Tyler debated with himself for less than a minute when Jane invited hm in at her door. His mother was keeping the kids overnight—"just so you won't have to disturb them if you come in late," she had assured him—so there wasn't any need for him to rush home.  It couldn't hurt to have just one last cup of coffee, he thought.

   "Make yourself comfortable," Jane said, waving a hand toward the couch she headed for the kitchen. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

   She glanced over her shoulder, a by-now-familiar gleam in her eyes. "Feel free to loosen your tie, if you like."

   He should probably be pleased that he kept her amused, he thought in resignation, taking off his jacket and tossing it over the back of a chair. He supposed That was better than boring her.

   Jane noticed his missing jacket and loosened tie as she carried the two steaming mugs of coffee into the room. She nodded approval.

   "Better?" He asked wryly.

   Setting the jugs on the coffee table, she straightened and eyed him considerably. "There's just one more thing," she murmured, taking a step toward the end of the couch where he sat.

   He watched her warily. "And that is...?"

   "This." Before he'd guessed her intentions, she pounced in him, dumpling his formerly tidy dark blond hair with both hands. He could feel it tousled on his forehead when she finished. "There," she said in satisfaction. "I've been wanting to do that for ages."

   She started to back away, but Tyler caught her wrist and gave a sharp tug, tumbling her into his lap. "I've been wanting to do this for ages," he muttered, then covered her mouth to with his.

   The last time he kissed Jane Doherty, she had been high-spirited, fifteen-year-old girl just discovering her feminine attributes. He'd been a serious, studious eighteen-year-old with little experience at that sort of thing. Kissing her then had sent his raging hormones skyrocketing, had made his heart slam against his chest and his pulse roar in his ears.

   Almost fifteen years later, she still had the same effect on him.

   Her lips were full. Soft. Warm. Eager. Her slender body fit into his arms as easily as if she'd been custom-designed to his specifications. There was no hesitation when she returned the kiss, no cot holding back. No sign of surprise at his actions.

   Perhaps he'd meant to shake her composure, the she'd been unnerving him all evening. But once again, he was the one caught off guard, thoroughly bemused and mesmerized by her.

   Fifteen decades of experience could not have prepared him for Jane Doherty.

   When the long kiss ended, she had one hand resting on his cheek, the other arm around his neck. Her smile looked a bit smug, but he had the satisfaction of seeing glazed expression in her eyes—at least until she lowered her kids and hid her reaction from him.