Corporate Affair

4

Rand was a man of his word, Kalinda decided much later that night as she grimly closed her motel room door and went to the window to watch the Lotus disappear into the night Never had she spent an evening like the one he had just put her through!

She turned away from the window, letting the drape fall into place and morosely surveyed her room. It had been one line of reasoning after another, one argument after another, one persuasive attack on her logic after another. She felt utterly exhausted, she thought with a rueful grimace.

He had amazed her with his strategy, leaping nimbly from one point to the next in his efforts to convince her she was making a mistake in trying for revenge on David Hutton.

And, in spite of his hints to the contrary, Rand had not resorted again to seduction. Kalinda shook her head wryly. Instead, he had fed her well, spent several hours intently „discussing“ the matter at hand, and then he’d left her on her doorstep with the most singly devastating comment of the evening.

„Ask yourself,“ he’d ordered softly as he’d opened her door for her, „why you’re even bothering to listen to me in the first place. Face it, Kalinda, you want to be talked out of this fiasco. That’s the reason you told me the truth this afternoon, isn’t it? So that I could have a chance to play devil’s advocate?“

He hadn’t waited for her crushing retort Instead, he’d vaulted easily down the steps, slid into the Lotus and disappeared. Leaving Kalinda behind to face a serious attack of self-honesty.

The depressing part about the evening, she thought as she slipped into the satin and lace nightgown and climbed into bed, was that all of his arguments were reasonable. It was a foolish and potentially dangerous scheme she had concocted. But even Rand hadn’t hit on the one factor which was really troubling her about her own plans.

It was a factor which Kalinda had kept pushing into the background but which had become stronger than ever as Rand’s arguments had weakened the rest of her logic. That factor was David Hutton’s wife.

As Friday night approached, the unknown wife loomed larger and larger in Kalinda’s mind. It was one of the reasons she’d arrived early at the rendezvous point She’d wanted time to think about what she was doing. Time away from the pressures of work, from planning the party scheduled for the following week to entertain business associates, time away from her current and casual escorts of the moment.

She’d retreated to the mountains to convince herself she was doing the justifiable thing and here she’d met a man who probably should have been a prosecuting attorney instead of a part-time arts and crafts dealer!

Kalinda had never met Arleen Hutton but she knew a certain amount about her. At the time David had broken off the engagement there had been no lack of „friends“ to tell Kalinda who’d taken her place.

Arleen was the daughter of a wealthy Colorado rancher. She’d brought money to the marriage, according to Kalinda’s acquaintances, and she was reputed to be a very beautiful woman. She was also a few years younger than Kalinda.

It had been easy not to think about her, especially since Kalinda had no intention of actually trying to steal her husband away. But more and more frequently during the past week an insistent image had come to mind. The image of an innocent wife discovering her husband was meeting a woman at a remote mountain retreat.

Kalinda, blessed with an empathy she could have done well without in the business world, couldn’t help wondering how she’d feel if she were that wife. And now Rand had systematically demolished all the reasons for revenge, leaving only the face of the unknown wife to haunt Kalinda’s conscience.

Damn the man! She turned furiously over in bed, pounding the pillow with a disgusted fist. His talents truly had been wasted in life! With that sort of single-minded strength of purpose, he could have done just about anything he wanted in the world! But, she supposed thoughtfully, perhaps that’s exactly what he had done. Perhaps he was quite content to fish and ski and make lovely pieces of pottery. And date rich tourists!

She lay staring at the ceiling for a long time after that, trying to recall the hurt and humiliation she’d felt two years ago. A hurt and humiliation that had come in the wake of the tragedy of her father’s death and had, therefore, been all the more devastating. Kalinda’s parents had been divorced several years previously and her mother had moved to Europe with her new husband the year Kalinda had gone off to college. Kalinda had faced both the tragedy and the humiliation quite alone.

But it was difficult tonight to resurrect those old feelings. The habit of wanting revenge was still there in her mind, but the emotions driving those feelings were gone. If she were completely honest with herself, Kalinda thought wonderingly, she’d realize they had been missing for some time. Two years of hard work and success had killed them rather effectively.

