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  At her raised eyebrows, he muttered, “It’s a peace offering. I’m not going to jump your bones if you walk into the kitchen.”

  She entered the kitchen and accepted the cup, totally taken aback by this turn of events. She had expected to have to fight Jason off. She leaned against the counter, imitating his casual pose. Never having been in a situation like this before, she was totally out of her league. Her only hope was to follow his lead, and pray she didn’t make a total fool of herself.

  Her prayers were not answered as she choked on her first sip of coffee. It wasn’t the coffee that made her throat close up, it was Jason’s statement. “I really do want to make love to you.”

  She glared at him through tear-filled eyes, tears brought on by the choking and his pounding her between her shoulder blades. How could he be so gentle when kissing her and fifteen minutes later leave black-and-blue marks on her back? After blinking several times and getting her breathing under control, she finally realized Jason was asking if she was all right. Taking a step away from him, she managed a very hoarse “Fine.”

  He watched her take a tentative sip of coffee. When all of her parts seemed to be working, he decided to continue the conversation. “I just thought you ought to know.”

  Riki could feel the heat rise in her cheeks and silently cursed Jason for his ability to make her blush. “I wish you would stop talking like that,” she mumbled to the floor. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.

  A gentle, callused hand firmly cupped her chin and forced her eyes to meet his. “I’m sorry, Riki, if my words embarrassed you, but you are going to have to face facts. The first one being that I want you more than any other woman I have ever known.”

  Jason knew that if someone were to tell Riki that her eyes reflected female pride just then, she would have hotly denied it till her death. A self-indulgent smile crossed his face. Nothing like showing the enemy your Achilles’ heel, he thought.

  “I wouldn’t gloat too fast, darlin’. It’s unbecoming, and I might let my basic male impulse take over.”

  “I have never gloated in my entire life.”

  “There’s a first time for everything.”

  “Is there?”

  “Yes.” His thumb outlined her slightly swollen lips. At her indrawn breath, heat surged through his loins. Lord, how could one woman have so much power over his body?

  Riki couldn’t help staring at him. It was an experience to watch desire flare in those silver eyes. Could he really want her that much? No man had ever looked at her like that before, not even her husband. What would it feel like to be drawn into that desire? To feel Jason’s hard body poised above hers, to feel Jason fill that void? Her eyes widened with the realization that she was having a sexual fantasy about the man in front of her.

  And that man looked as if he were carved out of stone. He had squeezed his eyes shut, as though to block out some pain. One hand was still in midair, hovering above her mouth, while the other was gripping the counter top. She nearly reached out to him, but indecision and confusion held her back.

  Jason was desperately trying to hang onto the bit of control he hadn’t already lost. This wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he’d waited for Riki to take care of Billy-Jo. He was going to give her the time he sensed she needed. But damn, she could at least help. She didn’t have to look at him as if he held the secrets of the universe.

  He opened his eyes slowly to stare into her very confused green ones. The confusion answered quite a few questions. First, Riki did want him physically. Second, she wasn’t sure what she should do about the attraction. Third, and most important, he was going to have to take a very cold shower tonight. The time wasn’t right. Something down deep inside him, the very core of his being, was screaming at him not to push her.

  “Darlin’,” he said softly, “we will make love, make no mistake about that. The only question is when. That’s going to be your decision. Of course, I plan on helping you reach that decision as soon as possible.”

  The tender smile on Jason’s sensual lips made Riki totally indifferent to what he was saying. The words were registering in her brain, but it was the shape and movement of those lips that held her fascination.

  Those lips could do for a woman what Rembrandt did for canvas. They could be as soft as a whisper or as ruthless as a storm, not asking for a response, but demanding it. Her tongue slipped out from between her teeth and slid across her bottom lip. Jason groaned and placed a few feet between them.

