Legal Seduction. Sharon Cooper C.

closer and Iris inhaled the fresh Irish Spring soap scent that clung to him, making her want to move closer to get a better whiff. God, he smells good.

      “You shocked me in there,” he said quietly and released a ragged breath.

      Taller than most women and the average guy, Iris wasn’t used to being near a man who towered over her, but she loved how feminine it made her feel. She looked up and into Nash’s eyes. She saw something in him that was much different from the man she’d met yesterday, who had been confident, in control and, at one point, downright arrogant. Now, with haggard eyes, he looked like a man who had weathered a serious storm and who couldn’t seem to find the words to express what he was feeling.

      “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you,” he said. “Had they taken my baby and put her in foster ca...” He rubbed his forehead, emotion flitting across his face before he cleared his throat and continued. “I probably would be in jail right now. You have no idea what you did for us in there and I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

      “I’m glad I could help.” Iris fidgeted under the heart-rending tenderness in his eyes. She still couldn’t believe she had agreed to be Tania’s guardian, but right now, seeing how grateful Nash was, she was glad she had volunteered. “The next few months are going to be interesting. I don’t have a clue as to how to take care of a teenager, especially one who is as sharp as Tania.”

      Nash chuckled and it was the first time in the past couple of hours that she’d seen some semblance of the powerful man from the day before. “Well, according to the judge, I’m not the person to ask.” A moment later, he turned serious. “I have to tell you, I wanted to strangle that guy. He clearly has bought into all that crap the media have everyone believing. The judge didn’t know a damn thing about me and as far as I’m concerned, he based his decisions today on misinformation. I’m not the self-centered, skirt-chasing playboy the media make me out to be. That guy has no clue about the number of nights I have sat up with Tania when she was sick, or how I never missed a piano recital, a parent–teacher conference or her basketball games.”