A Loving Man by Cait London Page A

paneling, the leather couches and chairs, the lush silver carpeting and the skyscraper view of Chicago burning in the early-afternoon heat. Stefan was a part of all this, not a part of her life. “I can’tplay games,” she whispered, her throat drying as Stefan stood and moved around the desk. “You belong here, not in Waterville. You’ll get bored soon enough, and I can’t afford all that sympathy again. I’ve already gotten one sympathy tuna casserole for losing another chance at marriage. You can’t just stir up a town, Stefan. There are consequences.”
    Stefan leaned down to pick her up. He carried her to the couch and sat with her in his arms.
    “I’m dressed for business,” Rose said shakily, when she could speak. “I mean business,” she said in an effort to sound more firm. She sat very straight, her mind blanking as she saw Stefan’s dark gaze roaming her body. His finger prowled down her buttoned blouse. “People will think we’re doing something here that we shouldn’t be.”
    Stefan stroked the side of her throat with his finger and then eased her hair away to nuzzle her skin. “Shall we?”
    “You know that I’m out of that game,” Rose whispered unevenly as his lips warmed the sensitive skin at the corner of her lips and his fingers began unbuttoning the blouse she wore beneath her jacket.
    “I’ve never been in it—until now,” Stefan murmured against her throat as his hand slid inside to cup her breast. “I’ve missed you.”
    Rose tried not to sigh in pleasure, for her body had just remembered everything her mind was telling her not to do. “If you’re trying to soften me up, it’s not working.”
    “Isn’t it?” Stefan eased away her jacket and her blouse and settled her on the leather couch. She knew she should be saying “no,” but her body ached for his touch. His hands trembled as he tore off his own jacket, tie and shirt. That slow, flickering look down her body caught Rose, pinning her.
    “It is hot outside,” she whispered as Stefan slowly lowered himself full-length upon her. He closed his eyes as if drawing pleasure into himself and Rose watched, fascinated. “I’ve made love before,” she said. “It wasn’t that good. You wouldn’t like it with me. It leaves me all—restless.”
    Stefan made a growling noise and seemed to shiver. He closed his eyes, groaned and pushed himself upright. He glanced at her, then ran his fingers through his hair. “I promised myself this wouldn’t happen. But one look at you and—”
    He stared grimly out of the window as if he couldn’t bear to look at her. “It’s true, then, just like Estelle says. I do not know how to play or to romance. All I want is to be in you, against you, breathing the air you breathe, holding you tight. I sense that if we made love, I would only want you more.”
    Rose tried to catch her breath. Stefan seemed so vulnerable, so frustrated, and her senses told her to comfort him. She had always been very good at comforting men. She patted his bare, taut shoulder. “You’re worried about performing, aren’t you? About that too-soon release? You said you hadn’t loved anyone since your wife and people say that men lose their edge when they don’t keep in practice. It’s like any other sport, I suppose. Practice counts.”
    He glared darkly at her. His words were stiff and grim. “I would hope that I do not have that ‘too-soon’ problem, and I do not wish to discuss it with you.”
    She buttoned her blouse and briskly patted his knee. “Well, then. We have other things to discuss, don’t we? Before I leave? Like exactly how are we going to deal with the gossip about us? And another thing, I don’t like having to run you down to have a conversation about setting the rules between us. Your mother didn’t know when you’d be back and she suggested it could be months. I willnot owe you for all that time. I had to close the store for one whole day to make this trip. I’m going to