head. “No. There are some things that need to be addressed. The story needs to be expanded. There’s a subplot that has to be fleshed out. I’ve got minor questions about the character, some inconsistencies in the backstory. And we’d want to explore a story arc for a sequel or two, maybe make it a trilogy.”
She frowned. “A trilogy?”
“Yeah. We’d want to publish more than one novel. The real success in publishing is not in buying a book, but in building a career.”
“So it pays a lot of money?”
“Not a lot. It would depend on how the books sold. But we have a great marketing department. I think they’d do really well. Well enough to provide a comfortable living for the artist.”
Tenley quickly stood and gathered up the remains of their dinner. He got to his feet and helped her, following her into the kitchen with the empty bottle of wine. Though he hadn’t quite figured out her mercurial mood changes, he was finding them less troublesome. She just moved more quickly from one thing to the next than the ordinary person, as if she became bored or distracted easily.
“Can I help you with the dishes?” he asked, standing beside her at the sink.
“Sure,” she murmured.
He reached across her for the soap, his hand brushing hers. The contact was startling in its effect on his body. A current raced up his arm, jolting him like an electric shock. Intrigued, he reached down and took her hand in his, smoothing his fingers over her palm.
“You have beautiful hands,” he said, examining her fingers. It was as if he knew these hands, knew exactly how they’d feel on his face, on his body. Her nails were painted a dark purple and she wore several rings on her fingers and thumb.
Alex slowly pulled them off, setting them down on the edge of the sink. It was like undressing her in a way, discovering the woman beneath all the accoutrements. He drew her hand up to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of her wrist.
Her gaze fixed on his face, her eyes wide, filled with indecision. Alex held his breath, waiting for a reaction. He kissed a fingertip, then drew it across his lower lip. The gesture had the desired effect. She leaned into him and a moment later, their mouths met.
Unlike the experiment that was their first kiss, this was slow and delicious. She tasted sweet, like the wine they’d drunk. He pulled her close, smoothing his hands over her back until her body was pressed against his. Kissing her left him breathless, his heart slamming in his chest.
He ran his hands over her arms, then grasped her wrists and wrapped them around his neck. A tiny sigh slipped from her throat and she softened in his embrace, as if the kiss were affecting her as much as it was him.
Alex had made the same move with any number of women, but it had never had this kind of effect on him. What was usually carefully controlled need was now raw and urgent. He wanted to possess her, to get inside her soul and find out who this woman was. She was sweet and complicated and vulnerable and tough. And everything about her drew him in and made him want more.
Maybe that was it. He’d learned well how to read women, to play on their desires and to make them want him. But Tenley was a challenge. She didn’t react to his charm in the usual ways. Yet that wasn’t all he found so intriguing. She lived all alone in the woods, with a bunch of animals. Where was her family? Where were the people who cared about her? And how did a woman as beautiful as Tenley not have a boyfriend or a husband to take care of her?
He sensed there was something not right here, something he couldn’t explain. Alex felt an overwhelming need to reveal those parts of her that she was trying so hard to hide. She’d rescued him out on the road, but now he suspected that she was the one who needed saving.
The diversion was short-lived. The phone rang and, startled by the sound, Tenley stepped back. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips damp. “I—I should get that.”
Alex nodded as she slipped from his embrace. She hurried to the phone and picked it up, watching him from beneath dark lashes. He leaned back against the edge of the counter and waited, certain they’d begin again just as soon as the call was over. But when she hung up, she maintained her distance.
“Jesse towed your car into town,” she said.
“Good.”
“But not before the snowplow hit it. He says it’s not real bad. It’ll need a new back bumper and a side panel. And a taillight. And a few more things.”
Alex groaned. “Can I still drive it?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Great,” he muttered. “How the hell am I going to get around?”
“I guess I’ll have to drive you,” Tenley said. “You’re not going to be going anywhere tonight anyway, so it’s not worth worrying about. Jesse says the wind is just blowing the roads closed right after they plow them.” She crossed back to him. “I—I should go out and check on the horses.”
“I’ll come with you,” Alex suggested.
“It’s late. You’re probably tired. You can have the guest room. It’s at the end of the hall. There are towels in the closet outside the bathroom. Just help yourself.”
With that, she fetched her boots from a spot near the back door, then pulled on her jacket. A moment later, she stepped out into the storm. Alex opened the door behind her and watched as she disappeared into the darkness. The cold wind whipped a swirl of snow into his face and he quickly closed the door and leaned back against it.
What had begun as a simple business trip had taken a rather interesting turn. But he wasn’t sure whether he ought to take his chances and hike into town, or spend the night under the same roof as this utterly captivating and perplexing woman.
He grabbed his duffel and walked to the guest room. When he finally found the light switch, he was surprised to find two cats curled up on the bed. The two calicos were sleeping so closely, he couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. Neither one of them stirred as he dropped the bag on the floor. But when the dogs came bounding into the room, they opened their eyes and watched the pair with wary gazes.
“Time to go,” he said, picking them each up and gently setting them on the floor. They ran out the door, the dogs following after them.
Alex shut the door, then flopped down on the bed. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift back to the kiss he’d shared with Tenley. Though he hadn’t had any expectations of further intimacies, he wished they hadn’t been interrupted. With each step forward, he found himself curious about the next.
Though he’d enjoyed physical pleasure with lots of women, this was different. Everything felt…new. As if he were experiencing it for the first time. He groaned softly. He wanted her, in his arms and in his bed. But wanting her was as far as he would go. He was a guest in her house and wasn’t about to take advantage, no matter how intense his need.
He’d come here to do a job, to sign T. J. Marshall to a publishing contract. It wouldn’t do to get distracted from his purpose.
2
THE WATER WAS SO COLD and black. Even with
