"That should do for now," she said as she turned, trying to affect nonchalance and failing miserably.

"You smell good," he told her when she approached the bed, his smile all sensual sunshine, radiating scorching heat.

"Thanks. I feel better."

Fortunately for Mallory, Whit stood and tossed back the sheets, preventing her from having to scale him to claim her own spot and quite possibly brush her body over all that maleness. Now why did climbing over him not seem so horrible?

"Get in," he said, and after she complied, he told her "Scoot over."

She stared at him a long moment. "Whit, I really don't think-"

"Don't look so worried, Mallory. I'm not going to jump you. I just thought we'd talk a little longer. Then maybe you can tell me what else is bothering you."

She inched over, marveling at the fact that he could read her so well. He settled in beside her, his back propped against the headboard, one arm casually draped over the top of her pillow, his hand resting on his abdomen.

Mallory scooted up on the bed and rolled to her side to face him. "It was a tough day at work. I received some bad news about a divorce case I'm handling."

He looked sincerely interested. "What kind of news?"

"I'm representing the wife, and her soon-to-be-ex has decided to go after what means the most to her."

"Her stock portfolio?"

"Their child. He wants sole custody."

Whit centered his gaze on some focal point across the room. "Do you think he'll win?"

She shoved her arm beneath the pillow. "He could. He has the money and means and more than a few connections. The crazy thing is, he never wanted the baby in the first place. I think he's punishing her for divorcing him."

"So she's the one who filed?"

"Yes, and with good reason. He's verbally abusive and controlling. She spent ten years under his thumband one day decided she couldn't live like that anymore.""Sounds like she married the wrong guy.""Yes, she did. I guess love really is blind." Boy, how well she knew that truth. "But I'm going to fight for her. Losing a child has to be the worst thing a woman could possibly endure." She knew that intimately, too. "I'll have to pull out all the stops, and it's probably going to get really ugly before it's over."

Whit turned a soft smile on her. "She's lucky to have you on her side."

And Mallory felt very fortunate to have Whit at her side, acting as a sounding board even though he looked like a ticket to temptation. When a yawn slipped out, she covered her hand with her mouth.

"You're really tired," he said, definite disappointment in his tone."A little. But I think it's more emotional than physical. Just part of the job, dealing with divorce wars.""I don't know how you do it.""It's only part of what I do. I also handle adoptions, which means I sometimes get to help build a family instead of tear one apart."

He leaned over and whisked a kiss across her forehead. "One of these days, I'm going to build homesfor families, if I can ever tear myself away from my father.""Hopefully that will happen soon," she said."Yeah. Maybe by this time next year, I'll be my own boss.""And if we're lucky, you'll also be a father.""If we ever get around to getting to it."She reached up and touched his unshaven jaw. "We don't have to stay all that long tomorrow night at Mom and Dad's. We can have a bite to eat then leave.""You know Lucy isn't going to let her daughter eat and run."Mallory smiled. "I'll just tell her I want to get to bed early.""Are you sure you don't want to get in some practice tonight? Sort of like the preliminaries." He sounded amused, but Whit's dark eyes said something altogether different.

A surge of heat shot through Mallory's body, but she gave in to the need to resist and the fear she mightjust prove Jerry right. She wagged a finger at him. "Now, now. You can wait another twenty-four hours."He aimed his charmer's grin on her. "Can I at least have a good-night kiss?"She clasped his chin, turned his head to one side and popped a kiss on his cheek. "Now good night."

He cupped her jaw in his palm, stroking his thumb back and forth over her cheek. "We can do better than that." Whit definitely could do better, and he did, melding his lips to her in a gentle yet provocative mating of their mouths. Totally boneless, Mallory sank farther into the pillow and Whit joined her, his hand roving over the dip in her waist, then up over the curve of her hip as he sent his tongue on a gentle glide against hers. He didn't stop the kiss, nor did he stop exploring her body, sliding his palm down her thigh before traveling back up the path he'd taken, only this time he took the nightshirt with him. He journeyed to her hip and nudged her forward until their bodies were as close as their lips.

Mallory knew immediately he was aroused, and admittedly, so was she. Very aroused, especially when he moved his hand between them and rubbed his knuckles back and forth below her navel. How easy it would be just to let go and let him take her wherever he might. How easy just to give in to the moment, his touch, his expertise, and maybe this time...

But when he slid his fingertips beneath the band on her panties and traveled lower and lower, the sameold uncertainty came back to visit. She tugged his hand away and sat up, clutching her hair in both hands."Mallory?"She couldn't bring herself to look back at Whit. "What?""What's wrong?""Nothing."He rested his hand on her shoulder. "Did your ex do something to you?"

"What do you mean?"

