Nicola Marsh - Australia - Bundles of Joy

Smoothing back the wisps of hair escaping from her ponytail, and biting her bottom lip for a bit of colour, she opened the door. ‘Hi. What brings you by?’

His gaze flicked over her and, rather than seeing distaste, she read approval in the way his eyes lit up. However, it didn’t appease her. She knew she looked a fright and wondered what he was playing at pretending otherwise.

‘Sorry to drop by unannounced, but I’m going away for a few days on business and thought you might like this info.’

Her heart sank at his revelation. Just when she’d decided to take the plunge and see where all this tension between them was leading, he had to go away?

‘Where are you going?’

He smiled, the simple action illuminating his face and speeding up her heart-rate in a second.

‘I’ll make you a deal. If you ask me in, I’ll tell you.’

‘Oops, sorry.’ She stepped back, wondering why her manners deserted her whenever he set foot on her doorstep. It probably had something to do with the way he looked, and sounded, and smelt, but that was no excuse.

‘Did I catch you in the middle of something?’

She closed the door behind him and resisted the urge to lean against it and sigh. He looked amazing in a dark grey suit, white shirt and burgundy tie—every ounce the consummate professional—and she looked like fairy floss! Not fair.

Smiling, she strolled across the room as if he popped in to see her every day of the week—she wished—and indicated he take a seat before plopping down into one herself. ‘No, not really. Tahlia and I were just planning a surprise party for a friend.’

‘Was Tahlia the stunning woman who let me in?’

A shaft of jealousy pierced her gut. Okay, so it was true, but did he have to notice that Tahlia’s tall, slim figure could grace the cover of a magazine?

She nodded and wished she hadn’t removed her make-up and changed when she’d got home. Tahlia had come straight from work and still looked a million dollars in her red power suit, with not a hair out of place at the end of the day.

‘Tahlia is Director of Sales at WWW Designs. We’ve been friends for ages.’

He looked suitably impressed. ‘Must be a rule at your workplace to only employ beautiful women.’ He paused and allowed his glance to slide over her, very slowly, from head to foot. ‘I like your casual look, by the way.’

She tried to detect a hint of sarcasm and came up lacking. He thought she was beautiful? Looking like this ? Now she knew for sure. The Doc needed his head examined!

‘Wish I could get out of these clothes,’ he said, sticking a finger between his collar and tie in an attempt to loosen it.

You can .

She stared at him for a long silent moment before swallowing those two little words and turning away.

‘Would you like a drink?’

‘I’d kill for a coffee,’ he said, following her into the kitchen. ‘So, whose birthday party is it?’

‘I’ll trade you. You tell me where you’re going—’ and why you’re really here , she thought ‘—and I’ll tell you about the party.’

He leaned against the benchtop as she switched on the percolator and she wished he wouldn’t look so at home in her apartment. It would make it hard to forget him when the assignment finished. And even harder if they started something that didn’t involve work. She wouldn’t be able to stand it when the inevitable split came—and it would. No matter how close they got, how well they clicked, he’d bolt like the rest the minute he learned the truth.

‘Fair enough. The TV station hosting my new show is sending me to Sydney for a couple of days to check out something similar they screen up there.’

‘Sounds interesting.’ She poured coffee and added milk and two sugars to his, thinking how strange to find a man with a similar sweet tooth to hers, even if she’d told him otherwise. However, she added an artificial sweetener to hers, forgoing her passion for sweetness in exchange for zero calories.

While she had her head stuck in the cupboard, looking for some chocolate biscuits for him, he said, ‘So what’s the deal with the party? Is it some old boyfriend you don’t want to talk about?’

She lifted her head too quickly and clunked it on the shelf above, cursing silently. There, that had to be another fault; he sounded jealous. Though, in a way, she should be flattered rather than annoyed.

‘The party’s for Emma, another friend I work with. And, as for not wanting to talk about boyfriends, that’s true. I’m not one to kiss and tell.’

To his credit, he let that last comment go. She’d said it as some weird sort of challenge, almost daring him to ask about her previous relationships, though for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why.

‘That’s good to know.’ He took a sip of coffee before placing the mug on the counter. ‘I like to keep my business private.’

Huh? Had he just said what she thought he’d said?

Rather than taking the easy way out and laughing off his comment, she pounced. ‘Are you implying that you’d like to be my boyfriend?’

He fixed her with a stare that bored straight down to her soul, as if trying to probe into her innermost feelings. ‘I’m not implying anything; I’m stating a fact.’

She hadn’t moved since he’d dropped his little bombshell, her feet rooted to the spot, and he crossed the kitchen in a second.

‘Pretty confident, aren’t you?’ She tilted her head up to meet his gaze, her pulse tripping as his eyes darkened to midnight.

‘I call it how it is.’

A little demon lodged in her mind and prodded her with its pitchfork, urging her to provoke him further.

‘And how’s that?’

‘You, me, dating. Seems straightforward to me.’

She didn’t resist as he lowered his head towards her with infinite slowness and, with a sigh, closed her eyes. She’d been waiting for this, hoping for it, since that first time in her office when she’d been sure he wanted to kiss her. And if she’d thought the brief, gentle peck he’d delivered at the beach house at the weekend had been good, it wasn’t a patch on this.

The minute his lips touched hers, it felt as if a match had been touched to a bonfire and whoosh! They both went up in flames.

Heat sizzled between them as she plastered her body against his, her hands delving into his hair in an effort to pull his head closer. He didn’t disappoint, moulding her to his body with hands that wandered everywhere with skilled precision, stroking her till she gasped out loud.

Angling his head, he slid his mouth across hers in an erotic fusion, leaving her breathless. She melded into him, forgetting every last rational reason why she shouldn’t be doing this.

His arms tightened around her and she felt his hard chest muscles tense beneath her hands. The fact he must work out was a fleeting thought. He felt so good, tasted so good, that she didn’t want this moment to end, ever.

‘Wow,’ she murmured as his mouth left hers to trail hot, open-mouthed kisses to her neck and back up again.

A shudder rippled through her as his hand slipped under her top and cupped her breast, sending fiery sparks of pleasure shooting to her core.

He broke the kiss to whisper against her mouth. ‘What do you think of this dating thing so far?’

She clutched at the lapels of his jacket, knowing that if she let go she’d slide in a molten heap to the floor. ‘Not bad.’

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, drawing her attention to those masterful lips and the fact that all he had to do was twitch them in her direction for desire to pool deep within.

‘Mmm … maybe I need to brush up on my technique?’

Exhaling a shaky breath, she leaned her head against his chest. ‘With me?’