The Marriage Merger by Sandy Curtis Read Free Book Online Page B

that lingered, then a tentative flick of his tongue on
her lips and her eyes closed. The faint moan that escaped her
throat was all the response he needed. His hand twined into her
curls as his mouth ravished hers.
    It was like falling into a deep abyss of
pleasure. Her body came alive like it never had before. Her breasts
flooded with heat and a deep wanton ache pulsed in her groin. Her
hands found the hard chest muscles they had craved to touch and
stroked sensually over them. It was heady, intoxicating.
    And frightening.
    Somehow a fragment of her mind registered how
badly she had lost control. Like a drowning person fighting her way
to the surface she pushed away and fell back onto the floor,
panting as though she had run a marathon.
    She saw the glazed look in Braden’s eyes and
a swift glance told her he was fully aroused. Her thoughts
clarified and she suddenly realised the vulnerability of her
situation. Braden was a strong man, and she would stand little
chance of fending him off if he decided to take what his body
obviously wanted.
    But what terrified her more was the knowledge
he wouldn’t have to fight her to get it. Nothing had prepared her
for the devastating effect on her senses wrought by Braden’s kiss.
If she had kept kissing him she would have ended up completely
unable to stop him from taking what he wanted. And even more
terrifying was knowing her body would have betrayed the restraints
she had placed on herself for the past three years.
    Fear panicked her tongue.
    “Is this how you treat all your
housekeepers?”
     
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Braden's face froze in astonishment. Jenna
shrank back against the floor. Then a deep rumbling started in his
chest.
    He was laughing at her!
    Humiliation burned her face. He must have
guessed her fears and thought it funny that she should think he
would not be able to control himself with her. Or perhaps he was
laughing at her almost adolescent reaction to the intensity of her
desire. She sprang to her feet, fists clenched in frustration and
chagrin. “Well, I just hope you spell out the ground rules to your
next housekeeper!”
    The laughter died. Suspicion took its
place.
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “You know I can’t stay here after … after
what’s just happened.” She knew she was acting like an overwrought
teenager but, heaven help her, it was just what she felt like.
    Shards of ice darkened his grey eyes. The
lines of his face hardened into granite.
    “You would abandon Caitlin?”
    She shivered at the disgust in his voice. He
had her cornered and she knew it. Nothing would make her leave
until she had done everything in her power to get Caitlin as
healthy and happy as possible. Apart from her personal concern her
professionalism wouldn’t have allowed it.
    “No. I wouldn’t do that.”
    “Really? Women do it all the time - walk out
on their children, their husbands. Why should you be any different?
Caitlin isn’t even your child.”
    There was something in his tone that scraped
an uneasy note in Jenna’s brain. She had the feeling it wasn’t just
Caitlin he was talking about.
    “No, but she is my ... concern. I’ll stay as
long as I can. You have my word on that.” She drew in a deep
breath. “But I would appreciate our ... relationship ... staying on
a strictly professional level. I’ve found that families of trauma
victims can become too emotionally dependent on their loved one’s
doctor or therapist. That dependency can be misread as attraction,
but it’s an attraction which doesn’t outlast the patient’s
treatment.”
    “Is this a text book scenario, Jenna? Or did
you learn it the hard way?”
    She ignored his question.
    “Caitlin will need us both. It’s important
that she feels as secure as possible. Keeping our relationship on a
professional level will enable us both to concentrate on what is
best for her.”
    “So you’re just going to dismiss the obvious
attraction that exists between us?” His voice