheart."
    He reached for her, found her a few steps ahead of him and