It had been only the habit that had made her jump at the opportunity of paying back David Hutton. Now, a combination of her conscience and the relentless arguments of a man she had only known for two days seemed to have succeeded in killing even the habit of wanting revenge. Kalinda thought once again of the unknown wife and of her own stupidity in wanting revenge on a man who wasn’t worth the time of day.

She made up her mind about what to do in the morning and went very soundly to sleep.

She dialed the private line number of David Hut-ton’s office promptly at eight o’clock the next morning. He was there, just as she had expected him to be. Whatever else could be said of the man, he was a hard worker. It was one of the things she had admired about him in the beginning…

„David, this is Kalinda…“ she began firmly, coolly.

„Getting impatient, darling?“ he chuckled knowingly. „It won’t be much longer now. I’m taking off around twelve. I’ll be in the mountains by the middle of the afternoon. Enjoying yourself? Your office said you’d taken off a couple of extra days.“

„I left that message in case you tried to get in touch with me,“ she affirmed. „But, David…“

„I can’t wait to see you again, Kali. God, it’s been a long time! I keep wondering what happened to us two years ago. We had so much going for us,“ he murmured deeply into the phone.

Kalinda gritted her teeth. He knew very well what had happened to them two years ago! He’d caused it to happen! But the momentary anger died quickly, leaving once again her newfound determination.

„David,“ she said calmly, „it’s no good. I’m not going to meet you up here. I’m calling so you won’t make the drive for nothing.“

There was a fragment of stunned silence on the other end of the line and then David’s voice came soothingly.

„This is hardly the time to get cold feet, Kali. We’ve got everything planned. Don’t panic, darling. Just sit tight for a few more hours until I get there. We’ll talk everything out You’ll see!“

Mentally Kalinda pictured him sitting behind his desk in the downtown highrise where his company had its headquarters. It was a handsome image in many respects. David Hutton was a good-looking man with dark brown hair and eyes. He would be thirty-six now and, unless he’d changed a lot in the past couple of years, still lean and dynamic. He dressed well, lived well, and admired those who did likewise. Two years ago Kalinda thought they would have made a good couple. It was with a small start that she realized this morning they would have made a disastrous couple. It would probably have been her David was planning to cheat today instead of the unknown woman who was his wife.

„I’m not getting cold feet, David. I’ve simply changed my mind.“ She’d decided earlier on the approach she would use. If she told David she’d only been plotting to make a fool of him, he would be infuriated and she didn’t feel like putting up with that sort of scene. She would leave him with a sop for his ego, annoying as that course of action might be for her.

„Why, Kalinda?“ he demanded with the first touch of a chill in his voice.

„If s wrong, David, and we both know it There’s your wife to consider, for one thing and there’s the little matter of both our reputations. What if someone were to discover what’s going on?“

„That’s hardly likely,“ he growled forcefully. „And you don’t have to concern yourself with my wife. I’ve never really talked to you about my marriage, darling. It’s one of the things I wanted to discuss with you this weekend. It’s… it’s been something of a business arrangement,“ he hinted delicately as if casting out a lure.

Kalinda lifted one brow sardonically but said calmly into the phone, „I’m afraid that’s your problem, David. All I know is I don’t want to be involved in a triangle…“

„Kali, honey, stop talking like that,“ he coaxed, sounding a little desperate and very determined. „This is just between you and I. Now you stay put I’ll be up there in a few hours. I can get away earlier than planned. We’ll talk this out in person.“

„Go ahead and drive up here, David, if you like. But I won’t be here. I mean it, I’m not seeing you again.“ Kalinda felt her patience and reasonableness slipping away. The firmness in her words was unmistakable. „Let’s just agree we were on the verge of doing something we both would have regretted and let it go at that“

„No! Kali, listen to me You would never have agreed to see me again if you weren’t still interested. You know that We can recapture what we once had if we only give it a chance…“

