Wild and Wonderful (6 page)

When she knocked on the connecting door, her father was fighting with the knot of his tie. She tied it for him, noting how much good the short rest had done him. Together they went downstairs, arriving at the dining room precisely at eight o'clock. All but two of Jett's party were already there.

Glenna was aware of the curious glances she received as she was introduced to the men around the table. Their silent speculation increased when Jett seated her in a chair to his right. Her father was given the chair next to her, which put Glenna between the two men. Her position and the other guests at the table virtually negated her father's chances to talk privately with Jett.

The conversation around the dinner table was lively, focused mainly on coal as Jett had predicted. Her father included himself in the discussion quite easily. Mostly Glenna just listened to the stimulating and intelligent exchanges. She couldn't help noticing how bluntly Jett stated his opinions, never couching his replies in diplomatic terms. In contrast everyone else appeared to be the epitome of tact, phrasing their remarks so they wouldn't offend anyone.

It was a trait, she discovered, that was not limited to business discussion when Jett inquired, "Are you bored with the conversation?"

The others were busy talking and appeared unaware of the question he had addressed to Glenna. "No, I'm not bored." She lifted her gaze briefly from the prime rib she was cutting to the velvet sheen of his glance. "Dad and Bruce usually sit at the dinner table talking about daily coal production, grades and tonnage. I'm used to it."

"Bruce?" His voice carried an aloof curiosity for the identity of this unknown person.

"Bruce Hawkins," Glenna supplied the rest of his name. "He manages the mine for dad." She thought she felt his gaze boring into her, but she looked up as Jett was making a leisurely sweep of the guests.

"Does it bother you being the only female at the table?" He idly speared a piece of meat on his fork and carried it to his mouth.

Glenna let her own fork rest on the china dinner plate, bewildered by the question that had nothing to do with the subject they had previously been discussing. This confusion was reflected in her eyes.

"Why should it bother me?" she asked with a slight frown.

"I didn't say it 'should,'" he corrected smoothly. "I asked if it did."

"No, it doesn't." But she still didn't understand the point of the question.

"Perhaps you enjoy being the object of so many admiring glances?" Jett suggested.

She wasn't going to deny that she had received some. "I'm flattered, but—" Glenna didn't bother to finish the sentence, abandoning the defensive to counter. "Maybe I should ask you that first question. Does it bother you that I'm the only female at a table with all these men?"

"Not as long as you're sitting beside me it doesn't." He didn't have to hesitate over his answer, issuing it smoothly without as much as a glance in her direction.

A question from one of the other guests ended the personal conversation as Jett responded to it. The vaguely possessive ring that had been in his voice seemed to confirm that she was being singled out for his attention by this forthright and virile man. And that bothered Glenna, creating fluttering butterflies in her stomach, because she was beginning to regard him as a man rather than just as someone her father wished to do business with.

This change in attitude prompted her to notice more details about him. She studied his hard angular features, taking note of the straight bridge of his nose, the flat planes of his cheeks, his strong chin and clean jawline. On either side of his mouth arcing indentations were grooved to soften the harshness of its thin line. Sun creases fanned out from the corners of his eyes, tilting upward to emphasize the enigmatic and smiling gleam that was always in his dark eyes.

His hands and fingers were long and strong boned, but there was nothing slender or delicate about them. As Glenna watched their deft and competent movements, her imagination began weaving fantasies about their skill in a lover's caress and the sensations they might arouse on her sensitive skin. That thought was one step away from imagining the persuasive force of his mouth on hers. At that point Glenna brought her wayward thoughts to a screeching halt. No purpose would be served except to heighten her already overstimulated libido.

Distraction was provided when the dinner plates were removed and coffee was served. Jett took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to her. She shook her head in silent refusal.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" An eyebrow was quirked in accompaniment to his question.

"I don't mind." Glenna shook her head again.

Jett started to light it, then paused to glance at her father. "Would you care for a cigarette, Orin?"

"No." His was a reluctant refusal. "The doctor made me quit smoking three years ago when I had my heart attack." But he made no mention of his recent one.

"You seem to have enjoyed a full recovery." Jett exhaled a trail of smoke, studying her father through its grayness.

Glenna was surprised to hear her father admit, "But I'm not the man I once was."

When the waiter returned a few minutes later to refill their coffee cups, a debate began among the guests whether to have more coffee or to visit the lounge for after-dinner drinks. The majority decided on the lounge, which started a general exodus from the table.

"Will you be joining us in the lounge?" Jett asked as her father courteously pulled back her chair for Glenna to stand.

The glance she exchanged with her father indicated they were both of the same mind, but he was the one who spoke. "No, thank you. It's been a long day and I need my rest."

"Thank you for dinner, Mr. Coulson," Glenna added.

"It was my pleasure."

"We enjoyed the meal…and the company." Her father inserted his expression of gratitude. "Good night."

"Good night." His gaze touched each of them, lingering for a pulsing second on Glenna.

Outside the dining room Glenna and her father separated themselves from the others to walk toward the elevators. Glenna was fully aware that she possessed too much nervous energy to go to sleep yet. She would simply toss and turn if she went to bed now.

"If you don't mind, dad, I'm not coming up with you. I think I'll take a walk outside and enjoy a little of the night air before turning in," she explained.

"I certainly don't mind," he assured her. "I'll see you at breakfast in the morning."

"Good night." She brushed a kiss across his cheek, then left him to walk to a door exiting the inn.

She was nearly to the door when she saw Jett Coulson approaching. She felt the excited fluttering of her nerve ends, her pulse altering its rhythm to an uneven patter.

