Ain’t Misbehaving

Chapter Fifteen

Kay sprayed some perfume on her wrists, smoothed down the silver jersey tunic and stared glumly at the mirror. She couldn’t have been less in the mood for a New Year’s Eve party.

She was dressed to seduce the world, which didn’t help. The silver top was slinky and low-necked, and she wore it pneumonia-style-braless. Since she never went braless, she’d hoped that naughty feeling would transform a mood gone dismal; it wasn’t working. The eye makeup wasn’t working either. Or the perfume. The silver skirt should have at least given her some self-confidence; it hugged her hips and showed off her legs, but unfortunately she really didn’t give a damn.

The doorbell rang. She refrained from jumping a foot and a half, managing to walk to the door with reasonable sedateness.

“You’re early,” she remarked with a deliberately light tone and a smile as Mitch stepped inside.

“Only by a few minutes.”

She hesitated. “Mitch, this really isn’t necessary. You don’t have to follow through with this, just because we’d already agreed to go…” She devoured him with her eyes. He looked utterly devastating in his dark suit and red shirt, his hair brushed back and his eyes as cool as arctic ice.

“I said we’d go, and we will. You could hardly find someone else to go with at this late date.” He devoured her with his eyes, furious she was going out in public without a bra, entranced at the line of her hip as she bent over to pick up her coat.

“I could have gone alone.”

“And had explanations to make. Forget it, Kay. It’s nothing. You can go your own way when you get there and I’ll go mine.”

“Fine.” She spit out the word with a lethally polite smile. “That sounds wonderful. Exactly what I had in mind.”

“Good.” He stopped himself from yelling at her for not buttoning up her coat. If she wanted to expose her entire chest to the icy wind, that was her business.

He felt used, and he wasn’t likely to forget it. He hoped she’d enjoyed being someone’s first. He ushered her out to the car, opened the door, refrained with exacting precision from touching her and slammed the door in her ear.

Kay winced, crossed her legs nervously, arranged the purse on her lap and tried hard not to let her teeth chatter in the frigid air until Mitch could get the heater going. Chattering teeth would be a hint of weakness, of human feeling. She had no human feeling for Mitch. She felt used, and she wasn’t likely to forget it. The instant she’d brought up the subject at the cabin, he’d whipped out of the relationship like a man set free. He just hadn’t thought about it like that before, he’d said; maybe not, but as soon as she’d pointed out that first didn’t have to be last, he’d all too quickly agreed. He hadn’t been able to take her home fast enough the next morning. She’d been the first notch in his belt; she had no doubt there’d be thousands of others after her.

The heat hadn’t begun to work by the time Mitch had driven five doors down the street and parked the car again. They could have walked, Kay thought wryly. A car rolled up behind them, and they would unfortunately be pinned in. Mitch didn’t seem to notice.

“Listen, Mitch…” she said as he opened the car door. She glanced up at him, to see those frigid dark eyes glaring at her. Still, she tried. He wasn’t likely to know many people at Stix’s party; it was sort of an old friends’ reunion from high school. Why Mitch had insisted on keeping the date…but Mitch was stubborn like that. “Look, I’m sure you really don’t want to be here. I’m not in a mood for a party myself, and it’s not like-”

“I am very definitely in a mood for a party,” he corrected.

Well, maybe he was. After all, it was an opportunity to meet a lot of women, Kay thought bitterly.

Noise and smoke rolled out the door as Mitch opened it. Stix, five inches taller than anyone else, immediately spotted them and bore down as if he’d been waiting just for the two of them to show up. Kay was treated to a bear hug that lingered and a strangely glassy-eyed stare with a hint of sadness. Before she could make sense of that, Stix was swinging a hand in Mitch’s direction. “You damn well better take care of my best girl, hear?”

Obviously, Stix had already had his share of holiday spirits. Kay extricated herself from his abundant affection and glanced around hopelessly at the milling crowd. Dancers had rolled up the rug in the dining room and were gyrating to a primeval beat. The noise level precluded conversation, and most faces were flushed. Most faces were also at least somewhat familiar, more Stix’s crowd than hers, but certainly not strange.

She glanced back at Mitch uncertainly, to find that unreadable stare of his settling in on a roaming blonde. His suit jacket had disappeared with his topcoat, and Stix had pushed a drink into his hand before dissolving into the crowd. Mitch’s eyes darted only momentarily back to hers. “Feel free to have a good time…” He motioned to the crowd.

