Sara Orwig - The Ransomes - Matt, Nick and Katherine

Her softness fanned the fire that consumed him. He ached to drown in her softness and unleash all her promised passion.

Grabbing a silky handful of her hair, he held her. When her hips twisted against him, he groaned.

Their kiss had escalated and spun out of control, seconds becoming minutes, time lost in need. She was too hot to handle, yet too desirable to release. Danger, danger ran through his thoughts, but he paid no heed. He never wanted to stop kissing her, kisses that were etched in his memory. Kisses that bound him to her in spite of all his reluctance.

Dimly, he became aware of her hands pressed on his chest, lightly pushing against him.

With an effort he opened his eyes, looking down at her to see her watching him. He released her and she stepped away, her gaze raking over him. “That was pure lust,” she whispered.

“There was nothing pure about the past few minutes,” he retorted, breathing heavily, seeing her gasp for breath as much as he did.

“I wasn’t going to do that,” she said, shooting him a torrid glance and then snapping her mouth closed.

“It’s not going to happen again,” he said, grinding out his words, hating his loss of control. His insides churned because emotionally, he hadn’t wanted to kiss her. Physically, he lusted to have her in his bed with her naked body against him. “I don’t think either one of us intended that kiss to happen, but it did and it seemed inevitable. Now it’s over and done and we can forget about it,” he said, wondering if he was trying to convince himself. In a lifetime, could he forget her kisses?

“That wasn’t what I intended,” she repeated in a low voice.

“There’s some chemistry that we both gave in to, but it doesn’t need to happen again.”

She gave him a level, direct look. “So you’re sorry you kissed me.”

“You know I’m not, but we’ll go back like we were.”

When she nodded and closed the door, he let out his breath and shook his head. Why had he kissed her? Every shred of common sense told him to keep his hands to himself.

Burning with desire, he stormed down the hall. The fire in her kisses had been even more than he had expected. And his thoughts seethed about her marriage proposal and the prenuptial agreement, because now he felt differently about her demands and expectations.

Their relationship had just changed. Whether she knew it yet or not, his feelings toward her had intensified. How easily she could wreck his peaceful life! His reaction to Olivia was lust. Lust and anger and he needed to keep tight control of both emotions. He promised himself he would never let down his guard with her again. After Margo he would never trust a woman. Margo had taken his heart and stomped it to a million pieces. He didn’t ever want to risk his heart with another woman.

He charged into his bedroom and slammed the door, crossing to his desk to open a drawer and once again get the prenuptial agreement from his marriage. Margo had made no demands on him. She had wanted out of the marriage and between her job and her family, she’d had all the money she could possibly want so there had been no problems there. The only problem had been that he had thought he was in love with her and he suspected she had only briefly been in love with him.

Looking at stipulations, he pored over the agreement some more and jotted notes while he wondered how many of his demands Olivia would accept.

Thinking about Olivia, he paused. She was honest, intelligent and shrewd. Had Jeff had a clue about what she was really like or had he simply seen her as a gorgeous, sexy woman?

Matt knew his brother well enough to know the answer to his question as swiftly as the question had risen—Jeff wouldn’t get beyond sex.

Matt dropped his pen. He did not want to marry Olivia and damned if he would! After the poverty she had lived in, he couldn’t imagine that she would walk away from the comfort and luxury he was offering.

While a plan formed in his mind, he stared out the window. He would give her two days of fabulous living—fly her to Houston, buy her a fancy wardrobe and shower her with jewelry and clothes she had never been able to afford. He would wine and dine her at places that would impress the most hardened sophisticate. Then see if she still wanted to reject his offer when he turned down her marriage proposal.

He picked up his phone to call and change his appointment with his lawyer. Next he called to get the Ransome corporate jet ready.

He strode down the hall and knocked on her door.

“Just a minute,” she called. She swung the door open to face him. She stood with a towel wrapped around her and looking at her was as jolting as getting socked in the middle and having the wind knocked out of him.

Her slender shoulders were bare and the white towel was a contrast to her creamy skin. The towel was midthigh and all he could think about was only a towel covered her naked body.

While heat flashed through him, his heart thudded. He wanted to reach for her, remove that towel and pull her into his arms. Memories of her kisses fanned the flames that consumed him and for an instant, he was tongue-tied.

Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and she still had a few drops of water that sparkled on one shoulder. She had been sexy in the T-shirt and cutoffs. In a towel, she was gorgeous.

He realized he was staring and she shifted impatiently. “Yes?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Get dressed,” he said, hating the husky scrape in his voice. “I’ve made arrangements for a plane and I’ll take you shopping in Houston so we can get you some new clothes. You’ll need them. We’ll eat there tonight and then we can fly back here or get rooms there.”

“You’re not doing this to postpone having to reach a decision about my proposal, are you?” she asked.

“Partially,” he admitted, suspecting it wouldn’t fool her if he gave her any other answer. “We’re making big, life-changing decisions about our futures, though, so what will a twenty-four hour postponement hurt?”

“It might get me fired from my job if I don’t show up two nights in a row.”

“You can be back by tomorrow night,” he answered.

She stared at him while she seemed to be mulling things over and finally she nodded. “I can be ready in ten minutes,” she said and closed the door.

He stared at the closed door and still saw the image of her in the white towel. He wiped his brow. How was he going to cope with her under his roof for the next several years? He wanted the baby close, but if every encounter with Olivia was like the last two, he would be a basket case in no time.

Matt charged back to his room to call his favorite hotel and reserve adjoining suites. He made dinner reservations and then hurried to shower and shave and get dressed to go.

Ten minutes later he entered the family room to find her waiting. His gaze raked over her, taking in her denim skirt and simple, sleeveless white cotton blouse and sandals. He suspected what few clothes she owned were practical and cheap. There would be no way she could afford anything fancy or expensive unless she had the good fortune to find it in a secondhand shop.

Even so, the sight of her made his pulse accelerate and he still had to fight the urge to want to touch her as he squelched images of her without the denim skirt or white blouse.

“I’ve never flown before,” she said.

“Good! You’ll like it,” he answered, taking her arm and steering her out of the house and toward his car. He wanted to dazzle her and make her want to stay so badly that she would give up all thought of marriage.

They drove in silence to Meacham International Airport in Forth Worth. As they approached the waiting plane, her eyes were larger than usual. She was pale and silent, gazing with awe in her expression at the sleek jet awaiting them.