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cheeks flushing. Her hair was tousled, and her simple black slacks clung to
her shapely bottom as she lay on her stomach, face turned up to smile at him.
"Didn't I read somewhere that this is the most expensive hotel ever built?"
She chuckled again.
"It's one of them anyhow."
She rolled over on her back and looked up at the chandelier again. "He doesn't
need to host charity events to raise money for homeless children.
He could just demolish this place and sell off the pieces." She grinned and
sat bolt upright. When she spoke again, her voice was a perfect imitation of a
professional auctioneer fast, monotonous, impelled by a stirring, staccato
rhythm. "What am I bid for this lovely chandelier, ladies and gentlemen?
Who'll say five thousand? Do I hear five, five, five? Gimme a three,
gimme a three, gimme a three! I'm bid three! Who'll say four, four, four?"
Chance laughed, noticing the way everything about her changed subtly to fit
the role of the auctioneer: her shoulders, her facial expression, the tilt of
her chin. She was a true actress.
"It probably would have saved a lot of trouble if he'd just done that,"
Chance admitted ruefully.
"But then you and I would have missed the opportunity to watch TV from the
bidet," Ally reminded him.
"And what a shame that would have been."
They smiled at each other again, and Chance thought that there were
a lot of things he might say or do right now, if she hadn't already told him
not to. Instead, he heard himself ask, "You got a boyfriend?"
Surprised, Ally answered, "No. Do you?" He laughed, and she added, "I mean, do
you have a& " She rolled her eyes. " 'Boyfriend, girlfriend.' They're awful
words, aren't they? I'm twenty-nine. A little old to date boys
."
"I'm thirty-two. A little old to date girls
."
"So do you have a woman?" she asked.
"Not lately." He shrugged. "I've been on the road so much, and& Not lately."
"I've been through a dry spell ever since I& "
"What?"
She wondered why they were talking about this. Maybe because they were curled
up together on her bed like little kids, needing to reach out to each other
while they
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adjusted to this strange place. Maybe he deserved to know the truth. She
decided to be frank. "Ever since I decided to stop dating actors. The problem
is, I mostly meet actors."
"What's wrong with actors?" he asked curiously.
Ally sighed dramatically and flopped back down on her back. "What's
wrong with actors? Have you got about three hours?"
Looking down at her, he wished to hell that he did. "Actually, no," he said
with regret, glancing at his watch. "And neither do you." They had left the
city late that afternoon, cutting it close. "We're due at this bash in about a
half hour."
Ally slid off the bed. "Can I have the bathroom first?"
"Sure."
She smiled. "Don't worry. I won't take long."
"Okay."
They stared at each other, suddenly both tinglingly aware of the
intimacy of sharing a room. Until now, Ally's only thoughts had been about
how tense it would be, considering their ill-concealed irritation with each
other. But as she looked away from Chance's soft brown eyes, she suddenly
recalled the reason for their mutual annoyance the dark, hot kisses
that had triggered this thing between them, the magical feel of those
hard, strong hands on her body, shaping her bottom, stroking her back&
"Did you forget something?" Chance asked.
"Huh?" She started as if he'd shouted, then realized she'd been staring
blankly at the contents of her cosmetics case as if she'd never seen them
before. Embarrassed, and aware of the weight of his gaze, she picked the whole
thing up and carried it into the bathroom with her, slamming the door behind
her as if she were afraid he'd try to follow.
Chance stared at the closed bathroom door and fought down the
unwelcome impulse to kick it open and follow Ally inside. He heard the water
running and tried not to picture her taking off her clothes as she prepared
for her shower, tried not to imagine her pulling that black knit shirt
over her head, then reaching behind to unfasten her bra and free her
soft& He shook his head, trying to chase away the visions that entered it
uninvited.
After a few more minutes, Ally turned off the water, and there was silence in
the bathroom. She'd be drying herself now, he knew, wiping glistening beads of
water off her smooth, damp skin, missing a few drops as they rolled down her
flat belly. If he were there, would he catch them with his tongue, or would
he watch them roll down into the dark triangle of hair that nestled between
her thighs?
Chance sprang to his feet as if he'd been stung. Sitting around on a red
velvet bed clearly wasn't doing him any good. He flung open his suitcase and
began unpacking with vigor. However, since he had only brought enough clothes
for the weekend, that
task was quickly accomplished, and he again found himself with nothing to do
but wait for Ally to come out of the bathroom.
Even if it had been a while since there'd been a steady woman in his life, he
knew the ways of women well. She'd be putting on lotion now, pouring it into
her palm to warm it up a bit, then spreading it over her creamy white
shoulders and the firm, graceful length of her arms. Her hair would
be tied up or wrapped in a towel, revealing the delicate strength of
her features without the softening frame of those shiny brown waves. The
bathroom would smell of her when he got inside. Body lotion, face
cream, the citrus shampoo he could sometimes smell on her hair when she
brushed by him, the minty scent of her toothpaste, and that warm, unmistakable
underlying fragrance of a woman's flesh. The sweetest perfume on earth.
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Chance felt the tightening of his body and knew it was definitely time to
distract himself. He opened the doors of the entertainment cabinet which was
designed to look like a small pagoda and turned on the TV.
"Do it!
Do it
! Yes, yes, yes!
Yes
!" cried a buxom, naked actress.
"
Yeah
!" screamed one of her sexual partners.
"Oooh, baby! Ooh, ooh, ooooh
!" moaned another of her partners.
Chance's eyes bulged. "Adult entertainment?"
"Again!
Again
!" cried the actress.
"Wow," Chance said, as one performer did things with a tongue that was so long
and dexterous, it must have undergone special training.
Chance looked up when he heard the bathroom door click. "What are
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