KRISTI GOLD - The Law of Attraction

But when she tried to roll off him, he tightened his grip. “I don’t want you to move an inch because I like you right where you are.”

If he kept saying such charming things, she might start believing them. “I have to go home now.” When she leaned to retrieve her panties from the coffee table, he yanked them from her grasp and held them up.

“‘Happy New Year?’” He laughed, a low, grainy, sexy laugh. “I’ll be damned. Special-occasion underwear.”

She reached up, snatched them back and played keep-away. “I had no idea anyone was going to see them.”

“Do you have a pair for all of the holidays?”

“It’s one of my quirks.”

“Can’t wait until Valentine’s Day then.”

Again disbelief drilled through Alisha. Surely he wasn’t seriously thinking they’d still be together next month. “You know, I really do need to go now.”

He tightened his hold on her. “You’re not going anywhere tonight.”

“Says who?”

“Says me. First, you’ll have to walk back and it’s crazy on the river tonight. You wouldn’t be safe.”

“You can drive me back to my car.”

“I thought about that, but that would mean we’d have to get dressed, and I prefer you without clothes.” He slid his hands down her bare back and gave her bottom a squeeze. “And even if I did take you back, that means you’d have to drive home with all the drunks. I’m not willing to let you do that.”

“Then you’re going to hold me here against my will?”

“I’m going to hold you against me all night.”

Alisha’s heart took a little tumble over the sincerity in his voice, the sudden softness in his expression. He brought her mouth back to his and kissed her again. A surprisingly tender kiss, gentle and thorough and thought-robbing. She now faced two options—forcing the issue and demanding he let her drive home or staying with him until morning.

But he was right—driving could be costly in terms of her safety. And being in his bed could prove costly in terms of her emotional distance. Yet when he nudged her aside and stood, staring down on her with his gorgeous body in full view and his hand extended for her to take, she didn’t hesitate.

Daniel Fortune might be dangerous, but he was the kind of danger she could definitely enjoy on a daily basis.

Daniel awoke the next morning to find the space beside him unoccupied. He sat up and rubbed a hand down his chest, hoping the hot redhead hadn’t fled without at least telling him goodbye. He also had another pressing issue—the tent he’d pitched beneath the sheet. Making love in the morning was among his favorite pastimes, and frankly having more of Alisha Hart this morning sounded like an excellent idea.

He crawled out of bed and discovered he was stiff in a few places he hadn’t expected. Sex on a couch had a disadvantage in terms of comfort, but he wouldn’t change a thing. The only thing he’d change is the fact they’d both fallen asleep before they’d utilized his bed. He’d just have to mark that down on his to-do list, provided Alisha agreed. He intended to ask as soon as he found her.

Without bothering to dress he began his search in the bathroom, but he didn’t discover her there. No one in the guest room either. He walked into the living room and found it deserted. Next stop, the kitchen, where he came upon a pot of coffee brewing but not the missing defense attorney. He did find a note taped to the refrigerator. After pouring himself a cup of the brew, he pulled the paper down and read the scribbled words.

I had a great time last night, Counselor. Here’s my number. Just keep it off the bathroom wall.

His laugh was part amusement, part disappointment. He’d planned to spend the day with her since neither would be required to work, even though he had plenty of work to do. But the day wasn’t close to being over, and hopefully a phone call would remedy her absence.

Alisha Hart was one hell of a woman, and he didn’t intend to let her get away that easily. At least, not until he argued his case.

When Alisha answered the phone, she expected to hear her mom or dad wishing her a happy new year. Instead “Why did you run off without waking me up?” came through the line in a deep, provocative tone.

Daniel Fortune was more intoxicating than ingesting a barrel of moonshine. Just the sound of his voice nearly caused her to drop the receiver. “I tried to wake you, but you were snoring away.”

“Did I keep you up with my snoring?”

“Not really.” She hadn’t minded it at all. But she hadn’t slept all that well either, mainly because she’d been in a strange bed with a man who by all rights was practically a stranger. However, she had gotten to know him much better last night, and that made her blush like the devil.

“I should’ve told you to jab me and I would’ve turned over,” he said. “I usually only snore when I’m on my back.”

He had been on his back, giving Alisha the opportunity to study all the little details—from his solid chest, which was covered in a thatch of hair that thinned into a stream running down his belly, and below that… Well, that was the stuff female fantasies were made of. “You weren’t that loud. It sounded kind of like a purr.”

“A purr? I sure as hell don’t purr.”

“I’m so sorry. I certainly didn’t mean to wound your macho pride.”

“I’m definitely wounded. Those scratches look pretty bad this morning.”

“You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?”

“I will as long as you promise me you’ll wake me before you leave the next time.”

Next time? “Actually I did try to get you up before I left.”

“I said wake me up. Believe me, you did get me up.”

Her face fired up, right on cue. “That’s not what I meant. I shook your shoulder. I swear, I don’t think a grenade would have roused you. Anyway, I needed to get home and get some work done.”

“It’s a holiday, Alisha. You should take the day off.”

She slid the reduced-calorie TV dinner into the microwave, stirred the good-luck black-eyed peas simmering on the stove and prepared to tell a little fib. “Actually I’m supposed to have dinner with friends, maybe watch a bowl game or two.”

“You like football?” He said it with typical male enthusiasm.

“Love it. My mother’s responsible for that. Nothing gets her more excited than the gridiron.”

“Now I know how to get you excited—turn on the game of the week.”

He had her excited now. So much so, she jumped when the microwave signaled it was time to rotate the container. “What are your plans for today?”

“I was hoping to spend the day with you.”

“Sorry, but I can’t.” And she was sorrier she’d lied. Earlier she’d turned down Julie’s dinner invitation because she intended to work. She’d turned Daniel down because she needed time to assess where this whole thing was going.

“I can’t change your mind?” he asked.

Oh, he probably could if she let him, which she wouldn’t. “Maybe some other time.” A big maybe.

“I’m going to see you again, Alisha. And next time we’ll do it right.”

“I didn’t know we did it wrong.”

He released a throaty chuckle. “I meant right as in having dinner. An actual date. I don’t want you to think that last night was only about sex.”

“It wasn’t?”

“I’d be lying if I said I don’t want you back in my bed, but I would like to get to know you better outside of bed.”

“Do I need to bring out the arguments again as to why we shouldn’t even consider that?” she asked.

“You can, but I’m not going to listen. We have no real conflict of interest at the moment and we can be discreet about it. I think we should just go for it and see where it leads.”