The Family Plan (The McClouds of Mississippi 1)

She tilted her head, letting her lips rub softly against his. And then she arched into him when he brought his hands around beneath the shell to cup her breasts through the thin fabric of her bra. His thumbs rubbed her nipples, making her shiver in his arms.

“Nathan,” she murmured into his mouth.

He drew his hands from beneath her top to cup her flushed face between them. His eyes were such a dark blue—gleaming sapphires—when they locked with hers. His voice was a hoarse growl when he asked, “Do you have any idea how badly I want you?”

Since their lower bodies were still plastered tightly together, she nodded. “I have a pretty good idea.”

His hands lowered to her shoulders and stroked slowly down her forearms. “I have a pretty good idea it’s not all one-sided.”

There was no sense in denying her feelings now, not when she was draped all over him, her nipples hard against his chest, her hands fisted in his shirt to keep him close to her. “It’s not one-sided.”

He smiled and brushed a kiss against the tip of her nose. “It seems like it has taken months to get you to admit that.”

Probably because it had, she mused wryly. She must have started falling for him the first time she met him, when he’d smiled at her and said, “I would be deeply honored if you would consider being my partner, Caitlin Briley.”

He lowered his head to kiss her again, gently this time. Lingeringly. The tenderness of the embrace affected her even more deeply than the passion of before. She melted against him.

The kiss changed again, flaring hotter and needier. If he had lowered her to the floor then, she wouldn’t have uttered a syllable of protest. He could have tossed aside the navy suit and taken her right there in the office, and she would have given herself to him with utter abandon.

She would have sworn he was tempted to do just that. She could almost feel the urge ripple through him, so strong he trembled with it. For just a moment they seemed poised on the brink of something momentous. Life changing. Irreversible.

Nathan was the one who came to his senses first. She wasn’t sure whether she was more relieved or disappointed when he lifted his head, slowly bringing the kiss to an end. “Damn,” he said.

It took her a few beats to catch up. “What?” She cleared her throat. “What’s wrong?”

“I have to go home. It’s Mrs. T.’s choir night.”

Recalled abruptly to her senses, she shook her head and took a step backward, putting some distance between them.

“You have to go home to Isabelle,” she said, very slowly returning to reality.

“Come with me. Have dinner with us.”

“No. I— No.” She simply wasn’t ready for a cozy family meal with Nathan and his little sister.

He looked as though he would have liked to argue, but he reluctantly accepted her answer. “All right. We’re still on for the symphony Saturday night, right?”

“Yes.” It would be rude to back out on that commitment now, since he had already made arrangements.

“Great. I’ve been looking forward to it all week.”

Picking up his overstuffed briefcase, he nodded toward the door. “After you, partner.”

She made an attempt to pull her dignity together. Lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders, she turned to leave his office.

“Caitlin?” His voice sounded oddly amused.

“Yes?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

He scooped her jacket off the floor and dangled it from one finger. “I doubt that you want Irene to find this here in the morning.”

Her cheeks burned. Snatching the jacket away from him, she shoved her arms into it.

She didn’t even want to think about Irene finding her clothes scattered around Nathan’s office.

A steady stream of monsters, wizards, superheroes, princesses, cartoon characters and movie villains rang Caitlin’s doorbell Thursday evening. Though she had heard reports that trick-or-treating had been falling out of favor nationwide, the tradition was still thriving in Honesty. Most of her visitors were children from the large, family-friendly, town house apartment complex in which she had lived since moving here, but there were also quite a few from the modestly priced housing development that began on the next block.

Having been forewarned by the neighbors about the number of trick-or-treaters to expect, she had bought several big bags of candy. As was the apartment complex practice, she left her outside light burning as a signal that she welcomed ghostly visitors. Her apartment was at the end of a block of town houses, so it seemed to be one of the first stops.