„Oh, go to hell, David!“ she finally snapped, disgusted with him and with herself for having gotten into the mess. „Do you want to know the real reason I agreed to meet you up here? I was going to let you drive all the way up with notions of starting an affair and then I was going to encourage you to think I was equally interested. I was going to let you wine and dine me, make you think you were on the point of seducing me and then I was going to laugh in your face! I never had any intention of rekindling our old romance, you idiot! How could I after what you did two years ago? You destroyed whatever we might have had together and I have no interest in raking through the ashes. Good-bye, David. Don’t call me again!“

She set the receiver firmly back into the cradle and surged irritably to her feet Dammit! She hadn’t meant to wind up the phone call that way, but he’d asked for it She wanted out of the awkward situation and she’d offered him a reasonable way of calling it quits. He had only himself to blame for having annoyed her to the point where she’d told him the truth.

She glanced around the small motel room, impatient to escape now that the decision had been made and action taken. She wanted away from these mountains, away from the scene of the canceled fiasco.

She went to the closet and began packing the chocolate leather luggage. She wore the white cotton tuxedo shirt she’d had on the first day with the khaki trousers and her hair was in the neat twist behind one ear. She felt as cool and self-confident as she looked. She had made the right decision.

Or had it made for her, she reflected ruefully, thinking of Rand Alastair as she swung the soft leather case into her silver Mercedes.

By the time she checked out of the motel it was nearly nine o’clock. She climbed behind the wheel of the car and wondered what Rand was doing. Was he thinking about her? Concerned about what her final decision would be?

Kalinda sat quietly in the seat before starting the engine. staring straight ahead through the windshield and thinking about Rand. She would never see him again and that seemed rather strange, considering the effect he’d had on her during the past two days.

But it was for the best, of course. There was no chance for anything solid and lasting between them. He was obviously content to live the undemanding life here in the mountains and she was both to thrive in the city. There would be other lady tourists to amuse him and with the coming of ski season he’d probably have to close up the shop completely in order to handle both his skiing and his dates, she told herself grimly.

With a decisive gesture she started the engine and backed the car out of its slot No, Rand wasn’t her sort of man by a long shot. She needed someone altogether more like herself. And she didn’t need an affair that came to life only on the weekends she managed to drive up into the mountains.

But somehow Kalinda wasn’t altogether surprised to find herself guiding the silver car along the narrow lakeside road toward Rand’s home. She would only stop long enough to say good-bye, she told herself. He deserved to know his arguments had been effective. She really believed he’d been genuinely concerned for her in this matter.

She was still justifying her reasons for stopping to say farewell several minutes later as she parked the Mercedes next to the Lotus and opened the door. The sight of the sleek, white sports car brought up the depressing image of a professional gigolo again and Kalinda told herself she was absolutely right in her decision not to see Rand again after this morning. Two ships passing in the night.

The morning sunlight was corning cheerfully through the swaying pines as she knocked tentatively on the door. She really didn’t know that much about his habits, Kalinda thought as she waited for a response. Perhaps he’d gone fishing. Or perhaps he was still asleep. Maybe today he would rouse himself sufficiently to open the gallery.

She was running through the list of possibilities for not finding him at home when the door was abruptly flung open.

Whatever Kalinda had planned to say was squelched before she could form the words by the sight of him standing on the threshold staring at her. He looked terrible! The chestnut hair was ruffled as if he’d been combing his hand through it The hazel eyes were dark and strained and there was a desperately tired, haggard look about him which caught at her heart He was wearing the faded jeans and an unbuttoned white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He held a cup of coffee in one hand.

In the instant of silent regard that passed between them, Kalinda felt the taut emotion vibrating in the atmosphere. She met his eyes and began a frantic search for something reasonable to say. He didn’t look at all reasonable, however.

„Rand, I… I only stopped by to tell…“ she began.

His hand fell away from the door and the cup of coffee was set down on a nearby stand. The hazel eyes flared to life with a deep, hungry gleam as he reached for her.

