A Touch of Silk (8 page)

“Nice to meet you, too.” She wriggled her fingers at them.

“Quinn, you must bring Kay to dinner on Saturday night,” Linda insisted. “We’re having a little get-together.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Scofield. I’d love to come.”

Linda whispered something in Quinn’s ear and nudged him in the ribs.

“All right, Mom. We’ll be there.”

“What’d she say?” Kay asked after his parents had left the restaurant. Quinn perched on the stool beside her.

“She said I was supposed to be nice to you.”

“Oh, really?”

“She likes you.”

“How can you tell?”

“I just know.”

“I like her, too. I like both your folks.”

Kay couldn’t help but think about her own parents again. Honoria and Charles would be as rejecting of Quinn as his parents were accepting of her. The vast differences between them yawned before her. Good thing her relationship with Quinn was purely sexual. They wouldn’t have to deal with sticky things like disappointed in-laws. Best leave that to the bachelorettes who would come pouring into Bear Creek with marriage on their minds.

“I dropped by to see if you’d like to come over tomorrow night,” Quinn said.

“Tomorrow? Not tonight?”

He smirked at the disappointment in her voice. “I’m playing hockey tonight, but I’d love to have you in the stands rooting for me, if you’d like to come.”

“And after the hockey game…?” She let her sentence trail off.

His grin widened. “I’ll take you to the B&B.”

“Couldn’t we go back to your place afterward?”

“No way.” He shook his head.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m clearing my calendar on Wednesday night for you. What I’ve got in mind, sweetheart, is going to take hours and hours and hours.” And with that, he winked, chucked her under the chin, pivoted on his heel and strode out of the restaurant.

THE TEN PLAYERS whizzed over the ice in a blur. Hockey sticks clashed loudly in the still night air. Bright stadium lights lit the perimeter of the frozen lake turned outdoor hockey rink. In the bleachers, Kay sat huddled under a blanket with Jim and Linda Scofield, her notebook and pen clutched in her gloved fingers. She had yet to write a word, so caught up was she in watching the game.

The players zipped by them again heading for the opposite team’s goal. If Quinn wasn’t so tall, Kay would have had trouble following him. He moved with a graceful power, pushing across the ice with smooth, long-limbed strokes. The expression on his face showed fierce concentration. He manned his stick like a gladiator doing battle.

Wow. Did he bring that kind of concentration to the bedroom? Kay shivered at the thought, grateful she had the cold as an excuse for her quivers.

She was so busy eyeing Quinn’s amazing bod, she never even noticed when he slammed the puck home until the crowd roared and jumped to their collective feet. Kay followed suit, dropping her notepad and pen into her seat so she could applaud without hindrance. “We Will Rock You” blared from the outdoor speakers mounted on the lampposts.

Because of his goal, the Bear Creek Grizzlies had taken a 2 to 1 lead.

“Quinn, Quinn, Quinn,” the crowd chanted.

He turned then and caught Kay’s eye.

A chill of excitement shuddered through her.

He put his hand to his mouth and blew her a kiss.

Kay’s heart fluttered and her belly went warm against the sudden adrenaline rush. Quinn skated down the middle of the ice alone, his stick raised over his head in victory, accepting his accolades, relishing his accomplishment with unabashed glee.

The man was truly magnificent.

A warrior, self-reliant and strong. He was brave and passionate and not the least bit hesitant about expressing what was going on in his head.

Oh! To be like that, instead of a repressed rich woman so alienated from her emotions she didn’t know if she would ever find the approval she needed to release herself from her societal prison.

“Kay, dear, you’re shivering, get back under the blanket.” Quinn’s mother smiled and held up the thick thermal cover, welcoming her beneath it.

Kay sat beside Linda, squashing her notebook and pen beneath her, but she didn’t care. Quinn’s mom tucked the blanket around her and snuggled close. It felt nice to be wrapped in this warm cocoon, to share body heat with Quinn’s family.

In that sweet moment she experienced an amiable sense of kinship she had never felt with her own mother. Linda Scofield, she knew with sudden certainty, would never advise her to marry a man who cheated on her.

Why can’t my mother be like this?

But Kay knew it was a ridiculous wish. Wishing her mother was different was like wishing that she was five inches taller or had been born in Bear Creek.

“Here comes Meggie,” Linda said. “Let’s scoot down.”

