They stayed another few minutes, and then Sarah announced that she needed to find a bathroom again. With an amused smile, Blake loaded them into the car and set out for a gas station.

They drove around looking at the countryside until almost dark. Then they went home and Meredith helped Sarah get a bath. After that, she settled down by the child’s bedside to tell her some stories before she fell asleep.

She was halfway through “Sleeping Beauty,” when Blake came into the room and sat down, legs crossed, in the chair by the window to listen. He was a little intimidating, but Sarah laughed and encouraged Meredith, and in no time she was lost in the fantasy herself.

She told the child two more stories and Sarah’s eyelids grew heavier by the second. By the time Meredith had started on “Snow White,” Sarah Jane was sound asleep.

Meredith got up, tucked the covers around the tired little body and bent impulsively to kiss Sarah goodnight.

“That’s another thing she’s missed,” Blake remarked as he joined her by the bed. “Being kissed good-night.” He shifted, his hands in his pockets as he looked down at his daughter. “Showing affection is difficult for me.” He glanced at Meredith. “My uncle wasn’t the kissing sort.” He smiled a little. “And I guess you know that.”

She laughed. “Yes. I remember. He was a sweet man, but he hated touching or being touched.”

“So do I,” Blake replied. His eyes slid over Meredith’s soft oval face. “Except by you,” he added quietly. “I used to love to get cut up when you were here because you always patched me up. I loved the feel of your hands on my skin. I remember how soft and caring they were.” He sighed heavily and turned away. “We’d better get out of here before we wake her up.”

It was obviously embarrassing to him to admit how much he’d enjoyed her doctoring. That was surprising. She hadn’t realized until he’d said it just how many minor accidents he seemed to have had in the old days, when she was around. She smiled to herself. That was one more tiny secret to cherish in the years ahead, when these sweet days were just a memory and Blake was far out of her reach.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked curtly.

She looked across at him as she closed Sarah’s door. “I was thinking how ironic it is. I loved it when you needed patching up because it gave me an excuse to get close to you.” She colored a little as she averted her eyes.

“Isn’t it amazing how green we both were?” he asked. “Considering our ages. We weren’t kids.”

“No.”

The atmosphere was getting tenser by the second. She could almost feel the hard pressure of his mouth on her lips, and the way he was watching her, with that single-minded level stare, made her knees feel weak under her.

“How do you remember all those fairy tales?” Blake asked to relieve the tension that he was feeling.

“I don’t know. It’s a knack, I guess. Blake, you really do need to get her some storybooks,” she said.

“You’ll have to pick them out,” he replied. “I don’t know beans about what kids her age read.”

“All right. I’ll see if Mrs. Donaldson has any in her shop. I noticed some books in the back, but I didn’t take time to look at them.”

“I appreciate your help tonight,” he said. “Some facets of being a parent are difficult. Especially dealing with frilly underwear and baths.” He leaned against the wall, in no hurry to go downstairs, and his green eyes wandered slowly over Meredith’s exquisite figure in the revealing button-up white tank top and well-fitting blue jeans. His eyes narrowed on that top because he didn’t think there was anything under it and her breasts were hard tipped when they hadn’t been a minute ago. “You’re very maternal.”

“I like children. Shouldn’t we go downstairs?” she added nervously, because she felt the impact of his eyes on her breasts.

“Why? Do you suspect that I’m going to drag you into my bedroom and lock the door?”

“Of course not,” she said too quickly.

“Pity,” he remarked, shouldering away from the wall. “Because that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

And he did, quickly, smoothly and with deadly efficiency. Before Meredith had time to say anything, he had her in his room. He paused to lock the door and then lowered her onto the middle of the king-size bed.

She lay there breathless, staring up at him, as he bent over her, one lean hand on either side of her head, his green eyes biting into hers.

“How afraid of me are you, Meredith?” he asked quietly. “If I start making love to you, are you going to kick and scream for help?”

Her lips parted as she looked up at him. She wasn’t afraid of him at all. During the day, something had happened to both of them. The time they’d spent together had acted to bring them close. She knew more about him now than she ever had, and the thought uppermost in her mind was how much she loved him. Her eyes fell to his hard mouth, and she wanted it, and him, almost shockingly.

“No, I’m not frightened,” she said. “Because I know you won’t hurt me or force me to do anything I don’t want to. You said so.”

He seemed to relax a little. “That’s true. I meant it, too.” His eyes slid down her body, lingering on the thrust of her breasts against the tank top and the way her jeans clung to her rounded hips and long legs. “You can’t imagine the effect you’ve had on me all day in that getup. Do you know how sexy you are?”

“Me?” she asked with a faint, delighted smile.

“You.” He lifted his gaze back to collide with hers. “And you aren’t getting out of here yet.”

She felt tiny tremors shooting up and down her spine at the delicious threat. “I’m not?” she asked huskily.

He lowered himself down over her so that his chest was almost touching her breasts and his mouth was within an inch of hers. “No,” he breathed. “You’re not.”

Her hands slid up around his neck and her eyes dropped to his mouth. He smelled of cologne and she loved the feel of his shoulders and back under her hands, the hard muscles under the thin shirt. Her breath jerked out of her throat as she felt the warm threat of his body and tasted his coffee-scented breath on her lips.

“Just relax,” he whispered as his mouth brushed hers. “I won’t hurt you.”

Her hands slid into his thick hair and she let her body sink under the warm weight of his chest as it pressed against hers. His mouth was slow and hungry, and she didn’t mind when it began to probe inside her own. She’d never kissed anyone except Blake this way, and she loved the sensuality of it. She let his tongue enter her mouth and her hands clung as the new sensations ran like fire along her nerves and made her weak.

She kissed him back, savoring the warm hungry mouth on hers. One of his hands supported her neck, but the other slid over her shoulder and suddenly covered her soft breast.

She took an audible breath and he lifted his head, but he didn’t remove his hand.

“You’re a woman now,” he whispered. “And we’ve done this together once before. Except that this time, I’m not so green.”

“Yes.” She touched his fingers, lightly brushing them, while her eyes looked into his glittering ones with building excitement. Her swollen lips parted. “You could…unbutton it,” she whispered shakily. “I’m not wearing anything under it.”

She colored as she said it, and he realized how much courage it took for her to make him such an offer. Was she trying to prove that she trusted him, or could she feel the same hunger he did?

His fingers slid to the buttons and slowly began to slip them out of the buttonholes. And all the while, he searched her eyes, held them. “Why aren’t you wearing anything underneath?” he asked when he’d finished and the edges were still touching.

“Don’t you know, Blake?” she whispered with aching hunger. She arched just a fraction of an inch.

The invitation was as blatant as if she’d shouted it. He slowly peeled the edges of the tank top away from her full, firm breasts and let his eyes fall to them. They were as beautiful as they had been five years ago. A little fuller now, firmer. The color of seashells and rose petals, he thought dizzily as his eyes lingered on the hard tips that signaled her desire.