  “Listen, darlin’, I would love to do what your eyes are begging for tonight, but I think you need time to understand the ramifications. I don’t want a one-night stand with you. I’m not sure exactly where we’re headed. There’s Charlie to consider, along with the other children.”

  When Riki didn’t reply and only continued to stare dreamily at him, he muttered a very explicit curse under his breath.

  “Oh, little darlin’, you are making this extremely difficult for me. I never had a woman go speechless on me before. I think I’m flattered. But I have a feeling that as soon as your brain kicks in, I’m a dead man.” He clasped her hand and walked her to the back door. “Now, darlin’, I’m leaving, while I still have the ability to. I want you to think over everything I told you tonight. When you reach your decision I want you to tell me. No, I need you to tell me. You have to be as positive as I am, because there will be no turning back. Now, I want you to lock this door behind me, and go to bed and try to get some sleep. One of us should be rested in the morning and I know it won’t be me.”

  He leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. Then there was just empty space where he had been. Riki slowly closed and locked the door and leisurely made her way upstairs.

  Her brain didn’t kick in until she was in bed. “That no good arrogant son of a sea biscuit, he’s a dead man!” She accompanied this statement with several blows to the innocent pillow next to her. How dare he insinuate that they would be making love as soon as she gave the word? What did he think he was, irresistible? Maybe he thought he was God’s gift to women. He probably thought she was easy pickin’ because she was a widow. Well, if he thought that, he had another think coming. She was.

  Staring up at the ceiling, Riki wondered who she was trying to kid. She would have made love to Jason tonight. He was the one who called a halt. He sensed she wasn’t completely sure and had put a hold on his desire. She had thought she had her hormones under control, and she had until he’d said that he still wanted to make love to her.

  Talk about having your hormones kick into overdrive. They had accelerated at such a rate, they’d temporarily shut her mouth down. There she’d stood with her jaw hanging to her knees, listening to the most gorgeous man alive tell her he wanted her.

  Riki buried her face in her pillow to suppress a groan. What must he think of her? Probably that she was a real country bumpkin. He hadn’t seemed to be gloating when he left, though. He’d seemed to be suffering. She knew he could have made love to her tonight. She also knew he knew it.

  Now what do you make of that? she mused. Wasn’t that the sweetest thing? Maybe chivalry wasn’t dead after all. Snuggling deeper under the quilt, Riki smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

  The week that followed was the most bemused, confused week of her life. Jason pitched right in. as if he were a born parent. He chauffeured children to their bus stops. He helped coach T-ball after school. He even helped with homework. He never showed favoritism toward Charlie, though he was never far from her side. At times Riki caught him staring at Charlie as if he didn’t believe she were real. She was confused by her own reactions to the emotions that crossed his face. She felt love, pride, pain, and anger.

  She wanted to comfort the little girl whose tragic experience of losing her parents had made her so withdrawn, she refused to speak. And she wanted to wrap her arms around Jason and tell him ev- erything would work out all right. Tell him that Charlie would come to love him as a father, and someday she would call him
Dad.

  She couldn’t bring herself to interfere with his private thoughts, though. She couldn’t offer the guarantee it would all work out. With her knowledge of psychology, she realized the human mind offered no guarantees. She could only hope that with time and understanding Charlie would respond to the love. Jason’s presence did seem to have a positive influence on Charlie. The girl didn’t actually dog his every step, but everywhere Jason went, Charlie was in the general vicinity. Once or twice Riki actually caught a smile flicker across the child’s face.

  On that first Monday after dropping the kids off at the bus stops, Jason helped Riki clean up the kitchen. When they were through, he looked around. He was a man born for action, and sitting around a house all day waiting for Charlie to get home from school went against the grain.

  “So now what?” he asked.

  “Now what?” she repeated.

  “Now what do we do?” There was a slight drawl in his voice that could have put another meaning to the question.

  Riki’s cheeks pinkened as she thought of all they could possibly do. “About what?” she quietly asked.

