Czytaj książkę: «Married By Midnight»

Chapter One

The pressure of a creamy, petal-soft feminine shoulder cuddled against his chest shocked Max out of his dream. A dream where a copper-haired enchantress was brushing a hand across his bare shoulder, and hazel-green eyes shone with invitation. Disoriented, Max allowed his gaze to travel down a slender arm to a sculptured waist and an enticingly curved hip that was partially covered by the white satin bedsheet.

Max froze. The last thing he remembered clearly was the ridiculous garter ceremony at his cousin’s wedding. But never in his wildest imagination had he anticipated a moment like this.

The unexpected but pleasant discovery explained why he’d awakened satiated, at peace with the world. He leaned over and took a closer look. The intriguing view caused his body to respond in ways he was embarrassed to contemplate.

One thing for sure, Kelly O’Rourke, the twenty-two-year-old maid of honor at last night’s wedding and owner of the most beautiful pair of legs he’d ever seen, was the last woman Max expected to find in his bed.

He leaned back against the pillows and tried to remember how and why he and Kelly were in bed together.

The winter wedding between his cousin, Troy Taylor, and DeeDee Connor, and the tumultuous celebration that had followed last night had been one for the books. He could barely recall what had happened after he’d caught the bride’s garter and slid it up the maid of honor’s leg. After that, events had passed in a blur.

Maybe it had been because he’d caught the last flight from Boston to Las Vegas. Upon arriving, instead of catching up on his sleep, he’d gotten caught up in a hasty wedding rehearsal, Troy’s bachelor party and the ensuing wedding festivities. Going without sleep for thirty-six hours and operating on sheer momentum, as he was, little wonder he’d been done in by the potent champagne punch.

He eyed Kelly cautiously. She was bound to be frosted when she awakened.

The last thing he did remember clearly was catching the bridal garter. He remembered sliding the lace confection over Kelly’s warm and slender leg while the other wedding guests egged him on. His frank admiration for the silk-clad leg he held had seemed harmless enough to him, but not to Kelly. To his surprise, the warning look in her eyes had held a message. Somewhere along the line, a dare had been cast and, heaven help him, accepted.

One step at a time, he told himself as he struggled to remember what had happened next. One step at a time. The rest of the story was bound to come to him if he relaxed and let the answers flow when they were ready.

He took a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings. He was pretty sure he was in the Las Vegas Majestic Hotel where the Taylor-Connor wedding and reception had taken place. But he was surprised he’d booked anything as lush as these surroundings. Obviously he had; his suitcase sat beside the bed.

With its mirrored ceiling and white satin linens the bedroom was part of a luxurious two-room suite. A trail of masculine and feminine shoes led to the bed. His clothing was thrown haphazardly over a chair and an emerald-green bridesmaid’s dress, along with a lacy bra and matching bikini, was flung across the foot of the bed. Silken hose were draped over a bed lamp like a victory flag.

Through the open folding doors, he saw a sitting room with all the accoutrements of a posh lodging. A giant-screen TV, a man-size upholstered couch and matching love seat filled the center of the room. A bridal bouquet lay wilting on the coffee table, alongside a short wisp of a bridal veil. He remembered Kelly catching the bouquet, all right, but what was DeeDee’s bridal veil doing here?

Puzzled, he looked at the couch in the center of the next room. He seemed to remember he’d gone to sleep there sometime last night. Why had he chosen the couch when he had a king-size bed waiting for him? He glanced down at his sleeping companion. The bigger question was when and how he had wound up in bed with her.

He fought a growing uneasiness as he tried hard to recall what had actually happened last night. Slowly, the mental clouds began to clear. He recalled Kelly’s warning look as he’d slid the garter up her leg. He also recalled her look that dared him to a point where he’d been driven by an uncommon impulse to change the warning to a look of desire.

He gazed at the rumpled bed and the clothing strewn haphazardly around the room. From the looks of things, he’d obviously accomplished his goal only too well. Too bad he didn’t remember the details.

But couch or no couch, good intentions or otherwise, it didn’t take much imagination to figure out he and Kelly had ultimately fallen into bed together. The evidence was obvious enough to make him wonder how he could possibly have drawn a blank after what surely must have been a memorable night.

He gazed down at Kelly’s ivory and pink-tinged skin. Wrapped in a white satin sheet, her shoulders bare, she looked every bit as enticing as she had during the garter incident. And, heaven help him, in his dream.

Her lips, curved in a smile, were moving soundlessly. He leaned over to listen. The smile and the possible meaning behind it sent a wave of guilt through him.