Hurt pulsed through her for a second and a half, but she had enough pride to stiffen her spine. The roaming blonde cast Mitch another sideways look, and Kay stepped forward. If he wanted a few more notches in his belt, she was about to introduce him to the best notch carver in Moscow. Stephanie had been the busiest girl in high school; on successive Friday nights she’d worked her way through the entire roster of senior class boys. Some ten years later, in a white silk jumpsuit without a damn thing underneath it, she was clearly still ripe and ready.

“Stephanie!” Kay said delightedly.

Grabbing Mitch’s hand, she ignored his startled jolt, and beamed at the sultry blonde. “I haven’t seen you in so long,” she said vibrantly to the other woman. “This is Mitch Cochran. Mitch, Stephanie is one of my oldest…friends…”

Now, she hadn’t meant to hesitate on the word. Neither seemed to notice. Mitch’s eyes were riveted on the pair of nipples poking out of white silk; Stephanie thrust them forward, and Kay catapulted to the bar for a drink.

A grinning man behind the bar served her something or other. She took a sip, and grimaced. Rum. There was probably something more terrible tasting than rum, but she didn’t know what it was.

Roger caught sight of her and dragged her to the floor for a dance. Roger was nice-looking and bearded and soft-eyed, and she’d known him for years. The song was an old Michael Jackson number; no one could resist the primitive rhythm, and Roger could swing his pelvis like a reincarnation of Elvis. Unfortunately, the only thing Kay was in the mood to beat was Stephanie.

Mitch seemed to be getting along fine with her. Just fine. He was leaning over, trying to hear what that itty-bitty voice was saying. Undoubtedly, something priceless. And luckily, those nipples of Stephanie’s weren’t sharp, or she’d be ripping out of that jumpsuit and standing stark naked.

“Kay?” Roger broke into her thoughts. Clearly, he wondered why she wasn’t dancing anymore.

Kay blew him a kiss and maneuvered around the other dancing couples in a beeline for Mitch. She grabbed his arm from behind, smiling brilliantly when both he and Stephanie turned startled stares at her. “The music is terrific, isn’t it?”

Stephanie looked bewildered.

“I saw you were having a good time,” Mitch said flatly. “Don’t interrupt your fun on my account. I don’t dance.”

“I love to dance,” Kay said lightly. “Stephanie, Roger was looking all over for you.” Kay’s eyes skimmed the crowd. If he wanted notches, he could have his notches. But Stephanie wasn’t going to carve them. She hooked an arm around Mitch’s elbow, ignoring his stiffness, leading him inexorably toward a curly-headed brunette in black.

Janet at least had a brain. She was a little flat-chested, but she was presentable, intelligent and had a fantastic sense of humor.

Mitch got the message. Oh, he got the message. She was working hard at pairing him off with some other woman. Anyone but her. She didn’t give a damn.

“Kay always had the silliest sense of humor.” The brunette somewhere way below him giggled.

He glanced down. She was there, all five feet one of her. What was her name? Jane? No, Janet. “Do you want a drink, Janet?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He edged through the crowd and brought back two drinks from the bar. In the distance, he could see the flicker of star-bright silver. A burly man had his arm around Kay’s shoulders; a tall fellow swooped down for a hug. More old lovers, undoubtedly. She was laughing merrily. In her element, entertaining the boys.

“You like baseball?”

Mitch’s head swiveled around. “Football, hockey, basketball.”

Janet shrugged. “What do you do?”

“I’m in geology. You?”

She was a professor at the university. Mathematics. One of his best subjects. They had a few university friends in common, and they battled to keep up a conversation over the noise in the crowded room. But Mitch’s eyes kept straying to Kay.

She was talking to a couple, waving a drink in her hand, but there was a black-haired bastard eyeing her from across the room. Her face was flushed, her eyes overbright, and he saw her finish the drink, make a dreadful face and set the glass down on a table.

It wasn’t like Kay to drink too much. The black-haired creep wandered closer and then zeroed in on her. Kay glanced up and nodded, and Mitch watched them move to the dance floor. The number was fast, and her breasts were moving with tantalizing rhythm to the beat.

“Good heavens!”

Mitch glanced back at Janet, then with a wry look at the half-spilled drink in his hand. “I didn’t spill it on you-”

“No. Someone must have bumped you from behind. It’s so crowded in here…” Her eyes very shyly invited.

Mitch stifled a sigh. “Could I get you another drink?”

“Sure.”

When he came back with Janet’s screwdriver, Kay was still on the dance floor. Her current partner was a tall blond man with a mustache. She obviously knew him well. Very well, from the look of the hug she gave him.

