Free The Legacy by Fayrene Preston Page B

quickening. The tactile sensation of her skin and the soft material made him linger, rubbing the material back and forth between his thumb and fingers. He was torturing himself, he thought, but he couldn’t stop. “It’s a silk linen blend,” he murmured.
    Caitlin had come to life at his touch. Her pulses were racing, her senses whirling. But no matter what, she knew she couldn't betray what she was feeling. Not this time. She managed to indicate he was right with a slight nod.
    With more care than was warranted, he withdrew his hand. “Very pretty.”
    “Thank you.” Her pounding heart sounded in her ears. She moved a few steps away from him and gave the fountain her complete attention. “You know,” she said casually, “I don’t think you ever told me what type of law practice you have.”
    He gave a brief prayer of thanks that she hadn’t been looking when she asked the question. Otherwise, she would have seen him go rigid. “I’m a criminal lawyer."
    She risked a glance over her shoulder. “That must be interesting."
    “It’s a job. ”
    She contemplated his terse remark, running her hand over the cool marble of the fountain. Nico didn’t strike her as the kind of man who would enter a profession about which he didn’t care passionately. Otherwise, like his father and sister, he would simply have gone into the family business.
    She turned back to him. “But you must enjoy it. You did have other options.”
    “Not really.” He looked away. His fingers still tingled as he remembered the feel of her skin. “Caitlin . . “Yes?”
    He gripped his bottom lip with his teeth until all the color had been squeezed from the flesh. Then and only then did he trust himself to speak. “Did Ramona tell you what time supper would be?” Instinct told her that his Inquiry about supper had been an afterthought, but instinct also told her not to probe. He knew as well as she that Ramona would serve him whenever he showed up. “Around seven. Are you hungry?”
    He returned his gaze to her, and his throat constricted at the sight she made in the gathering dusk, her cinnamon hair a vivid contrast to the jade-green dress. “Yes,” he murmured softly. “Yes.” He cleared his throat, taking a moment to get himself together. “I am hungry, but I can wait. I think I'll go back to the house, though, and wash up.”
    “I have to get back too. I’ll walk with you. ”
    They moved at the same time and bumped against each other. The contact was minimal, but the result was magnified by their charged state.
    Nico pulled a deep lungful of air into his body, attempting to clear his mind. But the air was filled with sweetness—newly turned earth, orange blossoms, and the knee-weakening fragrance of the woman beside him. Nico closed his hand around her arm and pulled her against him. The taste of her mouth brought a growl from the back of his throat. He deepened the kiss, seeking the warmth and the heat that he had craved every minute of every day since he had last kissed her.
    A violent tremor shook Caitlin. The passion of his kiss—the fire skimming along nerve endings, invading the lower part of her body—was heaven, was hell.
    She wanted this man, and it would be sd easy to give in and surrender to where the kiss would lead. But there were too many things she didn’t understand. The memory of his rejection in the attic played like a warped record in the back of her mind.
    It wasn’t that she didn’t have the strength to risk his rejection again. She did. But why should she?
    And she could stand the pain she knew love sometimes brought. But only if she had a reason to accept that pain.
    Crushed against his body, Caitlin could feel the power of his need for her, yet just days ago he had told her to stay away from him. That meant he didn’t want to want her.
    But his mouth was devouring hers, and his hand was caressing her breast with urgency. She could conclude only that he wanted her in the same way he would want any