After all, from what little he remembered, he’d only intended to tease, to challenge Kelly. One look had led to another, closer one until the game they’d been playing had become more than a simple flirtation. Now the burning question was what had happened during the night to leave her with a smile on her face.

She looked so sweet, so natural, it was hard to imagine this was the same feisty woman who had taken on his wordless challenge last night. Impulsively, he gently brushed an auburn eyelash from her cheek.

Never one to run away from a problem he’d helped to create, Max cleared his throat.

Kelly stirred at the sound. It was a few moments before she opened her eyes. “You!”

“I’m afraid so,” Max agreed, inching sideways at the edge in her voice. If there was going to be a disagreement, he intended to stay out of arm’s reach.

Clutching the sheet, Kelly pulled herself up against the satin pillows. “What are you doing here?”

Max heaved a sigh of relief. She was taking things more calmly than he’d expected. “If you’re talking about the room, I believe it’s mine. As to why I’m here in bed with you, I’m not sure. I just woke up myself.” When she looked confused, he added, “By the way, under the circumstances, you can call me Max.”

“I’m Kelly,” she replied, biting her lip. Her mind whirled with questions, questions she was too embarrassed to ask. One thing was clear, she was in bed with Troy’s best man. A twenty-six-year-old businessman DeeDee had urged on her before the wedding ceremony. At first, she hadn’t been interested—but things had obviously changed.

Kelly gazed at his rumpled brown hair, the dark shadows on his cheeks and his broad, tanned shoulders. In spite of her embarrassment, her gaze slowly moved down his bare shoulders, to the golden brown curls on his chest and down to his lithe waist. Warm memories flooded her mind.

She remembered taking him up on his unspoken sensual challenge, intending to put him in his place. Instead, she’d wound up falling for his sexy smile.

In spite of her dismay at finding herself in bed with Max, the warm glow lingering in her middle brought back memories of his sensuous glances and dynamite kisses.

Those same glances were warming her now.

Max’s eyes suddenly widened. She was just in time to grab the satin sheet and keep it from sliding to her waist. “I’m not sure how things got started last night,” she muttered as she pulled the sheet to her chin, “but it seems you won. I never planned on going this far. I sure didn’t start out intending to spend the night with you.”

Max rubbed his forehead. “Frankly, this is as big a surprise to me as it is to you.” He gazed at the silk stockings hanging on the lamp and grinned sheepishly. “I honestly don’t seem to remember much about last night, either. Maybe it was because I was pretty exhausted after we—”

“Stop! Stop right there!” Kelly warned as memories of a killer smile, tangled limbs and heated kisses filled her mind. “I don’t think I care to hear the details. It must have been the champagne punch,” she muttered. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“Me neither. My behavior last night was totally unlike me, too.” He’d had his share of relationships, but until now he’d always been awake to enjoy them. What had possessed him to play erotic games with the bride’s best friend? Mentally cursing himself for his stupidity, he forced a feeble smile. “In spite of how this looks, the last thing I remember was offering to sleep on the couch last night.”

Kelly glanced from the undisturbed couch to the tousled bed, to the clothing strewn around the room. She frowned. “I can’t believe I did this.”

“It was all just a game we were playing, right?” Max said hastily.

Kelly decided to play it safe. “Maybe.”

“Maybe? Does that mean you remember what happened last night?”

“Just enough,” she answered, turning a deeper shade of pink at how much she actually did remember.

She had intended to take him up on his dare, flirt a bit and then walk away. Instead, before she’d realized what was happening, his tempting smile had gotten to her. Like Cinderella, she should have walked away from him at midnight.

Just when had the game turned into something more serious? And more to the point, what had she gotten herself into?

Eyeing Kelly’s flushed face and her obvious dismay, Max swallowed the light remark he had been about to make. As he mentally reviewed the last twelve hours, a lightbulb turned on in his head. Maybe the one important detail he did remember would mitigate some of the more obvious evidence of what had taken place last night.

He took a deep breath. “I think we may have gotten married last night.”

“Married! That’s ridiculous. Why would I have married you? I don’t even know you!” She pulled the sheet closer around her and inched to the edge of the bed.

“Maybe so,” Max agreed. “But during the hotel’s unexpected celebration of Troy and DeeDee’s marriage, I think something happened. Something that involved us.”

“That’s enough,” Kelly said hurriedly, putting up a hand to stop him. “Try to remember. It was all a game. I’d rather forget last night, and all of this, too.” She glanced down at the bed.

“Maybe so,” Max went on doggedly. “But I swear I remember a wedding ceremony.”

“Not ours,” Kelly replied firmly. “I couldn’t have gotten that carried away, not even by you. I’m not ready to be married.”

