My Dearest Cal by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page B

daring to test its feather softness before retreating guiltily. At the memory of the way that bed had made her feel, she felt a blush creeping into her cheeks.
    Just then she heard the flick of a match and caught the scent of sulphur. Until that second she hadn’t even realized that Cal had come up the stairs. A faint puff of smoke from his cigarette drifted into the room.
    “You look like you’re settling in,” he said, his voice dropping to a lazy, seductive tone that brought goose bumps to her flesh and set off a whole new flurry of doubts about her decision to stay. Visions of that bed down the hall stirred up a storm of sensations.
    “This room seemed to be empty,” she said, keeping her back to him as she smoothed the pillow. “I hope it’s okay.”
    “It’s fine, though there’s one down the hall you might enjoy more,” he said. “I’d be happy to keep you company.”
    Her skin burned at the deliberately provocative invitation. “Thanks, but you probably snore.”
    “You’ll never know till you spend the night with me.”
    “I could always bug your room.”
    He chuckled at the quick retort. “You know, most women would have been scared off by now,” he said. She thought she detected a very faint and very reluctant note of admiration in his voice.
    “I’ve told you before that you don’t scare me,” she responded lightly, ignoring the rapid thudding of her heart, which contradicted her words. She turned to stare directly at him just to prove the point. “You’re all bluff.”
    There was a quick flash of amusement in his eyes before they began a low, deliberate inspection. Her pulse hammered and heat rose through her before she finally shifted her gaze away. No man’s look had ever been so blatantly seductive. She would have picked up a magazine and fanned herself if he hadn’t been watching. Of course, if he hadn’t been watching, she wouldn’t have needed to. It was just more of his game and she knew it. Her body apparently didn’t.
    “I wouldn’t call my bluff if I were you,” he warned, still not taking his eyes off of her. “You justmight get more than you bargained for, Miss Marilou Stockton. A lot more.”
    After one last, lingering glance that made her knees wobble, he walked on down the hall. Marilou sank down on the edge of the bed and fanned herself so hard that the magazine she was using almost came apart in her hands. She had a feeling Cal’s touch would have the exact same effect on her senses. If she let this man get any closer, she’d never be whole again unless he were around to see to it. The prospect tempted, even as it unsettled her.
    In the end it was the longest, most nerve-racking night of Marilou’s life. She heard the groan of Cal’s bed, the thump of his boots hitting the floor, then more creaking as he settled onto that feather mattress for the night. As the cool night breeze ruffled the curtains, she could swear she heard him breathing…but not snoring.
    She eventually drifted into a restless sleep, but at 4:00 a.m. she was awakened by some faint noise. She listened, but all she heard now was absolute silence. Finally she abandoned any hope of sleeping, pulled on her clothes from the day before and crept barefoot downstairs. After an instant’s guilty hesitation in front of the automatic coffeepot, she gave in to her need for caffeine. She supposed for the moment she could make a case that she was still playing housekeeper, at least for the next few hours until she had Cal’s answer.
    She wondered if his response, even a positive one, was likely to be enough for her now. Always readilyhooked by mysteries, was she going to be able to walk away from this one without knowing the ending or the secrets still hidden from her? Would she be able to forget so easily the man whose pain ran so deep that he’d chosen to shut out the world and let Joshua Ames run interference for him?
    She sighed. Coffee cup in hand, she wandered outside. The air was chilly and the