Luck Be A Lady (Destiny Bay Romances-The Ranchers Book 5) (7 page)

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. The
handful of daisies she held hung limply in her hand.
As his touch traveled up her neck, her eyes closed. The
hard texture of his skin rubbed across the soft con
tour of her cheek. She could hear him breathing deep in his throat. His lips touched her ear, her hairline, her temple, and he nuzzled against her, his sigh a rough,
rasping sound that seemed to tingle across her.

Maybe this wasn’t really happening
, Kelly thought desperately.
Maybe it was happening to someone else.
Maybe she was only dreaming it.

But no. It was all too real. His large hands took her head and pressed her closer, and then his mouth was covering hers, hot and smooth, strong and tender. She
had to pull away and yet she couldn’t. The taste of him
was sweet and musky and he had control, utterly, completely. She was in his hands and sinking into the most heavenly, aching, yearning spin. How had she
lived without the touch of a man all this time? How
had she managed without his excitement stirring her blood this way, his hands on her, moving down now, caressing her back as though she were clay he could
mold to suit his whim? His hands roamed down again,
cupping her bottom, forcing her in tightly against him,
forcing her to feel the hot, demanding pulse that
fueled him, tempting her to throw aside all restraints
and join him in a dance as old as time.

She gasped, reveling in the surge of white light that split her. A wildness burst in her chest and spread throughout her body, a wildness that ached with hun
ger. And suddenly she was awake again, and she could
see it for what it was. It frightened her. It was too
strong, too primeval. With a cry, Kelly pulled away, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and star
ing at Cody.

He stared back, almost as stunned and wary as she was. She’d been even softer in his arms than he’d expected, pliant and smooth, yet full of fire. But so were a lot of women he knew. There was something more to Kelly, something... he almost hated to put it
into words, even in his own mind, because it sounded
so dopey. But there’d been a connection made between them. Something strange and mystical had
bonded when they’d kissed. She was special. He
couldn’t let her slip away until he’d explored just how
special.

“Well, what’s the verdict?” he asked, forcing the teasing tone, but succeeding well enough. “Could I
change your life?”

She gave him a shaky smile and looked down at the
wilted daisies still clutched in her hand, then placed
them carefully on the table. “You sure could,” she
said, her voice trembling but her will strong. “You could probably convince me to give up kissing alto
gether.”

“Never that.” Cody grinned with almost every bit
of his old spirit. “Come on, Kelly. Admit it. You don’t
really hate me.”

She avoided his eyes, snipping stems off flowers and
stacking them, getting ready to make his bouquets.
“Don’t I?”

His voice grew serious and he touched her shoulder
before he said, softly, “As a matter of fact, you like me a little more than you want to, don’t you?”

She met his gaze and shook her head. “You’re impossible,” she said, but a reluctant smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “And your ordering is finished. Goodbye, Mr. Marin.”

He frowned, glancing down at the stacks of flowers.
“I could just hang around and help you....”

“Goodbye, Mr. Marin.”

Finally he seemed prepared to leave. “These will all
be delivered this afternoon?” he asked, fingering his
keys.

She nodded, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes, then looking back at her work. She’d had a few
qualms at first, knowing he was only ordering the
flowers to drive her crazy. It seemed a lot of money to
spend for a joke. But those reservations had evapo
rated long ago.

He started toward the door, then stopped and
looked back. “Just one more thing,” he said. “When he delivers the flowers, I want your delivery boy to
give each one of my recipients a nice big kiss on the
cheek for me.”

She looked up, eyes blazing. “Fine. That’s just
fine.” Reaching under the counter, she pulled out a
blue and white cap and jammed it on her head. “It
just so happens that I am the delivery boy. And I’ll be
glad to do it.”

He leaned back and laughed. “Got me again, Kelly
Stanton,” he said.

She pointed at the exit. “There’s the door,” she re
minded him. She needed him gone, needed time to
examine what she’d done here today without him
looking on.

But he lingered a moment longer. “I’m not such a
terrible guy, Kelly,” he said softly. “I’m kind to chil
dren, small pets...”

“And old girlfriends,” she interjected.

“Exactly.” His smile was smug. “So—will you have
dinner with me?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve got too much work to do.” She nodded to
ward the flowers. “Look at all these orders I have to make up and deliver. I’ll be out half the night.”

He looked stricken. “Shot myself in the foot this
time, did I?”

She looked up at him. He looked adorably chagrinned. She smiled. “Goodbye, Mr. Marin
. And thank you for your lovely order.”

Chapter Four

Kelly pulled the florist van into a parking space out
side the Marquis Hotel, turned off the engine, and
leaned against the steering wheel with a heartrending sigh. Through the windshield she could see the gold
en spires of the sumptuous building, the flashing neon,
the high-spraying fountain. She had two more deliveries to make, both in the Marquis, but she wasn’t sure
she had the will to go on.

Two more of Cody’s lovely show girls—and they had all turned out to be show girls—were on her delivery list. She’d been to apartment buildings all over town visiting the eight others. Every one of them
had been tall, willowy, graceful. Some were redheads,
some blondes, others dark-haired. Some were viva
cious, some carefully slinky, and one in particular,
Tanya Allen, smoldering with instant sexuality. And
every one had been blatantly beautiful and just thrilled
to death to get flowers from Cody.

Could she stand meeting two more of his con
quests? She shuddered, turning to glare at the two
bouquets still waiting in the back of the van.

