A Taste of Spring
Chapter 27

The windows to his soul said so much but what overpowered it all was the vulnerability she saw. But what was she to do? She slept with a man she wasn't supposed to, on a job that wasn't hers. "No, I..." Spring stumbled over several things to say before settling on

repeating, "No."

"Then why would you run off like you did?" Dez closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, they seemed different. It was almost as if he prepared and steeled himself for an unkind response.

"I just..." Heat crept up her neck. At a loss and not wanting to make a scene, Spring took Dez by the hand and pulled him off the dance floor. She looked around for Summer before she stopped in a quiet corner. Turning to face him, she said, "I will explain but I have to replace my sister first." She stared at him then broke eye contact to look around him to the expanse of the room for her sister. "Can you give me that?"

"Is something wrong, Anna?" Dez took hold of her other hand and held both in his hands. His expression was one of concern.

answer.

Wow, Spring thought as she looked into his caring smoky gray eyes. She slept with him then ran away but instead of being angry, he was actually worried for her. "Yes...well, no, but I need to talk to my sister before I can give you an explanation." She sighed, waiting for his Dezmond nodded. "I'll be waiting here."

"Thank you," she said then forced a nervous smile.

Spring didn't realize what she was doing until she touched her lips to his. Dez pulled her closer and pushed his tongue inside her mouth and backed her against the wall. The chill from the wall on her bare skin paled compared to the taste of him. Rich, smoldering, sweetness exploded inside Spring's mouth. All she could do was submit to him. She moaned as she threaded her fingers through his hair and moved closer.

Firm hands braced her hips. Dez eased out of the kiss slowly as Spring's lips continued to move and her fingers grasped for purchase. When he gave her hips a tiny jolt, she opened her eyes wide to stare at him.

Her face flushed with color as she peered into his eyes. "I didn't mean to. I'm...I'll be back," she breathed, rushing off.

Spring touched her fingers to her lips as she sped away. Dez branded her again. Made her crazy with lust as it enveloped every inch of her.

(How?)

How could a man she barely knew affect her in such a way? Troy didn't.

(Why?)

Astonished by her behavior, Spring moved quickly through the crowd. She combed over the guests' faces, looking left then right for Summer. What she didn't do was look back. She couldn't. Dezmond had such a pull on her. So much of a pull that she waved caution to the wind and slept with him without knowing him at all.

She needed to speak to Summer about what she could and couldn't tell Dez. (What is wrong with me?) The thought was circling in Spring's mind when she felt a hand firmly grab hold of her upper arm. Instinctively, she tried to jerk away. When she looked over at the man who was keeping pace with her, she opened her mouth to speak but he spoke first.

"Relax," the man told her. "I'm Dezmond's friend. Are you Anna?"

Spring relaxed a little but kept her arm that he held tense and her fist clenched. "Yes, but..."

He pulled her to an empty room that looked like a sitting area. When he let her arm free inside the room, he closed and locked the door behind him. Spring looked around the room, taking note that there was another doorway on the other side of a seating area. The tall attractive man paced just in front of the door. "I knew he was up to something." He said but it seemed to her that he was talking to himself.

(He's crazy.)

She backed up until the back of her legs hit an upholstered chair.

"Look," he looked over at her, "you can't tell him that you're an escort."

Dropping her shoulders, Spring sighed with relief. "You're the client who paid..."

"Yes, and he can't know," the man interrupted. Someone outside the door jiggled the door knob but the man, Dez's friend, had locked it. He looked over his shoulder at the door but didn't move to unlock it. "Just..."

"If you don't open this door, I will call security."

"Summer!" Spring moved forward. When the man didn't readily move out of her way, she motioned to the door. "She's not bluffing."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