He pushed himself deep inside her and groaned at the tight, hot feel of her body holding his. His hips rocked, setting a rhythm that was both as old as time and new and exciting. She held on tighter, harder, her nails biting into his flesh with a stinging sensation that was counterpoint to the incredible delight of being within her.

Nick moved and she moved with him. Their rhythm set, they danced together, bodies joined, melded, becoming one as they reached for the same, shattering end that awaited them. He stared down into her eyes, losing himself in their depths. She met his gaze and held it until finally, as he felt her body begin to fist around his, she closed her eyes, shrieked his name and shuddered violently as her body exploded from the inside.

His own release came a scant moment later, and Nick heard himself shout as the tremendous relief spilled through him again and again, as if the pleasure would never end.

When he collapsed atop her, he still wasn’t sure just who had seduced whom.

Seven

It was a long night.

As if they’d destroyed the invisible barrier keeping them separate, Jenna and Nick came together again and again during the night. Until finally, exhausted, they fell into sleep just before dawn.

When Jenna woke several hours later, she was alone in the big bed. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she sat up, clutched the silky white sheet to her chest and stared around Nick’s room as if half expecting him to appear from the shadows. But he didn’t.

Carefully, since her muscles ached, she scooted off the bed, wandered down the hall to her own room and walked directly to the bathroom. As she took a long, hot shower, her mind drifted back to the night before and she wondered if things would be different between them now. But if she thought about that, hoped for it, how much more disappointed would she be if it didn’t happen?

Nick had made no promises.

Just as he had made no promises last year during their one amazing week together.

So basically, Jenna told herself, she’d made the same mistake she had before. She’d fallen into bed with a man she loved-despite the fact that he didn’t love her.

“Oh, man.” She rested her forehead against the aqua and white tiles while the hot, pulsing streams of water pounded against her back. “Jenna, if you’re going to make mistakes, and hey, everyone does…at least make new ones.”

Out of the shower, she dried off and dressed in a pair of white shorts and a dark green tank top. Then she sat on her bed and tried to figure out her next move. The only problem was, she didn’t have a clue what to do about what was happening in her world. This had all seemed like such a simple idea. Come to Nick. Tell him about the boys. Go home and slide back into her life.

But now, everything felt…complicated.

Muttering under her breath about stupid decisions and consequences, Jenna glanced at the clock on the bedside table and noticed the phone. Instantly her heart lifted. That’s what she needed, she realized. She needed to touch base with the real world. To talk to her sister. To listen to her sons cooing.

Grabbing the receiver, she immediately got the ship’s operator, gave them the number she wanted and waited while the phone on the other end of the line rang and rang. Finally, though, Maxie picked up and breathlessly said, “I don’t have time for salesmen.”

Laughing, Jenna eased back against the headboard of her bed and said, “Hello to you, too.”

“Oh, Jenna, it’s you.” Maxie chuckled a little. “Sorry about that, but your babies are making me a little insane.”

She jolted away from the headboard, frowning at the phone in her hand. “Are they okay?”

“They’re fine,” Maxie assured her. “I’m the one who’s going to be dead soon. How do you do this every day? If I ever forget to tell you how amazing I think you are, remind me of this moment.”

“Thanks, I will. So the boys are good?”

“Happy as clams,” her sister said, then paused and idly asked, “although, how do we know clams are happy? It’s not like they smile or whistle or something…”

“One of the great mysteries of the universe.”

“Amen.”

In the background, Jenna heard both the television set blaring and at least one baby crying. “Who is that crying?” she asked.

“Jacob,” Maxie told her and her voice was muffled for a minute. “I’m holding Cooper and giving him a bottle and Jake wants his turn. Not exactly rating a ten on the patience scale, that boy.”

“True, Jake is a little less easygoing than Cooper.” Jenna was quiet then as Maxie brought her up to date on the twins’ lives. She smiled as she listened, but her heart ached a little, too. She wanted to be there, holding her sons, soothing them, feeding them. And the fact that she wasn’t literally tore at her.

“Bottom line, everything’s good here,” her sister said finally. “How about you? How did Nick take the news?”

“He doesn’t believe me.”

“Well, there’s a shocker.”

