he knew he wasn’t forcing his body to do anything.
He wondered how she would respond if he went to her and began kissing her in her sleep, arousing her before she was even awake. His very own Sleeping Beauty. He imagined her eyes opening just as he pushed himself inside of her.
“Roof!”
Startled out of his fantasy, Dominic looked over at Munch and scowled.
“Shh. You’ll wake her.”
Too late. He could see her eyes flutter open. She stretched out languorously, and the sight of her twisting on top of his bed didn’t help to cool his ardor. As if suddenly realizing that she was awake and wondering what had brought her to this point, she turned her head and saw him.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi.”
He watched as she sat up and smoothed her hair, clearly embarrassed to have been caught napping. She shouldn’t have been. She was compelling in her rumpled state.
“I wasn’t sure if this was the right room. The driver left my bags here so I thought…”
“You picked the right room.” Dominic swallowed hoping to ease the gruffness in his voice. “I want you to have this room. It has a beautiful view. I’ll sleep in the guest room while you’re here.”
“Oh. Okay.”
She stood and he took in her tailored jeans and lightweight sweater. The soft pink color made him think of the inside of a shell and he couldn’t help but wonder if she would be as soft to touch. She stretched out her hand.
“I suppose we should start with the basics. I’m Caroline Somerville.”
“I’m glad,” he said taking her hand, which was small and delicate in his. “You came. I’m glad you came.”
She nodded even as she continued to watch him, study him. He couldn’t help but wonder if she liked what she saw as much as he did. Dominic wasn’t a self-conscious man, nor was he lacking in confidence, but this woman standing in front of him in her white socks was twisting him in ways he hadn’t imagined. This was supposed to have been a practical and efficient way of meeting and interviewing a potential spouse.
All he wanted to do was kiss her.
“Roof!”
They both smiled as Munch hopped off the bed and maneuvered her way in between their legs. Dominic gave her head a rub and was glad to see that Caroline wasn’t afraid or bothered by the dog.
“I’ve already met Munch. I think we’re getting along very well.”
“Obviously. You’ve already been to bed together.” Dominic surprised himself with his attempt at humor. Sexual humor, no less. Probably not his strong point.
Still Caroline laughed softly.
“You must be hungry. I have food for dinner. I thought it might be better for us to eat here rather than at a crowded restaurant. Give us a better chance to talk without interruption.”
“Did you just say you were going to cook for me?” she asked eagerly.
“Cooking might be overstating it. I plan on grilling.”
Together they headed for the kitchen. While Dominic put together a very basic meal of steak and baked potatoes, Caroline tossed a salad.
“If you’ll open the wine, I think we’re ready.”
Caroline selected the lone bottle from the wine rack mounted on the wall. “This is amazing. I love this label.”
“I know. I read it on your Web site. It was on your Favorites list.”
“You visited my Web site?”
Dominic wondered if he should have admitted that. “Of course. I wanted to see some of the titles you’ve written.”
He turned away from the grill on the range and watched her smile grow. It was a large smile, practically taking up her whole face.
“I don’t suppose you actually bought any of them? Authors need our royalties.”
“You seem to do rather well with that. I’ve seen your annual income, remember.”
Her smile faltered.
“I did buy one,” he said feeling the need to make amends although he wasn’t sure why. “I haven’t read it yet, though.”
“You don’t strike me as having much time to read for pleasure.”
“I don’t.”
She nodded. As she poured the wine and Dominic laid out the food, Caroline pressed him for information regarding his business.
“I don’t want to bore you,” he insisted between bites.
“You have no choice,” Caroline insisted. “Unlike you, I wasn’t able to get much from your Web site. Just products and services and half of that I didn’t understand.”
“Encrypton provides encryption software. We’re not one of the bigger names out there but we’re growing. Thankfully there is a tremendous demand. Government regulations require that much of the data being transferred over the Internet be secured. We secure it.”
“How?” she pressed.
“Generally speaking, the data goes into a box, the box is locked, then transmitted over the Internet. Someone on the other end has a key that opens the box. We make both the box and the key. Specifically I couldn’t tell you how the code works. That’s Denny’s department. I mentioned him, didn’t I?”
“He’s your partner.”
“One of them, yes. Steven is the other. Denny and I…got together about twelve years ago. He had the idea for the program and I had a talent for business. Steven joined the company later, but recently took on the role of partner. He is our financial man. We’re bidding on a large government contract and he’s making sure we’re in a position to do the work if we get it.”
“I see.”
Dominic poured her another glass of wine and prayed he wasn’t boring her to death. She didn’t seem bored, though. She seemed interested. “Ironically, I’ve been traveling to your side of the country lately. You said you were close to D.C?”
“Relatively. I live in Leesburg, Virginia. How does one go about winning a large government contract?”
“The biggest concern is stability. The government has to believe we can deliver. Second is getting the job done within the budget. I’ve been lucky to have some inside help. A former…employee of mine works for the FBI. Having dealt with the government for years, she’s been giving me advice on how to speak their language.”
Caroline’s lips twitched at the edges. “You stumbled over the word employee.”
“Did
