Page 14 of Prognosis Irreconcilable Differences

Jacqui had felt his presence behind her long before he’d spoken. She didn’t turn around. ‘You don’t have to give up your bed for me.’ Her warm breath fogged the glass.

Nathan kept his voice deliberately neutral. ‘I’m not.’

It took a beat or two for his meaning to become clear. She turned slowly, her heart skittering madly in her chest like the gait of a new-born foal. ‘I’m not sharing a bed with you.’

Nathan felt his own pulse-rate kick up a notch as she bathed him in her unwavering toffee gaze. ‘What did you think reconciliation meant, Jacqueline?’

Jacqui clenched her hands. ‘Not that — and you know it.’

‘It’s necessary.’

‘I beg to differ.’

Nathan moved closer, crowding her towards the glass. This near he could smell her skin, hear the not so steady timbre of her breath. She swallowed, and his attention was drawn to the length of her neck. He raised his hand and placed two fingers on the pulse at the base of her throat. It fluttered madly at his touch and her pupils dilated.

He smiled. ‘Are you afraid, Jacqueline?’

Her heart thundered through her chest and reverberated in her head. She could feel it pulse against his fingers.

‘Of you?’

Nathan shook his head. ‘Of wanting things. Wanting to get back a little of the old magic.’

Jacqui fought for control while the air in her lungs stuttered to a halt. They had been soooo good.

Damn him. If he thought he could play her, that she was still the old, easy Jacqueline who could deny him nothing, then he was wrong. She raised an eyebrow with as much indifference as she could muster, and forced a cool smile to her lips.

‘I think you’re transferring, Nate.’

He chuckled, and then sobered, the pads of his fingers stroking light circles around the pulse beneath them. ‘I think you want this as much as I do.’

His overwhelming certainty and the intoxication of his body heat pinned her to the glass, and she was grateful for its frostiness. God, he smelt so good.

She shrugged, desperate for control. ‘Denial is good for the soul.’

Nathan snorted. He didn’t believe in any of that Zen hippy claptrap. And her body, her mouth, was so close. One more step and he’d be pressed against all that yielding feminine warmth. Blood was rushing everywhere. His temples pounded, his skin burned, his groin tightened.

‘We’re adults, Jacqui. Technically still married. And we’re sharing an apartment, pretending to be reconciled. It’s a natural step.’

Jacqui shut her eyes against his hushed seductive tones. He might as well have been the serpent himself. Her eyes fluttered open. Had he moved closer?

‘Isn’t that taking the charade a little too far?’

Nathan shrugged. ‘It’ll be more authentic if we’re really lovers again.’

It sounded so reasonable when he said it like that but no. No, no, no. She shut her eyes again, blocking out the curve of his sexy mouth. She’d be stupid to travel down this path. It had taken years for her to walk away last time, despite knowing they weren’t good for each other.

Nathan Trent just wasn’t a guy you left.

She opened her eyes. ‘I can do authentic.’

Nathan shook his head. ‘No. At the moment your eyes say...’ He slid his palms up her neck slowly, cupping her face. His thumbs applied gentle pressure beneath her chin, tilting her head back slightly. He inspected her gaze for a long, lingering moment. ‘Reluctantly reconciled. But if I do this...’

He stopped for few seconds, searched her gaze for resistance, and then lowered his head. His intention was to stroke, tease, tantalise and then stop. But the second her lips touched his all his good intentions were swept away on a tidal wave of lust, and he opened his mouth, greedy for more, welcoming the maelstrom.

Her moan tickled his lips, and he sucked in a harsh breath through his nose, inhaling her taste, absorbing her flavour, wanting more. He pushed her back hard against the glass, imprisoning her with his body, revelling in the feel of her around him infusing his senses.

He stroked her neck, plundered her mouth as if they’d never been apart. God, he’d missed this. Her mouth was sweet, and it fitted his just right. Her tongue was stroking his and her hands were twisted in his hair, her bangles cool against his face, her breasts squashed into his chest.

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