Wife for Hire by Christine Bell Read Free Book Online Page A

Lodge or something. Not that I’m complaining about the guy candy, but the women are giving me a complex. I peeked into one of the rooms and there was a women setting up yoga mats. She was really absolutely beautiful. And that one at the front desk…Miranda? Did you see her boobs? They’re a work of art.” She spared a forlorn glance at her own more modest assets, and he grinned.
    He grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and opened it for her, setting it on the bar. “If you’re so impressed with them, you can get a set for yourself for the bargain price of about twenty grand, which, incidentally, you shall soon have.”
    He pulled his gaze from hers, taking in the elegant line of her throat and the gentle swell of her breasts beneath the V-neck sweater. He had to curb the sudden, compelling urge to cup them in his hands and test their softness. “Although, I think you’re doing fine in that department. Wouldn’t change a thing, not that I get a vote.” Lust had made his voice go raspy, so he turned to pour himself a drink. “Anyway, I didn’t notice the trend.”
    “Y-yeah. The porter, the doorman. Heck, everyone we’ve met so far.” She crossed the room and snatched the water bottle with a shaky hand, taking a deep drink.
    Glad for the distraction, he thought back to the guy who’d grabbed their bags. Young, late twenties, in pretty good shape. Darker skin, Spanish maybe. Good face. The doorman was fairer, but equally good-looking and definitely fit.
    “Now that you mention it, I guess that’s true. Although, as bad as it sounds, it’s quite like that across the board. Go to most five star venues and you aren’t going to find a lot of unattractive people working there. Not out mingling with the guests, in any case. All part of the illusion that everything is grand.”
    Lindy’s grunt was clearer than any words she could’ve spoken and he nodded.
    “I know. It’s shite, but that’s the way it is.”
    “Yeah, well it stood out to me like buck teeth on the Mona Lisa. Most of the desk clerks at the places I’ve stayed wouldn’t win any pageants, and it certainly never stopped me from checking in. If the place has free Wi-Fi, complimentary day-old muffins in the morning, and doesn’t rent rooms by the hour, it’s good enough for me.” She shrugged.
    He threw his head back and barked out a laugh. “It makes me want to extend our contract just so I can take you to some parties with me and see people’s reactions when you say things like that. I’ve been rubbing elbows with people who have no idea what it is to live a regular life, where money isn’t a given. It’s a relief to be around someone normal again for a change.”
    She grinned. “You want to prance me around at events like some sort of accordion-playing monkey for the amusement of your kajillionaire friends?” she teased.
    “More for my own amusement, actually.”
    “In that case, I’m in. I’m feeling magnanimous now that you’ve finally admitted I’m the normal one.”
    “Maybe that was a little hasty. I meant more down to earth.”
    “I’ll take it. By the end of these three weeks, I’m hoping to drag you down here with me.”
    Images of Lindy dragging him down to cover her body with his assailed him. Thankfully, she’d turned away to finish exploring the suite and didn’t witness his struggle for composure. The attraction was getting way out of hand, and he cursed himself for not breaking his sexual hiatus before they’d left New York.
    Over the past two months, he’d been so busy with planning he hadn’t been dating. Without the temptation there and with something else to aim his energies at, the dry spell hadn’t bothered him much. Now that he was in forced closed quarters with an attractive woman, it was only natural that his libido would bounce back. If he didn’t get a handle on it quickly, he was going to either embarrass himself and Lindy, or he was going to start something he couldn’t finish. At