Veil of Deception
- Excerpt 3
“Dani, we’re going fishing tonight.”
“Tonight? I thought you said you were taking me to dinner on the lake.”
Kurt chuckled, “No, I said we were going out on the lake and that I would take care of dinner, and I have. It’s waiting for us in the kitchen.”
A flicker of disappointment appeared for an instant in her narrowed blue-green eyes. Kurt watched Danielle’s expression slowly change to one of sly amusement, a quirky smile dimpling her cheeks. “All right, Hawk. I’m up for that. Let’s go.”
She pivoted on one slender high heel and Kurt was afforded a glance at her shapely calves, encased in a pair of smoky hose. The back of the dress ended in a vee point at her waist, the material covering just enough of her back to hide the deep scratch he knew lay beneath. There was a little crepe bow at the point of the vee which drew his gaze. Her hair was swept up in some complicated coiffure with tendrils escaping to frame her slender neck, exposing most of her back and its silky length of skin, inviting a man’s touch. She bent down to retrieve the bag she’d just set on the bench and the action lifted the hem of that flirty little skirt. Kurt felt his mouth suddenly go dry.
“Where are you going?”
“Down to the lake. Isn’t that where one would fish? We are going out in your boat, aren’t we? Or do you have a pair of waders I can wear?” She bent forward from the waist, sliding one hand along the silk of her hose as if examining them for their ability to hold up beneath rubber waders.
Damn, this woman’s got spunk. “We’re not going fly fishing, sweetheart, we’re going striper fishing. And you’re not going anywhere near the lake dressed like that.”
“Is that right?” Danielle’s eyes narrowed flirtatiously and just a bit dangerously.
Kurt cocked his head slightly and displayed a curious expression.
What is going on inside that pretty little head?
“C’mon, you can wear my clothes again. I rather like the way you look in them anyway.” Kurt gave her a wolfish grin and tossed a baseball cap at her. “And put this on so your hair doesn’t fly all over the place. Nobody goes fishing on my boat without a hat. It’s bad luck.”
“I just so happen to have your shirt and sweats right here. I washed them.” Danielle held the bag out in front of her. “And then, Mr. Hawkins, I spent most of the afternoon and evening bathing in scented bubbles, rubbing lotion over every inch of my body, curling my hair, giving myself a manicure and pedicure, doing my makeup, and selecting just the right outfit.”
The more she spoke, the icier her tone got. Kurt began to doubt the wisdom of his decision to take this beautiful woman out fishing on their first official date. He had no idea if she’d ever been fishing before, but from his experience with the rest of the women on Gills Creek, he assumed not.
“So now,” Danielle continued, bending ever so slowly over the bench to slide one high heel off her foot. “I will just undo what it took me hours to accomplish so that I can put your baggy clothes back on and go fish for my own dinner.”
He was completely unprepared to be hit in the arm with her shoe.
“Ouch, that hurt!” It was quickly followed by the second shoe, which sailed across the room but luckily glanced off the back of his laptop screen and landed tamely on the carpet. “Dani!”