Iditarod Nights by Cindy Hiday Read Free Book Online

law against the way
she made him feel when she laughed. Much of her honey-blond hair
had come loose from the braid at the back of her head. It framed
her face, giving her a disheveled look. As if she'd been thoroughly
made love to. Dillon felt an ache so intense his lack of
concentration on the game didn't surprise him.
    He tossed a match stick in with hers and
picked up the cards she'd dealt him. He tossed ten more matches on
the pile. "Give me two."
    Claire met his bet and took three cards for
herself. "You give yourself away when you do that."
    "Do what?"
    "Tap your heel."
    Dillon's foot froze in mid tap. "Anything
else?"
    "The left corner of your mouth twitches."
    "I'll keep that in mind. Play cards."
    He won that hand and the next, then lost four
straight. Claire laid down a full house, beating his three aces and
he uttered a disgusted curse, genuine and colorful.
    She added her winnings to the pile of matches
on her side. "You didn't think I'd give away all my secrets, did
you?"
    It had crossed his mind. "You can't tell me
you aren't dealing off the bottom."
    "A lawyer's greatest asset is her ability to
read people."
    "What was I doing this time?"
    "Nothing."
    "You just said – "
    "You started to tap your heel, then caught
yourself and stopped. You reached up to scratch your jaw, then
stopped. Frankly, you were making me nervous with all your
fidgeting."
    "Deal the cards." Within minutes, he lost two
more hands and the last of his matches. He tossed in his cards. "I
give."
    "How about some hot chocolate?"
    "Trying to soothe my wounded ego?"
    "Not really. I'm going to fix myself some and
thought it only polite to offer."
    "Hot chocolate sounds good."
    Claire heated two mugs of milk in the
microwave while Dillon found the chocolate mix and spoons. The
edginess returned. He felt it like a live electrical wire stretched
across the room between them. Standing next to her at the counter,
he watched her pour a packet of chocolate into each mug.
    "You're trembling," he softly observed.
    Her spoon clattered against the rim of her
mug. He couldn't read her face because she held her head tipped
away from him. "I haven't been sleeping well," she said, a
tightness in her voice that hadn't been there a minute ago. "I
guess the race being so close has made me jumpy."
    Dillon figured her comment was a diversion
and played along. "Did you get your booties done?"
    She gave a wan smile. "Only half a bazillion
more to go."
    He raised his mug in a toast. "Here's to dog
booties."
    "To dog booties." She touched the rim of her
mug to his and took a cautious sip.
    Dillon did the same. Once she lowered her
mug, he took it from her and set it on the counter next to his own.
Her eyes met his, wide and too damn vulnerable. He slid an arm
around her waist and coaxed her to him. She was slender beneath her
chunky sweatshirt, but not fragile. He imagined the feel of her
long legs wrapped around him. He risked brushing his lips over her
cheek and heard her breath catch. Her lack of resistance compelled
him to kiss her.
     
    ***
     
    Claire thought she'd be ready for the impact.
She was wrong. Heat rushed through her and made her knees feel like
she'd stepped backward off the runners of a speeding sled. The
taste of chocolate enticed as his tongue persuaded her to let him
in. She did. His hand at her back pressed her closer. The
difference in size, the way their contrasting shapes fit together,
the smell of him. She sank her fingers in his hair as his mouth
drove her breathless.
    He cupped her bottom and pulled her deeper
into him. What little breath Claire possessed escaped on a rush. I'm lost , she thought, even as her body craved more.
    "Gross!"
    Claire tore her mouth from Dillon's. Andy
stood at the edge of the light from the kitchen, his Transformer
pajamas rumpled and a look on his face like he had a mouthful of
cooked cauliflower. She met the latent desire in Dillon's gaze, his
arousal still strong between them, his heart beating a wild