Christmas Baby. Judy Duarte

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       Chapter Four

      Just a whiff of Shane’s manly cologne, with its hint of leather and musk, stirred up an exhilarating sense of adventure. And as their lips met, Jillian’s heart soared with anticipation.

      She’d convinced herself to take things slow and easy until she knew him better, but at the moment, she couldn’t care less about that. Not when everything they’d shared before was about to happen all over again—the passion, the heat, the pleasure.

      Oh, how that man could kiss!

      He slipped his arms around her, and she leaned into him as if they’d never been apart. Their bodies melded together, and the kiss deepened until desire exploded into a blast of colors, reminding her why she’d thrown caution to the wind that incredible evening in Houston.

      And something told her she wasn’t going to be any stronger at fighting temptation now than she’d been back then.

      She’d wanted to spend more time with him so she could learn just what kind of man he really was. But at this rate, she was only going to find out what kind of lover he was. And she already knew that Shane Hollister was the best ever.

      As their tongues mated, as breaths mingled and mouths grew desperate, he pulled her hips against his growing arousal, and she pressed into him as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

      Right there, on her porch, where all her neighbors could see, she kissed him as though there would be no consequences or tomorrows.

      But there would be plenty of both if she let her hormones run away with her. Making love to him this evening would only complicate things further—if that was even possible. And she couldn’t afford to do that again. Not until she had a chance to actually date the man.

      So she placed her hands on his chest and slowly pushed back, ending the kiss.

      “You have no idea how tempted I am to ask you inside,” she said, her breath a bit raspy from the arousing assault on her senses. “But I’m on the rebound, and you might be, too. So for that reason—and a few others—I think it would be best if we took things a little slower.”

      “Maybe,” he said, although something in his eyes suggested he wasn’t convinced.

      Yet in spite of his apparent acceptance of her words, neither of them made a move to end their evening together.

      She closed her eyes, caught up in a heady cloud of swirling pheromones, musky cologne and the vibrant and steady beat of a heart on the mend. As tempted as she was to ask him to stay the night, she had to let him go. She’d thrown caution and morals to the wind once, but she couldn’t make a habit of it.

      Not until she knew him better.

      When she glanced up at him, he tossed her a crooked grin. Yet the hint of a shadow darkened his eyes, an emotion too fleeting for her to get a handle on.

      She rested a hand on his chest, where his heart beat strong and steady. Surely she was being too cautious. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to change the stance she’d taken.

      “Do you have a piece of paper and pen?” he asked.

      She reached into her purse and pulled out the small notepad she carried, along with the attached ink pen.

      When she handed it to him, he scratched out his phone number on the top sheet, than gave it back to her. Deciding to provide him with hers, as well, she tore out a page from the back of the booklet, jotted down her number for him.

      “Well…have a good evening,” she said, although she suspected that they’d both have a better one if they didn’t spend it alone.

      Shane brushed another kiss on her lips, this one light and fleeting. He hesitated momentarily, as if he was struggling with something. Then he kissed her a third and last time, a heart-thumping, hope-stirring kiss that would linger in her memory long after he left.

      As he walked to his truck, she stood at the door and watched him go.

      She ached to call him back, but if she got in too deep and too soon, she would complicate not only her life, but her baby’s. And she couldn’t afford to do that yet.

      There was, however, one thing that she did know. Meeting Shane and experiencing the thrill of a romance had completely dulled the pain of Thomas’s betrayal. And she was tempted beyond measure to hang on to what they’d found together. But she couldn’t enter a full-on affair with him. At least, not at this point.

      As Shane climbed into his pickup, a feeling of remorse settled over her. It took all she had not to call him back—or run after him. But it was best this way, especially since she wasn’t ready to tell him about the baby.

      Still, as she went into the house and locked the door behind her, she couldn’t help grieving what they might have shared tonight.

      Shane spent the night on his parents’ sofa, thanks to all the out-of-town family members who’d converged upon the house for Becky’s first communion. He’d been surrounded by his nieces and nephews, who had spread their sleeping bags all over the floor.

      The kids had gotten up at the crack of dawn, so he’d merely put his pillow over his head to block out the noise and the morning light.

      He had no idea what time it was now—or where they’d gone—but thankfully they were all up and at ’em.

      Years ago, he’d thought that the old sofa was pretty comfortable, but he’d awakened with a crick in his neck this morning, which left him ready to snap at anyone or anything that crossed his path.

      Okay, so it was more than a few aches and pains that had him out of sorts. He was flat-out disappointed that he hadn’t been invited to stay with Jillian last night, although he had no one to blame but himself.

      She’d struggled with the decision to send him on his way. He’d seen it in her eyes, heard it in her passion-laced voice.

      If there’d ever been a couple who’d been sexually compatible, it was the two of them. So it wouldn’t have taken much effort on his part to convince her to change her mind.

      But the truth of the matter was that she was coming off a recent divorce, which meant that she was vulnerable—maybe СКАЧАТЬ