Rafferty's Wife by Kay Hooper Read Free Book Online Page B

liable to get you arrested or attacked. Subtlety is our watchword. Otherwise, it’s no holds barred.”
    Fascinated, he watched the speculation growin her eyes, realizing that he’d willingly torment himself just to see the emergence of a siren. “And I only hope,” he muttered, unconsciously completing the thought, “that I’m not creating a monster.”
    It was a game he was suggesting, Sarah told herself. A stray thought crept into her mind to cause an instant’s wavering. Once on Kadeira, his game would be impossible. But that was later. They had time for a game. Just a game. And she didn’t think he’d fight too hard not to be caught. She didn’t have to be experienced to know that Rafferty quite definitely wanted her. So why not up the stakes to make it more interesting?
    That’s what she told herself. Just an extra incentive to keep Rafferty from giving in too easily. A heady recklessness seized her, and Sarah heard her own voice emerge with nothing more than faint surprise.
    “You upped the ante; now it’s my turn.”
    Looking into her eyes, Rafferty suddenly knew what she was about to suggest. He knew, and surrendered happily to the gleeful fate thathad pointed at Sarah and announced, “She’s the one!”
    “Want to raise the stakes, huh?” He smiled slowly. “All right. I’m game.”
    “You said that anything I catch, I keep.”
    “That’s right.”
    “I say, if I catch you, the world has to know about it.” She lifted her left hand, where the diamond and the gold wedding band glittered, and her ring finger moved gently.
    “A ring and a promise?” he asked.
    “No. A ring and a vow. The whole ball of wax.”
    Rafferty lifted his glass and clinked it against hers. “Deal. You catch me, and we’ll make it legal.”
    A part of Sarah’s mind told her that she’d passed reckless minutes ago and had now reached madness. She knew that, but she didn’t care. No matter how the game ended, she intended to enjoy it. Her common sense told her no sane man would bet his future as Rafferty had just gambled his, but she didn’t really think about that.
    The new Sarah didn’t want to think at all.
    Setting her glass aside, she said gently, “You know, I doubt we’ll have separate berths on the
Thespian
. So we might as well get used to sharing a bed, don’t you think?”
    He glanced through the doorway into the bedroom, then lifted a brow at her. “Testing my fortitude?”
    “Well, you certainly can’t sleep on the couch, and I refuse to. So it has to be the bed. I prefer the left side, by the way.”
    “I can make do with the right side,” he decided. “Pillow between us?”
    “Oh, I think we can trust each other not to hurry the game along. Don’t you?”
    “Certainly,” he said, silently damning his own bright ideas and wondering just how long he could manage not to be caught. He’d be lucky if he lasted the night.
    “It’s late. I’m going to turn in.”
    Rafferty watched her go into the bedroom and turn back the covers of the king-size bed. It was then that he discovered he’d definitely beenwrong in thinking she wore nothing at all beneath the terry robe. She was dressed all right, as he saw when she removed the robe and tossed it across a chair.
    Dressed in a teddy of gleaming peach silk, with a plunging neckline and extraordinary brevity everywhere else. The neckline was edged in lace, thin lace straps alone held the bodice in place, and her golden side showed beautifully through the lace there.
    And Rafferty, who had seen quite a bit of seductive sleepwear in his time, watched her slide gracefully into the bed and counted to five before his heart started beating again. Sitting up, she gazed through the doorway at him and lifted a brow questioningly. “Coming?”
    He tore his gaze away long enough to look down at his empty glass, then looked back at Sarah alone in the wide and inviting bed. “I think I’ll have another drink first,” he managed.
    “Fine. Good night.”