Free Their Baby Surprise by Jennifer Taylor

with hers and it was the sweetest kind of torment imaginable. Even though she was wearing heavy winter clothing, she could feel the power and strength of his body as clearly as though they had both been naked.
    Heat rushed through at the picture that instantly sprang to her mind and she bit her lip. The situation was going from bad to worse and she had no idea what to do about it. All she did know was that she mustn’t let Matt suspect how she felt or it could ruin everything. She would rather have him as a friend and a colleague than not have him in her life at all.

    They went to the same restaurant they had been to the previous night. Matt had suggested going somewhere different for a change but Rachel had claimed that she wasn’t dressed for anywhere too upmarket. To his mind she looked fine, more than fine, wonderful, in fact, although he forbore to say so. This was a working dinner, he reminded himself as the waiter showed them to their table. It wasn’t a date.
    The thought of what a real date might have entailed shimmered in front of his eyes like a mirage. If they had been out on a date, he’d have been able to tell Rachel how he felt, admit that he was attracted to her, maybe even confess his fears about getting hurt. And after dinner was over they might even have decided to continue the evening. It wasn’t as though they didn’t know one another, so it wouldn’t have felt as though he was rushing her if he’d invited her back to his house. They could have sat by the fire in the sitting room and drunk coffee, and then he would have kissed her, slowly, deeply, passionately.
    His body tingled as he imagined how sweet her lips would taste, like honeyed nectar. He would kiss her once then kiss her again and keep on kissing her until it was no longer enough for either of them. Even though Rachel had never chosen to have a long-term relationship, he knew that she would be a passionate and responsive lover, a tender and giving lover too. It was her nature to be generous and there would be no holding back. She would give herself to him with all the generosity of the person she was and he would bury himself in her softness, her sweetness, and allow it to heal him. He would become whole again in her arms, fearless and unafraid of the future. The thought was almost too tempting to resist.
    ‘I’m going to have the same as I had last night.’
    Rachel closed her menu and placed it on the table. Matt’s head whirled as he struggled to separate the mirage from what was actually happening. ‘Good idea. I think I will too.’
    He placed his menu on top of hers, forcing out the images that crowded his head. Rachel deserved to be loved and cherished, nothing less, and he wasn’t sure yet if he could do that. ‘So have you had any more thoughts about this new advisory service?’ he asked to distract himself from that strangely unsettling thought.
    ‘Just one. I was wondering if we should offer contraceptive advice as well.’ Rachel paused as though she hadn’t made up her mind about the benefits of such a service and Matt nodded encouragingly. He wanted to fill his head with as many new ideas as possible in the hope they would shut out everything else.
    ‘It would make a lot of sense. Dalverston has never had a proper family planning clinic and, in my opinion, it’s a huge oversight. Admittedly, the number of unplanned pregnancies in the town is relatively low compared to some other places, but they still happen. Kids need to understand that they have to behave responsibly, and not just to avoid getting pregnant either.’
    ‘STDs, you mean?’ Rachel queried.
    ‘Yes. I had a young man in tonight who’s a prime example of the value of such a service. It looks very much as though he’s caught some sort of sexually transmitted disease—probably chlamydia—and it was the first time he had slept with a girl too. Youngsters like him need to understand that they can’t afford to take any chances whether it’s