Victorian maiden made to swoon by pretty words and innocent caresses, she melted into his embrace.
As kisses went, it was world-class. Despite his professed conflicted emotions, Nathaniel was now totally in control, completely confident. He held her without a sign of awkwardness, as though the two of them had been intimate for weeks and months.
To his credit, he coaxed rather than insisted. The first kiss was soft and warm and exploratory. His taste was sinful and decadent. Dani’s hands clung to his shoulders as if she were about to go down with the Titanic. Her heart beat so loudly in her ears, she wondered if he noticed.
One of his arms held her firmly against his chest. The other hand tangled in her hair and loosened the rubber band that was her only claim to style. Now her hair tumbled onto her shoulders. She had washed it at bedtime. It was still damp.
Nathaniel shuddered and buried his face in the curve of her neck. “You smell like apple pie,” he muttered.
“It’s the shampoo in your guest bathroom,” she said primly. One part of her brain couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
“Please tell me I’m not making a fool of myself, Dani.”
She shook her head, finally brave enough to stroke the silky hair at the back of his neck. “You’re a lot of things, Nathaniel Winston. But never a fool.”
He pulled back and stared into her eyes. “Do you want me? Do you want this? Be honest, please.”
Taking his face between her hands, she managed a smile. “I’ve never wanted anything more.” She paused, biting her lip.
“What?” he asked sharply.
His frown alarmed her. “I’m on the Pill, but I need you to wear protection.”
“Of course.”
A dark red flush spread from his throat to his hairline. She had either embarrassed him or angered him. “I’m not the kind of woman who takes chances,” she said, “all evidence to the contrary.”
“Of course not,” he said. “But you need to believe me when I say I took no chances with Ophelia. It might have been a one-night stand, but I’m not suicidal. I used condoms. If Peaches is mine, it was conception that defied the odds.”
The baby in question slept peacefully at their feet, the lights on the little tree casting colored shadows on her small body.
Dani sighed. “I believe you. Accidents happen, though.”
He gripped her wrist, forcing her attention away from the child and back to him. “I’ll get condoms,” he said. “Don’t move.”
Nodding jerkily, she forced a smile. “Hurry.”
When she was alone again, Dani blinked and sank to her knees on the rug. “Oh, Peaches. What have I done?”
For one wild moment, Dani started to scoop up the baby. It wouldn’t be hard to prevent herself from crossing a monumental line in the sand. All she had to do was pretend Peaches had awakened on her own. Babies did that all the time.
Her hand hovered over the downy head for what seemed like forever. Nerves sent her stomach into a free fall and then whooshed it back up again. Oh, God, am I insane? Nathaniel Winston was going to break her heart.
“Having second thoughts?”
The masculine voice startled her so badly, she lost her balance and sat down hard on her butt. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
He stared at her strangely. “My bedroom is two doors away. How long did you think it would take?”
“Oh.” Suddenly, her nerves returned full force. Nathaniel was a sophisticated, highly sexual man. Dani was completely out of her depth. She swallowed hard. “When I fantasized about this, I was wearing my best panties and a sexy negligee.”
His jaw dropped. “You fantasized about me?”
“Well, of course. You’re you. Don’t you ever look in a mirror?”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Against all odds, she had gained a temporary advantage. She stuck out her hand. “Help me up, please.” When his hard, warm palm took hers, male fingers clasping smaller female ones, she exhaled shakily. “I didn’t change my mind.”
“Thank God.”
Nathaniel scooped her up in his arms and carried her the few steps to the sofa. He deposited her on her back and began unbuttoning the borrowed shirt she wore. Dani had already rinsed out her only set of underwear in preparation for wearing it again the following day. Consequently, she was completely naked underneath.
When Nathaniel realized that pertinent fact, he froze for several seconds. Then he laid back the two sides of the shirt and studied her raptly. “Merry Christmas to me,” he muttered, his eyes glazed with unmistakable hunger.
Dani had the strongest urge to reach for the afghan and cover herself. Her breasts were on the large side. Her tummy wasn’t completely flat. The women in her family loved to cook and it showed. “Turn off the lamp,” she begged. “We’ll still have the tree.”
Nathaniel shook his head slowly. “No. I want to see everything.”
Reverently, he put a hand on one breast, cupping her fullness with his fingers.
Dani flinched instinctively. She wanted to dive into sex without thinking, letting madness take control. Instead, Nathaniel seemed prepared to savor the moment.
She reached for the hem of his shirt, trying to lift it over his head. “We should hurry,” she said. “Before the baby wakes up.”
Nathaniel grabbed her wrist. “Not so fast. I want to look at you.”
Apparently, he meant that quite literally. For the longest time, he simply stared. Beneath his intense regard, the tips of her breasts pebbled and ached. Gooseflesh broke out all over her body, though the room was plenty warm.
“Nathaniel...” She trailed off, not sure what she wanted to say.
His gaze met hers. “What?” His pupils were dilated.
“You’re embarrassing me.”
A tiny frown creased the real estate between his eyebrows. “Why? You’re exquisite. A man could lose himself for hours doing nothing more than this.” But at last, he released her breast and placed his hand, palm flat, on her abdomen. “I want to spend all night learning what you like...what you want.”
“We don’t have all night.” It was true. They’d be lucky to have half an hour. Why was Nathaniel wasting time? She rested her fingertips on his taut thigh. “I want you naked. That’s my Christmas wish right now. Come to me, Nathaniel.”
Her urgent plea got through to him. With one rueful glance at the sleeping baby, he stood and ripped his shirt over his head.
The man was beautiful. There was no other way to describe it. Broad shoulders, a dusting of dark hair on his tautly muscled chest, bronzed skin. When he dragged the soft cotton pants down his legs and kicked them away, his erection sprang free, tall and thick and ready for action.
Oh, my.
He knelt beside the sofa and touched her upper thigh. “Let me pleasure you, sweet Dani. I want to hear you scream my name.”
What followed next was an erotic assault on her senses. He caressed and teased and aroused her until she was half-mad with wanting him and completely blind to all the reasons she shouldn’t. Dani had been with only two men. One was a long-term relationship in her early twenties, one that didn’t work out. The second was a mistake born of loneliness and the conviction that life was passing her by.
Now