She tried to breathe and a needy cry came out instead. “Then you take me there-and come with me.” She swiveled her bottom in a slow circular motion. Her pelvis gyrated into his hips and he penetrated so deep the word joining took on a whole new meaning.

“Aah, God. Now.” He thrust and she tightened her muscles around him.

Swirling waves of unending pleasure swamped her. She looked into his incredible face and meeting her gaze, he pumped harder. She couldn’t think, let alone breathe. Their bodies moved together in unison, his thrusting movements coming faster and faster until her grinding resistance became the focal point of erotic pleasure.

“Yes, yes…” She let out a cry of pleasure in a voice she didn’t recognize as her own.

“Yes.” He echoed her words as he came, bursting inside her as he shook with the power of his orgasm.

And the world as she knew it fragmented into millions of pieces of light, blindsiding her-not by the release itself, but because this time they came together-and the beauty brought tears to her eyes.

Her breathing came in shallow gasps as she dropped her body weight onto his. “I love you.” The words escaped before she could stop them and considering what had come before, she couldn’t call them back even if she wanted to.

She didn’t. And that scared her most of all.

MALLORY LAY on top of him, breathless, sated…and expecting an answer, if Jack’s hunch was right. But he had nothing to say. Nothing she’d want to hear, anyway.

Before Mallory, Jack had always had sex. He’d had a damn good hunch as he walked into this room, that this was much more. He’d been right. She wasn’t the only one falling.

Years of preconceived notions and divorce statistics told him they didn’t stand a chance, yet for the first time he considered the other statistics. The marriages that survived. The people who stayed together for reasons that transcended convenience and security. He was willing to look the idea of a soul mate in the eye and not run for protection.

He didn’t miss the irony. The one time in his life he was willing to face the future, he didn’t have one.

Mallory exhaled and he felt the whoosh of air against his cheek. “I won’t lie and say I said it in the heat of the moment, but don’t worry, I don’t expect you to say I love you back.”

“I do care.” More than was prudent. “And I wish I could say the words.” But he couldn’t acknowledge he might feel the same because to do so would jeopardize everything she wanted out of life.

Jack was the least selfless person he knew, yet protecting Mallory and the things she held dear had become his priority. Her career most of all.

“Hey, wishing doesn’t make things happen, and we both knew the rules going in.”

Jack didn’t buy her lighthearted tone. “Rules change.”

“But outlooks don’t. And we both know yours.”

He forced a laugh he didn’t feel. “Yes, it parallels yours. Career first. Everything else second.”

“Right.”

Yet suddenly faced with the thought of returning to his empty New York City apartment didn’t feel as invigorating or liberating as it once had.

But he’d already made partner, already achieved his dream. Whatever her reasons for wanting to make partner, and regardless of whether it would alter her relationship with her parents, that was her goal. One she’d worked and strived for. One she’d suppressed her sense of self to achieve.

I love you.

He couldn’t admit he felt the same. Couldn’t confront his own demons and decide whether to take the risk and trust Mallory with his heart. He had no choice but to push the truth away.

For her sake.

From violating the no-office-romance policy to playing around on the job, the old guard at the firm would view Mallory’s actions with disdain. They wouldn’t fire Mallory-they couldn’t without risk of a lawsuit-but they could stall her partnership and make her miserable until she left on her own. They wouldn’t mourn the loss of their only female associate. Meanwhile Jack would get a reprimand, a slap on the hand and maybe even a ribald joke about controlling his baser urges. But he’d have his partnership and his career intact. Unfair, but true.

“Jack?”

He rolled to the side, taking her with him. Her flesh pressed against his, warming him. He glanced into her worried face and admitted to himself he cared about her too damn much. “I’m here.”

But he didn’t love her, Mallory thought. Her heart twisted with regret. Even if fate dictated they had no future, she wished he felt the same. But she figured he was too used to the line to take her seriously anyway. No matter how much her pounding heart already belonged to him.

“What happened at home?” she asked, changing the subject.

He visibly winced. “My parents are getting divorced, finally.”

“So your father stood up for himself. You must be pleased.”

