Free Bargain in Bronze by Natalie Anderson Page B

of nail marks proving how much she liked that part of him. He stood socially unacceptably near to her at the counter—watching her work. He’d see how long she could hold out for.
    “Where’s your younger sister?” She asked eventually, her voice a little shrill. Her cheeks were getting redder by the minute.
    “At university, thank goodness.” He didn’t step away, not when he saw the way she couldn’t help the downward flicker of her gaze over his body. He liked being this close—near enough to touch in a heartbeat.
    “Is she into rowing too?”
    “She wasn’t, for a long time. But now she’s a cox,” He wickedly emphasized the word, knowing from the quick touch of her tongue to her lips what she was thinking of. “It seems to be in the blood.”
    “It must have been hard for you.” She sent him another quick glance from beneath her cautious lashes.
    He bit the inside of his lip. People were curious—of course they were. Mostly he brushed it off, but with Libby he had an urge to be honest. “It wasn’t as hard as many other people have it. I was able to generate cash to get the business underway. And they were good kids. Well, as good as could be expected.” He frowned.
    Libby raised her brows. “Did they give you a hard time?”
    “Being the stand-in parent means you get the brunt of rebellion and resentment.”
    “You should’ve been out sowing your wild oats.” She sent him a look from under her lashes. “You still should be.”
    Jack tensed. Tom had said that recently, Anne too in her own way. But he’d figured that had been because the two of them wanted him off their backs. Now he wondered if they were right. He’d gotten in the habit of bearing responsibility and working so hard to make sure they had all they needed and to build the business. But stupidly, hearing it from Libby flicked his pride—his past hadn’t been completely boring.
    “I did okay,” he said. “It wasn’t all a desert in that time.”
    But none of those random hook-ups had given him the kind of experience he’d had with Libby last night.
    “No girlfriend could put up with the sullen teen sister or my work hours.” He couldn’t help explaining. He hadn’t had time to manage a relationship. Then he’d gotten used to the hours. Once his business interests took off, they increased more. He still didn’t have the time for anything serious. Fortunately Libby didn’t want anything long-term. They could enjoy this moment by moment—have a few laughs together over an oat-strewn counter.
    “I don’t believe you,” Libby said, measuring almonds. “There would have been girls lining up round the block to give you the kind of support you needed.”
    He laughed. “That’s a sweet thing to say but it’s not true.”
    “It’s true.”
    She was wrong. “I spent most of my time with building contractors, engineers and inspectors. It’s a reality that most of those people are not female. It comes down to sheer opportunity.”
    “Is that what I was last night?” Her eyes glinted. “Sheer opportunity?”
    It only took a moment to get his hands around her waist. He lifted her up onto the countertop. “What you are,” he said roughly, pushing her knees apart so he could press close and kiss her everywhere. “Is temptation.”
    She shook her head, taking his hand and bringing it to her breast, sighing in surrender when he tightened his fingers around the taut nipple. “That’s what you are.”
    He kissed her, boldly invading her mouth the second their lips connected. She opened instantly—her low moan making him even harder. None of the passion had been assuaged last night. In fact it was worse, knowing how hot it would be. Damn. He lifted her off the bench and into his arms. “My place.”
    “Yes.”

    “What are you doing?” He asked the next night. Bags of ingredients spilled all over the counter in a mess. Where was her usual “everything just so” approach?
    “Grainstorming.”
    “What?”
    She