“Grow up!"Lauren felt as if he had slapped her. Infuriated past reason, she struck back at his ego. "You're absolutely right!" she blazed. "That's what I should do.Beginning today I'm going to grow up and start practicing what you preach! I'm going to sleep with any man who appeals to me. But not with you. You're much too old and too cynical for my taste.Now get out of here!”

“The call was already under way when Lauren walked into his office. Nick gestured toward his chair and got up so taht she could sit at his desk and take notes.Two minutes after Lauren sat down, he leaned over her from behind, braced his hands on the desk on either side of her and brushed his lips across her hair.Lauren's self-control snapped. "Damn you, stop it!" she burst out."What?" "What?" "What?" three masculine voices chorused.Nick leaned toward the speaker and drawled, "My secretary thinks you're talking too fast,and she'd like you to stop it so she can catch up.""Well,all she had to do was ask," one offended male replied."I hope you're satisfied!" Lauren whispered furiously."I'm not," Nick chuckled in her ear. "But I'm going to be.”

“Well,all she had to do was ask," one offended male replied."I hope you're satisfied!" Lauren whispered furiously."I'm not," Nick chuckled in her ear. "But I'm going to be."Fully intending to leave him to take his own notes, Lauren slammed her notebook closed and tried to shove her chair back. Nick's body blocked the chair. She twisted her head around to say something scathing, and his lips captured hers in a kiss that forced her head against the back of the chair, tripled her pulse rate and robbed her of thought. When he took his mouth away, she was too shaken to do anything except stare at him."What do you think,Nick?" a voice asked over the speaker."I think it gets better every time," he answered huskily.When the call was finally over, Nick pressed a button on the desk, and Lauren saw the door leading into Mary's office swing shut electronically. He grasped her arms and drew her out of the chair, turning her toward him. His mouth came closer to hers,and Lauren felt herself being helplessly drawn into his magnetic spell. "Don't!" she pleaded. "Please don't do this to me."His hands tightened on her arms. "Why can't you just admit you want me and enjoy the consequences?""All right," she said wretchedly, "You win. I want you...I admit it." She saw the gleam of triumph in his eyes, and her chin lifted. "When I was eight years old, I also wanted a monkey I saw in a pet store."The triumph faded. "And?" he sighed irritably,letting go of her."And unfortunately I got him," Lauren said. "Daisy bit me,and I had to have twelve stitches in my leg."Nick looked as if he was torn between laughter and anger. "I imagine he bit you for naming him Daisy."Lauren ignored his mockery. "And when I was thirteen, I wanted sisters and brothers. My father obliged me by remarrying, and I got a stepsister who stole my clothes and my boyfriends, and a stepbrother who stole my allowances.""What the hell does that have to do with us?""Everything!”

“Have you missed me?" he asked."What do you think?" she evaded smoothly-but not smoothly enough, because he chuckled."Good.How much?""Is your ego in need of bolstering today?" she countered lightly."Yep.""Really,why?""Because I got shot down by a beautiful twenty-three-year-old, and I can't seem to get her out of my mind.""That's too bad," Lauren said, trying unsuccessfully to hide the joy in her voice."Isn't it," he mocked. "She's like a thorn in my side,a blister on my heel. She has the eyes of an angel, a body that drugs my mind, the vocabulary of an English professor and a tongue like a scalpel.""Thanks,I think."His hands glided up her arms, then curved around her shoulders, tightening as he drew her to within a few inches of his chest. "And," he added. "I like her.”

“What did she say?" Lauren breathed."She told me to check the oil," Nick replied imperturbably.Despite his outward attitude of total indifference, Lauren couldn't believe that as a younger man he'd been so vulnerable. Surely having his own mother treat him as if he didn't exist must have hurt him terribly. "Is that all she said?" she asked tightly.Unaware that Lauren was not sharing his ironic humor in the story,he said, "No-I think she asked me to check the air in her tires too."Lauren had kept her voice neutral, but inwardly she felt ill. Tears stung her eyes, and she turned her face up to the purpling sky to hide them,pretending to watch the lacy clouds drifting over the moon."Lauren?" His voice sounded curt."Hmmmm?" she asked,staring steadfastly at the moon.Leaning forward,he caught her chin and turned her face toward his. He looked at her brimming eyes in stunned disbelief. "You're crying!" he said incredulously.Lauren waved a dismissing hand at him. "Don't pay any attention to that-I cry at movies too.”

“I understand that you have an urgent task for me.""I do.""What is it?""I want you to go to the coffee shop and get me something to eat.""That-" Lauren choked. "That's your idea of urgent?""Very urgent," Nick replied imperturbably. "I happen to be starved."Lauren clenched her hands into fists. "To you I may mrely be some frivolous, amusing sexual object, but downstairs I have an important job to do, and Jim needs me.""I need you,honey.I've been here since-""Don't you dare call me honey!" she burst out, reeling with unwanted joy at the casual endearment."Why not?" he cajoled, a smile lighting his face. "You're sweet.""You won't think so if you call me honey again," Lauren promised.His brows drew together at her tone, and Lauren had to remind herself that he was still her boss. "Oh all right!" she capitulated ungraciously. "What do you eat for breakfast?""Irritating secretaries," he mocked.”

“I had wonderful grandparents, and I promise you that I don't have any emotional scars from what happened with my mother.""Of course you do-anyone would! She walked out on you, then practically before your eyes lavished her attention on her next son...""Stop it," he teased, "or you'll have me in tears."With quiet gravity Lauren said, "I was crying for the boy you were then, not for the man you are now. Despite everything that happened-no, because of it-you became a strong, independent man. Actually,the one to pity is your half brother."Nick chuckled. "You're right-he's an ass."Lauren ignored his humor. "What I meant was that you've succeeded on your own, without wealthy parents to help you. That makes you a bigger man than your half brother.""Is that why I'm bigger?" he joked. "I always thought it was in my genes. You see, my father and grandfather were both tall...""Nick,I'm trying to be serious!""Sorry.”