Bluegrass Baby. Judy Duarte

      She’d barely lifted her lips to his when he took the lead, took her tongue and took her breath away.

      Lordy, how that man could kiss.

      Milla lost herself in the wet, velvety confines of Kyle’s mouth. And in the heat of his embrace, reality slipped away and magic took its place, releasing a display of mystical fireworks that lit her heart and soul.

      Kyle wasn’t sure what it was about Milla that swept him away, but he wasn’t about to analyze it, not when he held her in his arms and felt her breasts splayed against his chest as she leaned into his demanding erection.

      He’d never lost himself in a woman before, hadn’t ever expected to, but he seemed to be momentarily losing himself in Milla, in her kiss and the soft swirl of her springtime scent. He might be sorry later, but that’s when he would think about it.

      Later. After he’d buried himself in her softness, lost himself in the passion that plagued them both. There was a heat in Milla’s touch, a fire in her kiss. And he couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

      She tugged at his shirt, pulling it from the waistband of his slacks, and then grabbed at his belt, freeing him. Freeing them both.

      All the while, her mouth held his in sweet surrender. Her fingers blazed a trail along his skin, singeing his nerve endings.

      He reached for the zipper of her dress, unleashing the black cotton, and he slipped the garment off her shoulders. He wanted to feel her skin on his, breasts to chest. And he doubted they could remove their clothes fast enough.

      But Kyle wasn’t about to take Milla on the living room floor, not this time, anyway. With reluctance, he broke the kiss and took her hand. “Come with me.” Then he led her down the hall and into the bedroom.

      She stood before him by the king-size bed. Her dress had fallen to the waist, revealing a satiny black bra over hardened and responsive nipples. A sexual flush blazed across her throat and chest, announcing a desire every bit as strong as his.

      He cupped her face, brushed a thumb across the silky texture of her cheek and saw the glaze of passion in those pretty brown eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman, Milla.”

      She blushed, and again he was taken by her lack of pretense. Couldn’t she see what he saw?

      “I want to make this special for you.” And damn it, he did. There was something virginal about her, something sweet and innocent. But she didn’t kiss him like a virgin or touch him like one.

      She pushed her dress over her hips, then stepped out of the garment and stood before him in skimpy black undergarments. He watched as she unhooked her bra and freed two perfect breasts. His breath caught, and his testosterone raged.

      What was it about this woman that made her seem so different from the others?

      “Make love to me, Kyle.” Then she unbuttoned his shirt and pressed herself to him, stoking a blaze deep within him.

      He tore himself from her embrace, just long enough to dig through the nightstand drawer for a condom. His efforts were thwarted by haste and desire, as he fumbled with the foil packet and tried to protect them both.

      When he joined her on the bed, their hungry kiss resumed and tongues mated in a lover’s frenzy. Caught up in a fire that might never burn out, Kyle realized his only hope for relief was to bury himself in her.

      As he entered, she arched up to meet him, and he was lost. Lost in lust and passion.

      Kyle had wanted their first time together to be special, but all he could think about was how good it felt to be inside of her, to have her meet each of his thrusts, to be shaken to the core by a powerful climax that made her cry out in pleasure and damn near turned him inside out.

      He’d wanted to love her with a slow hand, taking the time to make tonight memorable for them both, since a continuing relationship wasn’t wise and certainly wasn’t in his game plan. But his fiery passion burned out of control.

      When he’d had a chance to catch his breath and grow hard again, he would take it slow and easy, making sure the rest of the night was every bit as good as it could be.

      But for the time being, he would hold her until the last wave of pleasure ebbed.

      Milla glanced at the clock on the wall—3:00 a.m. The scent of lovemaking filled the air, and her naked body still hummed from the last sweet joining, just an hour before.

      Kyle held her close, one of his arms tucked under her waist and the other draped across her breasts. His gentle breathing told her he was asleep, contented and sated.

      But she wasn’t.

      Well, she was definitely sated. Their lovemaking had been great—mindless and hot, but fulfilling.

      She’d found much-needed comfort, as well as pleasure, in Kyle’s arms. But after the loving, when her conscience had a chance to sneak in and shake a finger at her, contentment slipped by the wayside.

      Making love to Kyle had seemed right, but in the wee hours of the morning, after the waves of the last powerful climax had ceased, her good sense returned.

      Her conscience, which had deserted her earlier in the evening, surfaced with a vengeance. Yes, she’d willingly followed Kyle home. And she’d enjoyed the best lovemaking she’d ever known. Not that she had anything to compare it to—one boyfriend in college who’d been a mistake from the get go.

      She’d wanted to make love to Kyle, and he hadn’t disappointed her. He was a great lover, considerate and gifted in the fine art of seduction and pleasure. Of course, that was probably because he’d had so much practice.

      But Milla hadn’t been thinking clearly. Her head had been in a romantic cloud and her hormones had taken over.

      While in Melinda’s parking lot, making out like a couple of teenagers, she hadn’t given a hoot about what her mother might say. But now, after the loving, she realized her mother would never understand Milla having a relationship of any kind with Kyle.

      Not that Milla hadn’t crossed her mom on other occasions and weathered the storm. Truthfully, Milla dating a Bingham would be a big thorn in her mother’s backside, but their mother-daughter relationship wouldn’t suffer any serious consequences.

      More troublesome than her mother’s disapproval was that Milla had become intimately involved with a co-worker. What if word of their…indiscretion leaked out?

      That problem, she supposed, could also be dealt with.

      But the next accusation her conscience hurled at her struck hard, knocking the wind out of her like a tumble from a tree and a belly flop on the lawn.

      What if the Canfields learned that Milla and the pediatrician who would testify in her defense were sleeping together?

      Things were certain to get uglier than they already were.

      Sure, Milla and Kyle both knew the Canfields didn’t have a case. But malpractice suits didn’t have to be based on medical logic. The Canfields could sue—and win—without having any concrete medical evidence. If taken to court, the publicity alone would hurt the Janice Foster Clinic, as well as Milla’s reputation. And the case would also result in higher malpractice insurance premiums for her and the clinic.

      No, the problems the malpractice suit could bring hadn’t disappeared. And, in fact, they had probably been compounded by her decision to make love to the doctor who would testify on her behalf.

      Kyle slept soundly, obviously having no qualms about their night of passion.

      But Milla had plenty of reservations. And regrets. No matter how good it had been.

      Carefully slipping away from his embrace, she quietly dressed and tiptoed from his room. She grabbed her purse and heels from the living room, not taking time to slip on her shoes, and stole out of the house.

      A small, adolescent voice inside called out, Hey! What about