Joan Hohl - A Man Apart

“Then, trust me, sweetheart, you’re going to enjoy this, too,” he promised.

He was dead right. Hannah thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the playful splashing, lathering, caressing, kissing beneath the spray of warm water. Who knew how long they would have remained there, if not for the audible grumbling sound of hunger from her stomach.

It was almost as much fun drying each other off.

Clean, but still naked as a newborn, Hannah dove back under the covers while Justin shaved. When he walked boldly naked into the bedroom, she unabashedly watched, admiring his lean, muscular and magnificent body as he stepped into briefs, jeans and pulled a cable-knit sweater over his head.

“See anything you like?” he asked, arching a dark brow over laughing gray eyes.

“Actually, I like the whole package,” she readily admitted. “You’re a very attractive and nice man.”

“Boy, that last compliment is a relief.” He heaved a deep sigh. “For a minute there, I thought you wanted me only for the pleasure of my body.”

“Well,” Hannah said teasingly. “There’s that, too.”

“Thanks. Hey, aren’t you ever coming out from hiding? I thought you were hungry.”

“I am. But I have no clean clothes here.” She made a face at their clothing scattered around the bed. “I’m waiting for you to be a gentleman and fetch my suitcases.”

“I knew you were a slave driver,” he muttered.

Justin was back in moments. He set the bags next to the bed, then stood watching her.

“Out,” she ordered, flicking a hand at the door.

“But I wanna watch,” Justin said, in tones similar to a petulant little boy.

“Are you some kind of voyeur?” Hannah asked, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at his head.

He ducked. The pillow missed him by inches. “No.” He grinned. “But you watched me. Hell, I could feel you watching me. It was like a touch. And now I want the privilege of watching you.”

“You don’t have time to watch me,” she countered, enjoying the banter. “I told you, I’m hungry.”

“Then I suggest you get your tush in gear and get dressed.” He moved back to prop himself indolently against the door frame. “Because I’m not budging.”

Giving him a narrow-eyed glare that only brought a wolfish grin to his lips, Hannah flung back the covers and stood. “All right, then, dammit. Watch your fill.”

Laughing softly all the while, Justin did watch, his appraising look missing nothing as she dug through the largest of the cases. Secretly thrilling to his caressing gaze, Hannah took her sweet time stepping into almost-there panties, fastened the front closure of her bra, wriggled into hip-hugging jeans and shrugged into a turtleneck sweater.

“You are one absolutely stunning woman from head to toe, sweet Hannah,” he said in near reverence.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Feeling her face grow warm again, this time with pleasure, she turned away, opening the other bag to search out footwear. Like him, she didn’t bother with shoes, slipping into satin ballerina slippers.

In the meantime, Justin moved to open a dresser drawer, making do with a pair of heavy-duty socks to keep his big, narrow feet warm.

He held out his hand to clasp hers. “Now, let’s go rustle something up for lunch-” he shot a look at the dark beyond the window “-or supper.” He laughed. “Hell, for all we know, it may be a midnight snack.”

“Not quite,” Hannah said, letting him lead her from the room. “I looked at the clock. It’s only nine-fifteen.”

“Only, she says.” He groaned, and fumbled for the light switch as they entered the kitchen. “We haven’t eaten since early this morning. We’re both ravenous…and the woman says it’s only nine-fifteen.”

Hannah laughed, at him and at herself. She must be losing her mind, she decided happily, because she not only didn’t mind him calling her woman, she was beginning to like it. No doubt about it, her mind was starting to disintegrate. She masked her laughter with an exaggerated groan at the sight of the table still cluttered from their breakfast.

“Yeah,” Justin agreed, propping his hands on his hips. “It’s a mess. Tell you what, sweet Hannah. I’ll make a deal with you.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “What kind of deal?”

He frowned and shook his head in sad despair of her. “You have a suspicious mind, Ms. Deturk.”

“Damned straight, Mr. Grainger,” she retorted. “What deal?”

“Here’s the deal. I’ll get dinner, if you’ll clean up the breakfast debris.”

“Deal,” Hannah accepted at once, fully aware she was getting the better end of the arrangement. Crossing to the table, she went to work, while Justin went to the fridge.

“That was delicious,” Hannah commended Justin, raising her wineglass in a salute. “You’re a very good cook.”

“Either that,” Justin said, inclining his head and raising his own nearly empty glass in acknowledgement of her compliment, “or you actually were famished.”

“I was,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I’d have praised anything you set in front of me.” She grinned. “I’d have eaten the meal, but I wouldn’t have praised it, or your culinary skill.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a skill. I simply can manage to prepare a reasonably palatable meal. Now, my mother, she’s a skilled cook.”

“I like your mother, by the way,” Hannah said. “She is a lovely woman. I admire the way she handles her husband and her overgrown sons…all three of whom I also like.”

“Three?” He appeared crushed. “Just my father, Adam and Mitch? What about me? Don’t you like me?”

Hannah’s expression and tone went hard and serious. “If I didn’t like you, Justin, do you really believe for one minute I would be here with you now?”

“No.” He gave a quick shake of his head, his voice as serious as hers had been. “No, Hannah. I don’t, for even a second, believe you would be here now, if you hadn’t found something about me to like.” The seriousness fled, and the gleam sprang back into his eyes. “What is it that appeals to you? My body? My…”

“Is fantastic,” Hannah interjected, holding back a laugh. “And you use it to advantage.”

Justin arched a brow but continued with what he had started to say, “My personality?”

She mirrored his dark arch with her lighter eyebrow. “I didn’t know you had one.”

He laughed.

Her pulse leaped and her senses freaked. How was it possible for one man’s laughter to cause such exciting sensations inside her, Hannah mused, loving the feelings, yet scared of them at the same time.

“I like you,” Justin offered the unsolicited opinion. “I like your gorgeous body, too.”

“I kind of figured you did,” she responded wryly.

“But I’d like to do a further exploration of the terrain.” He grinned…more like leered. “Just to be sure.”

“Uh-huh.” She eyed him warily. “But that will have to wait. My plane left hours ago. I’ve got to phone the airline, see if I can book another flight.”

“You’ve already missed your flight,” Justin pointed out, his voice soft, persuasive. “Why can’t you wait till morning to call and reschedule?”

“I, er…” She faltered at the brazen look of renewed passion in his eyes. At her hesitation, he shoved back his chair and stood.

“Come on, let’s get the supper things cleared away,” he said, collecting his plate and cutlery.

Rising, Hannah began to follow his example. “And after the supper things are cleared away, we’ll go to the bedroom…”

“Good,” he flashed a self-satisfied grin at her.

“To pick up the clothing we discarded and scattered all over the bedroom floor.”