Free Taboo (A Classic Romance) by Mallory Rush

study room, Cammie didn't give herself time to weigh the wisdom of her decision.
    She would just steal a glance, she told herself. What could it hurt to look at him, if that was all she did? The longing had been building since the minute he'd left her home a week ago, and now she was starved for just the sight of him, the feel of him, the magic of his touch—No. She had to stop thinking like that. The only way she could allow herself to look was if she vowed not to give in to the forbidden.
    Slowly twisting the knob, she quietly pushed the door inward. He was talking to Audrey, and his voice washed over her, evoking a fresh wave of longing, of all the indecent memories she had basked in, despite her stern resolve not to.
    She slipped into the room unnoticed, then pressed the door shut and simply watched.
    It was a cozy, cluttered room, a little dark without windows, illuminated only by the fluorescent light shining into the fifty-gallon aquarium along the far wall.
    Grant had his back to her, but she could see Audrey perched on his knees, chattering on excitedly about the "fishy" she had just caught.
    Cammie's gaze roved over him hungrily. She remembered all too well how it felt to sit on his lap. She remembered the feel of his muscles as she had held onto the shoulders she craved to run her hands over now.
    "Okay, Audrey," he said, "now here's the tricky part. We don't want to hurt the fish, or scare him too much, since we want to play this game again."
    "Again and again, Uncle Grant! And I know how to let him go nice. See? Just like this." The sound of a switch clicking brought a gurgle of laughter from the small five-year-old girl.
    "Very good, Audrey."
    "I did it right!"
    "You did it perfect. Look at him swim away now. After they get used to this and know you'll let them out of the net, maybe the fish will decide they like the game too."
    "I want to do it again, Uncle Grant."
    "Okay, and this time you can try it all by yourself."
    Cammie watched as Grant released Audrey's small hands to work the simple controls of the two-foot-long rod and reel—minus the hook. A pulley worked by a flip switch either expanded or contracted the opening of the net, which "caught" the goldfish without the need for bait.
    "I did it! I did it!" Audrey squealed in delight.
    "You most certainly did, young lady. I think you must be the best fisherman I ever met under four feet tall."
    "Wow, and that's a lot."
    Grant's deep chuckle brought a smile to Cammie's lips. Trish was right. He'd always been wonderful with Audrey, trying to fill her father's shoes the best he could. He had a natural knack with kids. Not that he didn't lose his patience sometimes, but he genuinely liked them, and they always seemed to gravitate in his direction.
    She had known that, and yet she had never quite seen him in this light. Today he seemed more paternal, the kind of man any child would be blessed to have as a father. She could just envision him giving a toddler a piggyback ride, wrestling with a couple of kids on the floor, coaching Little League, or even changing a diap—
    What in the world was she thinking about? She knew she should get the hell out of there before she asked him to be a sperm donor—minus the doctor's assistance.
    "Going somewhere, Cammie?"
    Her hand froze as she reached for the knob, his voice seeming to drift temptingly down to her heart. She felt as though something languorous and dizzy and sweet had just replaced the blood in her veins.
    "I was afraid they would miss me at the party," she said weakly.
    "Not nearly as much as I'd miss you being here."
    She turned, and that was her fatal mistake. Their eyes met and held, and as if he had an invisible lure of his own, he reeled her in closer... closer.

 
     
     
    Chapter 6

     
    Grant had been hoping she would come to him. He was so starved for her, a touch of her hand on his arm would be sheer delight. He clamped down the impulse to rush to her, crush her to him, and reassure himself that