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Yes!‘ Alexander cried in triuainNow I find another one!‘

Left alone, Cristiano ca his head ruefully He was different here, she thought with a tug of wistful longing The diae that defined and drove him had softened The icy reserve he used to keep people at a distance had melted

I adht there was no way he could be right It just looked like a lump of stone to me‘

Kate dropped her gazeDifferent‘ also meant harder to resist

She had been so deter the best thing for Alexander During those interminable hours when she had sat beside him in the hospital she had promised that she would never put herself, her own interests, first again

But suddenly everything looked very different Suddenly it felt as if this was the best thing for Alexander The three of theether

There are lots of fossils down here‘ Her voice was slightly breathless, as if she‘d spent the afternoon running on the beach tooWe find them every time we come‘

Really?‘

She nodded, pulling his coat around herI bet you could find one within reach of where you‘re standing‘

I never turn down a challenge‘

He bent and picked up a piece of jagged slate that was sticking up through the sandOK—let‘s see if you‘re right‘

He brought it over to her Their fingers brushed as she took it froh her body It shook him like an earthquake Quickly she hit the slate on the rock, and he watched her long, clever fingers work into the sea it up like a book

There—look‘ She held it out to him, her voice a low murmurIt‘s beautiful‘

Is there one?‘ he said hoarselyI don‘t see it‘

That‘s because you‘re not looking‘

Fixed on his, her eyes gleahter in her voice that he hadn‘t heard for a long tiood to know that he had put it there, for aaway the shadows and the sharpness and the fear A slow smile spread across his face

I‘ far more beautiful‘

They were standing in a hollow in the cliff face, sheltered from the wind and fro his hands flat against the rockface behind her, he le of her jaw, sighing against the warmth of her skin

Cristiano, we can‘t…‘

Can‘t what?‘ He spoke against her neckIf you mean I can‘t strip off those incredibly sexy jeans and ree We are, after all, parents, and although I‘ it too far However, if you‘re saying I can‘t do this…‘

He ently, breathing out a gentle sigh that le

Stop What about Alexander…?‘

It will do hie

Alood as it‘ll doher jawDio, Kate, I want you I spent every minute, everyyou It‘s all I could think of‘

Kate felt her resistance cruainst her back by a force that was sih she let her head fall back, opening her rasp the collar of his shirt, her fists closing around it, twisting the fabric, pulling hiic His hands were cupping her face now, infinitely tender, war her from the inside The noise of the as drowned out by the roaring of the blood in her ears, the pounding waves lost beneath the crashing of her heart as a tide of hot, slick desire swept through her

Muot one!‘

Alexander‘s shout was like a bucket of cold water Gasping, Kate pulled away just as Alexander ca around the jut of rock that had hidden them