Kate knew she needed to act quickly or lose him forever. Shedding her own coat as she went, she walked over to him and slid the leather coat off his shoulders.

He fought her. “What are you doing?”

She pushed him down into a plush upholstered chair.

“Kate—”

Straddling him, she sat on his lap and felt him instantly harden beneath her. She resisted his efforts to remove her. “I’m not your daughter,” she said in a husky whisper. “I know it, and you know it. That’s all that matters.” She wove her fingers into his hair, drew him to her, and kissed him with all the love she felt for him. At first he resisted her, but as she moved on his lap, she felt his control slip away.

“Kate, stop,” he whispered against her lips as her tongue flirted with his. “You’re starting something I can’t finish.”

“I want you, Reid. I want you the way a grown woman wants a man.”

His hands came up to circle her bottom, pulling her closer to him. “I want you, too. God help me, but I want you.”

They kissed again, and she shivered when his hands slid under her sweater to caress her fevered skin. A bolt of heat charged through her when he unhooked the front clasp of her bra and fondled her breasts. He rolled his thumbs over her nipples, and she shuddered. “Please, Reid,” she panted, bringing her lips down on his.

With a surge of power, he stood without breaking their kiss. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, her tongue tangling with his as he carried her to one of the bedrooms. When he set her down next to the big bed, her legs wanted to buckle beneath her. She reached up to unbutton his shirt, and he tugged the sweater over her head. His eyes flashed with blatant desire when he uncovered the lacy pink bra hanging open over her breasts. Easing the straps off her shoulders, he let it fall to the floor next to her sweater.

Standing half naked before a man for the first time in her life, Kate should have been self-conscious. But because it was him, and because her need for him was so great, she had no time for embarrassment. She pushed off his shirt and buried her face in the light dusting of brown chest hair. He trembled as her lips brushed his pebbled nipple while her hands skimmed over his muscular chest and stomach. When she reached the waistband of his jeans, he stopped her.

Tipping her face up, he studied her intently. “Are you sure, Kate?”

She nodded.

“I don’t have any protection.”

“I’m on the pill.”

Surprise registered on his face.

“I did it a month before I left home. Just in case.”

“I haven’t done this in a long time, so I’m safe.”