He looked at her quietly for a moment. ‘That would be great, Kim. Thank you.’
‘Are your parents all right?’ Too late she remembered she hadn’t asked after them, but that was the trouble with Lucas, she told herself crossly. All coherent thought seemed to fly out of the window when he was around.
‘They’ll live.’ It was dry. ‘Dad is suffering more from the tongue-lashing Mum gave him than his broken leg and torn muscles. He always tends to drive too fast and she’s sure that contributed to the accident.’
It seemed strange hearing him refer to his parents as Mum and Dad, somehow, and Kim didn’t like the feeling the warmth in his voice engendered either. She didn’t want to think of him as a loving son; it made him that touch more human and that was dangerous.
As Melody claimed Lucas’s attention by tugging on his sleeve Kim said hastily, ‘I’ll get that coffee,’ and shut the sitting room door quickly.
She stood still for a moment in the kitchen, aware her heart was pounding. He was here, he’d come. What did that mean? Her heart gave a mighty kick and she shut her eyes tightly, but that only painted the picture of Lucas—his shirt taut across muscled shoulders and his long legs crossed Buddha-fashion as he sat next to the tiny figure of Melody—more vividly across the screen of her mind.
Food. With unconscious drama she raised her hands and opened her fingers wide. Concentrate on the food, Kim, she told herself silently. She knew where she was with that.
At half-past seven Kim served up pork chops with lemon and herbs, and new potatoes and baby carrots and peas for Lucas, whisking Melody out of the room at the same time so Lucas could eat his food in peace whilst Melody had her bath and got into her pyjamas.
‘This looks delicious. Thank you.’
The soft deep voice stopped Kim just as she was about to shut the sitting room door again and she turned, indicating for Melody to continue up the stairs, before she glanced back at Lucas and said, her smile brittle, ‘There’s either spicy apple, date and sesame loaf to follow or a piece of the chocolate cake Melody likes if you’d prefer.’
‘Home-made chocolate cake?’ It was almost winsome.
Kim nodded carefully.
‘It’s been years since I had home-made chocolate cake,’ Lucas murmured appreciatively.
‘Chocolate cake it is, then.’
After she shut the door Kim found she had to lean against it for a full thirty seconds. He was too sexy, she told herself despairingly. Too sexy by half. How did he manage to look so broodingly tough and little boy lost at the same time?
And she hadn’t asked why he was here. She hadn’t even acted as though a boss appearing on his secretary’s doorstep at seven in the evening was unusual. She’d just simply offered him coffee and then proceeded to cook him a meal. Barmy. This man was sending her stark-staring barmy.
Once Melody was bathed and in bed Kim left her drawing a picture with her new set of pencils, after promising her she’d return and read her a story in a few minutes after she had fixed Lucas’s dessert.
She heated the large slice of chocolate fudge cake just the slightest in the microwave, the way she did for Melody, and served it with a generous dollop of fresh cream, carrying it through to the sitting room quickly.
Lucas was sitting staring into the fire as she opened the door, his elbows on his knees and the empty plate at his side, and she noticed immediately he had taken his tie off and rolled up his shirt sleeves. The aura of masculinity was overwhelming, and Kim felt her stomach tighten.
‘I should have rung before I came round,’ he said abruptly, rising to his feet at her entry into the dimly lit room.
What did he expect her to say to that? They looked at each other for a second, and then Kim said quietly, ‘Why didn’t you?’
‘Because you would have put me off coming, said you’d see me tomorrow at the office, and I couldn’t wait that long.’
He had moved closer to her as he had spoken, taking the plate from her suddenly nerveless fingers and placing it on a chair before straightening again and towering over her, his tall lean body hard and uncompromising and his silver-grey eyes registering the shocked surprise on her face.
‘Lucas—’
‘For the last forty-eight hours all I’ve done is to tell myself what a damn fool I was not to kiss you when I had the chance,’ he growled softly. ‘To hell with doing the honourable thing and giving you time. I need you, Kim.’
‘Lucas, please—’
He caught the last breathless word with his lips, his mouth taking hers in a kiss that was all fire and passion, a kiss which rocked Kim to the core. But then almost immediately the ruthless control he exerted in every other area of his life slotted into place, and he was caressing her lips with small, sweet kisses as he moulded her against him.
His tongue rippled along her teeth and Kim shivered her response, barely aware that her hands had lifted to his muscular shoulders where her fingers rose further to tangle in the short, spiky black hair above his shirt collar.
His hands moved in slow exploration down the length of her trembling body with exquisitely controlled sensuality, and Kim found herself kissing him back with a hunger that matched his. She could hear little guttural moans but at first she didn’t realise they were coming from deep in her throat, and even when the knowledge dawned she couldn’t do anything about it.
She could feel the play of muscles beneath the silk of his shirt when she let her hands roam over the hard expanse of his powerful back, and the scent of him—that delicious, intoxicating mixture of expensive aftershave and pure male—was adding to the wild pleasure sweeping her senses.