“Something smells good. Lani, is that you?”
When his head popped around the kitchen door, his brows elevated in surprise, she laughed. “Who did you think it was? Your fairy godmother?”
“It might as well be,” he said, stepping into the kitchen. “I can’t believe you made dinner. I didn’t know you could cook.”
“Don’t sing my praises just yet,” she warned. “Wait until you take a bite. I just hope I don’t send us both to the ER tonight.”
He laughed. “I’m sure you won’t. It smells so good my mouth is watering already.”
And Lani’s mouth was watering, too, but it wasn’t for meatloaf and potatoes. It was for the handsome hunk who stood before her, six o’clock shadow on his jaw, tie gone and stark-white collar open to give her a peek at the top of his broad chest. What would it feel like to run her tongue over the smooth silk of that skin?
Lani shook her head. She was thinking dangerous thoughts and she didn’t need to go there. Not now, not yet. “Go take a quick shower,” she said, trying to defuse the tension that was knotting in her stomach. “By the time you’re done I’ll have dinner on the table.”
Ridge nodded. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” And in a flash he was gone, his footsteps sounding in the hallway as he headed for his bedroom.
“Wow,” Lani whispered to herself. “He must be real hungry.” At least she could hope so. Maybe that was why he hadn’t even noticed the change in her attire. Didn’t she look different?
Fifteen minutes later Ridge walked back into the living room, looking fresh and frustratingly handsome in ink-black trousers and matching black shirt. He walked right up to Lani as she sat at the table waiting for him and surprised her with a kiss on the cheek.
“That color suits you,” he said. “You look stunning.”
Lani didn’t know which surprised her more - his kiss or his compliment. Her face broke into a smile. So he had noticed.
Ridge sat at the place she’d set for him across from her but then, like he could read her mind, like he could tell she was wanting him tonight, he got up and shifted his plate and utensils to the place right beside hers. “You’re too beautiful,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse, “for me to stay far away from you.”
Lani raised her eyebrows. Hello? Where had that come from? She wasn’t complaining, though, so she just smiled and said nothing.
After that Lani and Ridge enjoyed their meal which, to Lani’s surprise, tasted pretty good if she should say so herself. She had to admit, too, that she enjoyed her conversation with Ridge, the first real one they’d had since getting married. Who could have known that Ridge Kent had a complex personality? Ever since they’d met at that first board meeting she’d seen him as a wise-cracking troublemaker who was only too happy to shove his opinion down other people’s throats. Now, though, he was opening himself up to her, showing her a whole new side to his personality.
“We owe it to our children and grandchildren,” he was saying, “to do all we can to protect and preserve the environment. I feel strongly about this and that’s the reason why I support research that will help us find viable energy alternatives.”
Lani tilted her head, curious. “Seriously? But you’re in the oil business. How do you reconcile the two?”
He shook his head. “Being in the oil industry doesn’t stop me from being concerned. Right now I satisfy the community’s energy needs but I also recognize that we need to find alternatives. And trust me,” he smiled, “as we transition to those alternatives I’ll be the first to jump on board. Where the business goes, I go.”
She smiled back. “Spoken like a true capitalist.”
He chuckled. “Did you expect anything less?”
After that their conversation moved to her research and the progress she was making in sourcing plant supplies for her experiments and trials. “Thanks to you,” Lani said, “I don’t have to be distracted by mundane matters like leases and bills. It’s such a relief to be able to focus on what matters.” She gave a soft sigh of contentment. “We’ve made quite a bit of progress and right now we’re just waiting for a shipment from South America. Once that arrives we’ll be able to complete phase one of the study.”
“Sounds good,” Ridge said. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
And then Lani remembered. She was grateful for his help, of course, but it had come at a price. She’d had to leave her apartment and move into his house, sacrificing her freedom so she could get the funding she so desperately needed.
And so Lani was torn. On the one hand she recognized that if Ridge hadn’t come to the rescue the landlord would have probably locked them out of the building by now. On the other hand, she was more than a little peeved. Ridge could have given her that money, easy. Why did he have to tack a condition onto it?
And so as he smiled at her she smiled back but her mind was ticking away, busy contemplating her next step. She’d started the evening with all kinds of good thoughts about Ridge. She’d wanted to show him she could be nice. More than that, though, she’d wanted to tempt him just a little, to see if she could get him to kiss her again. She’d tasted his kiss, not once but twice, and she wanted more.
But how could she divorce her desire from her displeasure? He’d blackmailed her, after all.
“You’re still with me?”
Lani blinked and turned her gaze to Ridge who was watching her with interest.
“You looked like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders,” he said. “What’s up? Got something on your mind?”
Ignoring all the reasons why she shouldn’t, Lani decided to be bold. She would go for what she wanted and be damned with discretion. Slowly, deliberately, she laid her napkin on the table then reached out and lifted her glass to take a fortifying sip of wine. Then she turned to face her friendly foe, deciding on a full frontal attack.
“I want to kiss you,” she said, abandoning coyness and getting straight to the point. And she might be mad that he’d forced her into this situation but that didn’t mean she didn’t want him. She’d thought she could ignore him for a year but his kiss taught her otherwise. Now she would take her pleasure and deal with her vexation later.
“I’m all yours,” Ridge said and made as if to get up but she dropped her hands on his shoulders, preventing him from moving.