Josh wasn't overly proud or happy about it, but they'd had enough to drink to float a fleet of ships before the man finally gave the nod to Gordon Construction. That's why Josh had made the decision to spend the night with Lori. The wine had dulled his normally sharp senses and he didn't think his being behind the steering wheel of a car was in anyone's best interest. Since she had given him a key to her apartment a few weeks back and it was only a couple of blocks from the restaurant, walking to Lori's place had seemed wiser than trying to drive the five miles to his ranch outside of town. Besides, he hadn't seen her in a few days and missed losing himself in her soft charms.

The fact that their relationship was more of a physical connection than it was an emotional attachment should have bothered him. But neither he nor Lori wanted anything more, and he couldn't see any harm in two consenting adults spending their time enjoying each other for as long as the attraction lasted.

As he made his way across the dark living room and headed down the hall toward her bedroom, he decided not to turn on a lamp. The headache that had developed during the last few rounds of drinks already had his head feeling like his brain had outgrown his skull. The harsh glare of a light certainly wouldn't make it feel any better.

Loosening his tie, he removed his suit jacket as he quietly opened the bedroom door and, stripping off the rest of his clothes, climbed into bed with the feminine form he could just make out beneath the covers. Without thinking twice he took her in his arms and teased her lips with his to wake her.

He thought he heard her murmur something a moment before she began to kiss him back, but Josh didn't give her a chance to say more. He was too captivated by her. Lori had never tasted as sweet and the scent of whatever new shampoo she had used caused him to ache with the urgent need to sink himself deep inside of her.

When she ran her hands over his shoulders, then tangled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck as she kissed him with a pa.s.sion that robbed him of breath, a shaft of longing coursed through him. She needed him as badly as he needed her. He didn't hesitate to slide his hand down her side to her knee, then, catching the hem of her nightshirt, he brought it up to her waist. Never breaking the kiss, he made quick work of removing the sc.r.a.p of silk and lace covering her feminine secrets and nudged her knees apart.

His heart felt like it might jump right out of his chest when he rose over her and she reached to guide him to her. Her desire for him to join their bodies was as strong as his and, giving them what they both wanted, he entered her in one smooth stroke.

Setting an urgent pace, he marveled at how much tighter she felt, how her body seemed to cling to his. But the white-hot haze of pa.s.sion was stronger than his ability to reason and he dismissed his confusion as a result of too much wine.

When she clenched her tiny feminine muscles, he knew she was poised on the edge, and deepening his strokes, Josh pushed them both over the edge. As he emptied himself deep inside of her, her moan indicated that she was experiencing the same mind-blowing pleasure that pulsed through him, and feeling drained of energy, he collapsed on top of her.

"Oh, Mark, that was incredible."

Josh went completely still as his mind tried to process what he had heard. The woman he had just made love with had called him Mark. If that wasn't enough to send a cold sense of dread knifing through him, the fact that it wasn't Lori's voice sure as h.e.l.l was.

What had he done? Where was Lori? And who was the woman he had just made love with?

Sobering faster than he could blink, Josh levered himself to her side, then quickly sat up on the side of the bed to reach for his discarded clothes. "I...um...oh, h.e.l.l. I'm really sorry. I thought...you were Lori."

The woman was silent for a moment before she gasped and he heard her jump to her feet on the other side of the bed. "Oh, dear G.o.d! No, this can't be... We didn't... You must be-"

"Josh," he finished for her, since she seemed to be having problems conveying her thoughts.

He kept his back to her as he pulled on his pants and shirt. Not that she could see in the dark any more than he could. But all things considered, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

"I really am sorry." He knew his apologies weren't nearly adequate enough for the circ.u.mstances, but then he wasn't sure anything he could say or do would make the situation any less humiliating for either of them. "I swear to G.o.d, I thought you were Lori."

"I'm her...sister," the woman said, sounding like she might be recovering her ability to speak in a complete sentence.

He knew Lori had a sister, but since their relationship was mostly physical, he and Lori hadn't delved too deeply into the details of each other's lives. And if she had mentioned her sister by name, he'd be d.a.m.ned if he could think of it now.

"I'd give anything if this hadn't-"

"Please, don't," she said, cutting him off. "Just leave...Josh."

He hesitated, then, deciding that it was probably the best-the only-thing he could do, he walked to the front door and let himself out of the apartment. He had no sooner pulled the door shut than he heard her set the dead bolt and slide the chain into place.

His heart stalled for a moment, then began to beat double time. He had been just drunk enough and she apparently had been sleepy enough for both of them to forget the use of a condom. It was something he had never forgotten before and he couldn't believe that he'd done so this time.

Completely sober now, he shook his head as he walked the short distance to his Mercedes still sitting in the restaurant's parking lot. He was going to drive home and when he woke up in the morning, he hoped to discover that he'd dreamed the entire incident.

But as he got into the car and started the engine, he knew as surely as the sun rose in the east each morning that wasn't going to be the case. Nothing was going to change the fact that he had done the unthinkable. He had made love to his girlfriend's sister-the most exciting, responsive woman he had ever met. And what was even worse, he had no clue what she looked like and didn't even know her name.

HER RETURN TO KING'S BED.

Maureen Child.

Books by Maureen Child.

Harlequin Desire.

*King's Million-Dollar Secret #2083.

One Night, Two Heirs #2096.

*Ready for King's Seduction #2113.

*The Temporary Mrs. King #2125.

*To Kiss a King #2137.

Gilded Secrets #2168

Up Close and Personal #2179

An Outrageous Proposal #2191

*The King Next Door #2209

Rumor Has It #2240

The Lone Star Cinderella #2258

*Her Return to King's Bed #2269.

Silhouette Desire.

Scorned by the Boss #1816

Seduced by the Rich Man #1820

Captured by the Billionaire #1826

*Bargaining for King's Baby #1857.

*Marrying for King's Millions #1862

*Falling for King's Fortune #1868

High-Society Secret Pregnancy #1879.

Baby Bonanza #1893.

An Officer and a Millionaire #1915

Seduced Into a Paper Marriage #1946

*Conquering King's Heart #1965.

*Claiming King's Baby #1971

*Wedding at King's Convenience #1978

*The Last Lone Wolf #2011.