Jenna rolled her eyes. Maxie wasn’t a big fan of Nick Falco. But then, her sister had been wined, dined and then dumped by a rich guy a couple of years before, and ever since then she didn’t have a lot of faith in men in general-and rich men in particular.

“He took the DNA test, though, and was going to have the results faxed to our lab. He should have proof even he can’t deny in the next day or two.”

“Good. Then you’re coming home, right?”

“Yeah.” Jenna plucked at the hem of her shorts with her fingertips. She wouldn’t stay on board ship for the whole cruise. She’d done what she’d come here to do, and staying around Nick any longer than was necessary was only going to make things even more complicated than they already were.

“I love my nephews,” Maxie was saying, “but I think they’re as ready to see you as I am.”

“I miss them so much.” Her heart pinged again as she listened to the angry sound of Jake’s cry.

“Uh-huh, now tell me why you really called.”

Jenna scowled. “I called to check on my sons.”

“Oh, that was part of it. Now let’s hear the rest,” Maxie said.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Hold on, have to switch babies. Cooper’s finished and it’s Jake’s turn.”

Jenna waited and listened to her sister talking to both of the boys, obviously laying Cooper down and picking Jake up as the infant’s cries were now louder and more demanding. She smiled to herself when his crying abruptly shut off and knew that he was occupied with his bottle.

“Okay, I’m back,” Maxie said a moment later. “Now, tell me what happened between you and Nick.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean and the fact that you’re avoiding the question tells me just what happened,” her sister said. “You slept with him again, didn’t you?”

Jenna’s head dropped to the headboard behind her and she stared unseeing up at the ceiling.

“Jenna…”

“There wasn’t a lot of sleeping, but yeah.”

“Damn it, Jenna-”

She sat up. “I already know it was a mistake, so if you don’t mind…”

“A mistake? Forgetting to buy bread at the market is a mistake. Sleeping with a guy who’s already dumped you once is a disaster.”

“Well, thanks so much,” Jenna said drily. “That makes me feel so much better.”

Maxie blew out a breath, whispered, “It’s okay, Jake, I’m not yelling at you. I’m yelling at your mommy.” Then she said louder, “Fine. Sorry for yelling. But Jenna, you know nothing good can come of this.”

“I know.” Hadn’t she awoken in an empty bed, with no sign of the tender lover she’d spent the night with? Nick couldn’t have been more blatant in letting her know just how unimportant she was to him. “God, I know.”

“Come home,” Maxie urged.

“I will. Soon.”

“Now.”

“No,” Jenna said, shaking her head as she swung her legs off the bed and sat up straight. “I have to talk to him.”

“Haven’t you said everything there is to say?”

Probably, Jenna thought. After all, it wasn’t as if she was going to tell him she loved him. And wasn’t that the only piece of information he was missing? Hadn’t she done what she’d come here to do? Hadn’t she accomplished her mission and more?

“Maxie…”

Her sister blew out a breath, and Jenna could almost see her rolling her eyes.

“I just don’t want to see you destroyed again,” Maxie finally said. “He’s not the guy for you, Jenna, and somewhere deep inside, you know it. You’re only asking to get kicked in the teeth again.”

The fact that her sister was right didn’t change anything. Jenna knew she couldn’t leave until she’d seen Nick again. Found out what last night had meant to him, if anything. She had to prove to herself one way or the other that there was no future for them. It was the only way she’d ever be able to let go and make a life for herself and her children.

“If I get hurt again, I’ll recover,” she said, her voice firming as she continued. “I appreciate you worrying about me, Maxie, but I’ve got to see this through. So I’ll call you when I’m on my way home. Are you sure you’re okay to take care of the boys for another couple of days?”

There was a long moment of silence before her sister said, “Yeah. We’re fine.”

“What about work?” Maxie was a medical transcriber. She worked out of her home, which was a big bonus for those times when Jenna needed a babysitter fast. Like now.

“I work around the babies’ nap schedules. I’m keeping up. Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Jenna? Just be careful, okay?”

The door to the suite opened and a maid stepped in. She spotted Jenna, made an apologetic gesture and started to back out again.

“No, wait. It’s okay, you can come in now.” Then to her sister, she said, “The maid’s here, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you soon. And kiss the boys for me, okay?”