Kay looked up to see a woman about her own age picking her way through the stands. Unlike everyone else, who were clad in mackinaws, boots and woolen pants, Meggie wore an outfit more like Kay’s own stylish attire.

Meggie possessed an open, honest face and an understated but totally natural prettiness that would serve her well into middle age and beyond. Her eyelashes were enhanced with mascara, her cheeks heightened with rouge. Flame-red lipstick adorned her mouth. Her jet-black hair was tucked up under a bright red and orange cap.

Just like Kay, she looked out of place among the locals. City girls in the Arctic wilderness. Kay felt an instant kinship with her.

Meggie greeted her parents, then plunked down beside Kay. “Hi.” She slipped off a glove to shake Kay’s hand, revealing slender hands with short-trimmed but well-manicured nails. “I’m Meggie Drummond.” Her lively green eyes twinkled. “And you must be Kay.”

Kay nodded. “Nice to meet you,” she said.

“I hear you’re from New York City.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Wow, I’ve always wanted to go to New York. They practice some of the most cutting-edge medicine in the country.”

“That’s right, you’re in the medical profession.”

“Head nurse of the emergency department at Seattle Children’s Hospital.”

“Aren’t you awfully young to be head nurse?”

Meggie grinned. “I live and breathe pediatric medicine.”

“How are they managing without you?” Kay asked.

“Probably very happily since I’m not there to keep them in line.” Meggie laughed. “I’m known as something of a taskmaster among my crew. I strive to be fair, but I’ve got high standards when it comes to patient care.”

“I can see that about you.”

Meggie’s eyes sparkled at the compliment. Obviously, she loved her work. “I had lots of vacation time accumulated—in fact my boss was threatening to lock me out of the hospital if I didn’t take off—then when Mom broke her ankle and needed help around the house, I figured now was as good as any to get away.”

The woman was so easy to talk to. Friendly, frank, uninhibited, with definite opinions about the world. Just like Quinn.

“I’m going for hot chocolate,” Quinn’s dad announced, getting to his feet and taking his wife’s hand. “You ladies want anything?”

Meggie, Kay and Linda all said they wanted one, and Jim climbed down the bleachers. When he was gone, Meggie turned back to Kay. “Quinn’s been unable to talk about anything but you since he came back from New York.”

“Really?”

“You’ve impressed the hell out of him.”

“He’s a special guy,” Kay replied, surprised at the sudden pressure pushing at her heart like champagne bubbles against a bottle cork.

“Yeah,” Meggie murmured, “real special. Can’t say I’m too keen on this modern-day mail-order-bride concept he’s instigated.”

“No?”

“Oh, Meggie,” her mother said, “give it a chance. You never know what might happen.”

Meggie shook her head. “He’s just going to get hurt.”

“You think so?” Kay asked.

“Uh-huh. You wouldn’t believe it by looking at him, but Quinn’s pretty tenderhearted. When he loves, he loves deeply.”

“That’s true,” Linda added.

Don’t worry, Kay longed to tell them but couldn’t. This thing between us is purely physical. He won’t fall in love with me.

“He needs an Alaskan wife,” Meggie said. “Someone who understands him and his love for this land. I’m afraid that all he’s going to get for his advertising dollars is a gaggle of giggling bimbos who’ll take him for a ride, then skedaddle out of here at the first sign of winter. Just like Heather did.”

“His ex-girlfriend.”

“He told you about her?”

“Now, honey, don’t judge Heather,” Linda interjected. “She just couldn’t get used to the quiet of Bear Creek. Besides, isn’t criticizing Heather’s reluctance to live in Alaska a little bit of the pot calling the kettle black?”

“Hey,” Meggie said, “I never pretended to want to stay in Alaska. Even though I happened to be born here, I’m a city girl through and through. I gotta have action.”

“Isn’t that the truth.” Linda rolled her eyes. “I swear you kicked like a mule to get out the entire last trimester of my pregnancy.”

“I love the city, too,” Kay said, happy to have found a kindred spirit in this land of ice and snow.

“Honey, you are the city.”

“I don’t understand what’s so fascinating about people being crammed on top of each other and driving like maniacs. What’s the attraction?” Linda shook her head.

“Stimulating conversation,” Meggie said.

“Great parties,” Kay added.

“Museums,” Meggie popped off.

“Shopping!” Kay grinned.

“Symphonies.”

“The theater.”

“Terrific Chinese take-out delivered right to your door!” they cried in unison, stared in awe at each other, then burst out laughing.

