For the Babies' Sakes (Expecting) (Harlequin Presents, No. 2280) by Sara Wood Page A

cheekbones, but now she positively glowed. He liked the way she looked. Womanly. Inviting.
    A spasm sucked at his loins. ‘Just finish my wine, then.’
    He heard the bright, polite and meaningless rubbish he was uttering and tightened his mouth in exasperation. Why couldn’t he tell her, show her, how he felt?
    He knew the answer to that. In a word: self-preservation. All his life he’d protected himself from others. He’d made an exception in Helen’s case, believing she’d never let him down, that they’d be together for ever. Big mistake.
    â€˜There’s stuff of yours in the tumble-drier,’ she said.
    Graceful as ever, she put her glass down with exaggerated care and physically pointed herself at the utility room.
    It was then that he knew she was a bit squiffy. And it only took a slight and wicked adjustment of his balance for her to blunder into him.
    â€˜Oh, whoops!’ she gurgled in surprise.
    His hands eagerly went out to steady her. What was he doing?
    â€˜Sorry. My fault,’ he said, releasing her with a supreme act of will.
    â€˜No. Mine.’
    Definitely slurred. She didn’t move. There was something painfully forlorn about her whole attitude. Without another thought in his head, he took her in his arms and drew her close, just holding her to his chest.
    It was natural that she’d be upset and lost. They’d known each other since she was fourteen. Parting would be…
    He stopped thinking about it. It hurt too much.
    â€˜You’ll be OK,’ he assured her curtly.
    She was tough. Sailed through life with her amusing quips that made him laugh like a drain and a swift application of her sharp brain that impressed him like hell. God, he’d envied her. Nothing had ever scarred her. Nobody had ever made her feel she was unwanted or a waste of space.
    Total self-assurance ran through to her very core. She’d soon be snapped up by someone else…
    No!
    In a violent blur of anger and lurching emotion, he roughly tipped up her chin and kissed her fiercely on her open lips, pulling her against his painfully aroused body.
    He felt her shock, the deep shudder that ran through her. Loath to hang around where he wasn’t wanted, he was about to release her when he felt her hands slide up his chest and lodge awkwardly in the gaps between his shirt buttons. One of her favourite moves.
    Soon she’d tease the buttons free and nuzzle him with her nose and mouth, teeth and tongue. A jerk of longing arced through his body. Knowing he was mad to play with fire, he groaned and let his kiss become slower, gentler, more exploratory.
    His intention then was to step away and say farewell, but the road to Hell was paved with intentions, wasn’t it?
    Because she wasn’t having any of this friendly goodbye. It seemed she wanted fire and passion because her mouth drove hard into his and her hands were pulling at his clothes frenetically.
    Something snapped inside him. In a blind fog he gently lifted her onto the counter top, one hand hooked behind her head so that their mouths continued their bruising kisses and the other sliding up beneath her top to settle beneath one heavy breast.
    His eyes closed in agonised bliss. As always, it felt incredibly voluptuous, swollen and hot. He had to get her T-shirt off. Impatiently he dragged it up and let her take over.
    For a moment her body stretched up, lithe, shapely, and staggeringly erotic with her gorgeous breasts lifted high and her arms reaching above her head as she wriggled out of the top. He was shaking, marvelling at the huge plum centres, peaking for him, enticing his mouth…
    And she was sweet to taste. Her nipples shaped to his lips as he suckled greedily and she grabbed his hair, moaning. Beneath his hands her skin felt beautifully smooth as if it was straining to contain her flesh. The sensations were so intense that he felt drunk with them, so drunk that he could hardly stand.
    His nose