Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set Read Online Free Page A

button for the fourteenth floor and rode the elevator in silence with Jackie. It shattered the rules of one night stands, but he decided to see her to her door. Even if her door was on the upper floor of the Hyatt. He’d stayed at this hotel only once in his life. On his honeymoon. The mere thought of Lisa sucked the heat out of the tropical night with efficient cruelty.
    How many women had used him for his money and his name? Lisa wasn ’t the only one, she had just gotten the farthest. And he was still paying for it. Was there any chance that Jackie…he glanced over at her. Ridiculous. She didn’t even know his last name, hadn’t asked. Besides, she looked almost shy standing next to him in the elevator. There was nothing calculating about her. But there was a good reason why he didn’t want to invest any more than he already had. He didn’t always see what was right in front of his face. A lesson learned the hard way.
    They weren ’t alone. The other couple in the elevator pushed the button for the twelfth floor. Mitchell steeled himself and put on his business persona as he planned a smooth exit from this one-night stand. He would walk her to the door of her room, say goodbye, and leave. He’d go to his brother’s house as planned. This night would exist in his memory as a satisfying one-night stand. With fireworks.
    It was simple. It happened all the time here in Key West. Just not to him. His emotions were usually firmly in check. He was always in charge. This was a trait that earned him a reputation as a ruthless machine in business, but it also kept him out of dangerous situations. Like beautiful temptresses he met in bars.
    This had to end. Now.
    He was here to clear his head and make some serious decisions about his Chicago office. He didn ’t need distractions with legs like hers.
    The elevator dinged and the doors opened at the fourteenth floor. He put a hand at the small of Jackie ’s back and steered her down the hall. It was only fifty steps, forty steps, only thirty now.
    She dug her keycard out of her small purse and paused before putting it in the slot. Neither one of them knew what to do. Kiss goodnight? Say goodbye?
    Their eyes met and held.
    “ Goodnight,” she said as she sliced her key through the slot, opened the door, and disappeared inside.
    Mitchell stood there, looking at the closed door. She hadn ’t slammed it in his face. It was just closed. A done deal. He stared at the door for a full minute, wrestling with the temptation to knock on it, then he turned and walked slowly away.

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    Quiet tapping on the door registered in Jackie’s mind before she even opened her eyes. It’s not like she was sleeping anyway. Leah and Teri had been practically unconscious on the two queen beds which came with the suite when Jackie got back last night. They had been thoughtful enough to pull out the sofa bed for her and leave out some pillows. She sunk gratefully onto the bed at first, but then determined around two a.m. that between the lumpy bed and thoughts of Mitchell, she wasn’t going to be getting much sleep. Now there was a faint light outside the drawn curtains. The tapping became more insistent.
    She approached the door cautiously. She wore a sweatshirt over a knee-length nightgown. Not sexy, but her friends forgot to leave her a blanket. Besides, there was no one to impress. It wasn ’t going to be Mitchell coming back for more. For sure. If he wanted to see her again, he wouldn’t have walked away last night. That was the sum total and complete substance of all the rationalizing she had done instead of sleeping.
    He didn ’t ask for her cell number. He didn’t ask the name of her phony cruise line employer. He didn’t ask much at all. The only thing he really knew about her was her first name. Jackie. She knew even less about him.
    His first name? Mitchell. His job? No idea. His home? Well, he implied it was here in Key West, but it was still a mystery.