Intimate Betrayal by Donna Hill Read Free Book Online Page A

hot, searing her, teasing her, sailing up her arm—short-circuiting her heart. She longed to pull him into her arms, to have him bury what had hurt him deep within her warmth. But she understood that for it to be right, it had to come from him. She would wait, even as her body trembled with a need that defied explanation.
    Maxwell eased back, still holding her hand in his. Reese’s eyes implored him to let go.
    There was so much he wanted to say—needed to say. A part of him longed to share his deepest thoughts with this woman—share a part of himself with her—but he couldn’t. Not anymore.
    All he needed a woman for was to ease his physical needs. That’s where his connection with them began and ended, he reminded himself. He would not allow Reese Delaware to change that fact.
    â€œWe’d better get going.” He spoke so calmly, a casual listener wouldn’t have the slightest clue as to what had almost transpired.
    Reese, who gave just as good as she got, smiled her slow easy smile and said, “You’re right. I was wondering why we stopped.” If he wanted to act as if nothing happened, then as far as she was concerned nothing did, she fumed.
    Maxwell checked his signals and pulled out into traffic. He forced his thoughts to clear. This was a mistake. He should have never offered to take her out. From today until the minute she left, he’d keep things between them strictly professional. It was obvious that she didn’t give a damn one way or the other which way things went with them. Good. The hell with her. It was a damned good thing that Carmen would be traveling with them. At least he could palm Reese off on Carmen and not have to be bothered.
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    â€œThank you for a wonderful day,” Reese said brightly as they pulled up in front of the hotel. Even though Max had been relatively quiet for the better part of the day, she did enjoy herself. He’d been the perfect gentleman and they’d shared a few good laughs and created some wonderful memories. She swallowed. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would explode. She wanted him to come upstairs, but she knew he wouldn’t.
    â€œA car will be here to pick you up at 9:00 a.m. We have a ten o’clock flight,” he said, sidestepping her comment. As much as he was reluctant to admit it, he’d enjoyed every minute of their day together.
    â€œI know.” Reese leaned over the seat to retrieve her purse from the back. “It was so generous of you to get me a first-class ticket,” she added, missing the look of stunned disbelief that momentarily carved his face into a mask of incredulity. She turned briefly toward him. “Well, good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    He pressed a button on the driver’s-side panel and released the lock. “Good night.” His tone was as tense as he felt. He kept his gaze straight ahead, knowing that if he looked at her now, the night would be long from over.
    Reese rolled her eyes in annoyance. Without another word, she alighted from the car, and pushing through the revolving doors, disappeared among the guests in the ornate lobby of the Hilton, never once looking back.
    Maxwell roared off from the spot on the Avenue of the Americas. One of these days, he was actually going to strangle Carmen.
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    Maxwell tossed and turned in his sleep the entire night. Visions of Reese nestled in his arms tormented him with longing. How in the world would he be able to get throughthe next few weeks when his feelings for her were spiraling out of control?
    He wished that he had it in him to let go. But after Victoria, he’d promised himself he’d never allow his heart to guide him again. Victoria Davenport was the first woman he’d begun to open himself up to, and even now, two years later, the pain of her betrayal could still flare raw and ragged.
    When he’d first met Victoria at an engineering conference in