That Carolina Summer (North Carolina) by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online Page A

was very near to her. She could see the sun-bleached hairs on his arm and wondered if they would be as silky to the touch as they looked. She shifted her gaze to his strong male features, but that didn't ease the turmoil his nearness aroused within her.
    “Did you want something?” Annette asked in a surprisingly steady voice. His glance fell to her lips, and her heart stopped beating for a full second. Then his mouth tightened and the moment passed.
    “You left this by the tennis courts.” He lifted his other hand to show her the sweater and the room key between his fingers.
    “I did?” She took it from him, her fingers tingling when they brushed against him.
    “I admit it's a bit more subtle than a dropped handkerchief,” Josh mocked the ploy to get him there. “A new twist on an old trick."
    Annette pretended to examine the sweater. “Except that I didn't drop it,” she replied. “This belongs to my sister, Marsha.” She showed him the label inside the collar and the initial M stamped on the tag. “She must have left it."
    When she lifted her gaze she saw the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. Her plan was working. Josh couldn't be sure the sweater had been left deliberately.
    “It's lucky you returned it. Marsha is in the shower,” Annette explained, drawing his attention to the sound of running water coming from inside the hotel room, “or she'd thank you herself. She didn't even miss it."
    “Then it isn't yours?” Josh was still skeptical.
    “It looks a lot like mine,” she admitted. “That's why I was confused when you first handed it to me. But mine has black trim to go with my tennis outfit. This is navy blue, so it's easy to mistake them."
    “Yes, it is.” Josh continued to watch her closely.
    It took all of Annette's skill to keep from betraying herself. “If I hadn't had my room key with me, we probably would have noticed Marsha's sweater was missing and gone back to look for it. As it is, the key told you where to return it."
    “It was certainly convenient to find it in the sweater pocket,” Josh agreed with a continuing trace of suspicion.
    “Marsha's lucky it wasn't stolen. I don't know how to thank you. Maybe I should offer you a reward ... or something...” Her voice trailed off at the last, affected by the crooked slant of his hard masculine mouth.
    “Or something,” Josh murmured to indicate his choice was the latter.
    A heady sexual tension enveloped Annette as his hand came up to lightly hold her chin, the touch of his fingers warm and firm. A tiny quiver ran through her at the contact. Josh leaned toward her, slowly bridging the space between them while his knowing gaze held hers. She was incapable of movement.
    Her lashes drifted shut when his mouth settled onto her lips, his warm breath fanning them an instant before he claimed them. It was a tasting kiss, without demands or passion, yet incredibly evocative. His mouth's easy mobility revealed his experience, but there was no attempt to take her into his arms, not even when her lips softened under his light possession to invite a more demonstrative show of his skills.
    Josh released her lips as slowly as he had taken them, and lifted his head to study her. The hand under her chin became absently caressing, his fingers lightly stroking the feminine lines of her throat. She felt on the edge of a precipice, ready to jump if he asked her.
    The corners of his mouth deepened in faint amusement. “That's what you wanted me to do, wasn't it?” Josh challenged.
    It was, but for the life of her, Annette couldn't answer him. Her lips continued to tingle with the sensations left by his kiss. Some very elemental message was being transmitted between them. When his hand came away from her chin, the connection was broken. Josh straightened to sever completely all silent communication.
    His gaze flicked past her into the shadowed hotel room. “You should tell your sister to keep better track of her things."
    “I will,” Annette