“Pleased doesn’t begin to describe it. My mother went home to pack her things-boyfriend by her side.”

Mallory cringed. “That’s insensitive.”

His expression turned shuttered and blank. “That’s my mother.”

And that’s where Jack’s views on long-term relationships and women came from, Mallory realized.

“Onward and upward. She constantly wants more and better and doesn’t care who gets hurt on her way.”

“Why did she stay with him so long then?” she asked of Jack’s father.

“Financial security. And he allowed it.”

“We’re not all like her.” Mallory wasn’t sure where the words came from, only that they were necessary.

“I know you aren’t.” A muscle ticked in his clenched jaw. “But forgive me for not having tested the theory. The divorces and statistics I’ve seen were enough to convince me to steer clear.”

She shut her mouth and nodded. Perhaps he believed she was different, perhaps not. In the end it didn’t matter because he’d bought into a stereotype too difficult for any woman to overcome. Especially Mallory, who’d made her climb up the ladder, her onward and upward, a public one in a male-dominated world.

She placed a hand over his lips. He’d already confided enough to convince her he trusted her with his personal, emotional baggage. She wouldn’t make him dredge up more. “I can think of more fun things to do than get all emotional.”

His dark eyes met hers, and in those depths she saw a wealth of emotion and feeling-and she refused to believe she’d conjured it up in her mind. That he’d fallen for her a little bit was enough considering they each had their own paths to follow, neither allowing for a long-term relationship.

“What’d you have in mind?” he asked.

She forced an easy smile. “I heard from our P.I. and I have a wealth of information about Mrs. Lederman.” But lying naked with Jack, for what might be the last time, she had no wish to discuss work. Especially a topic which pained her more each time she thought about it.

His big hand cupped her hip. “You didn’t have work in mind.”

She shook her head. “And it’s not like there’s anything we can do with the information at midnight.”

“You’re right. Whatever it is can wait.” He covered her mouth with his and drew her into a deep kiss. And when he bit down on her lower lip, she moaned.

She desired more but knew she had other things in store for Jack and forced herself to pull back. She grabbed for the scarf he’d brought with him that lay beside her on the bed, then she rose to a sitting position, settling herself above his stomach.

She wrapped the scarf around her hands and pulled at the opposite ends, teasingly. Enticingly.

His eyes darkened with anticipation. “Exactly what do you plan on doing with that thing?”

“I thought I’d have my wicked way with you again. You see, I’ve heard that if you blindfold a man, his other senses become that much more acute.”

“Interesting theory,” he said.

She grinned. “I thought so. Do you think the same holds true for women?”

“I certainly intend to find out.” He pushed his upper body forward so he could raise himself off the mattress and nip at one nipple, causing waves of pleasure to crest and recede inside her. She bent her head back and let out a muffled cry.

While she was distracted, he grabbed the scarf from her hands. “Cheater.” She barely got the words out when he pulled the fabric taut to rub it in a horizontal motion across her breasts. Her hips began an involuntary circular dance on his stomach.

“I don’t see you complaining,” he said with a grin.

Light and fun. He’d relaxed once more. At least she hadn’t scared him away with her declaration of love. She supposed not asking for anything in return helped him push her declaration out of his mind, and if she were smart, she’d do the same herself.

He wound his hands around the silk, his heavy-lidded gaze never leaving hers. “Let’s test those heightened senses of yours.”

She sucked in a nervous breath. She’d planned on pleasuring him this way, not having the tables turned. Her nipples had already hardened into tight peaks and the dewy moisture between her legs attested to her growing excitement. As he secured the scarf around her eyes, everything around her went black.

Anticipation coiled into a knot in her stomach. The nerve endings in her fingertips began to tingle and as suggested, her other senses grew stronger.

She inhaled. The scent of his cologne, potent and alluring, teased her already tenuous restraint while goose bumps arose on her arms thanks to the air-conditioning in the room-and the inherent foreplay in his actions.

A cool rush of air blew over her nipples. She arched her back at the sensual assault and would have fallen over if not for Jack’s strong arm around her waist.

“I’ve got you.” He eased her backward onto the fluffy mound of pillows behind her.