He moved to the end of the bed and pulled her hands away from her head, forcing her to look at him. "I mean during s.e.x. If he hurt you physically in any way, I'll hunt him down."

She shook her head. "No, he didn't hurt me like that." Emotionally, yes. Physically, no."Then why are you so resistant to letting me touch you?"She didn't have the courage to tell him, not yet. "I'm just nervous about this whole thing. We've gone from you slapping my b.u.t.t and telling me to have naughty dreams at bedtime to necking and petting. It's

just going to take a little time to get used to the change."

"Okay, I understand that. But if you want to see this through, you've got to learn to trust me. I'm not going to hurt you. I only want to make you feel good."

She lowered her eyes. "That's not necessary."

He tipped her chin up. "It is for me." His smile returned. "Besides, according to the list, if you want a girl, then you have to climax first."

Mallory was beginning to think that list could be her downfall, if Whit wasn't. "That's true. But we'l

worry about that tomorrow night." And worry she would.Whit turned her hands over and kissed each palm. "I'm not worried at all. If you'll just let loose a little,you're going to enjoy it."

Mallory had no doubt he would try. "We're both tired, so I think we should call it a night."

After planting a soft kiss on her lips, Whit stood. "Sweet naughty dreams. I'll definitely be having a few about you."

With that, he turned to leave, but before he reached the door, Mallory made the snap decision that

honesty might be the best policy. Maybe then he would understand. "He said I was lousy in bed."

With his hand poised on the doork.n.o.b, Whit slowly pivoted to face her. "Who said that?"

Feeling suddenly very vulnerable, she hugged the pillow to her chest. "Jerry said it. When I asked for the

divorce, he told me he cheated because I wasn't a good lover."

Whit strode back to the bed, sat, and pulled the pillow from her clutches to take her hands. "Mallory,

when a man says that kind of thing, it's because he's the failure in bed, not you. You were young and myguess is, not all that knowledgeable.""That's an understatement. My parents weren't like your dad. My mom's version of the 's.e.x talk'

entailed a lecture on never letting a boy put his hands on anything covered in two layers of clothing." She attempted a smile that fell short. "I actually worried about holding hands with a boy in the winter if I was wearing gloves."

"I'm going to a.s.sume you know better now."

"Yes, I've got the knowledge, but I just haven't had the experience. And knowing what you know now,you might want to reconsider expecting more from this conception than making a baby."A flash of anger crossed his expression. "Let me tell you something, O'Brien. I have never made love to a woman without considering her needs, and I don't intend to do that with you. Especially not with you.

And if you expect less from me, maybe you ought to reconsider this whole thing, because I refuse to give you less."

"What you may try to give me, and what you can give me, are two different things."

He frowned. "I'm not following you."

What Mallory had to tell him would qualify as the most painful secret she had ever revealed to anyone

with the exception of the baby she had lost. But in this instance, Whit deserved the truth.She took in a deep draw of air and released it slowly. "I've never really had an o.r.g.a.s.m.""During s.e.x?""During, before, after. Ever. I'm not sure I can."He studied her a long moment, his eyes never wavering, even when he said, "I'm sure you can."Of course, this was Whit, a man with all the confidence in the world when it came to lovemaking. "Well, that's really nice, but there is a distinct possibility you could be wrong.""Are there any medical reasons why it's not possible?"She threaded her bottom lip between her teeth, twice. "Not that I'm aware of. I did see a therapist last year about it. She tried to help."

"What did she suggest you do?"

"Buy a battery-operated friend and experiment. As we all know, the safest s.e.x is when you're the onlyone in the room.""But you didn't do it, did you?""I didn't have time, unless I wanted to pack my friend and take him to the office. When I got home, I was tired and the last thing I wanted to do was concentrate on anything but sleep."He pointed at her. "That's your problem, Mallory.""What? That I didn't care to brown-bag a device instead of a sandwich?""That you think you have to concentrate. In fact, you think too much." He rested both hands on her thighs. "Tell me something, did Larry take any time with you? You know, in terms of foreplay?"

"That's Jerry, and other than having a couple of beers then saying, 'Mallory, get naked and get in bed,'

no."

"Then he didn't even try to stimulate you?"

"No."

"Never used his hands?"

"No."

"Or his mouth?"

"Definitely not."

"Then that proves it."

"Proves what?"

"You haven't been with the right man."

"Oh, so we're back to that again?"

He touched her face so tenderly, looked so darned understanding, that Mallory had the urge to cry,

something else she hadn't done in a long time. "Tomorrow night, I want you to promise me something.""That depends on what it is.""I don't want you to think about anything. Not about the baby. Not about the past. I just want you to try to relax and let nature take the lead, not your brain."Oh, how she wanted to do that. "I'll try.""Good." He kissed her cheek. "Now I want you to get a good night's rest, because you're going to need it."