„You came to tell me you’ve changed your mind about meeting Hutton tonight at the motel,“ he stated evenly, his fingers sliding around her neck while his thumbs went under her jaw to hold her face so that she could not look away.

„Yes,“ she said simply, feeling the currents of physical awareness passing through her. He looked awful, she told herself again, and somehow he made her want to take him in her arms and comfort him. How could that be?

„It’s about time you got here,“ he whispered thickly, pulling her gently, inexorably toward him. „I’ve spent most of the night walking the floor over you, Kalinda Brady. Thank God you’ve finally decided to put me out of my misery!“

His mouth came heavily down on hers before she could think of a way to respond to his words. And as soon as she felt his warm, aggressive passion flood her senses, Kalinda realized this was the real reason she’d talked herself into saying good-bye to him.

„I was sure I could get you to make the right decision,“ he said huskily against her lips. „So sure. But there was always the possibility I’d guessed wrong.“

„Are you often wrong about people?“ she asked softly, her hands sliding up his chest, pushing aside the loosely hanging shirt.

„Very seldom,“ he replied equally softly. „But it’s never been quite this important to be right before!“

Then his mouth closed fiercely over hers once more, the tip of his probing tongue flicking across her lips and ultimately claiming the inner warmth of her mouth.

Kalinda shivered beneath the onslaught, thrusting aside her common sense and knowing as she felt his hands move on her that this morning she was going to surrender to the pull of an intense passion she’d never known before.

He heard the soft sigh with which she accepted the reality of their desire and Rand folded her tightly, tenderly against him, an answering groan of need deep in his chest.

His fingers found the line of her spine and tracked upward, sending out little eddies of sensuous current at every point along the way. Kalinda felt him arch her against his lower body and she moaned her aching response.

„I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you,“ he breathed, stringing slow, damp little kisses along her cheek to the nape of her neck. With one strong hand he held her face buried in his shoulder while his teeth nipped erotically at the vulnerable neck he was baring.

The tuxedo-styled shirt and lacy bra seemed to float free of her body, leaving her nude from the waist up. The morning sunlight danced along the silky skin of her shoulders and she heard Rand’s indrawn breath. Gently he freed her hair.

„I’m exhausted from pacing my floor; I’ve had so much coffee it’s a wonder I’m able to think at all. Never in my life have I had so many doubts about my own judgment, but suddenly I feel fantastic,“ Rand growled as she played her fingers across the muscles of his back, her hands moving under the white shirt.

„Oh, Rand,“ she breathed helplessly, finding his tanned throat with her questing lips. „I shouldn’t be here…“

„But you are and that’s all that counts,“ he interrupted in a passion-roughened voice. He trembled beneath the touch of her lips and Kalinda was thrilled to be able to arouse him as he aroused her. It was crazy and it could only happen between them once but she was twenty-nine years old and she was suddenly determined to sample the depths of true desire. All the arguments against one-time encounters with virtual strangers could be dragged out later when she was back in the reality of Denver. This was a stolen moment out of time that would never come her way again. How could she pass it by?

„Kalinda, Kalinda, I want you so much and I was so afraid at times during the night that you wouldn’t come to me…“

She shook her head wordlessly, her lashes dusting her cheeks as she lowered her eyes from the flaming want in his gaze. She hadn’t known herself that she would come to him like this. Nor did she want to think about her own actions in that moment Instead she clung to him with an intensity that amazed her. She felt the lean strength in his hips as her hands searched out the feel of him beneath the tight jeans.

„Why are we standing here? I have the perfect place for us,“ he rasped and swung her high into his arms. Kalinda pressed her lips to his now-naked shoulder and closed her eyes once more as he strode down the cream-carpeted hall to a bedroom full of caramels and browns.

He settled her gently on the sun-dappled bed, her light-colored hair fanning out across the rich golden brown bedspread. For a moment he stood gazing down at her and then he sat beside her, his hands going to the long tendrils of hair.

