MasukSol's POVWhen Sol awoke the next morning, the first thing she saw was Kael’s face on the pillow next to hers. His hair was mussed, his upper lip and chin whisker-shadowed, and he was sleeping like the dead. At that moment she knew she had never felt so blissful in all of her life. They hadn’t gone to sleep until the wee hours of the morning and that had been after four bouts of lovemaking. Not that she was complaining. In fact, she wouldn’t mind waking up like this every day. Going to sleep the same way, too. As she viewed the man who had her feeling so female, her fingers itched to trace the lines feathering from the outer corners of his eyes. The lines that turned into happy crinkles whenever he smiled that captivating smile of his. She was amazed that some lucky woman hadn’t snatched him up in all of these years. At thirty-six she would have thought he’d be settled down by now. Have a wife and a couple of kids. But then the women he dated weren’t wife material. And Kael seldom
Sol wriggled on top of him when she felt his arousal spring to life, knocking against her inner thighs like an insistent salesman. She didn’t have to be sold, she was a satisfied consumer. “Mmm … can we do that again?” Kael blinked several times. “You really want to?” “How could I not?” She laughed softly, resting her chin on her fists which were on his damp chest so she could look at him. His eyelids were heavy. Sex popped into her mind and coursed through her body. Making love seized her heart. “It was wonderful, Kael. You were wonderful.” “I had help.” He twined a curl around his index finger. His other arm was bent under the pillow at his head. “I didn’t do much,” she countered. “You were the blazing fire of passion.” “I think we both did some blazing there.” He winked. She trailed her fingers through his underarm hair. She liked the soft, thick tufts. Somehow it was so … male. So goddamned sexy. “Okay, we’ll share the credit.” “Deal.” He ran his hands down the length of her
Chapter Four “Shit, Sol!” Kael closed the bedroom door, pressing her against it, his legs in a wide stance to accommodate her height and to fit her more snugly against the hard bulge in his jeans. “Why didn’t you tell me it could be like this?” His mouth was all over her at once. “I never knew it could be like this.” She hung on to his shoulders as he practically devoured her whole. “Oh!” She gasped as he found a particularly sensitive spot behind her left ear. Kael made grunting noises of satisfaction, continuing his exploration of her neck while inside his emotions fluctuated between profound passion and downright terror. He couldn’t be feeling this way toward. Sol. Could he? Perhaps he shouldn’t be feeling this way about the woman he had grown up with. It didn’t seem right. And yet, at the same time, nothing had ever felt so right in his life. He tried to pretend that he was with somebody else. Even went so far as to superimpose Raquel’s sultry face and willowy body over Sol’s.
A week later Sol was officially ready. She was also nervous as hell. Since last Friday she had thought and re-thought over Kael’s proposition. As they had both concluded, it was logical. It was also very weird. Before, she and Kael would be completely at ease in each other’s company. Now, they still were, to a degree, but there was also something lying just below the surface. Something that she often caught glimpses of in those dark, sleepy eyes of his. Expectation. Anxiety. Desire. And it was driving her bonkers! Kael had been patient, though he continually tossed her one of his lady-killer smiles every chance he got while they were at the gym. She wanted to be the one in charge of the situation, yet she felt like a helpless mouse being stalked by a big, lanky, smooth-talking feline. Of course, it was just pure nerves on her part. Kael was still only Kael. He hadn’t changed one of it since making his generous offer. Yet she felt as if she was beginning to change. She was seeing
Chapter Two “Pardon?” Sol arched a dark red-brown brow at him as if he were insane. Unlike her, Kael often jumped into situations without giving a second thought to the potential outcome. Kael stayed silent a moment, looking a bit shocked, but ultimately said, “Think about it. You’ve known me your entire life, all about my family background, so there wouldn’t be any genetic throwbacks. We’re best friends, so we wouldn’t have to worry about getting emotionally involved, aside from friendship and trying to get you pregnant. I’m charming, humorous, handsome…” “You left out humble,” Sol supplied. “That too.” He smiled widely, flashing her with those white, if not slightly crooked teeth of his. That smile had won more than his fair share of women, though Sol had never been one to fall under Damien Kael's hypnotic charms. Probably because she knew it was all a big act. She liked honesty; Kael liked to say what one wanted to hear. Although, if she were truly honest with herself, she wou
Eleven years later Sol sat cross-legged on the floor while Kael lay draped over her sofa like tinsel on a Christmas tree. Both held a white quart-sized container of their favorite Chinese food. Sol had sweet and sour shrimp with steamed rice, while Kael devoured his Kung Pao chicken—extra spicy. This was their customary Friday night dinner get-together and indepth conversation that was guaranteed to get the old brain cells puffing and panting. Tonight’s topic: single motherhood. “I mean, I’m nearly thirty-years-old,” Sol said, pointing at him with a white plastic fork. “I’ve all but given up on finding a husband. My biological clock is in its final hours. I don’t want to waste what fertile years I have left waiting for Prince Charming to come along and sweep me off my feet.” She snorted, placing the fork and empty cardboard container on the coffee table in front of her. “I could be dead and buried before he ever came along. In fact, I seriously doubt that there is a man for me out







