Natural Born Daddy by Sherryl Woods Page A

skittered wildly. “Oh, Jordan,” she murmured, feeling her insides turn to mush. “Please don’t do this to me.”
    His gaze settled on her and a once-familiar warmth spread through her.
    â€œCould I come in so we can discuss this?” he asked.
    Kelly did not want him in the house, not with her resolve wavering and his determination solidifying.“It’s the middle of the night. I have fences to mend in the morning.”
    â€œI’ll help,” he promised.
    â€œWhen was the last time you mended a fence?”
    â€œNot that long ago,” he shot back. “I was raised on a ranch, you know. There’s almost nothing I haven’t done.”
    â€œAnd hated,” she reminded him. “That’s why you couldn’t leave White Pines fast enough.”
    â€œIf you’re going to analyze me, could we do it over coffee? I’m beat.”
    â€œIf you’re that tired, go home to White Pines.”
    â€œIs there some reason you don’t want me in the house?” he inquired, studying her with amusement. “You aren’t afraid I’m going to persuade you to say yes, are you?”
    That was exactly what she was afraid of, but she refused to admit it. She opened the door wider. “Come on in. You get one cup of coffee and a half hour of my time,” she said firmly. “That’s it.”
    He grinned. “Whatever you say.”
    He was already stripping off his tie on his way to the kitchen. He unbuttoned his collar, exposing a hint of the dark hair on his chest. He sat down, elbows on the table, and watched as she started the coffee. Kelly could feel his gaze on her. When she was sure she was totally composed, thoroughly immune to his charm, she turned toward him.
    The speculative, heated look in his eyes made her breath catch in her throat. Nothing, she decided, could have prepared her for that. He looked as if he wanted her, as if he truly desired her, not just as if she were an acquisition he was considering to complete his life.It was a turn of events she definitely hadn’t considered.
    â€œCan I talk you into opening your present?” he asked in a slow, lazy tone that made her pulse race.
    â€œNo,” she said in a rush, her gaze fixed on that lavish box with its fancy wrapping.
    â€œIt won’t bite,” he assured her.
    â€œJordan, I do not want your presents.”
    â€œNot even if giving them to you makes me happy?”
    She shook her head. “I should have guessed. We’re talking your needs here, not mine.”
    â€œYou have no idea what I need,” he commented, a challenging glint in his eyes. “Want to know?”
    Kelly swallowed hard. “I don’t think so.”
    â€œI’ll tell you anyway.”
    He pulled the box toward him and slipped the ribbon off. He slid a finger under the wrapping paper and flipped it away. Then with the slow, tantalizing timing of a stripper, he lifted the top of the box. Kelly couldn’t have shifted her gaze away if her life had depended on it.
    He folded back the layers of tissue paper and hooked a finger through a narrow strap of red silk. As he lifted his hand, the sexiest, most exquisite teddy she had ever seen emerged from the box. She felt his gaze on her, gauging her reaction. She couldn’t stop looking at that obviously outrageously expensive scrap of lace and silk. She thought of all the plain cotton underthings in her drawers upstairs. She wanted that teddy with every feminine fiber of her being. She stared at it, trying to hide her longing.
    That, she thought, swallowing hard, was what he saw when he looked at her? When had he stoppedthinking of her as denim and plaid? When had he stopped looking at her as a pal and begun noticing her as a woman?
    â€œIt’s…beautiful,” she said in a choked voice, reaching out to skim her fingers over the silk. She jerked her hand back as if that red-as-flame material were just as