Free The Claiming by Kaitlyn O'Connor

drawled in an amused voice.
    His voice sent a shock wave through Jana. She jerked involuntarily, bumping her head and spine on the underside of the crib.
    She had found that she was far too unnerved by her first encounter with the man she’d come to deceive to remain cooped up in her room once her aches and pains had subsided. On the other hand, neither had she been willing to chance another confrontation so quickly on the heels of the first.
    Finally, she had decided that she would visit the nursery. The toddlers, when they weren’t screaming, generally amused her and their easy acceptance and inability to question her was bound to be more soothing to her nerves than risking a trip downstairs.
    She was fortunate in her timing. They had only lately risen from their nap, had been fed and bathed and were in a sunny mood. She had decided that she felt up to the challenge of tending to them alone and, after settling the babies on a thick rug on the floor, had sent their nurse, Lill, away.
    They were at a stage in development where they were relatively easy to amuse and slow to escape. She had piled colorful blocks and balls in the middle of the rug and sat back to watch as they tumbled them around, tried to force various pieces into their mouths—which were fortunately too large to fit—and alternated between crawling off in different directions and repeated attempts to get to their feet and walk.
    The male child, whom Lill called Behn had finally tired of trying to eat the toys and had begun slapping them with his hands, scattering them in every direction. Jana had just crawled under the crib to retrieve the last of them when she heard that voice she was already beginning to dread.
    Rubbing her head, she peered over her shoulder. He was standing in the doorway and although she could see little more than his legs, there was enough amusement in his voice to make her wonder just how long he'd been watching her.
    It didn’t take a great deal of thought to realize that there was no dignified way to remove herself. The crib was against the wall. There was nothing she could do but to back out the way she'd come. Unfortunately, she discovered almost immediately that her hair had become hopelessly entangled with the crib. She struggled with it for a few moments, but quickly realized that it was getting worse, not better, and that it was far more than a strand or two.
    "Uh … Mr. Camar?"
    "Alain," he corrected promptly.
    Jana blushed at the unmistakable laughter in his voice. "I ... I seem to be stuck," she admitted finally, realizing it was likely to amuse him all the more but that she had little choice.
    "Stuck?"
    "My hair is caught," she said stiffly.
    She heard a low chuckle, but in a moment, he appeared at her side. She gave him a look that dared him to laugh. Amusement glinted in his eyes, but there was no other indication of suppressed mirth as he rolled onto his back, edged closer and reached up to untangle her hair.
    "I suppose you're wondering how I came to be under here," she said tentatively.
    He paused and his gaze flickered from his task to her face. He studied her for a long moment and Jana suddenly became aware of his nearness in a way she hadn’t been before, in a way she’d never been aware of any man before.
    He unnerved her, set her heart to fluttering in a wild rhythm, but it had nothing to do with fear.
    A slight smile played about his lips as he looked at her, drawing her gaze to his mouth. Her stomach executed a free fall, as it had when she’d been standing on the deck of the ship staring at endless space. Then, as now, she’d felt as if she was standing on the edge of an infinite precipice, teetering on the verge of falling. She could not have said what it was about those hard, sculpted lips that created such turmoil inside her, but there was no denying the effect it had upon her to look at him, to be so near him.
    A wave of familiarity swept through her abruptly, leaving her almost dizzy. She closed her