A Touch of Silk by Lori Wilde Page A

cabin, and he escorted her inside and took her coat.
    “Something smells wonderful!” she exclaimed. “I’m starving.”
    “Salmon chowder and grilled sourdough bread.”
    “Sounds delicious.”
    “Made it myself. The chowder that is, not the bread.”
    She laughed.
    Once in the kitchen, she enthused over the tablecloth, the candles, the champagne just as he’d hoped, and Quinn began to relax. He’d pleased her, which was precisely his intent.
    He pulled back her chair for her. She smiled up at him. They ate and talked and ate and talked as if they’d been friends for a thousand years.
    Quinn couldn’t quit staring at her. Whenever her pink tongue flicked out to take a morsel of food from her spoon, it felt as if she was licking him in a very private place. Several times he had to bite down on his bottom lip to keep from groaning out loud.
    Kay was impressed that he’d worked so hard to make such a delicious meal. She admired his impeccable table manners and sent sideways glances at him. The candlelight accented his features. He’d rolled up his sleeves while serving their dinner, exposing those magnificent forearms that drove her wild with desire.
    “So, Quinn, for the sake of the readers of Metropolitan magazine, what’s your idea of the perfect date?” she asked, desperate to get her mind off his extreme sexiness.
    “We’re back to the article again.”
    “Yes.”
    “We’re having it.”
    “What?”
    “The perfect date.” He reached across the table, laid a hand on hers. “Good food. Great conversation. A pretty woman.”
    “Oh.” Taken aback by the very bold look in his eyes, Kay removed her hand from underneath his.
    “There’s only one thing that would make it better.”
    She held her breath.
    “Dessert.”
    He disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes and then brought out baked Alaska.
    “You made this yourself?” she gasped as he set the flaming dessert in front of her.
    “It’s not as hard as it looks.”
    “I’m impressed.”
    “That was my intent.”
    He nailed her with his steady gaze.
    She’d never met a man like Quinn. At once extremely masculine, yet oddly enough quite domestic. He possessed a self-confidence that would attract any woman. He had an intense strength underlying his every action, and hey, the guy could even admit when he was wrong. She wagered that mere weeks after his advertisement ran in the magazine, he’d be well on his way to matrimony with the wild woman of his dreams.
    She experienced a strange tug in her belly. Was she actually jealous of that as-yet-nonexistent woman?
    You don’t have to be jealous. You can have him for now. He’s the tonic to soothe your shattered ego. So what if there’s no happily-ever-after? What about happily-right-now?
    They ate the baked Alaska; then Quinn wiped his mouth with his napkin, checked his watch and shoved back his chair. “It’s about time.”
    “Time for what?”
    “Come with me. There’s something I’d like to show you.” He got to his feet and held out his hand to her. “This way.”
    He guided her toward the stairs.
    Toward the bedroom?
    Kay gulped. Was she really ready for this? She had taken the assignment because she wanted to see Quinn again. And because she couldn’t stop lusting after him, but when push came to shove, could she go through with it?
    “Quinn…I…”
    He placed a finger to her lips. “Shh.”
    His finger tasted slightly salty, the pressure of it against her mouth startlingly arousing. She had the strongest urge to capture that finger with her teeth and suck.
    He cocked his head and smiled oh-so-slightly, as if miraculously reading her thoughts. The five-o’clock shading riding his jaw looked rough, exciting, and she wondered what it would feel like rasping against her cheek.
    In a split second she was locked in another fantasy. She envisioned him without his clothes on and hiccuped at the image that rose to her mind. He would look gorgeous naked. She just knew it. Golden