Page 31 of Baby It's Cold Outside

“The special lady?” she prompted, but he just stared at her. “The special lady who collects dolls—the one you were buying a gift for? Exactly how special is she?”

His eyes widened and then to her utter shock, a gruff chuckle came out, followed by another, and another.

“What’s so funny? It’s a valid question,” Kate stated, annoyed. It had taken all the willpower she had to ask the bloody question. He could at least take it seriously.

The laughter finally died down to be replaced by intermittent chuckles. “Katherine, you slay me,” he said at last.

“I can see that,” she replied, tartly. “Perhaps you could let me in on the joke now.”

He grasped her hand. “Come here.” Wrapping his arm around her waist, he lifted her onto his lap.

Warmth spread at the cozy, possessive gesture and the feel of thighs roped with muscle cradling her bottom.

“First off,” he began, drawing the curtain of hair back behind her ear, the brush of his fingertip sending a shiver of sensation down her neck. “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not the kind of guy who sleeps with one woman while dating another—no matter how casual the hookup. Okay?”

The twist of guilt released so fast all she could manage was a nod.

“And second of all, in answer to your question, the special lady is very special. In fact, she’s the most special person in my life.”

“Oh,” she murmured, her relief quelled by gut-wrenching disappointment. Which was insane. So he had another woman in his life who meant a lot to him? So what? They’d already established that this was strictly a casual hookup. “But you’re not currently dating her?” she asked.

The smile was slow and sexy and burned right down to her toes.

“No, we’re not dating, because she’s eight,” he said, his voice still light with humor. “And she’s my daughter.”

The warmth spread up her chest, making her pulse pound. “Ah, I see,” she said and laughed, suddenly getting the joke—and deciding it had the best punch line ever.

Not just because she now had confirmation that he was unattached, but because there was something rather wonderful about discovering that this dangerously sexy man had a little girl whom he obviously adored.

“What’s her name?” she asked, fascinated.

“Her name’s Juliana, but everyone calls her Gully,” he said, dropping his head to concentrate on undoing the buttons of her pajama top. “She lives with her mother and stepdad in Ithaca,” he continued, calmly working his way through the task. “She was the result of one night of craziness at a sorority party when I was twenty-two and busy flunking my MBA.” He released the last of the buttons, watching intently as her top fell open to reveal the pink lace of her bra. “She loves her new puppy, Tyler, and drawing her own comic strips, and has a serious addiction to the Disney Channel and the marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal.”

Her breath caught as he flattened one rough palm on her stomach and lifted his gaze to hers, the pupils dark and dilated.

“And as special as she is to me…,” he murmured, his thumb tracing the underside of her breasts, “that’s more than enough about her.”

Her nipples hardened into rigid, aching peaks, the heat pounding so strongly in her sex she felt faint with anticipation as his mouth captured hers in a mind-numbing kiss.

She threaded her fingers into the short hair above his ears and kissed him back, tasting rich red wine and heady seduction.

The moments stretched into minutes as they feasted on each other the way they’d feasted on the food. Breathing heavily, he lifted her onto the ready-made bed, his face harsh with arousal as he tugged his T-shirt over his head.

His pectoral muscles bulged and flexed, gilded by the pearly glow of the dim lights as he released the hook on her bra and discarded the lacy impediment.

Her fingers found the firm velvet skin of his back as he dropped his head and took one straining nipple into his mouth. The hot suction nearly launched her off the bed. He chuckled and held her down, torturing one breast, then the other, as she moaned, writhed, bucked beneath him.

Desire coiled in her belly, and she

knew she couldn’t wait any longer. As she lurched up and reached blindly for the buckle on his trousers, she realized she’d never wanted any man as much as she wanted this one right now.

They wrestled their remaining clothes off, settling into the array of throw pillows gloriously naked. She explored his body: the hard abs, the vee of muscle that defined narrow hips, the tantalizing happy trail that arrowed down to a magnificent erection. And wondered at the tan lines on his arm and neck where he’d obviously sunbathed with his T-shirt on.

She touched her finger to the tip of the straining erection, her swollen sex pulsing with need at his guttural groan as the flesh leaped, seeking her touch.

He swore suddenly and scrambled off the bed. Finding his chinos he tugged out a pack of condoms and began tearing off the wrapping.

She laughed, astonished to realize she hadn’t even given a thought to birth control. And hopelessly pleased that he had. “Where did you get those?”

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