Escape Out of Darkness by Anne Stuart Read Free Book Online

being in love.”
    He’d taken her announcement with his usual imperturbable calm. “Sounds like my kind of woman. You wanna introduce me?”
    “She’s too old for you.” She could hear the irritation in her voice, and she didn’t bother to disguise it.
    “No one’s too old for me. I told you, I’ve had the hots for Sybil Bennett since I reached puberty. Probably before. If you won’t have me, I may as well go for the closest thing.”
    “I have three younger half sisters, all by different stepfathers. You could take your pick of them.”
    He was looking at her with undisguised fascination. “She’s really your mother?”
    “She’s really my mother. Come to think of it, you’re probably too old for her. She’d been heading down toward the early thirties last time I met one of her lovers.”
    “You don’t approve?”
    Maggie smiled at him. “Pulaski, I do my absolute level best not to pass judgment on other people. Particularly on people I love. My mother has a certain weakness for men, and sometimes it does her more harm than good, but most of the time she just enjoys herself. And more power to her.”
    “And what about you?”
    “What about me?”
    “Do you have a weakness for men? Do you enjoy yourself?”
    “No to the first question, yes to the second. I try very hard to have no weaknesses whatsoever.” Her voice was self-mocking.
    “And do you succeed?”
    “No.”
    Mack looked at her, and in the dimly lit motel bedroom she could see the crinkles around his eyes as he smiled at her. “You’re only human after all. And here I thought I was being protected by Superwoman.”
    “Only human, Pulaski,” she agreed, sliding her long bare legs across the bed toward him. She crossed the space between the two beds, and the ancient springs sagged beneath her weight as she reached him. “And don’t call me paranoid,” she said in a husky murmur, “but someone is outside our window.”
    This time it didn’t even faze him. He smiled up at her. “You wanna convince them that we’re really lovers?”
    “No, but maybe you’d better kiss me while I figure out what we’re going to do.”
    “Well, if you insist,” he said in a deliberately reluctant voice. “But I’d really rather save myself for your mother.” And before she had a chance to reply his arm slid around her and pulled her down against the wiry strength of him, and he was kissing her with far too much enthusiasm for her peace of mind. Not to mention her ability to concentrate on how they were going to get out of the motel.
    For a moment she wished she could just lie back on the sagging bed and enjoy it. He kissed well, and his arms were relaxed, strong, and knowing around her, his hands sensuously molding her to him. His hands were on her rear, his tongue was in her mouth, and he was kissing her with a cheerful abandon that seemed to suggest he’d forgotten all about any enemies skulking around outside their window. And then his mouth moved away from hers, trailing a warm, wet path to her earlobe, and his raspy voice was in her ear.
    “Got any ideas?”
    She had a great many ideas, most of them involved with the hard, male body she found herself wrapped around. But common sense reared its ugly head, and she forced herself to withdraw from the temptation of warm male flesh. “Turn off the lights.” She said it aloud, in a convincing imitation of a sensual growl, and Mack’s answering rumble of laughter helped douse the burning coals of passion that had built up against her will.
    “Sure thing, babe,” he said in a husky murmur pitched to reach the silent watcher outside their window. “But I’d rather be able to see you. You didn’t used to be so shy.” Without letting go of her, he reached across, turning off the low-wattage light bulb that the Lone Star Bide-a-Wee Motel thought would suffice for reading. Then they were alone, with only the quiet murmur of Sybil Bennett’s cultured British tones warring with the sound of