There was a boy parking cars on the other side of
the lot. He wore a red vest and raced from one car to
the next. Kelly eyed him speculatively for a few mo
ments, tempted to ask if he’d like to make a little extra money delivering the flowers for her. She had
merely to hand over the boxes and the addresses and
he could be the one to smile at those plastic faces. It
would all be over. She wouldn’t have to meet any more
of Cody’s girlfriends. She could go home and have a
nice long soak in the tub.

She shook herself out of the lovely dream. No. She couldn’t do it. She squared her shoulders. This was her
responsibility. Besides, if he ever found out she’d turned chicken and avoided the job, she wouldn’t be
able to face his amusement.

Gritting her teeth, she got out of the van and began to unload the flowers in their carefully packed boxes.
She ignored the glances as she marched through the
lobby with her burden. She was used to the stares of
people who expected deliveries like this to be made by
men or teenage girls. Her blue cap was pulled jauntily over her shining hair and her head was held high.

She tapped her toe restlessly while waiting for the elevator, wanting this to be over with. Just two more
show girls to go.

And what would this next one be like
? she mused to
herself, shifting the boxes from one arm to another.
Would she have curves like a beauty queen or legs like a World War Two poster girl? Or a combination of the
two? That was the type Cody seemed to go for.

The elevator doors oozed open and she went aboard, along with a small crowd of others that she
hardly noticed. Her mind was still on her delivery. As
she thought about it, she frowned, struck by the
strength of her own emotions. She didn’t know why
she resented the girls so much. After all, Cody Marin
was nothing to her.

But deep down, she did resent them, and she knew it. Every one of them seemed to have some aspect of extra-sized glamor and glitz that she knew she didn’t.

“Who cares?” she exclaimed passionately, and suddenly eleven pairs of startled eyes met hers as everyone in the elevator turned to see why she’d spoken. She flushed, tried to smile, and gratefully escaped as the elevator door opened at her floor.
   

But the point was, she told herself fiercely, she
didn’t care. She didn’t want Cody. And she certainly didn’t give a damn about his dating rituals.

She found the room number she was looking for
and glanced down at the card. Ivy Blake. Her mouth twisted cynically. A tall, icy blonde, no doubt. And definitely voluptuous. They were all voluptuous. She rapped her knuckles against the wooden door.

“Delivery for Miss Blake,” she called.

The door opened almost immediately, but the
woman on the other side was hardly the icy blonde Kelly had envisioned. Round-faced and dumpy, she
was well launched into middle age.

“Is Ivy Blake here?” Kelly asked automatically, looking behind the woman into the small hotel room.

“I’m Ivy Blake.”

Kelly looked back at the woman, startled. Ivy Blake
smiled, and when she did that, her face took on a radiance that made Kelly want to smile back.

“Flowers, Miss Blake,” she said, holding out the
box.

“For me?” The woman had clearly not had a lot of
flower deliveries in her life. “Really?” She took the
box from Kelly but seemed almost afraid to open it.
“Who could it possibly be from?” she murmured, eyes wide and astonished.

“The card.” Kelly pointed out that item and waited while the woman opened it. She couldn’t help her cu
riosity.

“Cody Marin,” Ivy crowed. “I should have
known.” She sighed, looking down at the roses in the
box, and tears actually popped into her eyes. “Oh,
he’s the most wonderful man,” she sighed, reaching
up to rub at them.

It was time for Kelly to leave, but she could hardly tear herself away. This was just too fascinating. Ivy Blake hardly matched the others. A few of them had
called him a wonderful man, too, but the gleam in
their eyes had been nothing like the tenderness she saw
here.

“Oh.” Ivy looked chagrined. “I should tip you,
shouldn’t I?”

“Oh, no, no, no!” Kelly started backing toward the
door. “Really, I was just...”
Hanging around waiting to hear more,
she admitted to herself. But she could hardly say that to Ivy.

“You wait one minute, young lady.” Ivy gently put
down the flowers and began to rummage through her
purse. “I want to give you something.”

She opened
one compartment, then another. “I just can’t believe
he would send me flowers, after all he’s done for me.
What a guy!”

Kelly didn’t want the tip, but she certainly wanted to know what Cody had done to elicit such a testi
monial. “He seemed very nice when he ordered the
flowers,” she prodded, hoping for more.

“Oh, isn’t he?” Ivy forgot all about her search,
looking up earnestly at Kelly in the doorway. “Do you
know what that man has done for me? I came here
from Minnesota, looking for my husband.”
 

She
stepped closer, speaking confidentially.
 

“He’s a compulsive gambler, don’t you know. And when he didn’t come home after a weekend here with his buddies, I
went after him. Well, there he was, deep in debt, drowning in booze, and ready to just about do himself in. Cody Marin found out about our trouble. He got me this room, got Sam cleaned up and dried out and took him to a Gamblers Anonymous meeting.
Now he’s arranging for us to get home again, and he’s
having Gamblers Anonymous meet Sam at the air
port in Minneapolis.”

A veritable saint. Kelly began to inch away from the
woman’s monologue, muttering polite things.

“Oh, wait, I haven’t tipped you!”

“No need.” She smiled and started to march down
the hall. “Just enjoy the flowers.” She turned a corner and stopped to lean against a wall and catch her breath. So Cody Marin had a heart after all. Would
wonders ever cease?

“One out of ten,” she muttered to herself, trying to maintain an equilibrium as she caught the elevator
for another floor. There was always the exception to
the rule.