Kay felt instant camaraderie with Meggie, and the feeling astonished her. She didn’t make friends this readily. Ever. But they’d forged a connection. She knew by the merry gleam shining in Meggie’s blue-green eyes. She possessed the same irresistible magnetic personality as her older brother.

“My daughter, the cosmopolitan gourmand.” Linda smiled indulgently. “Who’d have thought it when she was spitting peas in my face at ten months?”

“Ah, Mom. If you’d just give Seattle a chance, you’d love it.”

“Not as much as I love Bear Creek,” Linda replied adamantly.

Kay had to admire their affectionate mother-daughter exchange. She felt another twinge of sadness that she and her own mother would never have this kind of relationship.

The crowd roared again. Kay’s attention was drawn back to the ice rink. Quinn had scored a second goal.

The referee blew his whistle. Shook his head, made some kind of motion with his hands.

The crowd booed.

Quinn skated over to the ref and shouted in his face. The man shouted back.

“What’s happening?” Kay leaned over to whisper to Meggie.

“Ref’s claiming the shot was no good. Puck got caught in the crease.”

Quinn argued. The ref balked. Quinn gestured at the goal. The ref crossed his arms over his chest, adamantly shook his head.

It was exciting to watch Quinn. He was so ardent in his beliefs, and he didn’t avoid conflict. Kay, a confrontation avoider from way back, couldn’t help but admire his courage.

“Uh-oh,” Meggie said.

“What? What?”

“The referee’s going to toss Quinn out if he doesn’t let up.”

“Will he back down?”

“Not if he thinks he’s right.”

Nervously Kay raised a hand to her mouth and realized she had been holding her breath. The other players rallied around, tried to get Quinn to accept the verdict. But nothing doing. When Quinn took a stance, he took a stance. There’d be no swaying him from his original position. She found that passionate quality in him both compelling and disturbing.

The ref blew his whistle and pointed for Quinn to leave the rink. Quinn ripped off his helmet and threw it on the ice.

Kay’s stomach looped and dived like she was on a roller-coaster ride.

“Yep,” said outspoken Meggie. “It’s going to take more than some sweet little city girl from the lower forty-eight to corral our Quinn.”

“HI THERE, BEAUTIFUL,” Quinn said when Kay came over to sit beside him. He was sitting on the sidelines unlacing his skates.

Happy to see her, he raked his gaze over her body. She looked stunning in that white ski-bunny suit with the hood zipped up around her head. To think she was here with him made his heart give this strange little hop.

She’d stood in the stands with his family and friends, looking like a pristine rose in a field of wild, black-eyed Susans, until Meggie had shown up. The appearance of those two city girls in Bear Creek added color to the place. He imagined the streets filled with pretty women, and his heart soared. That was exactly what the town needed to pump some life into it, and even if he personally didn’t find a wife, if his ad pulled women into Bear Creek, then it was money well spent.

While he’d been playing hockey, he had tried hard not to look Kay’s way too often, because every time he did he got distracted. An unusual occurrence. He found her power over him slightly disturbing.

Just hormones, pal. Don’t read more into it than there is.

“Too bad about the ref’s call.” She nodded at the game still in progress.

“I was robbed.” He grinned. “I made that shot fair and square. Where’s instant replay when you need it?”

“Does it really matter? Your team is still in the lead.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “Of course it matters. I was right.”

“Yes, but your stubbornness got you thrown out of the game.”

He shook his head. Was this discussion about much more than hockey? “Ah, your politically correct side rears its head.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Forget I said anything.”

“No. I want to know.”

“You were raised in a world where you subjugated your beliefs in order to fit in with those around you.”

“And you think that’s bad?”

“I didn’t say it was bad.” He removed his skates, jammed his feet into his boots. “It’s just not the way I was brought up. My folks taught me the most important things were honesty and integrity. If you’re right and you know it, you don’t buckle no matter what the peer pressure, and you don’t care what others think about you as long as you know you’ve done the right thing.”

“And arguing with the ref was the right thing to do?”

“Yes. He was wrong. I made that goal.”

“And if you’d been mistaken?”

“I’d swallow my pride and admit it.”

She looked at him a long moment. A peculiar queasiness assailed him. Had he put her off by being himself? But hell, he didn’t know any other way to be. He couldn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t. He hadn’t been schooled in subterfuge the way she obviously had. He wasn’t well versed in suppressing his convictions. Nor did he want to be.