Mitch handed Janet her drink and gave her his warmest smile. “You’ve been at the university how many years?” he questioned.

“Five.”

The music changed to a slow number. The blond tugged Kay close, and for a minute Mitch lost sight of them. There were too many people and too much smoke, and a half-dozen more couples had crowded the floor to dance to the seductive love song.

“Mitch?”

He forced his head back in Janet’s direction. “Sorry?”

“I just asked you-”

Kay had her hands on the blond’s shoulders. No big deal. Then the man’s hands were on her shoulders, which was also no particular big deal. Except the blond’s hands started roaming. Someone cut in front of them, and Mitch couldn’t see.

“Listen,” Janet said politely.

“Just a second, okay?” Mitch murmured. He smiled, handed her his drink and turned around. His smiled died. The blond had just made a terrible mistake, letting his hands roam down to Kay’s hips.

If he ended up alive, he’d be lucky.

Kay shifted nervously, trying with body language to communicate to Hal that New Year’s Eve was a festive occasion, that she forgave him ninety times over for the seven scotches he’d already had, and that she wished he’d keep his hands to himself.

When body language failed, she tried a polite “Hal,” to get his attention.

But his head seemed to be drooping over her shoulder.

“Hal,” she repeated cheerfully.

His big blue eyes met hers. “I love you, Kay,” he said groggily. “I loved you in high school. Did you know that?”

“I…no. Listen-”

Long before she could finish the thought, Hal’s roaming hands were whisked off her flesh as if airborne. Startled, Kay jerked up her head to find Mitch’s lethal eyes bearing down on an unsuspecting Hal. She didn’t have a chance to close her mouth before a long, strong body insinuated itself between her and her dancing partner. “Take a real long hike, won’t you, sport?” Mitch tried to make his voice cordial.

“Kay?” Hal’s limpid blue eyes registered total confusion, but already he was two dancing couples distant. Mitch wasn’t exactly moving in slow motion.

Tough, sinewy muscles jammed most intimately against hers, bearing her off into a corner. “Would you like to see that little mustache of his pulled out hair by hair?” Mitch murmured.

“Hal?”

“For two cents, I’d rearrange the knuckles on those busy hands of his.”

“Mitch-”

His lips covered hers. Her arms seemed to be waving around in midair, until she found the material of his shirt to hold on to. She felt the tension of a man who was furious, the tenderness of a man who loved beyond measure and the sheer sexual vibrations of the only man who stirred the same instant, abandoned response in her.

It wasn’t the kiss of a man who had his mind on pursuing other women. Actually, it wasn’t even a nice kiss; that sweet pressure on her lips radiated possessiveness and jealousy and anger…dreadful character traits. Who would have guessed Mitch had such a temper?

Mitch’s lips lifted only when she made a tiny sound at the back of her throat. “Dammit. Did I hurt you?” he growled.

“Not really.”

His mouth homed in on the target. People were staring. They seemed to be smiling as they stared, though. Kay closed her eyes so they would all go away. Mitch was communicating some very intimate things; Mitch had always been very good at communicating very intimate things with kisses. The distant, cold man who’d arrived at her house to escort her to the party had disappeared. The man who was holding her like a tightly wrapped treasure was not at all cool, not at all in control…and Kay’s heart was inexplicably taking off on its own private jet flight. She remembered her fears that he’d want to try out his wings with other women… Well, it was hard to hold on to those fears when he was making it so very clear that a Kay-and-Mitch team was the only thing on his mind.

Mitch’s lips gradually lifted when he was sure he’d made it absolutely clear that the chemistry between them wasn’t something she should be in a hurry to throw away. His eyes locked with hers; the noise of the party returned, and he grabbed her wrist in a handcuff grip. “We’re going home,” he said flatly. “Hug all the men you want to on the way out. Just understand that every one of them is going to be decked flat out.”

It seemed wisest to just wave her goodbyes in passing. Stix would probably have been the exception, but Kay caught only a glimpse of his shaggy dark head above the crowd. Actually, there was a strangely bleak stare in Stix’s eyes, fixed directly on the two of them, before she saw him turn and make a beeline for the bar.

Polite goodbyes to the host were not Mitch’s immediate priority. Coats were, and theirs were buried amid tons of others. Mitch grabbed hers, pulled it on her and buttoned it before opening the door. On the porch, a fresh fall of snow greeted them, newly arrived in the past hour. Unfortunately, though, three cars were blocking his.

“We’ll walk,” he growled.

“All right.”