„It’s almost the same color as my bedspread,“ he half-smiled, stroking luxuriously. „Your skin looks like cream in the morning light.“ His eyes roamed warmly over her as he slowly unbuckled the web belt of her khaki trousers and finished undressing her.

He performed the task with infinite care, pausing to caress each inch of skin revealed until she lay naked beneath his hands. He stroked his fingers in languid, delicious little circles along the length of her leg from ankle to thigh. By the time he reached her hip Kalinda was trembling with desire.

Apparently satisfied with his efforts, Rand pulled away for a moment, sliding quickly, impatiently out of his jeans and returning to her welcoming arms with a hoarsely whispered exclamation of need.

„I was going to head straight back to Denver after calling David this morning,“ she whispered as he gathered her close. „But somehow I couldn’t leave without seeing you…“

„I would have gone mad if you hadn’t.“

He buried his lips at the curve of her shoulder, nipping gently at her skin while his hand closed possessively over her breast The firming nipple beneath his palm seemed to arouse him further and Kalinda reached down to touch him with intimate wonder.

„Did you really spend the night pacing the floor?“ she asked breathlessly, as his body stirred ardently against hers.

„What does it look like?“ he growled ruefully. „But it was worth it to open the door this morning and find you standing there. I took one look at you and knew I didn’t have to worry any longer!“

He raked a trail of pleasure across the taut nipple, down her sensitive stomach and along her thigh, following his hand with his lips. Her fingers twisted passionately in his hair as he slid lower on her body and when his exciting kisses found her secret core of desire she cried out.

„Oh, my God, Rand! You’re driving me wild. I’ve never known this kind of… of aching!“

He turned his head and kissed the inside of her thigh. Her leg shifted reflexively, her knee lifting alongside his body.

„I know exactly what you’re talking about,“ he murmured thickly, his fingers squeezing into the softness of her curving bottom. „After 1 took you back to the motel last night I told myself I was a fool, that I should have kept you here and taken you to bed regardless of what you thought you wanted at the time. But I knew it would be better if it happened this way…“

„You seem to have known me better than I knew myself for a while,“ she admitted, twisting restlessly against him. Her breathing came in short, broken little pants as she felt the raging hunger take control of her.

„And now I’m going to know you even more thoroughly,“ he vowed. „I’m going to make you mine this morning, Kalinda Brady. I have to!“

She saw the smoldering fire in his eyes as he raised himself with sudden intention and her own whirling senses spun chaotically out of control.

Rand trapped her ankle with his leg and an instant later he settled along the length of her, covering her soft, curving body with his hard, thrilling strength.

But even as she reached up to cling to him and draw him down to her, Kalinda was aware that he was determined to hold off the ultimate union a little longer.

„Please,“ she whimpered, becoming incredibly aroused as he stoked the fire in her ever higher. „Please, Rand. I… I need you!“

His response was to move against her with a teasing, provoking movement that nearly drove her out of her mind when he failed to complete it.

„Tell me,“ he commanded, a yearning tone lacing the fierce order, „Tell me how much you need me; how much you want me…“

„More than I’ve ever wanted any man,“ she confessed raggedly, her head thrown back against the pillow, her body arching with consummate pleading into his. „I’ve never even known how… how necessary it could be!“ That was nothing less than the shattering truth. Never had she felt like this, wanted a man so desperately.

„That’s how I need you,“ he swore deeply. „I had to hear you say it. I had to know!“

His hands gripped her shoulders and his body surged passionately against hers, claiming it utterly and completely. Kalinda’s breath caught in her throat and she could only cling and cling and cling to the powerful masculine body. Instinctively she sought to envelope his strength, make him a part of her.

Rand held her so tightly they seemed to merge into one being. He licked at the sheen of perspiration that shimmered on the slope of her breast as he set the rhythm of their desire.

„My God, sweetheart,“ he groaned. „You’re flaming like a torch for me!“

Kalinda could only gasp her wonder and desire. No man had ever beckoned to her deepest needs with the irresistible lure of such honest and overwhelming male hunger. It was primitive and it was real yet it was astonishingly tender at times. It cut through all the layers of civilization and sophistication.

