Silk on the Skin: A Loveswept Classic Romance by Linda Cajio Page B

with Cass. His mind was having trouble keeping everything in neat little compartments, and what was happening between her and him was becoming increasingly important.
    He was being entrapped by her, he thought. And to do his job also meant losing Cass, yet he was nowhere near ready to let her go.
    Taking his empty coffee cup out to the kitchen, he decided he’d better get the damn job over withand get the hell back to New York. First thing, though, was to go to his hotel and get dressed. He doubted Cass would want him waiting on customers in his present attire.
    But no shower, he told himself. He might be ready to face the day, but he definitely wasn’t ready for a repeat of the night before.
    Unless, of course, it included Cass in bed beside him.
    Cass opened the back door of WinterLand and slipped into the storeroom. When the heavy door clanged shut, returning the room to darkness, she breathed a sigh of relief.
    Coward.
    Waking up next to Dallas Carter was enough to inspire anyone to run for the Yellow-Stripe Award. She hadn’t been able to get out of the house fast enough that morning, and she still wanted to run.
    Cass leaned her head back against the cool metal door and closed her eyes. The tension slowly left her body, and she finally began to relax. For long moments she let herself enjoy the peaceful silence. Then her drifting thoughts began to take shape, and she remembered all too well waking up to discover herself curled against his warm body … the mingling scents of man and woman … their quiet voices in the night.
    Moaning, Cass covered her face with shaking hands. They couldn’t have been more intimate if they
had
made love!
    She’d always known Dallas was a threat. Notthis kind of threat, though, she thought. More and more she found herself separating the man from the executive. And it had seemed so … right to have him in her bed.
    She wondered if it was the Florence Nightingale effect. She had let down her guard with him when she’d seen that sunburn. Maybe that was it. Maybe she was just suffering the throes of a “nursing the wounded” crush.
    “Forget it,” she said aloud, knowing her attraction to him hadn’t made a sudden quantum leap. It had been there from the beginning, and had been intensifying ever since. Last night had just been the final bloom.
    She snapped on the fluorescent lights and tossed her purse on the desk. A thought occurred: could he be having the same trouble as she? He certainly seemed to want to spend time with her. And that kiss …
    Cass almost laughed aloud. Maybe he wasn’t quite as ruthless as she’d originally thought. Maybe it was hard for him, too, to stick to business. And maybe that could be deepened with a little help.
    She’d been trying so hard to keep her distance that she’d been downright cool with him. Thank goodness all her senses had been working in the right direction, she thought, or she probably would have been a total bitch. Last night, she had considered if they could be friends, and she decided that was a good beginning. Friends first, and then—lovers.
    The notion took her by surprise. She cautiously tasted it, letting it settle into her. Lovers. It felt right, and it sounded right. Her instincts told herthat Dallas would take a part of her that she had never been willing to give before. She admitted she was taking a risk. A big one. She could be totally wrong about him. But if she weren’t …
    Cass smiled.
    Dallas no sooner walked into WinterLand than he wanted to turn around and walk out again. The shop was in chaos.
    Merchandise was piled all over the aisles, and the movable glass shelves were stacked against display walls. Jean was struggling to push a five-foot-high aisle display into position.
    “Did a cyclone hit?” he asked, going over and helping her slide the heavy furnishing into place.
    “No. Hurricane Cass.” Jean heaved a sigh of relief and slumped against the display. “I came in this morning to find her