“I really wouldn’t argue, if I were you!”

“All right, Mitch,” she said mildly.

A distance of five houses wasn’t a long walk. Kay, racing along at his side, stole an occasional upward glance. Mitch looked meaner than a wildcat in a cage. Her feminine instinct wanted to pacify the wounded beast…but her heart seemed a great deal more sure of Mitch than her head was.

He didn’t talk until they’d reached the front porch and she was fumbling for her key. He grabbed it from her, shoved it in the lock and pushed open the door. She was barely inside before he slammed it and ordered her to take off her coat.

“It isn’t going to work, keeping it all nice and light and civilized, ”he said flatly, yanking off his coat and tossing it on a chair. “Maybe that’s how you usually end things. I don’t know or care. At the moment, I don’t feel the least bit civilized, and if you think anything is ever going to be over between us, you’re out of your mind.”

“Look, Mitch. You were the one-”

“I’m going to marry you, Kay. I know what you feel and I heard what you said, but you never really gave us a chance. You’re not going to tell me you’ve had a lover who loved you more than I do because it just plain isn’t true. Tell me you weren’t satisfied in bed,” he roared.

She shook her head, tears shimmering in her eyes like diamonds. “Why would I want to tell you that?” she whispered. “Why don’t you tell me that I was just the first notch on your belt, and you were already thinking about…branching out? Trying your wings? I told you you wouldn’t want something permanent once you-”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I saw you at the party,” she said stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest, not about to be intimidated just because he was standing there like a glowering behemoth. “You could hardly take your eyes off Stephanie.”

“That woman you threw in my direction?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t have heart failure when she tossed her chest in your direction,” Kay said furiously.

“I had heart failure when you let that creep put his hands on you.”

Kay hesitated.

Mitch didn’t. His arms slid around her, gathering her up. He inhaled the sweet perfume that was Kay and savored the silken feel of her hair against his chin and he trembled, feeling the pliant crush of her breasts against him, so familiar. His voice came out in a hoarse rasp. “You need an experienced man in your bed, Kay? You’ll have one. For the next fifty years, you can play teacher.”

“You never needed a teacher, you fool. Can’t you tell when a woman’s happy?” A single tear rushed down her cheek; she tilted her head and raised trembling lips to his. “But you took off like a shot when I said the first word about your wanting to test out other waters.”

“You took off like a shot after we made love the first time. What was I supposed to think?”

“Just what did you think?”

“That you weren’t…satisfied. That you were subtly trying to tell me you wanted to move on.”

“Why the Sam Hill would I want to do that?” Kay’s voice came out in a breathy roar of outrage. How could such an intelligent man be so unutterably dense? He’d mixed up everything.

Mitch’s lips suddenly twisted in an uneven grin. A ruddy flush returned the color to his face, and his dark eyes glinted at hers, coming closer. “Darned if I know. You’ve got it all, you foolish woman. I’m more than willing to shower you in jewels, I’ll buy you plants until you’re a hundred and three, and I absolutely adore you, Kay. How on earth could you have gotten everything so totally mixed up?”

“Me?” It was amazing how one could shout through laughter, as if both of them were suddenly aware that the argument was over. It was just as amazing how fast a room could turn silent. How shadows could turn soft, how colored lights on a Christmas tree could suddenly spin and blur when the thing wasn’t moving at all. Only Mitch was moving, filling her world, the love on his face filling her heart.

His lips molded hers like warm honey, soft, smooth and sweet. “Don’t you ever be so foolish again,” he whispered. “I don’t want anyone but you, Kay. I don’t need anyone but you. If I’ve had to fight for life every inch of the way, you’re the reason why it’s been worth it. The chance to love you, live with you, be with you-”

“You don’t have to shower me with jewels, Mitch,” Kay returned softly. “I just wanted to be sure…that you would be happy.”

Mitch’s thumb gently traced the line of her cheek. He drew back. Kay watched the play of emotions on his face, the last of the tension fading to a lazy, loving tenderness, the dark intensity in his eyes subtly changing to just a hint of the hell-bent-for-leather mischief-maker he had been once. “I’m not happy,” he growled.

“You’re not?”

He cocked his head in the direction of her room. “Hey, teach,” he drawled. “If you’re still concerned that I’m looking for ‘experience,’ a few wild oats to sow-maybe you’d just better give me a few private lessons.”

“I’ll do that,” Kay said gravely, and shook her head. “These slow learners…honestly. A woman could spend her entire life-”

“Exactly,” Mitch agreed, “what I had in mind.”