Max decided maybe it wasn’t the right time or place to tell Kelly he’d dreamed of making love to the woman he thought was his wife. But the dream had felt so real. “Maybe you’re right, but I can’t shake the memory of our marriage ceremony.”

“Impossible! If we’d gotten married, I’d remember. I told you, I’m not ready to be married and I meant it.”

“Okay, have it your way,” he said. “But I want to go on record.” He raised his right hand. “I swear that the one thing I do remember clearly is offering to sleep on the couch. You do remember that much, don’t you?”

The look in his deep brown eyes was sincere, but something told her he hadn’t remained on the couch for long. Or, considering the way her body was still tingling, maybe he hadn’t gone to sleep there at all.

Under the covers, Kelly was investigating her thigh. The bridal garter that seemed to have started the whole mess was still in place. But to her dismay, the garter was all she had on!

She groaned as she envisioned her father, her three brothers and assorted members of her family accusing her of conduct unbecoming an O’Rourke. Not that they would be entirely wrong. Awakening to find herself in a strange hotel room, completely unclothed and in bed with a man she’d only met last night was definitely an O’Rourke no-no.

“Are you sure you remember the details about…um…last night?” She felt herself flush as she spoke.

“Not enough,” Max muttered, “but I’m sure there’s an explanation somewhere.” He slowly edged away from Kelly before she could realize he didn’t have any clothing on under the covers either. Not even his socks.

The growing look of dismay Kelly was giving him spelled big trouble. He wished he could offer some kind of explanation that would give them both a graceful way out of the obvious, but he couldn’t. The indisputable fact remained, they’d wound up in bed together. And the only answer he could come up with was one she didn’t want to hear: Kelly was his wife, and they’d consummated their wedding night.

“Max, what are we going to do about this? We have to talk.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” He wasn’t looking forward to trying to explain the unexplainable, but trying to would at least be a step in the right direction. He could apologize, but that was closing the proverbial barn door after the horse was gone. Besides, Kelly didn’t look in the mood to try to understand, forgive and forget the impulse that may have sent them before a preacher.

He told himself Kelly would eventually cool down and listen to reason. If they’d actually gotten married, he was ready to suggest civilized goodbyes and an annulment. Or, he swallowed hard at the thought, a divorce.

“Maybe no one knows about this but us,” he offered with a feeble smile. “I’m willing to forget last night if you are. How about you?”

Kelly thought hard. What had apparently been a romantic thing to do last night, in broad daylight became an irresponsible scenario. In all fairness, she couldn’t put all the blame on Max. He may have started the flirtation, but he was obviously a lot more worldly than she was. She’d been a fool to think she could outsmart him. Besides, it took two people to get into a situation like this.

The problem was that DeeDee had talked so much about Max and how much they had in common, Kelly had turned her off. Now that she realized Max was the sexiest man she’d ever met up with, maybe she should have listened to her friend.

She already had a controlling father and two older brothers who insisted on looking after her. The last thing she needed was another man in her life. Even one like Max.

Another unhappy thought hit her. The O’Rourkes were a large extended and prolific Irish family. She had an army of cousins, most of them male, and had been around them often enough to have heard enough stories that had made her blush. What if she’d gotten pregnant after last night?

“Something wrong?”

“Maybe,” Kelly whispered. She bit her lip as one unhappy thought led to another. How do you ask a man if he’d used protection last night? “Did you, er…” She took a deep breath and plunged into deep waters. “Did you use protection last night?”

Max swallowed hard. If he’d actually thought Kelly was his wife, maybe not. On the other hand, maybe yes. He had had a condom in his wallet. “Yes. I don’t think I could have been that irresponsible,” he replied frankly. He made a mental note to check his wallet as soon as he was alone.

Before they could pursue the subject, there was a knock on the door.

“Who’s that?” Kelly whispered, looking around for cover. “I can’t let anyone find me here.”

“Maybe if we don’t answer, they’ll think we’re still asleep and go away,” Max said under his breath. He put a finger to his lips.

The knock sounded again, this time louder.

“No such luck,” Max muttered. “I guess we’ll never know who it is unless I answer the door.” He had a bare leg out from under the covers when he realized he couldn’t reach his clothes. The fact that they were in a tangled mess on the floor surprised him. He was normally an organized man, a man who never gave in to impulse. Something had happened last night to change him.

“Maybe you’d better close your eyes for a minute.”

“I will not!”

He raised his eyebrows in a sardonic question and pointed to the jumble of clothing. “My clothes are down there.”

Kelly moaned and slid under the blankets.

