Straight from the Heart. Linda Warren

lacy things. He’d never have figured that.

      “Your blouse is open,” he told her, and her cheeks turned a delicate pink.

      She nervously buttoned her blouse to the top.

      She was mortified that he’d seen her doing a victory dance, and she was desperately striving for some measure of respectability. But she feared she’d lost every ounce of that. Oh God, how had she let this happen? And of all men…Lucas Culver.

      “If you’re through leering,” she said coolly. “You can tell me why you’re here.”

      Lucas realized he had a silly grin on his face, but for the life of him he couldn’t stop smiling. “You know,” he replied, “it went right out of my head.”

      “Then you can leave.”

      His grin broadened. “You really enjoyed beating me today, didn’t you?”

      He had guessed why she was making a fool of herself. Of course he would! How did she get out of this?

      “A victory is always a…pleasure,” she answered, and the words sounded phony even to her own ears.

      Lucas stepped closer, although the desk was between them. “If I’d known it would make you so effervescent, I’d have let you beat me a long time ago.”

      “You didn’t let me anything,” she flared. “I beat you fair and square.”

      Lucas held up his hands. “Okay, I concede.”

      They stared at each other and Blair felt his dark eyes touching her in a way she usually hated when other men did it. But Lucas was making her feel warm and bubbly…and angry.

      “What do you want, Lucas?” she asked abruptly. “And stop staring at me like that. I don’t like it.”

      “It’s hard not to,” he said wickedly. “Especially after seeing…so much.”

      “Get out of my office,” she said, her confidence beginning to shred.

      Her words had no effect on him. “Don’t be so rigid, Blair. I’m only teasing you.”

      She decided to take another approach. “I’m not used to being teased, so can we just forget about this?”

      He lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

      “Okay,” she snapped. “Have your fun, but you’d better enjoy it because you’ll never, ever get another glimpse—”

      “Of you being human,” he finished for her.

      She bit her lip, not knowing what else to say, wishing he’d do the decent thing and leave.

      He saw her nervousness and relented. “Okay, Blair, I’ll forget about it.”

      “Fine,” she said ungraciously.

      “I only came by to reassure you that you had nothing to worry about from Raye. He just has a big mouth.”

      She glanced apprehensively at him. Surely he didn’t know. It had happened so long ago and ever since, her family and friends had been very protective of her feelings. The attack wasn’t a topic for idle conversation. She didn’t want anyone’s pity. “Why do you think I’d be worried?”

      He watched her for a moment and he could see she didn’t want him to know about the past. So he gave in to her wishes. “He was my client and I feel responsible for his behavior.”

      She breathed a sigh of relief. This she could handle. “You don’t have to be. I can take care of myself.”

      “I’m sure you can, but I had to make the effort.”

      “Well, you wasted your time.” That came out wrong, but she couldn’t take it back.

      His eyes gleamed. “Believe me, I didn’t waste my time.”

      “You said you were going to forget it,” she reminded him.

      “Forget was the wrong word,” he said with a devilish grin.

      “You’re very good with words. So don’t tell me that.”

      “I promise no one will hear about your secret passion from me, but I can’t wipe it from my memory. I have a feeling I’ll remember it late at night when—”

      She cut him off. “Goodbye, Lucas, and next time you plan on coming into my office, would you please have the decency to knock?”

      She had to get rid of him. The tension was so thick she had trouble breathing. It was sexual tension and Lucas was very good at creating it. She hated his easy flirting, which created a fear deep inside her. Over the years she had forced herself to date, to come to grips with her terror, but it hadn’t worked. Men in any kind of sexual context—the very thought of sex—stirred a revulsion in her that she couldn’t control. She was beginning to wonder if she ever would.

      With his hand on the doorknob, he said, “You have a thing about intimacy, don’t you, Blair? I was only going to say late at night when I feel…” He stopped, then added, “Hell, you were right. I did have something risqué in mind.”

      Lucas grinned all the way down the hall. Roger was the wrong man for Blair. She needed someone to unlock all those emotions she had hidden away. Someone with passion and ardor. He suddenly stopped walking. He was thinking about himself. No, he was already involved with Jennifer. He didn’t need…but he enjoyed sparring with Blair—maybe too much, maybe not enough. She made his blood rush, kept him on his toes. “No,” he muttered aloud. “No way.” It wouldn’t be the first time he’d fooled himself about a woman.

      AS THE DOOR CLOSED on Lucas, Blair picked up a paperweight and threw it. It bounced off the wall and landed on the carpet with a thud. Arrogant bastard, she thought, and immediately checked the door to made sure it was locked. She leaned against it and sank to the floor, drawing her knees up to her chin. How was she going to live this down? Lucas had seen her in a state she’d never allowed any man to see. And the way he’d gazed at her—as though she was an attractive woman he liked looking at. She could still feel those dark eyes heating her skin, her blood. Oh, no. Don’t even think it.

      She gulped in some air and did the only thing she could. She started to laugh. After a moment, she sobered, wiping tears from her eyes. Despite the turmoil of this day, she could still laugh. That was good. Maybe Lucas was good for her. No, no, no, she told herself. She wasn’t going to be like every other woman in the courthouse—bowled over by his charm. She intended to avoid Lucas Culver. Like the plague.

      CHAPTER TWO

      LUCAS DROVE to his office to check his messages and finalize his plans for a long vacation with Jacob and the family. He couldn’t believe how much he missed the kids and he couldn’t believe how much he enjoyed being an uncle. It would be nice to have his own kids, but he didn’t see that in his future.

      As he let himself in the side door of his office, Blair’s face flashed into his mind. A Blair with her blue eyes dreamy and her dark hair mussed. He shook his head, smiling. He had a feeling that picture was going to haunt him for days.

      He sat at his desk dealing with messages, when his secretary, Joan, stepped into the office. At sixty, Joan was a stoic, unflappable woman, an invaluable asset. Her hair was blond with streaks of gray that didn’t bother her. She had a husband, three kids and a grandchild, yet she managed to handle all his affairs with effortless ease. She was better than a wife, or so his friends told him. She kept his life organized but didn’t nag or complain. At the moment, though, she seemed flushed and out of breath.

      He lifted an eyebrow. “What is it, Joan?”

      She leaned over and whispered, “Sam Logan is here to see you.”

      Lucas frowned, thinking he’d heard her wrong. “What did you say?”

      “Sam Logan. He wants to see you,” she whispered again.

      “Why