Her Baby's Father. Katherine Garbera

the woman herself, sophisticated and understated. Yet like Sabrina it also held the air of emptiness. A certain sense of expectancy wafted through the open doors. The rooms, which were functional but not lived-in, made his heart ache, even though he’d vowed no woman would ever breach the stone wall behind which he hid his emotions. And he questioned what he was doing here.

      The silence felt as heavy as the secrets between them. He had his. They involved more than the scars she’d seen on his back. He knew she had her own secrets, too.

      It was evident from the way she’d reacted to the mother and child earlier this afternoon. But those things didn’t matter right now. She closed the door quietly behind her. Her wind-blown hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. Her blouse was rumpled from where he’d had his hands under it earlier, and her long legs were encased in jeans. Blood pooled at the center of his body and his arousal strained against his denim jeans.

      He hadn’t felt this randy since he’d been a teenage boy experiencing women for the first time. He’d played the game, he reminded himself. He was a lady’s man. None of that mattered when faced with Sabrina. Her fresh innocence drew him in ways more experienced women hadn’t.

      He wanted her in a way that he’d forgotten wanting could be. Sharp, intense and tinged with emotion. He ignored the emotion and focused on the pulse pounding through his body. Demanding he take her to bed. Demanding he mate with her in a primal way. Demanding he move now.

      Her pants molded to her perfect thighs and shapely calves. Her lips were still swollen from his kisses but her eyes were clear. Though she wouldn’t change her mind, he needed her to say the words aloud.

      “Are you sure you want to make love with me?” he asked for his conscience.

      “Yes,” she said with no hesitation.

      His body screamed, Yeah, baby, let’s go for it, but his mind cautioned him to warn her. She meant more to him than a causal romp. She was the kind of woman who deserved a devoted guy and a wedding. He wasn’t that man.

      In the back of his mind was the thought that this wasn’t the wisest decision. He had to preserve a little distance between himself and Sabrina if he was going to write a decent article. But Sabrina smiled at him from under her lashes in a way that made him want to fall to his knees and crawl to her. She wasn’t like the women in his past. She was his dream woman come to life, and he knew he was going to have her.