One Hot Winter's Night Read Online Free

shone smooth and clear, her blonde hair showed no signs of grey, and her teasing manner and wit appealed to his sense of fun. She had a light laugh, and her dancing eyes showed her enthusiasm for life.
    But there was something about her manner, her confidence, which convinced him she was older. He wondered briefly if her wide-eyed innocent look were an act. No, surely not. She may be older, but the flush that appeared in her cheeks from time to time when he teased her convinced him she wasn’t used to being chatted up like this.
    She’d started their conversation quite reserved, although now they were talking about archaeology her face lightened and her eyes began to sparkle. She was a lot more knowledgeable than most newly graduated students he’d met. If she was older than she appeared at first, it meant either she’d gone to college as a mature student or she’d graduated a lot longer ago than she’d implied.
    Not that either option mattered. It made her intriguing. He was interested in her, and not only in what lay beneath the padded snowsuit. But he hadn’t forgotten his original plan to find himself a little entertainment for the night.
    His gaze kept drifting to her lips, which looked soft and pink, practically asking him to kiss them. She looked like the sort of girl you’d take home to meet your mother, although he was sure he’d spotted an interested sparkle in her eyes. Was she the type who indulged in one-night stands? Possibly not, and he was worried about making a move and insulting her. He was surprised at the disappointment that swept through him.
    “So what’s your favourite archaeological period?” she was asking him now.
    He mentioned the Palaeolithic, and she started talking about the human remains at Boxgrove in West Sussex in England, and for a while he actually forgot he was trying to chat her up and just enjoyed the intelligent conversation with a like-minded person.
    They talked archaeology for over an hour, gradually moving on to their second and third cocktails, growing more relaxed in each other’s company as the alcohol began to have an effect and the hour grew late.
    “I wanted to love the Tower of London,” he admitted, “but it had no atmosphere—it kind of spoiled it for me.”
    “Too many tourists,” she said sadly, leaning her head on her hand.
    “Still, Traitor’s Gate was cool.”
    She nodded. “Must have been cooler when all the stakes out the front were full of dripping skulls.”
    “Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘giving head’.”
    Her eyebrows rose, and he realised what he’d said. Oops . That had sort of slipped out. It would be a good test though. He sipped his drink as he waited for her reaction. If she looked insulted, he would know this evening was going to end with a kiss on the cheek before they parted to go their separate ways. But if not…
    Cat stared, shocked. They’d been so caught up in their debate about archaeology, she’d relaxed and had almost forgotten why she’d come to the hotel.
    She forced herself to concentrate on why she was there. He’d made the first sexual reference of the evening, but that was what she’d wanted, wasn’t it? She ignored the sweep of disappointment that the evening was drawing to an end. Yes, it had been fun to talk to him about archaeology, but like most men, he was obviously only after one thing
    So come on then, Cat. Do you really have no idea how to get him to invite you to his room?
    A flutter of unease spread through her. She was going to have to pretend she wanted to go to bed with him. Eek . Now she was really getting out of her depth.
    As she met his hazel eyes, however, she couldn’t look away. In spite of everything he’d done to her over the past few months, beating her to artefacts she’d been desperate to get and being so infuriatingly elusive, her heart rate increased, and her cheeks grew hot at the desire in his eyes. His lips curved, and automatically she smiled in response as