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“Y-Yes…yes, I guess I do.”
“Then let’s go back to your place. At least there we can have some privacy.” He flashed a look down the wide corridor.
They rode back to the apartment in silence.
“How’d you get here?” Carla asked shakily, as she pulled into her assigned parking space.
“I flew in at noon. Nancy picked me up at the airport.”
“When are you going back?”
His gaze cut into hers, and one thick brow arched arrogantly. “Can’t wait to be rid of me, is that it?”
“No…yes…I don’t know,” she replied, her voice trembling.
Her hands were unsteady as she unlocked the apartment and stepped inside. Philip had come all this way because she hadn’t had the courage to talk to him last night. She’d been foolish to believe he wouldn’t find out why. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” she asked, hanging her purse over the inside doorknob of the coat closet.
Gently, Philip settled a hand on each shoulder and turned her around so that he could study her. Carla’s gaze fell to the floor.
“Carla, my love.” Philip’s voice was low, sensuously seductive. “You know what I want.”
She did know. And she wanted it, too. “Oh Philip.” She groaned and slipped her arms over his shoulders, linking her fingers behind his neck. “It’s so good to see you.”
His mouth claimed hers in a series of long, intoxicating kisses that left her weak and trembling. Philip was becoming a narcotic she had to have; his touch was addictive.
His hands roamed over her back, pulling her soft form against his muscular frame. A warmth spread through her limbs, and she turned her head when his lips explored the smooth curve of her shoulder and the hollow of her throat.
Taking a deep breath to keep the room from spinning, Carla pushed against his chest, leaving only a narrow space between them.
“How can you refuse to speak to me, deceive me by letting me think you’d gone out with this other guy, and then kiss me like that?” Philip asked in a voice husky with emotion.
Melting against him, she explored his earlobe with her tongue as her fingertips caressed his clenched jaw. “I think I’m going crazy,” she murmured at last. “I want you so much my heart’s ready to pound right out of me.”
“Then why?” he groaned against her ear. “Why are you running from me so hard I can barely keep up with you?”
“I’m so scared.” Her low voice wavered. “I don’t want to be like my mother.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” He continued to nibble the side of her neck, making it impossible for her to think clearly.
“Everything,” she cried desperately. “I’m not the right person for you.”
“But I won’t want anyone else.”
“Philip, be reasonable.”
“You’re in my arms. I can’t think straight.” He bit gently at the edge of her lips. “Carla, I’m going crazy without you. I want you to marry me. I want to share my life with you, because heaven knows I can’t take much more of this.”
Carla’s eyes shot open. “How can you talk about marriage?” she asked, struggling to break free of his hold.
“It’s the normal process when two people feel as strongly about one another as we do.”
“But I don’t want to love you,” she cried. “When my husband leaves for work in the morning, I don’t want to worry about him risking his life on the streets of the city.”
“Carla—”
“And when he comes home at night, I don’t want him to drag his job with him. I want a husband, not a hero—”
His mouth intercepted her words, muffling them until she surrendered to his kisses, arousing her until she clung to him, seeking a deeper fulfillment. “Kissing me won’t settle a thing,” she murmured, breaking free with her last reserves of strength.
