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solid wall of his chest.
    Her head, level with Tyler’s, eased forward until she felt the whisper of his moist breath sweep over her mouth. “Please, put me down,” she said.
    Dana did not recognize her own voice as a riot of apprehension swept away the aloofness she had always been able maintain with most men. Only because she’d allowed it had Galvin been able to slip under the protective barrier she’d set up to keep all men out of her bed and her life. She’d waited until she was twenty-four to offer him her virginity, when the pull of desire and passion had been too great to ignore.
    Tyler stared at Dana, gorging on her beauty. “Not yet.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, he tightenedhis hold on her body. He hadn’t known her twenty-four hours, yet he wanted her—in his life and in his bed!
    Dana smothered a groan. She was certain Tyler could feel her breasts swelling against him at the same time her sensitive nipples hardened like tiny pebbles. Passion pounded the blood through her chest and head, roaring like a waterfall.
    Helpless to resist his blatant virility, she eased her head down to his shoulder as she closed her eyes and breathed in his essence. She did not know why, but being held by Tyler communicated a sense of protectiveness. It was the first time in twenty years that a man made her feel completely protected. Tightening her hold on his neck, smiling, she breathed a kiss under his ear.
    “Isn’t it unethical for a doctor to compromise his patient, Dr. Cole?”
    Tyler laughed softly, the sound rumbling in his wide, deep chest. “Who said anything about you being my patient?”
    “I’d assumed I was your patient because you did make a house call.”
    “You assumed wrong, Miss Nichols. If I’d come to your house as your doctor, then it would not have been your hand I would’ve looked at.”
    Her head came up and she stared directly at Tyler. It was difficult to see his expression in the encroaching darkness. The setting sun had turned the sky orange-red as lengthening shadows heralded the advent of nightfall.
    “What’s your specialty?”
    “Gynecology and obstetrics.” Dana’s mouth formed a perfect O, and Tyler dissolved in a paroxysm of laughter. He loosened his grip, but did not release her as she slid down the length of his body, leaving a swathe of heat racing from chest to groin.
    Dana’s eyes widened as she felt the hardening of Tyler’s flesh pressing against her thigh. They did not move or speak as the silence between them loomed like a heavy fog.
    She held her breath for several seconds, and then let it out slowly. If Tyler Cole was playing a game, then she wanted no part of it, because she had to keep reminding herself why she’d come back to Hillsboro. And it was not to become involved with a man.
    A smile trembled over her lips. “I think you’d better feed me before I faint on you.”
    Tyler blinked as if he’d just come out of a trance. “Come.”
    Turning, he led her around the garages to the house, blatantly aware that she would become the first woman, other than his mother and sister, to come under his roof.

Five
    Tyler unlocked the front door, walked into the entryway, stood to one side, and watched Dana seemingly float into the space. It was the first time he’d noticed her graceful, fluid body language.
    Tilting her head, she glanced up at the chandelier illuminating the entryway like a rising sun. Waning daylight shimmered off the glass over the arched transom with weblike tracery surrounding the sapphire-blue paneled door. The door’s rich hue and brass hardware gave the entrance a traditional tone that offset the Chippendale furnishings. A mahogany credenza, flanked by matching chairs, and a wall mirror facing a curving staircase invoked elegant sophistication rather than extravagance.
    Tasteful and elegant—the two words hinted what little she’d seen of Dr. Tyler Cole’s property. The two words could also be attributed to Tyler, but Dana knew she