LITMIR.BIZ

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honestly, and you get honesty and loyalty in return.

      They actually had a lot in common.

      And yet there was a multitude of reasons why he couldn’t get overly involved with her. The very things he admired about her made her most unsuitable for an emotional relationship. He wanted a baby, pure and simple, someone to love him, and someone he could love without restrictions or qualifications. The baby would be his, only his, and Tony planned to smother the child with all the love he had inside him.

      Olivia wanted a thriving business. She’d admitted she had no desire, no time for a family. She’d agreed to have his baby as part of a business deal, and while her agreement thrilled him, it also reemphasized the fact that business was still her main objective in life, while a baby was now his. He’d have to do his best to remember that.

      The house was chilly when he finally rose and went to put on coffee. Naked except for a pair of snug cotton boxers, he felt the gooseflesh rise on his arms, but he ignored it. He needed a little cooling off if he was to deal with Olivia in a rational way.

      He went into the bathroom and splashed water over his beard-rough face, then brushed his teeth while he waited for the coffee. Today, he thought, staring at his own contemplative expression in the mirror, he would get this business with Olivia back on an even keel. No more mingling with family, no more seeing her with a baby cuddled in her arms and an expression on her face that tore at his guts. He would view her with a detached eye and a reminder in his brain that she was a means to an end. They’d made an agreement, and it could be nothing more.

      Not if he expected to escape this ordeal completely intact, with his heart whole and his mind sane.

      He’d just poured his first cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. Padding barefoot into the living room, he leaned down to peer through the peephole and saw Olivia standing on his doorstep. A quick glance at the clock showed it to be only seven forty-five, and his first thought was that she was here to cancel, that something had come up and she had to go out of town; it wasn’t uncommon in her business. Every muscle in his body protested.

      He jerked the door open, forgetting for the moment that he wasn’t even close to being dressed. Olivia took a long moment to stare at his chest, then down the length of his body before she lifted her gaze to his face.

      “You’re rather hairy, aren’t you?”

      “I’ll shave.”

      Her lips quirked in a quick grin. “Your chest?”

      If it would keep her from canceling. He only shrugged.

      Tentatively she reached out and touched him, laying her palm flat where his heart beat in unsteady cadence. She stroked him, feeling him, tangling her fingers in his body hair. With a breathless whisper, she said, “I like it.”

      Tony didn’t answer. He wasn’t certain he could answer. And then she looked up at him, her eyes huge and bright. “I couldn’t wait.”

      He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. His hand shook as he set the cup of coffee on the entry table, then reached for her and pulled her inside. He needed to make certain he’d understood. “Olivia?”

      She started to chatter. “I know you said ten, but we’re both off today, right? And I’m really not used to this, being aroused and yet having to wait. It’s terribly difficult. I couldn’t sleep last night…”

      “Me, either.”

      He couldn’t believe she was here, looking shy and determined and he wanted her as much as he’d ever wanted anything in his life. Everything he’d just been telling himself about keeping his emotional distance vanished. He couldn’t quite pry his hands from her shoulders, couldn’t force himself to take an emotional step back. He felt her softness beneath the coat, the way she straightened her shoulders to face him. Ah, that small show of bravado, so like her, so endearing. So damn sexy.

      The brisk morning air coming through the open door did little to impress him. As he felt himself harden, his pulse quicken, Olivia pushed the door shut behind her, then set an overnight bag on the floor. His gaze dropped to it, and she rushed to explain. “I…Well, I felt a little risqué this morning. And it stands to reason your house should be safe now. I mean, lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same spot, right?”

      He had no answer for that, not when he could see the heated need in her eyes, the way her lips trembled.

      She swallowed hard. “I don’t want you to think I’m intruding for the whole night, but I needed to bring something to wear for later…If we’re going to spend the whole day together.”

      Before he could reassure her, she shook her head and started again, her tone anxious. “I’m making a mess of this. Remember, the book said we should wait a few hours then try again, and I thought…”

      “Shh.” He could barely restrain himself from lifting her and carrying her to his room. She had this strange mix of timidity and boldness that made him crazy with wanting. “Let me shower real quick and…”

      “No.” She shook her head and her dark hair fell over her shoulders, looking soft and silky. “I’ve waited long enough, Tony. I don’t want to wait a single second more.”

      She was staring down at his body, her gaze resting on his blatant erection clearly defined within his soft cotton boxers. Another quarter inch, one more soft sound from her, and the boxers wouldn’t cover him at all. He wanted her to touch him, he wanted…Feeling desperate, he said, “I have to at least shave, honey. I don’t want to scratch you.”

      For a reply, she began unbuttoning her coat, and as each button slid free, his heartbeat accelerated. First he saw soft pale flesh; her throat, her upper chest, the gentle swells of her breasts. But as the coat began to part, he realized she wasn’t dressed at all, that she was covered only by the teddy he’d admired the day before in her shop.

      He’d had to know, he thought frantically, staring at her body, more perfect than any mannequin. She had a gentle grace that was made to wear such feminine items. He’d questioned whether she really wore the articles she carried, and now she’d proven to him that she did—with perfection. And suddenly it was too much.

      Gripping the lapels of the coat in his fists, he shoved it over her shoulders and let it fall free to land unnoticed on the floor, abruptly ending her slow unveiling. Drawn by the sight of her, cheeks flushed, eyes anxious, he scooped her into his arms. He felt her slender thighs against his forearm, her soft breasts against his chest, her lips touching his throat, and he groaned. The bedroom was definitely too far away and he took three long steps to the living-room couch and landed there with her tucked close to his side. His mouth was on hers before she could protest, if that had been her intent. And his hands began exploring every soft swell and heated hollow. He moved too fast, he knew it, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

      She shuddered when his palm smoothed over her silky bottom, sliding between her buttocks, exploring her from behind. He dipped between her thighs to frantically finger the three small silver snaps there. They easily popped free at his prodding, and then his fingers were touching her warmth, gliding over softly swelled flesh, over crisp feminine curls. He stroked, feeling her wetness, her growing heat. The feel of her made him wonder why he didn’t explode. He could hear her rapid breathing in his ears, feel her fingertips clenching tight on his shoulders.

      He groaned, moving his mouth from hers, wanting to taste her skin, to breathe in her scent. She was soft everywhere, from her loose hair that brushed over his cheeks, to her arms that held him tight, to her slender thighs that willingly parted as he continued to cautiously explore her, exciting her, readying her.

      Finding a puckered nipple beneath the sheer material of the teddy, he dampened it with his tongue, then looked at his handiwork. She showed pink and erect through the material. He suckled, flicking with his tongue, and Olivia arched her back, her panting, urgent breaths driving him on. He nipped and she gasped. With his big hand still between her thighs, he slid one long finger over her, again and again, finding her most sensitive flesh and plying it in much the same way he did her nipple, then

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