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"Well, I need to be sure, don’t I?" His fingers htly He kissed her shoulder, his day-old beard scratchy, the roughness sending shivers through her Her nipples tightened, and he noticed, capturing each one between his fingers

Her body dampened, and she tried to turn, to touch him, but his hands kept her in place, and he nipped her shoulder "Did I say you couldshock waves coursing through her

When he pinned her back against the chair again, heat washed through her He controlled her so easily He nibbled under her ear and sucked on her earlobe, and her insides turned ain, I could show you the rest of my home," he murmured, and pulled her to her feet "I do have a bedroom" He led her toward the back of the house, past the kitchen, and a sound er-colored cat stalked through the kitchen

"Ah, about ti toto pet it He looked up "May I introduce Galahad?"

"Galahad?" she said in disbelief That had to be the biggest and ugliest cat she’d ever seen, and she’d seem some monsters at the shelter

"He’s a very chivalrous fellow"

Jessica knelt on the floor and held out a finger to be delicately sniffed In approval, the cat nudged her hand, curveted closer to be petted "You hter" She frowned at the chewed-on ears and scarred nose

"He’s been with e cans He was big then, has grown even more since"

She would never have picked him as a person ould adopt a stray cat She didn’t know him at all, did she?

"Ben said you were divorced?" she blurted out, then flushed Yeah, th

"About ten years ago," he said as if her question wasn’t unusual "We , when I was in the service Since I spentwell enough until I was discharged After that, we both tried, but when I entered grad school, she called it quits" He quirked his eyebrows "Aave the cat a final pat before rising, holding his hand out for Jessica She let him pull her to her feet

"And have you been ot quite that far," she confessed "I never --" She stopped; she was not going to tell hilinted like he’d picked that thought out of the air Jerk But he si her the rest of his home An office held a bulletin board covered with photos and letters fros decorated the walls "That’s quite a collection," she said, touching one photo of a gap-toothed pixie grinning at the camera

He moved his shoulders "I’ve been at it awhile"

And the children h to hiht, recalling her colleague’s offices, filled with business awards, pictures of fauest rooms there," he said as they walked down the hall "And this isher a room filled with older furniture, coiant TV on one wall, a piano in the corner, and a wall of books She walked over to exaatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Ross Macdonald Her eyebrows rose; she had e of sitting on his lap, both of thes

Finally, he pushed open the door to his any furniture Tall arched s open to the night air

A king-size bed Her breath caught Her body roused as if it had been waiting just for this room

"I think you’ll like the furniture in this room" His voice was husky as his hands settled on her waist, warm and hard and --

A rusty hed "I have to feed hi" He kissed her neck then released her "The bathroom is across the room if you have need"

When he left, she crossed the rooht it to her attention The bathrooreen towels The tub would easily hold two, and the shower could accolanced in the asped Mascara and eyeliner streaked her cheeks; she looked like a rain-soaked prostitute She scrubbed it all off, checked the mirror and winced Even withat the bare face in the ht off and went back into the bedroo to the cat, his deep voice sparking off flutters in her stomach He talked to her the saaze turned to the bed, and the ugly feeling in her chest gre many of those woh her mind: Women fall all over him, and in his world, he’s known as the bestto the subs, ould definitely know Lots of subs apparently

Would that gorgeous blonde be up here tomorrow? Jessica’s hands closed into fists, but who should she hit? The blonde? Or herself for being so stupid and letting herself get more involved than she should have? He’d never indicated that he wanted her for more than just sex, after all And she’d enjoyed the sex, hadn’t wanted anything else at first But every ti about him, she liked him more

She wanted there to be a them, but he didn’t feel the same way

There was no future with hiazed outside Black clouds weretherain before