  “Ah, darlin’, I know exactly what to do about that. All you have to do is ask. I told you I wouldn’t pressure you into anything you couldn’t handle.”

  She leaned her hip against the counter and dropped her gaze to his expensive sneakers. Then she allowed her gaze to travel up his worn blue jeans, pausing for a moment where muscular thighs stretched the fabric. She purposely locked her eyes right below his belt. The obvious bulge of his masculinity had worn the blue denim almost white. Her glance took in the trim waist and rock-hard stomach, his khaki shirt that fit like second skin. It stretched across his powerful chest and barely contained his thick biceps.

  It took every ounce of willpower to keep her face expressionless, not to let Jason see what looking at his body could do to her. Her eyes finally lifted to his face, and the first thing she noticed was the dull shade of red that had spread over his cheeks.

  Her first impulse was to rape and pillage. She wondered if she had any ancestors who had been pirates. The second impulse was a purely feminine desire to see how far she could push him. She tried to look cool and sophisticated, which was a neat trick since she was wearing faded blue jeans and an old T-shirt. The bare feet, the ponytail, and the absence of makeup really added an elegant touch, she decided. She purposely dropped her gaze to his belt buckle again, then back up to his silver eyes.

  The little imp inside her had her speaking before she knew she had opened her mouth. “What makes you think I can’t handle it?”

  At his sudden intake of breath, she realized the challenge she just issued. Her eyes locked with his, and they were both aware of the sexual tension that crackled between them. From the back of Riki’s mind came the prayer that Kermit the Frog and Cookie Monster could hold the attention of Andrew and Billy-Jo.

  The only thing that stopped Jason from taking Riki up on her offer was the small flicker of doubt in her emerald eyes. When they made love he didn’t want her to regret one minute of it. “Beware, darlin’,” he said, his voice low and husky as he struggled to calm his rapidly beating heart. “I’m only a man, and you are playing with fire.”

  Riki should have been relieved by Jason’s integrity, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed that he didn’t act the rogue and seduce her right there. Wasn’t it every mother’s fantasy to make love on the kitchen floor while her two toddlers watched Sesame Street in the next room?

  In a matter of three days her fantasies had changed from wanting quiet children and a clean house to vivid sexual encounters with Jason. She had had fantasies about Brad, but they had consisted of quiet walks through the woods holding hands, horseback riding, drinking wine in front of the fireplace with all the kids asleep. Soft, peaceful fantasies.

  Never had she had such explicit daydreams, all concerning Charlie’s father, no less. She had only to close her eyes and a recurring vision appeared. She and Jason were in her brass bed, the pale satin sheets shimmering in the firelight that illuminated the room. Jason’s back glistened with perspiration as he rose above her, ready to join their bodies. She always came to her senses just when her legs started to circle his hips.

  The first time she awoke from a sound sleep with that vision planted in her mind, she cursed her cotton sheets, the fireplace that didn’t work, and Jason. She spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, remembering the taste of Jason’s lips on hers. The feel of his hands on her breast, the sound of his deep groan when she trailed her hand on his thigh.

  Now when Jason brought up playing with fire, the image burst into her mind. She cursed the telling blush that flared in her cheeks while frantically trying to remember what she should be doing on Monday. Changing sheets and doing the laundry was the best she could come up with on the spur of the moment.

  Five

  It took Jason a couple of minutes to convince Riki he really wanted to help her strip the beds. The winning argument was that after being a bachelor, he had to become more domesticated if he were to make a proper home for Charlie.

  Assigning Jason the job of stripping the boys’ beds, Riki went into the girl’s room. Billy-Jo and Andrew called her away to settle a squabble before she could start in her room. She returned upstairs to find Jason standing at the foot of her bed.

