Wife for a Week(22)

‘I wasn’t.’ Hallie’s lips twitched as she started soaping herself down. ‘Don’t panic, Nick. I was a virgin, yes, but I was ready for that to change. I’m not out to trap you.’

That was a relief. Until a new and wholly unwelcome thought occurred to him. Whether she was out to trap him or not they’d just had unprotected sex. He’d never been so careless with a woman before. Ever! What if she fell pregnant and had a child? His child. There was no way any child of his was going to grow up without a father and, as far as Nick was concerned, that meant marriage. His blood turned to ice; his breath caught in his throat. What had he done?

‘Are you okay?’ she asked him. ‘You don’t look so good.’

‘I, ah, guess it’s unlikely you were protected against pregnancy, what with you being a virgin and all.’ He was being wildly optimistic, he knew he was.

‘Actually, I am protected,’ she said. ‘That’s something we don’t have to worry about.’

The breath left his body in a whoosh. Regular breathing resumed.

‘Call it a complete stab in the dark,’ said Hallie dryly, ‘but I’m guessing marriage and children aren’t on your to-do list.’

‘I, uh…’ He was still recovering, still trying to regroup. ‘No, they’re on the list,’ he said at last. ‘They’re just not at the top of the list at this point in time.’

‘Ah.’ She smiled. ‘Good to know.’ And from beneath lowered lashes, ‘For what it’s worth, I think you’re an incredible lover. I’m glad you were my first.’ Then she lifted her face to the water and put her hands to her hair in a move so innately sensual he felt the force of it like a punch to his stomach.

Definitely not part of the plan, he thought as he dragged her up against him with a muffled curse. And took her again.



Nick soaped up beneath the spray as Hallie stepped from the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She slid him a dreamy smile, followed up with a stern warning for him to keep his distance, as she padded from the bathroom. Not a problem, he thought wryly, because, frankly, he was spent.

Lovemaking had always been a pleasurable pastime for Nick. Sometimes it was slow and lazy, sometimes quick and playful. This time had been different. This time his climax had ripped through him like a tornado, leaving him dazed and shaken. And worried.

So what if she was a generous lover?

So what if towards the end there he’d hardly known who or where he was, only whom he was with? It wasn’t as if he’d found The One. Hell, he was only thirty; he was far too young for that. He had years and years of loving left in him before that happened.

Yeah, whispered his brain. Years and years of mediocre bed play that will never, ever measure up to what you’ve just experienced with Hallie Bennett.

‘No,’ he said fiercely.

Oh, yeah, throbbed his heart. Years and years spent searching for another Titian-haired, golden-eyed witch whose smile warms you through and whose kisses make your soul tremble.

‘No!’ Louder this time. This was not happening. Regardless of her sweetness, her savvy, and her thorough understanding of football, Hallie Bennett was definitely not The One.

He wouldn’t let her be.



She was lying on her stomach on the freshly made bed, leafing through the travel guide to Hong Kong he’d given her, when he finally emerged from the bathroom. Her trouser-clad legs were bent at the knees, her dainty little feet—clad in strappy little sandals—were crossed at the ankles. Her arms were bent at the elbows, her collared shirt showed a modest amount of cleavage. She looked casual, comfortable and perfectly at ease. Perfectly approachable, which was good because he was about to re-establish the boundaries of their relationship.
Just as soon as he put some clothes on.

She looked up at him and smiled as he crossed to the wardrobe and there was lazy satisfaction in that smile, a woman’s awareness. His doing, his alone, for there’d been no one else before him and damned if he didn’t relish the notion.

No way. No. This was not happening.

He turned his back on her and dressed fast, deliberately avoiding her gaze as he headed for the sideboard and his business papers.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said gruffly.

‘It shows.’

He shot her a glance, darkly amused. ‘I’ve been thinking we should stick to the plan from now on.’

‘Fine.’

‘I mean, the whole point of bringing you along was so that this kind of complication wouldn’t crop up.’

‘I know.’

‘We got a bit carried away, that was all. A body has its needs.’