“It’s my opinion that nothing important was ever gained by sitting back and keeping your mouth shut,” he expounded. “If you have something important to say, say it. If you don’t let people know what’s on your mind, how are they ever going to understand you?”

Kay shrugged. “Is it important for everyone to understand you?”

“Not everyone, no. But the people you care about, the people you deal with on a daily basis.”

“I’m not sure I agree with that.”

“Fair enough. You’re entitled to your opinions, just as I am to mine.”

“I think one can say too much and change a good impression into a bad one.”

“But if you’re just letting people know who you are, where you’re coming from, then how can that be a mistake? If they dislike you for what you believe in, then they dislike you. If they admire you simply for the image you portray, then how do people ever get to know the real you?”

Kay said nothing at all. Instead, she studied him silently.

“Like now. You’re thinking I’m full of crap, but you’re too polite to tell me to go take a flying leap. Right?”

“What gave you that idea?’

“Right?” He cocked his head, gave her his most dazzling grin.

She smiled then, a little sheepishly. “Okay. All right. Yes, I do think you’re full of it.”

He pushed to his feet, threw an arm around her shoulders, drew her close to his body. “See there, sweetheart? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Not too hard,” she admitted.

“Come on.” He chucked her under the chin. “I’ll take you back to Jake’s.”

She gave him her hand, and he knew then that everything was okay between them. She accepted him for who he was. Her approval lifted his spirits, and his feelings for her took on a new dimension. They could disagree and still respect each other.

He kissed her under the porch light of Jake’s establishment. He knew full well that half the town was peering through their curtains watching them, but he didn’t care. Let ’em gawk.

A groan escaped his throat and he tugged her flush against the length of him. She kept her eyes wide open during the kiss and so did he. Damn, but it was erotic. They couldn’t seem to peer deeply enough into each other. Her pupils dilated and her lips softened.

She tasted ripe, willing, ready. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow night. Couldn’t wait to see how she responded to the things he had in store for her.

Pulling away, he stroked her jawline with his thumb. “I wish I knew all the thoughts that passed through that magnificent brain of yours. I wish I could know the real Kay Freemont.”

“That’d be quite a trick,” she said huskily, “since I’m not sure I even know myself.”

The weird thing was, Kay already felt as if he could read her mind at times, and she couldn’t figure out where he’d obtained this amazing ability. Why was this man so different from any other she had ever known? She’d heard that men were supposed to hate talking about things like feelings and emotions and sentiment. Especially masculine men of action like this one.

“Please,” he encouraged, his eyes softening, his pupils dilating, “talk to me. Let me in. I’m dying to know everything there is to know about you. What are your hopes, your dreams, your wishes?”

She realized then that he wasn’t this inquisitive with all women, that it was she alone who interested him. The thought terrified her. “I’m wishing you would kiss me again.”

“I think you’re evading my questions, but that’s a wish I can’t pass by.” Quinn smiled so deeply he felt the edges of his eyelids crinkle, and he leaned in to take her lips once more.

She was like velvet heat in his mouth.

He thought of hot-fudge sundaes and chocolate fondue and cinnamon rolls drizzled with melted butter.

Then, irrationally, he thought of all the things he wanted to do with her that he never could. Necking in the balcony of a sexy, romantic movie. Holding hands and ice-skating on a frozen pond. Sharing a banana split and listening to fifties music on a jukebox at Marilyn Hecate’s soda fountain in July. With Kay, he wanted to be a kid again, exploring her with the eager enthusiasm of a seventeen-year-old in the back seat of his daddy’s car.

What would she think if he told her all this? Would he chase her away with his honesty?

He cupped her firm yet soft fanny with one hand, but the excess padding of her ski suit frustrated him. His fingers ached to glide over her bare skin. His hands cried out to knead her tender flesh. His palm itched to delve into new and exciting places.

Her scent filled his nose. That lovely aroma of jasmine mingled with her own natural windswept smell, and his knees loosened. He wanted to lay her down on the sidewalk and do all kinds of decadent things to her.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” she murmured into his mouth expressing exactly what was on his mind.

“Me, neither.” His voice was gruff and his body had gone rigid from the taste of her. The chase was on. His hunter’s instincts were roused. His sporting blood boiled.

“Will we be doing more aurora-gazing?”

“No, I’ve got something else in mind.”

“Oh?” He heard the excitement in her voice and it served to supercharge his erection.

