Fourteen, Lisane determined as headlights threw a sweeping beam across the front of her cottage, followed seconds later by the faint snick of a car door closing.
Lisane met him on the front porch, her eyes wide and faintly luminous in the dimmed light as he framed her face.
His mouth brushed hers, felt her lips part in welcome, and he angled his head and went in deep, savouring the taste and the scent of her. Wanting, needing her warmth, her touch.
Dammit, all of her.
He was aware of her arms reaching to encircle his neck, and felt her fingers weave into the thickness of his hair, sensed their soothing movement against his scalp and he feathered a light path down the length of her spine to cup her bottom, bringing her against the thick hardness of his desire.
He could take her now, dispense with her clothes, his own…the effect she had on him was a sorcery both sweet and carnal.
For a moment he’d neglected to remember where they were, clearly visible in the dim porch light to anyone who chanced a look.
Zac eased back a little, and reluctantly relinquished her mouth as he leant his forehead against her own.
She was incapable of saying a word as he shaped her shoulders, then he let his hands slide down her arms to thread his fingers through her own.
‘Let’s take this indoors, hmm?’
The cottage design was simple. A wide hallway separated the lounge on one side from the main bedroom opposite. From there the hallway opened into a large living area, with two small bedrooms to the left. The kitchen, bathroom and utility room stretched across the rear of the cottage.
Silently she turned at his direction and together they entered the hallway and closed the door behind them.
Zac lifted a hand and trailed fingers down her cheek. ‘Are you done with work for the night?’
It would be easy to say yes, only for honesty to win out. ‘Not quite.’
His thumb pressed against the centre of her lower lip, and his smile held a tinge of amusement as he released her. ‘I’ll go make coffee.’
Lisane watched him turn towards the kitchen, and she let her gaze linger on the wide expanse of shoulder, aware of the powerful musculature beneath the fine chambray shirt. The taut waist and the tight butt moulded by figure-fitting black jeans.
Just looking at him made her heart rhythm accelerate to a faster beat. And that was only part of it! Her nerves flared and took on a life of their own, almost humming with the anticipation of his touch…his possession.
To be so attuned to him scared her a little. It was as if he was a part of her, attached but not bound.
There were times when she could tell what he was thinking, predict how he would react in a given situation.
Then just as she thought she could read him, he would surprise her…as he did now.
Coffee?
He’d disappear calmly into the kitchen and do coffee, when she could have sworn he’d sweep an arm beneath her knees and carry her into the bedroom?
Sure, she could follow him, wind her arms round his neck, pull his face down to hers…and invite him to continue from where he’d left off.
It was what she wanted to do.
Instead she settled down, found her place in the documentation and continued reading, pausing occasionally to make notes.
Minutes later Zac placed a mug of steaming coffee on the desk, then he crossed to the bookcase, retrieved a book and trailed light fingers across her shoulders.
‘I’ll take this into the lounge. Join me when you’re done.’
Lisane lifted her head, caught his warm smile…and felt her bones begin to melt.
The anticipation, the promise of how the evening would end, sent heat curling deep in her belly, and a faint tinge of pink coloured her cheeks as she caught the teasing quality evident in his dark gaze.
‘Go,’ she directed with mock severity, and heard his husky chuckle as he left the room.
Dammit, how could she possibly focus on work when all she could think of was him?
Fifteen minutes later she closed the bulky file and slid it into her briefcase. Then she stood, stretched her arms high in order to ease the faint kink at the base of her neck, collected her empty coffee mug and returned it to the kitchen before entering the lounge.
Zac looked up, closed the book he’d been reading and extended his hand without offering so much as a word.
Lisane crossed to his side and let him pull her down onto his lap.
His hand shaped the back of her head as he eased her cheek into the curve of his shoulder. ‘Tired?’
It was so good to feel the solid thud of his heart and have his fingers begin a soothing massage at her nape.
Restful…not. How could she relax when her entire body was incredibly attuned to his?
The exclusive subtle scent of his aftershave teased her senses, as did the clean smell of his skin, his clothes. But it was more than the shape and form of him. She admired his sharp mind and his degree of integrity, adored his sense of humour and his ability to relax away from the strictures of his profession.
Yet on another level his legal expertise in the court-room held her in awe, exposing as it did a steel-like ruthlessness that showed no mercy. A quality that put him ahead of his contemporaries and earned immeasurable respect.
A man one coveted as a friend, and had every reason to fear as an enemy.
‘Difficult case?’
Lisane lifted her head and met eyes that were dark and slumberous. ‘Just a lot of information to absorb.’
Zac inclined his head in agreement. ‘In order to cover any unexpected contingencies.’
Even in the most open-and-closed case, one needed to be prepared for the element of surprise by opposing counsel.
‘Anything you want to run by me?’
One minor detail kept sticking in her mind, and she voiced it, instinct rather than purported fact providing the slight niggle of disquiet.
She knew all the angles, and had explored each and every one of them, consulted her superior…yet still it refused to gel.
‘Instinct should never be ignored.’ Zac’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Where are you tempted to go with this?’
It sounded illogical, even as she relayed her thoughts, yet his slight indication of agreement gave a sense of satisfaction.
‘It’s possible.’
Lisane examined his features carefully. ‘But not probable.’
‘Always be prepared to expect the unexpected.’
It was a mantra every law student learnt by heart, and she gave him a lopsided smile. ‘Point taken.’
His fingers threaded through the silky length of her hair, shaped her head and brought it close to his own.
The touch of his mouth was warm against her softly parted lips, and she was unable to prevent a husky murmur of approval as he slipped a hand beneath the hem of her T-shirt and sought a silk-encased breast, teasing the firm flesh as he unerringly found its hardening peak.
His mouth firmed over hers, taking her deep as his tongue tangled with her own, seeking to conquer in a manner that tore the breath from her throat.
Lisane wound her arms around his neck and held on, savouring his touch, his possession, as she met and matched his own.
There was no sense of time or place. Only the desire to assuage a mutual need.
His