  After piling all the boys’ sheets and pillowcases in a heap in the hall, Jason had decided to check out Riki’s sheets. With a little boy’s smile and a big boy’s curiosity, he’d walked into her room. His glance quickly took in hardwood floors, a huge oak dresser, oak tables, and a wing chair done in a fabric of variegated purple. The wallpaper boasted miniature violets while all the wood trim was stark white. White lace curtains fluttered in the morn- ing breeze, which carried the scent of the lilacs that bloomed in the side yard. A brass screen stood in front of the fireplace, and a silk flower arrangement done in purples was on the mantle.

  Within a few seconds he’d taken in the room and decided it was Riki. The object that caught and held his attention was the queen-size brass bed. The bed itself was worth a second look – it must have cost a fortune – but that was not what interested him. As he slowly walked toward the bed, he gazed at the pale lavender sheets, bed ruffle, and pillow shams. A patchwork quilt had apparently been kicked to the bottom of the bed while the sheets were twisted every which way. Obviously someone had had a difficult time sleeping last night.

  The thought of Riki lying beneath that old- fashioned quilt with her hair spread out on the pillow had a definite effect on his body. He grasped the cool brass of the foot board as heat ran through his veins. His gaze was fixed on the unmade bed, but he was seeing Riki lying there in naked glory, her arms reaching for him. He had never wanted a woman as badly as he now wanted her. Here he was aroused just because he had seen the big brass bed she slept in. He closed his eyes as a groan escaped his throat and a shaft of heat crossed his loins.

  Riki heard the groan and crossed the room to stand beside Jason. Seeing the grip he had on the footboard and his closed eyes, she became concerned. Tentatively touching his arm, she softly whispered his name. His eyes flew open.

  It took Jason a moment to realize that the hand resting on his arm belonged to the real Riki, not just some fantasy. The anxiety that shone in her eyes brought him back to earth with a thud. He reached out a trembling hand to caress her cheek. “What’s the matter?”

  Her eyebrows rose in question. “You tell me.” Disgruntled at being caught staring at tangled sheets, he smiled sheepishly and muttered, “Nothing a cold shower couldn’t cure.”

  Now what did a lady say to a comment like that? Riki wondered. She knew what she wanted to say, but she didn’t think offering to scrub his back would win her any brownie points at this time. “I’ll handle the sheets in here,” she said. “You go hang up the load of wash that’s in the washer.”

  She had the bed stripped and was on the way down the stairs when it occurred to her what she had just
told Jason to put on the line – all of her “unmentionables.”

  As she entered the kitchen she glanced into the laundry area. The washer lid was up, the washer obviously empty. With a groan of dismay she turned to the window that overlooked the backyard. There was Jason in all his masculinity pinning her silk undies to the line. She could tell he was enjoying himself immensely. All her bras were in a neat line, followed by a half slip and a peach camisole. He was currently shaking out each pair of very brief panties in assorted pastels and pinning them to the line. He seemed to be studying each pair, comparing them with each other. His glance lingered the longest on the French-cut pink pair.

  Her breath caught in her throat when he reached into the basket and pulled out the last item.

  As Jason held up the last garment, he thought of how much fun doing laundry could be. Riki’s appearance was one of earthiness on the outside. She almost always wore jeans and T-shirts, pulled her hair back in a pony tail, and seldom wore makeup. The only time he had seen her in a dress was for church on Sunday. Who would have guessed at the very feminine attire beneath her casual clothes. Pink silk panties and T-ball practice just didn’t seem to go together.

  As he pinned a creamy yellow teddy to the line, the desire to see Riki in this teddy flashed through him. She must have worn it under her yellow dress on Sunday. He had sat next to Riki in that church and smelled jasmine and summer rain and she had been wearing “this” beneath her dress. He was thankful he hadn’t known she’d worn “this,” because he had a feeling he would have embarrassed himself along with her in that pew.

  How could a man on the down side of thirty become aroused hanging laundry? All this domesticating was hell on the libido. He didn’t see how housewives stood it. He’d better leave all this to Riki and concentrate on something physical, something to use up all his excess energy.