Hostage Midwife by Cassie Miles

her face against his chest and tightened her embrace. Closer, closer, she wantedto be so close that she was a part of him, and they were joined together. “Take me upstairs.”
    At the front entryway, he used his key to open the outer door. The carpeted foyer had an elevator and a staircase. The layout reminded her of a mountain condo where she and Ted had gone on a skiing vacation. Damn Ted Maxwell! Why was she thinking about him? Why wouldn’t her memories of him shrivelup and die?
    As she and Nick climbed the staircase, she paused on a landing to kiss him again. Her tongue plunged into his mouth. He tasted sweet and hot and slick. Her passion overwhelmed her regrets. Her needs were fierce and demanding. With Nick, she wasn’t making a mistake. Her luck had changed for the better.
    Unaware of anything but him, she ascended the rest of the stairs. By thetime he unlocked the door to his condo, she could barely contain her desire. The inferno inside her consumed her thoughts and drove her to the brink.
    As they tumbled into his condo, she was utterly unaware of her surroundings. Nothing existed but her need to make love to Nick. He was her salvation. When she felt his muscular arms holding her, she forgot everything else. She could lose herselfin the blue of his eyes. He was the antidote to her memories.
    Her hands became claws as she tore off his tweed jacket. Her eager fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, and she plucked open one after another.
    He caught her hands and held them, forcing her to slow down, and she moaned. She needed to touch his flesh and feel the beating of his heart against hers. He lightly kissedher forehead. He caressed her shoulders, sending shivers down her spine.
    There was a time for gentleness, and this wasn’t it. She wanted to be ravaged, to forget all the embarrassment and the hurt. The only thing that would quench the burning rage and humiliation inside her was fierce passion. Fight fire with fire . If she didn’t make love to him right now, she would surely explode.
    He whispered her name. “Are you all right?”
    Hell, no, she wasn’t all right. She was nearly insane. “Make love to me, Nick.”
    “You bet I will.” But he took a backward step. “Let me take my time, to make love to you the way you deserve.”
    “Now,” she said hoarsely as she threw her body against his. Her hand slid down his chest and lower until she grasped his rock-hard erection. “I knowyou want me.”
    He sucked in a breath. “Damn right I do.”
    “You won’t be disappointed.” The one place she and her ex had never experienced difficulty was the bedroom. Maybe that was because he’d been practicing with other women. Her rage burned with a higher flame. “Ted used to say—”
    “Ted?”
    She didn’t want to think of him, but there he was—front and center in her mind, ruiningeverything. The realization stopped her short. What was she doing? Fighting her anger at Ted by making love to Nick? That was wrong, so very wrong.
    This had to end. She pulled away from Nick, pivoted and ran blindly through the front room of his condo. Frantically looking for escape, she went to the sliding glass doors, threw them open and rushed outside into the moonlight. Her hands grippedthe wood railing on the small balcony. Her heart thumped against her rib cage, and she was breathing hard.
    The desire was still there, but she wouldn’t use Nick for angry sex. He deserved better...and so did she.
    He stood beside her on the balcony. The branches of a tall conifer nearly brushed the edge of the railing. The view below was landscaping that led to a manicured golf course.She stared down at the shrubs, hoping she hadn’t destroyed her relationship with Nick. She liked him a lot. This was a man she could have a real relationship with.
    Quietly, she said, “I’m sorry.”
    “I don’t need an apology.”
    “It’s just that—”
    “And I don’t need an explanation,” he said. “All I care about is that