“Yeah.” He grinned. “I’ll pick you up at five-thirty. But be forewarned. You might want to bring a change of clothes.”

HIS CRYPTIC WORDS had sent her into orbit.

What in the heck did he mean? Kay wondered as she rifled through the clothes she had brought with her, excitement racing up her nerve endings until she tingled with heightened anticipation. Had he known what effect his statement would have on her? Driving her crazy with curiosity.

The man was a genius at mind games.

After much deliberation, she dressed simply in black jeans and a sapphire turtleneck sweater, then stashed a pair of woolen slacks and a crimson blouse into her satchel. As she was applying the finishing touches to her makeup, the telephone rang.

“Hello?”

“How’s the article coming?”

Kay winced. Judy.

“I was just getting ready for bed and thought I’d give you a call. Is that hunky bachelor keeping you warm on those cold winter nights?”

“Oh, please.”

“Go ahead, lie to me if you want to, darling, but don’t lie to yourself. Any fool can see there’s chemistry between you two. I’m not going to lose my prize reporter to the Alaskan wilderness, am I?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Judy. I’m not about to stay in Alaska. It’s dark nearly twenty hours a day.”

“I don’t know. That Quinn is pretty cute. You’re never going to find anyone like him in Manhattan.”

“And it’s freezing cold. I have to wear three layers of clothing to stay comfortable, even indoors. Hard to get romantic under those conditions.”

Then again there was nothing more romantic than body heat.

“So if you’re not canoodling with bachelor number one, where were you last night when I tried to call?”

Sampling a taste of heaven.

“Out doing research.”

It wasn’t a lie. She had been researching Quinn’s background for the article, never mind that her research had concluded with some fierce kissing.

Judy didn’t need the details. She had nothing to worry about. Once Kay returned to New York a satisfied woman, she would never see Quinn again.

Why that thought made her tummy ache, she couldn’t say.

“I hope you got some good info.”

Oh, it was good all right. Sinfully good. The best. And just as soon as Judy hung up the phone, she was going back for seconds.

BLUSTERER. BLUFFER. Blowhard.

Quinn had shot off his mouth and told Kay he was capable of giving her an orgasm. Now that she was sitting here in his kitchen and the moment was at hand, he was panicking.

Big time.

What if he failed her?

Over the course of his thirty-two years, he’d satisfied many lovers. Several of his former girlfriends had affectionately dubbed him Slow Hand. He loved making love and he loved pleasuring his partner.

But this was different. This was pressure. Kay’s whole sexual awakening lay in his hands, and his normal cockiness had deserted him. Especially because that dynamite body of hers drove him to distraction.

Quinn refused to be like the other men of her acquaintance. He refused to let her down, and he intended on devoting himself to the pursuit of her orgasm while putting his own needs on hold. Because that was what she deserved.

Kay was exceptional.

Would ten days with her be enough for him? After Kay, would any woman be enough?

Don’t get all romantic, Scofield, he told himself. This is only sex and you know it. You’re getting mixed up because you want to get married. But let’s get real for a moment. You could never provide a woman like Kay with the things she needs. She’s accustomed to bright lights and the big city. It was honor enough that she had selected him as her sexual teacher. He took his responsibility seriously. He wouldn’t ask for more than she could give.

Kay cleared her throat and he realized several minutes had passed where he’d done little more than stare at her when he was supposed to be making them a cup of hot tea.

“So.” She rubbed her palms together, and that was when he realized she was as nervous as he. “So when do we begin?”

Virgins on their wedding night couldn’t have been more unstrung.

He took a step toward her, his heart pounding. Damn, but she was breathtaking. She practically glowed, her features arranged in a piquant orchestration of enthusiasm and excitement.

Gone was her normally reserved demeanor. Her mahogany eyes had a fervent gleam. Her mouth was tipped up in a zealous grin. Her brightness, sunny as the twenty-four-hour summer solstice in the Arctic circle, completely bowled him over.

You’re the man. The one with the supposed experience in eliciting women’s orgasms. Take charge. Do something, dillweed.

But he couldn’t do more than stare at her. “You look beautiful,” he said.

“Thank you.” She ducked her head.

This wouldn’t do. Casanova didn’t win women with clichéd compliments and an “aw shucks” attitude.

“Well,” she asked, sneaking a surreptitious glance at his face, “what’s the first lesson?”

“We’re going back to the basics,” he said, her question unfreezing him at last.