Free Blame It on the Blackout by Heidi Betts

pictured her in his house, living here, belonging here. Making love to her every night. Holding her in his arms in a tangle of sheets while they slept and then waking the same way every morning.
    For a man who’d sworn he would never tie himself down with a wife and family, those images had gotten pretty damn specific.
    And while he wouldn’t mind having Lucy in his bed—just once or twice more to get his fill—he supposed he should be glad things were working out this way.
    Having a child at this point in his life just wasn’t feasible. He wasn’t a man to neglect his responsibilities, and if he’d married Lucy and had a child with her, he would have felt the need to spend time with them. Lord knew he’d want to be a better father to his children than his father had been to him.
    And a better husband. He might not have planned it, but he genuinely liked Lucy, and if they’d made a baby together, then he would have done his best to treat herright, too. Which meant he could kiss Reyware and Games of PRey goodbye.
    A wave of dread washed over him, followed by the cool, cleansing breeze of relief. Yes, it was definitely better this way.
    If Lucy had wound up pregnant, he’d have married her and turned his focus on her and their child…maybe even someday children. But his own lousy childhood had taught him that he couldn’t have a family and run a successful business, so he would have had to give up his thriving software company and look for some other, less demanding job. Probably computer repair, which was about all he thought he’d be good at.
    He shuddered at the thought. He’d have changed diapers and played horsey and done everything in his power to let his children know he loved them, but he would have been miserable working nine to five for someone else just to keep food on the table.
    Maybe someday, after he’d made a few billion dollars and could afford to hire a staff of corporate go-getters to run things for him, then maybe he’d start thinking about finding a woman to settle down with and having a couple kids. If Lucy was still available at that point, he might even consider hooking up with her again.
    But for now…For now, this was good. Hell, it was freaking fantastic. He’d really lucked out. Slipped the noose, so to speak.
    And it probably wouldn’t take long at all for Lucyand him to get back to their old camaraderie, their old habit of working together like a well-oiled machine. She already looked more recovered from their encounter than he felt, thank goodness. He’d have hated to have her hanging on him, expecting their relationship to change, take on new meaning.
    If it took him a while to get the memory of her warm, writhing body out of his head, well, that was nobody’s problem but his own. No one needed to know he still felt her beneath him at night while he struggled to fall asleep. Or that just the sight and smell of her sent a shock of awareness through his bloodstream.
    Those things would haunt him, Lucy would haunt him the rest of the time they worked together. Maybe even forever.
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    Days turned into weeks as Peter and Lucy functioned around each other like virtual strangers. She came to work every day on time, went through the motions, took care of him as well as she ever had. Anyone looking in at them would think they had the perfect employer/employee relationship.
    Only Peter—and Lucy, if she were being honest—knew that was far from the truth. The air between them fairly sizzled with tension and sexual electricity. He expected sparks to shoot from his fingertips every time she sauntered into his office and handed him the morning mail or a fresh cup of coffee, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a decent night’s sleep.
    Lucy might look like a model stepping straight off the runway, more beautiful every time he looked at her, but he was beginning to feel like something the dog