Free Sweet Child of Mine by Jean Brashear

this one was heart-shaped. Mirrors surrounded it, along with at least a hundred candles. He went for nonchalance. “The hot water will feel good.”
    Her eyes widened with shock. “You can’t be considering staying here.”
    “There’s nowhere else to stay.”
    “But I— But we—” She pointed aimlessly. “There are mirrors on the ceiling, for heaven’s sake.”
    “It’s a honeymoon suite. What did you expect?” He too wanted to groan. This was a sybarite’s dream suite, just this side of cheesy, except that everything was first class in its quality. All too easily he could imagine Suzanne lying on that huge round bed naked, her raven hair spilling over the coverlet like a waterfall of silk.
    He wanted to lie on his back on that bed and watch her naked above him while they—
    “There’s no sofa, Michael.” Suzanne’s voice intruded rudely on the enticing fantasies that were short-circuiting his brain.
    “So?”
    “I am not sleeping with you. That’s not our deal.”
    The agitation in her voice cut through the smoke fogging his logic. He cleared his throat and tried to find something in this room that didn’t fire his imagination into erotic meltdown.
    A panel of switches on the wall. Very utilitarian. Good. He stared at it for a moment before his brain would work to read the instructions.
    Laughter erupted from his throat.
    “What? What’s so funny?”
    “A thirty-channel remote control sound system with preset programs from Ravel’s Bolero to Madonna’s Erotica.” He couldn’t help the mile-wide grin until he turned and saw her. “Er, not funny.” He struggled to frown. “Not funny at all.”
    “There is nothing humorous about this, Michael.”
    What kind of music would make this woman melt? he wondered.
    “Michael—”
    He jerked himself back from a whole new line of fantasy. “Yeah. Right.” He cleared his throat again. Reality came crashing in. Suddenly he was as tired as he could remember being in a long time. He hadn’t slept much last night. “Look, the bed is huge. You could sleep ten people on that without anyone bothering anyone else.”
    “I am not sleeping with you. We made rules, remember?”
    But I hadn’t kissed you when we made those rules. I hadn’t felt your body against mine.
    She’d felt it, too. He knew that, knew that she remembered the moment when her body had surrendered to his, when she’d lost herself in the same heat lightning that had all but melted his shoes to the floor of the elevator.
    He fastened his gaze on hers and dared her to deny what they’d shared.
    Her eyes pleaded with him. Silently, they reproved him. There was more at stake than one scorching kiss.
    Her little boy. His father. The distance each of them needed to keep, no matter how strong the physical attraction. He’d never heard of Suzanne playing around. She wasn’t a woman to just go for great sex, no matter how much Michael was now convinced it would be earth-shaking.
    And he couldn’t offer her more. He could be her friend, and he could be a skilled and pleasing lover. But he would never, ever share his heart. It wasn’t his to give.
    Suzanne deserved more. She led with her heart and had from the first day he’d met her. She wasn’t a woman with whom you played games and walked away.
    “I’ll sleep on the floor,” he snapped. There was no reason to take out his frustration on her. He gentled his voice. “I won’t bother you.”
    She grew very quiet and sank down on the edge ofthe bed, looking defeated. “Maybe we should give this up right now. No one knows yet, so there’s no damage to repair.” Her slender shoulders sank as though the weight of her dreams was more than she could bear.
    “No.” Michael’s refusal was as instantaneous as it was inexplicable. Then he cursed himself silently and viciously. He’d always had a very healthy sex drive and it had been a long time since he’d had to deny it. Knowing that he would be celibate until this was all over