Max dashed for his trousers, put them on and made for the door before some lunatic broke it down. “Who’s there?”

“Reggie Bennett, the assistant manager of the hotel, sir. You and Mrs. Taylor checked in too late last night to receive the usual amenities that come with the bridal suite. I have them for you now.”

Max felt himself blanch as he shrugged into his shirt and shoes. Mrs. Taylor? Bridal suite? So, last night hadn’t entirely been a dream. Like it or not, he had married Kelly.

Max groaned. He was a man who enjoyed the company of women, but marriage had been the farthest thing from his mind. And the last thing on his carefully plotted life’s agenda.

He took a deep breath. Even with those disturbing memories of a marriage ceremony, he wasn’t exactly ready to believe this marriage business. If he’d gotten married, surely he would have had to have had a marriage license and a marriage certificate, wouldn’t he?

After making sure Kelly couldn’t be seen from the door, he held it open a crack. The assistant manager met his gaze with a broad smile. “Our apologies, sir. The management of the Majestic Hotel would like to correct our unfortunate oversight.”

Oversight? Max’s heart plummeted when he realized daylight was shining through the shuttered windows. Somehow, he’d misplaced a large chunk of the day. And, in the interim, he must have somehow acquired a bride and, heaven help him, consummated the marriage.

“May we come in now?”

Max took another look behind him before he opened the outer door. A room-service waiter rolled in a linen-covered cart and positioned two chairs next to it.

Entranced, Max studied the gaily decorated cart. As Bennett had announced, there was a wedding breakfast in all its glory, including a bottle of champagne in an iced silver container and pats of butter in the form of hearts. A cut-glass vase held a dozen white roses. To his increasing dismay, a congratulatory message was prominently propped against the vase.

What further blew his mind were the silver and gold balloons in the shape of wedding bells that floated behind the cart.

“Our apologies for the delay in bringing your breakfast, Mr. Taylor. After what happened last night, we weren’t sure you and Mrs. Taylor were up yet.” A humorous glint came into Reggie Bennett’s eyes as he regarded Max’s open shirt. “If there’s anything else you would like, please don’t hesitate to ask.” He left with a broad smile.

After what happened last night? A dim recollection of shouting people and flashing cameras floated through Max’s mind. What worse could possibly have happened?

“Max, are they gone?” Kelly called impatiently.

“Yes, but not before they left us breakfast,” he replied. His stomach churned as he eyed the bottle of champagne on ice. Champagne had been his downfall last night. He heard Kelly mutter under her breath. She had to be upset if she’d heard Bennett. For a woman who firmly refused to believe she was married, what would she do when she actually saw the cart?

“I’m not that hungry,” Kelly said. “I’ll get dressed and we can decide what to do.”

As far as Max was concerned, discussions had to wait. What he had to do first was find out how and when he’d actually acquired a wife. He eyed the outside door for a quick getaway. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he announced and rushed out the door.

When Kelly heard the door close, she peered into the next room. The sight of the floating bell-shaped balloons brought her marching into the room.

Then she saw the bridal veil on the coffee table. If this was intended to be a joke, and if Max was in on it, it wasn’t funny.

Married? No way! Max might believe they were married, but she knew better. Right now she needed a long, hot bath and time to plan some course of action to end this nonsense.

Music began to play when she opened the door to the bathroom. She was rendered speechless by a giant Jacuzzi strategically placed in front of a mirrored wall. Tropical plants hung from a skylight above the tub. A shelf held jars of bath oils and colorful soaps in the shapes of flowers. There were assorted brushes to wash one’s back and, to Kelly’s growing discomfiture, bottles of assorted perfumes and ointments clearly intended for rituals of love. Her middle warmed at the sensual implications of a jar marked Aromatic Body Butter.

Visions of Max rubbing her body with the scented butter, and her mental reactions to the idea of his unclothed body, were more than she could bring herself to safely contemplate. Thank goodness he wasn’t here to see the Arabian Nights scene in front of her.

To her relief, on a more practical level, fluffy white bathrobes, embroidered with “Mr.” and “Mrs.,” waited on a padded bench.

She turned on the water and sat down on the edge of the Jacuzzi. One by one, she picked up the tiny colored balls of bath oil beside the faucet and dropped them into the water. The scent that began to waft through the room turned her thoughts to sensual games. Games she would have wanted to play if she were actually honeymooning with the man she loved.

The bathroom was obviously an elaborate setting for a seduction scene, she thought wistfully as she slid into the water. But the truth was that, in spite of last night’s apparent foolishness, she wasn’t out to seduce anyone. Max Taylor least of all. As soon as he returned, she intended to tell him so.