Sleepless Nights:The Donovans of the Delta 2(9)
“Is that all you think about?”
“Yes. My needs are very elemental. A little food, adequate shelter, plenty of sex, and I’m a happy man.”
“I’m glad I married Claude. Lord, I’d hate to think what life with you would have been like.”
“Fun.” He rammed his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out and dragging her back into his arms. “By the way, if you’re so glad you married Claude, why did you leave him?”
“It had nothing to do with you.”
He wondered if she were lying and what difference it would make.
“I think it’s a habit you have, Amanda—loving and leaving. But this time it’ll be different. I’m the one who will do the leaving.”
He turned away from her quickly, before he could change his mind. And as he left her there on the moon-washed patio, he wondered if her words were prophetic. Would the hunter become the hunted?
CHAPTER THREE
Amanda was late, and it was all Tanner’s fault. If it hadn’t been for him, she’d have gotten a decent night’s rest; then she wouldn’t have fallen asleep on her sofa in the afternoon.
She parked her car and headed toward the Riverside Church. The choir room was empty when she arrived. Grabbing her robe off its hook, she hastily slipped it over her dress and started for the choir loft. The rest of the members were assembled in the hall, waiting to go inside the sanctuary.
Still fumbling with her collar, she picked her way through the crowd. “Excuse me,” she said as she edged around a very tall man.
“Do you need any help with that?”
She jerked her head up and looked into the twinkling eyes of Tanner Donovan.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was planning to sing . . . unless you have something else in mind.”
What she had in mind couldn’t be discussed in church. She still could feel the bruising crush of his lips on hers. Just looking at him made her want more, but she’d never let him know it.
“Behave yourself. You’re in church.”
“I was always naughty in church.” He reached up and straightened her collar, letting his hand linger on the nape of her neck. “You did know how to dress in a hurry, Amanda.”
She felt a quick rush of heat through her body. If she didn’t get away from him soon, she’d be doing things in the back of the church that would be fodder for another Donovan-Lassiter legend. Striving to get herself in the proper frame of mind, she stepped back.
“Unhand me, unless you plan to follow me to the front and sing soprano.”
“No. I prefer to sit behind you, so I can enjoy the view.”
She couldn’t think of a feisty comeback; her mind was too busy cataloging the wicked charms of Tanner Donovan. Fortunately the line began to move and she was forced to hurry into place with the sopranos. Otherwise she might have done something that would make even the most liberal-minded Southerners blush.
As she hurried forward she wondered what in the devil Tanner was doing there in a choir robe, and whether he actually intended to sing. She wouldn’t put anything past him. Especially after the previous night. He had a magnificent voice, but he hadn’t been in town long enough to attend a single practice. He had probably come only to sit back there and aggravate her.
Amanda slid into her seat, acutely aware of the moment Tanner sat down directly behind her. As the organ prelude swelled, filling the church with magnificent sound, she knew she was supposed to be thinking exalted thoughts, but the only thing that came to her mind was body heat. Tanner’s body heat. It reached out and seared her.
She was playing a dangerous game with Tanner Donovan, a game that might have no winners. But Fate had dealt the cards, and she would play the hand. Win, lose, or draw, she was in the game for the duration. With that last irreverent thought she turned her attention back to the service. She was here to sing, and nothing would stop her. Not even Tanner Donovan.
Determination always brought out the best in Amanda. From the moment the music started, she was in fine voice. Even when Tanner’s rich baritone voice joined in, hers never faltered. The goose bumps popped up on her arm, as they always had when he sang, but she ignored them. For an instant she wondered how he’d ever learned the cantata, but she didn’t have time to ponder that. Fleetingly she noticed how well their voices blended, but she didn’t have time to think about that, either. Nothing would mar her singing.
She lifted her voice with renewed determination, making the beautiful old Gothic church ring with glorious music.
When it was all over, the congregation flocked to the front to congratulate the choir.
“That was wonderful, Amanda.” Maxine managed to hem her in behind the altar rail with Tanner. “You two perform so well together.” Wilford, who was standing as close to Maxine as he thought prudent in church, nodded his agreement.