Marooned with a Millionaire by Kristi Gold Page A

ache, which seemed exactly where Jack was heading as he palmed her abdomen. Then as if her belly had grown fangs, he pulled his hand back.
    He broke the kiss and looked at her for a long, torturous moment. “We can’t do this.”
    As easily as he’d scooped her into his arms, he slid from beneath her and stood, leaving her sprawled out on the sofa, the shirt gaping and her legs parted in a very unladylike manner.
    â€œWhere are you going?” she asked, her voice laced with frustration and unanswered need.
    He snapped up his shirt from the sofa’s arm and slipped it back on. “I’m going to try to start the boat.”
    Obviously he was bent on leaving her in a state of sexual suspension. Anger took the place of unanswered desire. “You’re a tease, Ahab.”
    He scowled. “I’m smart, Dorothy. You and I both know this is stupid. You’re pregnant.”
    She scooted up on the sofa and planted her feet on the floor. “I’m not deceased.” She leveled apointed look at his distended fly. “And neither are you.”
    â€œI don’t intend to get tangled up with anyone.”
    â€œIs that emotionally or physically?” she answered with defiance in her tone.
    â€œNeither.”
    Lizzie came to her feet and stared at him straight on. “Why is that, Ahab? Did someone break that heart of yours?”
    He streaked a hand over his shadowed jaw. “No, Dorothy, no one broke my heart.” He said it with conviction, leading Lizzie to believe she’d been on the wrong track where his past was concerned.
    She took a determined step toward him. “Then why did you bail out from life? What drove you here, all alone on your boat?”
    â€œI like being alone. I don’t want any complications.”
    â€œI didn’t ask you for forever, did I? It’s only a means to pass the time, Ahab. A man and a woman taking pleasure in each other. Nothing more complicated than that.” Something that was totally alien to Lizzie, and probably the reason why the declaration sounded phony, even to her own ears.
    He sent her a suspicious look. “That’s all you want is sex? I don’t believe it.”
    â€œYou don’t know anything about me.”
    â€œI know that I’m not the man you need.”
    â€œI never said I needed a man, at least not in the way you’re suggesting.”
    His ensuing smile was cynical. “Maybe not, butyou’re the kind of woman who can make a man forget who he is, what he wants.”
    She moved before him and touched his cheek. “What do you want, Jack Dunlap?”
    â€œMy solitude.”
    With that he turned and made his way toward the bow, leaving Lizzie alone to deal with her disappointment. But she had to admit he was probably right; he wasn’t the man she needed. In fact, she had never needed a man other than her father. She hadn’t needed a man to have a baby, at least not all of one. Then why did she have this almost desperate need for Jack Dunlap? Because she had basic feminine needs? If so, Lizzie had no clue why he’d been the one to arouse those desires.
    But it was more than that. She’d always been a sucker for lost souls, and Jack Dunlap was as lost as any man she’d ever known. Oh, he had tried to hide it beneath an iron facade, but Lizzie had witnessed a glimpse of vulnerability, of pain, in his eyes.
    Needing a diversion, Lizzie opted to continue with her plan to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted, even if her attitude had taken a sour turn. She strode into the bathroom, yanked an oversize towel from the cabinet then rummaged around for some sunscreen. Not finding any, she decided she would have to limit her time outside. Besides, Jack had already generated enough heat within her; she didn’t need to go totally up in flames.
    Lizzie stomped onto the bow and shook out the towel with a vengeance then laid it on the fiberglass deck, muttering an