Expecting Miracle Twins by Barbara Hannay Page B

the tips of her fingers.
    Hot desire pooled in the pit of her stomach. Man! She’d never felt so turned on.
    A desperate sigh escaped her, but it sounded like a moan and she blushed with embarrassment.
    Thank heavens for the darkness.
     
    Jake was still holding Mattie’s hand when they came out of the cinema. They both blinked at the bright daylight outside and Mattie hoped Jake didn’t expect her to recall every twist and turn in the movie. For the entire second half she had been unable to concentrate on anything except the mesmerising pressure of his thumb gently stroking the back of her hand.
    ‘So what did you think of that?’
    ‘It was pretty good.’ She held her breath, expecting more questions.
    He smiled at her and his dark eyes smouldered. ‘Would you like to go home now?’
    Was this code for something else? Jake was still holding her hand and she felt as if so much had changed since they’d left the flat this morning. This was their last night together. Tomorrow, he was flying back to Mongolia.
    ‘Home sounds good,’ she said and she knew there was every chance she would have agreed if he’d asked her to swim across Sydney Harbour.
    The short journey to the flat seemed to take forever and the whole way Mattie worried. Did Jake feel the same as she did? She was astonished by the force of her attraction for him. She thought she might expire if he didn’t want to make love to her the minute they were inside the front door.
    She thought briefly—very briefly—about her surrogacy plans. But that was in the future—almost a fortnight away—and Jake was only here for this one last night. Right now, at this moment, she only wanted to think about him. She wanted to stop being careful and to simply let go.
    They parked the car and tension hovered above them like a private thunder cloud as they walked together to the front steps. Even before Jake put the key in the door, they could hear Brutus barking a greeting. The little dog jumped around their ankles and then darted outside to explore the garden.
    Mattie dropped her shoulder bag onto a lounge chair. Jake set the keys on the coffee table. They looked at each other. His eyes were intense and yet warm. The muscles in his throat rippled.
    ‘Mattie,’ he said softly.
    ‘Yes.’
    He looked at her with a slightly puzzled smile. ‘That sounded like an answer.’
    ‘I think it is, Jake.’
    He drew a sharp breath, but he didn’t speak.
    Mattie knew he was waiting. This was it—an all or nothing moment. Bravely, she said, ‘I thought you might be asking if…if I’d like you to kiss me.’
    Before she could say anything else, he closed the gap between them. With a soft sound that might have been a groan, he drew her in and kissed her.
    Oh, how he kissed her.
    His lips were as eager and scorching and greedy as Mattie needed them to be. In a matter of moments, she and Jake were stumbling down the hallway together, laughing a little with surprise that this was really happening, stopping to lean against the wall while they exchanged feverish kisses, stopping again while Jake’s hands stole under her T-shirt, sending a rush of sweet anticipation over her already sensitised skin.
    In the doorway to Jake’s bedroom, however, Mattie froze.
    ‘No, not in here,’ she whispered. Not on those same sheets he’d tangled with Ange. ‘Come to my room.’
    With a soft wordless cry, he scooped her up and carried her down to the little back bedroom and together they tumbled onto the bed, hungry, urgent, eager.
    Lips, hands, bodies sought each other—kissing, touching, nibbling, caressing.
    Jake lifted Mattie’s T-shirt over her head. She heard his swift gasp of surprise and she felt obliged to confess her secret weakness for low-cut sassy lingerie. But she didn’t mention that she’d kept up the tradition even though there’d been no one to admire the effects.
    He chuckled softly. ‘I’m so glad you have a vice.’ With reverent fingers, he touched the lacy trim