“Nick, we need to stop,” she whispered. Her breathing was as ragged as his. His mouth was red from kisses and her lips throbbed. She longed to step back into his embrace and continue what they’d started, but she had to end it now or she would complicate her life badly.
“I want you,” he said, framing her face with his hands.
His words wrapped around her, a statement that rang with feeling. “You want something from me,” she said. “This is about Michael more than you and me.”
“Not this,” Nick denied in a husky tone. “This has nothing to do with family, baby, or anything except a man wanting a desirable, sexy woman.”
His words were a melting caress, creating havoc with her guarded intentions.
“It doesn’t matter whether that’s true or not. Any relationship between us is doomed. Alicia got embroiled with a Rafford and it cost her life. That thought is constantly with me.”
“I’ve said it before—I intend to prove that I’m not Bart.” Nick’s arm slipped around her waist to pull her to him. “I’ll never treat you the way he did Alicia. I want you in my arms in my bed and I’m determined to get what I want,” he said.
“Sorry, Nick. That isn’t going to happen. Your father will never give up now with Michael, but I’m not getting more deeply involved. Not with you or your family. The Raffords had their chance.”
“I’m not talking about getting what my father wants. Damn it, I want you, Grace.” He swooped down to kiss her again, his arm encircling her instantly and pulling her tightly against him as he kissed her passionately.
She grabbed his upper arms to stop him, but the moment his tongue thrust deeply into her mouth, her rejection transformed into need.
Passion heightened. She wound her fingers in his thick hair at the back of his head while her other hand ran across his broad shoulder. She wanted to touch and feel, kiss and be kissed.
Instead, she broke away. “Nick, stop this. We have no place in our lives for love. None whatsoever,” she said, as if trying to convince herself.
His gaze traveled slowly over her features, weakening her resistance. Gently, he combed strands away from her face.
“You’ll change your mind,” he whispered.
“I can’t,” she replied, hoping she could keep him out of her life. Part of her craved the opposite. She couldn’t succumb because it would be a disaster.
“Thanks again for today,” he said, and turned, pausing to look at the sleeping baby. Then Nick walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.
She stepped to the window to watch him, his long, purposeful strides proclaiming his confidence.
Friday morning Nick called to arrange an afternoon appointment at her office. As they talked, he could feel the coolness in her tone of voice. Finally, she yielded and agreed to see him at her office late in the afternoon.
The moment he strolled through the door, every nerve in his body came alive. Consumed by lust, he had suffered hot, erotic fantasies that tormented him. Efforts to put her out of his mind had failed. Longing streaked in him, heating him, driving his purpose in meeting out of mind.
When their gazes locked, he could feel the sparks and she obviously experienced it, too. And just as apparent, she fought it. She sat in silence behind her desk, a convenient barrier between them.
Nick pulled a chair closer to her desk, to face her. “Thanks for seeing me,” he said, sitting back to notice with satisfaction that a flush rose in her cheeks. Beneath a matching suit jacket, her vee-necked rose blouse revealed the beginning of lush curves. He longed to walk around the wooden desk and take her into his embrace. Instead, he sat quietly facing her. “How have you been?”
“Fine, Nick,” she answered, and he thought she looked more gorgeous than ever. He wished she would come sit near him.
“Do you have Christmas plans?” he asked.
“I’ll spend it with Michael. It’ll be quiet, but fun.”
“What about your aunt? Won’t she be with you, too?”
“No. She leaves Monday to be with her son who is in Germany. I’ll just be with Michael. So what does your father want now?” she asked.
“You’re so certain my visit concerns him,” Nick remarked drily.
“Doesn’t it? I know you don’t have designs of your own on Michael, so it has to be your father. If you just wanted to see or be with me, I don’t think you’d call for an office appointment.”
“You’re right. My father would like to see Michael again.”
As she looked away, her hands locked together on the desk. Her knuckles whitened, an obvious indication she was unhappy with his request. “You told him he could see Michael again,” Nick reminded her gently.
