Free Against the Heart by Kat Martin

clock.  "I walked down instead of driving.  I wonder, Daniel, if you would mind walking me back home."
    Their eyes met across the kitchen and the air seemed to sizzle between them.  "I could do that," Daniel said.  "Let me get my jacket and your wrap."  His father flicked him a glance.  "Don’t wait up.  We might watch TV for a while."
    Ian bit back a smile.  "Have fun," he said, wishing he was going to have the same kind of fun with Meri his father was going to have Heddy.
    Standing next to her mother, Lily yawned.  "I’m sleepy, Mama."
    "Come on, honey.  Time for bed."
    "I’ll carry her up," Ian said.  Scooping the little girl into his arms, he carted her up the stairs, Meri right behind him.  She held open the door for him and Ian carried Lily over to the bed and set her on her feet.
    He bent and kissed her cheek. "Sleep tight, kiddo."  His gaze went to Meri and the longing inside him stirred.  For a heartbeat neither of them moved.
    "I...umm...need to get her undressed and ready for bed," Meri said, ending the moment with a dose of reality.
    Ian just nodded.  "Good night."  What he wanted from Meri, he couldn’t have.  Not without feeling guilty.   
    Meri looked as if she wanted to say something, but instead just shook her head.  "Good night, Ian."
    He walked out of the room and softly closed the door.  Tomorrow Meri was planning to leave.  Ian still hadn’t figured a way to stop her.
    Heading down the hall, he went into his room and closed the door.  It was late and the house was quiet.
    It didn’t matter.  Ian knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep.   
     
    Lily slept in the twin bed a few feet away, but Meri was wide awake, her mind whirling with images and memories. 
    Tonight had gone exactly the way she had planned.  The setting, the food, Daniel and Heddy.  Even the way Ian had stared at her all evening, as if she were the only one in the room.  He’d complemented her on how beautiful she looked while his gorgeous blue eyes told her how much he wanted her.
    She hadn’t expected the desire in his eyes would make her want him, too.
    Meri wasn’t a fool.  She knew Ian wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship.  He had never pretended he was.  But she was in love with him and nothing she had experienced had prepared her for the soul-deep yearning she felt for him.  Feelings Meri knew deep in her heart she would never know again. 
    Shoving aside the covers, she sat up in bed and pulled her long white sleep-tee over her head and tossed it away.  She had taken the combs out of her hair, but hadn’t re-braided it.  Maybe she had been planning to go to Ian all along.
    She grabbed her pink flannel robe, wishing it were silk, shrugged it on and headed for the door.  Feet bare, naked beneath the robe, she padded quietly down the hall.
    As she glanced back over her shoulder, she considered knocking on Ian’s door, giving him some warning, but the sound might wake Lily and she didn’t want to take the chance.
    Turning the knob, she quietly slipped into the bedroom.  The curtains were open, moonlight streaming in to softly light the darkness.  She could see Ian lying in bed, his muscular chest bare, the covers pushed down to his waist.  She saw that his beautiful blue eyes were open and watching her as she entered his room.
    She didn’t speak and neither did he.  For several seconds, she just stood there, giving him the chance to send her away.  Instead, he swung his long legs to the side of the bed and stood up completely naked, started walking toward her without the least embarrassment.  With a body as amazing as his, she didn’t blame him.
    "Meri..." 
    A little sound escaped from her throat as he drew her into his arms and his mouth came down over hers in a long, taking kiss, a kiss that seemed to brand her as his.
    One of his big hands sifted through her hair, gliding through the strands, spreading the wavy mass around her shoulders.
    "Like silk," he said.  "And