Simply Sinful (Simply 1)

Chapter Three

Kayla walked into the recently decorated lobby of the hotel where Kane was staying, trying not to feel like a woman about to embark on a one-night stand. She glanced around at the potted, but obviously fake plants and the bored clerk yawning behind the desk. It was a respectable place, but she wondered how many men brought women to a hotel room for a quick fling?

She stopped halfway to the elevator and grabbed the hard leather of Kane’s jacket.

He turned toward her. “Second thoughts?” he asked.

“Just a reality check. I don’t know anything about you.”

“You know what’s important.” He brushed a fingertip down her cheek. Her skin tingled and her heart rate soared. “What more is there?” he asked.

“I don’t know, maybe you’re not really a salesman. Maybe you’re a…”

“Serial killer?” He jumped in with a disarming grin.

“Married or involved was more like what I had in mind,” she said on a nervous laugh. “But yours is a valid consideration, too.”

“Well, I can set your mind at ease on that score. No bodies buried anywhere in my past. No spouses, either, present, ex or intended.” He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Well, it would have been comforting if not for her body’s immediate reaction. Her nipples tightened and dampness pooled between her thighs.

So much had pushed her to this moment. A lifetime of being treated as a sex object and not a person with feelings. Years of ignoring her own desires because she feared picking the wrong man, one who wanted her body but not the whole person. She glanced at Kane. There might never be another man who valued her. If he’d been vague about himself, that was okay. He’d be gone too soon for it to matter.

He was unattached and sexy, dynamic…and hers, for the night at least. She smiled at him. “Well, I guess that settles things.”

“Does it?” He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. Tight jeans that molded against muscular thighs and showcased his obvious erection.

She licked her dry lips. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“You were quiet for so long I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Kayla drew a deep breath and extended her hand.

A sexy grin edged the corners of his mouth, and he intertwined his fingers in hers. “One stop first.” He crossed to the front desk. He handed something to the clerk, whispering too low for her to catch what he said. “Ready?” he asked, turning back toward her.

Her stomach felt as if it hit the floor. “Ready,” she murmured.

Everything that came next, the elevator ride and the walk down the dimly lit hall, all passed in a blur. Then she found herself alone with Kane in his hotel room. For a woman with limited experience, she wondered what had possessed her.

She swung around, taking in the clutter. An open briefcase sat on the table, clothes lay scattered around, and an unzipped suitcase had been shoved into the corner. The mess was so like a man…so like Kane.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re trembling.”

She glanced at her surroundings once more. The king-size mattress in the center of the room drew her focus. What awaited her in that bed sent her imagination soaring. Kayla, Kane, hot bodies, tangled sheets…To her shock, her case of nerves calmed as she realized this was exactly where she wanted to be.

She looked at him. “I’m okay now.”

“Kayla…”

“Yes?”

He cleared his throat. “Have you ever done this before?”

She raised her chin at the doubt in his tone. “Lots of times.”

“Bullshit.”