heart fluttered. She could have pushed him away if she’d had the inclination, but she couldn’t find it anywhere inside her. He slid his hand over her cheek and then down to her mouth, rubbing his thumb over her bottom lip.
Her skin tingled everywhere he touched. She swallowed hard. “Why are you touching me?”
“You don’t like it?” he asked, his dark gaze meeting hers. “There are so many reasons you should be off-limits.” He moved closer. “But I like the way your skin feels. I like the way you look at me when I touch you.”
She inhaled a shallow breath and caught another draft of his spicy scent mixed with cologne. In some corner of her mind, it occurred to her that she’d never been this close to such a powerful man. He knew who he was and what he had to do, and he was the kind of man who would make whatever he wanted a reality.
For Lilli, it was like getting up close and personal with a wild tiger. At the same time, he was solid and strong and she knew he would never force a woman. He wouldn’t need to. And to have him looking at her as his object of desire made her dizzy.
“There’s something about you,” he said, gently urging her mouth open so he could slide his thumb just inside to her tongue. “Wide blue eyes with secrets, a sweet smile.” He glanced downward. “You make me curious.”
Lilli was shocked at how quickly her body responded. She’d considered herself sexually dead, but she felt her skin heat and the tips of her breasts tighten against her white cotton gown.
He saw it, too. She knew it by the expression on his face.
“I shouldn’t want you,” he muttered and slid his hand around the back of her neck. “But dammit, I do.” He lowered his mouth to hers and took her lips in a kiss that made her lose track of time and space.
His tongue slid over hers and she felt herself respond. It was all instinctual. Her heart pounded in her head and her blood pooled in secret, sensitive places. Every second that she felt his warmth, his touch, she was shocked by her immediate response to him. Something inside her could not push him away.
She felt him lower one of his hands to her breast. Air caught somewhere in her throat as he caressed her through her gown. He rubbed the palm of his hand over the side of her breast and she shivered, pressing up against him.
He gave a low groan of approval and drew his hand closer to her nipple, but not quite touching it. She felt the peak of it stiffen against her nightgown, aching for his touch.
Full of wanting, she held her breath.
He finally pushed the top of her gown down and slid his thumb over her nipple. She couldn’t swallow a moan of relief with a twinge of frustration.
He pulled his mouth from hers and slid his lips over her skin, down her throat and collarbone. A riot of sensations shot through her. She wanted him everywhere at once.
His other hand slid over her back, massaging her, holding her in a solid embrace. The combination of security and caresses hit her physically and emotionally.
He looked up at her, dark desire in his eyes. Swearing under his breath, he shook his head.
Pulling back, he rose from the bed and prowled toward the window. Moonlight spilled over his profile as he raked his hand through his hair.
Lilli drank in a gulp of air, trying to clear her head. Shocked at herself, she tugged her gown back in place and tried to make sense of what had just happened. That night after she’d broken up with Tony, the night made doubly awful because she couldn’t recall it, she’d changed. She’d known she would never be the same. She would never be able to let a man touch her again unless she trusted him.
Why should she trust Max? There was no good reason. But something inside her did. Either that or she was crazier than she’d thought she was.
“You’re so responsive. I wonder…were you this responsive with my brother,” he ventured in a low voice.
“I wasn’t,” she said, the words popping out before she could stop them.
He turned to look at her. “Why not?”
She bit her lip. “I can’t explain it. It’s just different.”
He continued to hold her gaze. “Did you leave my brother before or after you found out you were pregnant?”
“Before.” She looked away from him. “Something happened one night. I knew I couldn’t stay.”
“What was it?”
“I don’t like talking about it,” she said, twisting her fingers together. “I knew I had to get away from him and his—” her stomach clenched with nausea “—his world.”
“And you weren’t tempted to go back with him when you found out you were pregnant?”
She shook her head vehemently. “Oh, absolutely not. If I didn’t belong in his world, there was no way a baby would.”
“Did he ask you back?”
She nodded. “Several times. But I think he was relieved when I said no. Tony wasn’t ready to be a father.”
“What about the baby? What will you do about a father figure for him?”
“I’ll deal with that later. Right now, I need to get through the pregnancy and delivery. My girlfriends have promised to help me through the scary first few months.” She felt a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. “Then I guess I’ll have to move.”
Feeling his gaze on her, she looked up at him, wondering what he was thinking, what judgments he was making. “You probably don’t understand any of this. How I could end up with your brother and then pregnant with no husband? You would never get yourself into such a crazy situation because you don’t let emotions make your decisions.”
“You’re completely correct.”
“I’m also completely human. Are you?”
His mouth lifted in a half smile. “Unfortunately, yes. Human enough to want to finish what we started a few minutes ago.” He moved toward her, and she felt her heart jump into her throat. “Don’t worry. I won’t. I may be human, but I’m not ruled by my hormones. Good night, Lilli.”
Staring after him in surprise, she took a ragged breath. She felt totally off balance.
I’m human, but I’m not ruled by my hormones.
That was part of the reason she’d responded to him. She had a gut feeling that he had maintained control of himself. He wouldn’t lose it unless he chose to do so. She’d never been around such a man but she could sense it about him and it made her feel secure at the same time that it knocked her sideways. She closed her eyes and pushed her hair from her face. She needed to stay on guard.
Five
Lilli’s hands were shaking as she turned onto Max’s street Saturday after working at the free dental clinic. She’d been so careful at work lately, always making sure to have someone walk her to her car. Afterward, she’d stopped to visit Devon Jones, one of the hospice workers who had helped her mother during her last days. Devon was now caring for his own father during the end stages of a long illness.
After she’d left, she’d noticed a black car in her rearview mirror. Even after making a few turns, the car remained behind her. She became so nervous that she’d taken some wrong turns and had got lost.
Glancing over her shoulder as she pulled into the driveway, she shook her head. Surely they wouldn’t follow her all the way to Max’s house. Biting her lip, she grabbed her purse and rushed into the house, leaning against the door as she closed it, and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself. When she opened them, Max was five feet away from her, pinning her with a searching gaze.
“And you look like you’ve had some excitement,” he said. “Anything you want to tell me?”
She