"Going for a stroll, Miss Reynolds?" The mildness of his tone made it less of a question and more of a complacent guess.

Glenna stopped to respond just the same. "I thought I'd walk off some of the dinner before turning in."

He paused beside her, dangerously attractive in his dark evening clothes. "That was exactly my intention. Shall we go together?"

The levelness of his gaze held a silent challenge. Alarm bells rang in her head, sending out dire warnings of the consequences in accepting. Glenna knew exactly what would happen if she took a moonlight stroll with this man. So did he. If she didn't want to know what it would be like in his arms, this was the time to say no.

"Why not?" she agreed with an expressive lift of a shoulder and returned the directness of his look.

Chapter Four

OUTSIDE the briskness of the night air prompted Glenna to lift the silver shawl to cover the bareness of her shoulders and arms from the slight chill. The touch of coolness seemed to heighten her senses, making her keenly aware of the male figure walking a scant half step behind her.

By silent consent Jett had allowed her to set the pace and the direction of their stroll. Glenna led him away from the stately white hotel onto the tree-shaded grounds. Once they had escaped the bright lights shining on the building, Glenna slowed her pace still more to wander beneath the trees.

Overhead the cloudless sky was a patchwork of stars. A misty moon sent its beams to illuminate the lawn wherever the newly leafed trees failed to shade it. Nature's creatures were offering their night songs to the breezeless air.

Glenna paused beneath a tree and leaned carefully against its rough trunk to gaze through vee openings of its branches at the sequin-studded sky. The shawl was hugged tightly around her, not in defense of the slight chill but to hold onto the enchantment of the scene.

Unbidden, the opening lines of a song came to her mind. "Almost heaven," she unconsciously murmured them aloud. The sound of her voice echoed in her ears, stirring her to the realization that she had spoken her thoughts. Straightening from the tree trunk she glanced at Jett. He was watching her, his stance relaxed. "Do you remember the song 'Country Roads'?"

"Mmm." It was an affirmative response.

Glenna wandered to the edge of the shadow the tree cast in the moonlight. The ground beneath her feet was uneven so she moved carefully.

"West Virginia is my idea of 'almost heaven,'" she explained softly while her gaze continued to admire the night sky and the soothing night sounds.

"Is it?" Jett came up behind her, stopping at a point near her right shoulder. "The slogan on the license plate is a more apt description of West Virginia—wild and wonderful. Or is that your idea of 'almost heaven?'"

She sent him a sidelong glance, angled slightly over her shoulder. "Perhaps. But I've never attempted to define it."

His head inclined slightly toward her. "What's that perfume you're wearing? That fragrance has been tantalizing me all evening."

Glenna wasn't prepared for the sudden switch of topics. Her mind raced to make the transition while her senses erupted with the intimation of his words.

"It's a new scent by Chanel. I've forgotten the name of it." It didn't seem important as she half turned to answer him. Raw warmth spread through her in anticipation of his next move.

Glenna wasn't disappointed as his hand found the curve of her neck to tip her head back while his mouth made a steady descent to her lips. His kiss was sensually sure and softly exploring, his mouth moving back and forth across her lips with deliberate ease. Reaching out, his hand clasped her waist and turned her the rest of the way around to bring her fully into his embrace.

The warmth of his arms enfolded her, languidly heating her body with his. Under the masterful persuasion of his kiss resistance never entered her mind. The sensations he was creating within her were much too enjoyable to want them to end. This absence of force was seduction in its purest and most dangerous form.

Her eyes were closed in dreamy contentment as his mouth wandered over her cheek to the lobe of her ear. The sliding caress of his hand along her neck succeeded in pushing her shawl off one shoulder. He bent his head to let his warm lips more intimately explore the rounded bone.

"Your skin reminds me of the creamy smooth petal of a magnolia," Jett murmured against her skin, then slowly straightened.

Reluctantly Glenna raised her lashes to look at him, wishing he hadn't stopped so soon. His unfathomable black gaze wandered over her upturned face in a caressing fashion, yet managed to convey the impression that she was a very special lady.

"Why do I have the feeling that your father is setting me up for something?" It was a full moment before his casually worded question penetrated
her sensually induced state of vulnerability.

Shock ran through her as Glenna realized his timing had been deliberate. Even now, while she was stiffening in his arms, his hand continued to trace the curving arc of her shoulder and neck, a thumb drawing circles on her sensitive skin. Her lips parted in a wordless and angry protest at the accusation, but her voice was temporarily lost to her.

But Jett didn't seem unduly perturbed that she failed to answer him. He continued to regard her with lazy alertness. "Your father is trying to hustle something. I haven't been able to decide whether it's his coal company…or if he's hustling you. If it's you, I might find it tempting."

When his head began a downward motion, as if to kiss her again, Glenna lashed out with her hand, slapping his face in a flash of temper. Without pausing, she pivoted out of the loose hold of his arms to stand rigid, her back to him. She expected retaliation or pursuit.

Instead Jett responded to her assault with an amused taunt. "What happened? Did I come too close to the truth?"

"No!" Swinging her head around, she denied it too quickly and too vigorously. Instantly she realized that her anger had been born partly because Jett had so accurately seen through her father, and partly because he could think so clearly while holding her in his arms. She and her lightning-quick temper had overreacted. Bowing her head she took a calming breath.

"I lost my temper." She grudgingly offered him an apology. "I'm sorry I slapped you."

"In that case—" his voice was thick with restrained laughter as his hands reached out to turn her around and span her waist "—let's kiss and make up."