She cried out as the threshold was reached, her body shivering with a sudden convulsive energy she’d never known before. It arched her throat, tautened every muscle in her and brought a mind-spinning sense of release.

Above her she heard the harsh, muffled shout of satisfaction and male triumph as Rand followed her over the magic threshold, wrapping her rightly to him in preparation for the long, languid descent on the other side.

„Kalinda, my sweet Kalinda,“ he breathed over and over again as the sunlight played across their damp, naked bodies. The fragrance of the mountains drifted through the open window, combining with the earthy, honest scent of their passion and Kalinda inhaled it deeply.

„Tell me the truth,“ Rand grated urgently. „Do you have any regrets about not seeing that other man? Any at all?“

She turned against him, lifting her eyes to meet the surprisingly vulnerable expression in his own.

„None,“ she smiled softly.

He closed his coppery lashes for a long moment and she felt the gratitude in him.

„You had me so damn scared,“ he admitted wryly, leaning back against the pillows to stare intently at the ceiling. „So damn scared!“

„Somehow I can’t envision you scared of anything,“ she retorted lightly.

„You should have seen me at four this morning!“

„Were you really so concerned about me?“

„If you hadn’t shown up here or at the shop by this afternoon, I would have taken matters in my own hands. I couldn’t let you meet him, Kalinda. It would have been so dangerous!“ He shook his head once on the pillow as if awed by the near miss.

„I appreciate your interest,“ she murmured gently, „but it really wasn’t that big a risk! He’s simply not the violent sort!“

„You’re a little naive, sweetheart, but that’s okay,“ he half-grinned, lifting a hand to ruffle her already tangled hair as he turned to look at her. „Even if you were right about his degree of potential violence, there was my other, equally strong fear!“

„That I’d fall back under his spell? That was never a possibility, Rand. Believe me.“

„But you still felt so strongly about him,“ he persisted.

„No, talking to you made me realize all I felt was the habit of hating him. The feeling that he ought to be punished. But it was a hollow sort of emotion. It was a relief to call the whole thing off. Then, too, I kept thinking about his poor wife. In the end, I just thanked my lucky stars I wasn’t in her shoes as I so easily could have been.“

„How did he take it when you phoned him this morning?“

Kalinda lifted one bare shoulder dismissingly. „He wasn’t very pleased. I gave him all the logical reasons why we shouldn’t meet His wife, our reputations. I tried to make it sound as if two reasonable people should agree to call the whole thing off before it got started.“

„Did he buy it?“ There was a wary look in the hazel eyes as they narrowed slightly.

„He kept trying to talk me into staying here until he could arrive and talk me around,“ she confessed. „I finally got fed up and told him the truth, that I had agreed to the weekend in the first place because I wanted a Utile revenge for the way he’d treated me two years ago. Then I told him not to call me again and hung up the phone.“

„Hmmm.“

„What’s that supposed to mean?“ she demanded, mouth curving at his skeptical tone.

„Forget it, honey. We’ll talk about it later.“ He yawned extravagantly. „Hell, I’m exhausted! You wore me out,“ he chuckled affectionately.

„You wore yourself out pacing a floor for no reason at all!“

„Oh, I had my reasons,“ he retorted sleepily. „But my reasons are all tucked safely into my bed for the moment. Will you think I’m a callous brute if I grab a nap, honey?“ He slanted her a pleading glance.

He looked so sleepy that Kalinda found herself smiling with a tenderness she’d never felt toward a man. Almost lovingly she stroked the angled plane of his cheek.

„No.“

„We’ve got a lot to discuss,“ he murmured, already half-asleep.

Kalinda felt the moisture behind her lashes and blinked it away determinedly. She waited until she felt his hold on her loosen and knew for certain he was making up for the sleep he’d missed the previous night.

Then, aware there could be only one ending for this kind of passionate interlude, she slowly rose from the caramel bedspread and began to dress.