flattening against the pulse point. He heard the sound of her breathing, shallow and dry.
He eased his knee away until she lay beneath his braced arms, then quickly swung a leg over her thighs and secured a mating position—all dominant male, hard and hunkered over a prone and soft female who was anything but soft inside. It was a familiar position, but the sensations it created were unfamiliar, bewitching. And threatening.
"I want to kiss you." He said it like an accusation.
"Just a kiss?" she asked.
"No."
"I didn't think so." A week ago he'd made her ache for more than a kiss. She still did. But now she ached for something else as well. She, with a foolish heart, was falling for this dark knight in tarnished armor, and disregarding the danger he clearly posed. But perhaps she posed a danger to him too. The odds weren't so scary when they were even.
"Is there a chance you'd be willing to settle for just a kiss?" She held her breath and waited.
He lowered his body to hers, and the hard male part of him nuzzled her closed legs, which begged to open for him, only for him. His powerful chest covered her breasts, which tingled and hurt with the need to be taken into the mouth that hovered over hers.
"Would I settle for just a kiss?" he repeated. "I would. And I will. Beggars can't be choosers, and I need to kiss you so bad, I'd even beg for that. Never begged a woman for nothing before. I can't work, Andrea. Can't sleep any better. Does that make you happy, since you didn't stick me with pins to cause insomnia or creative block?"
His unexpected answer was more arousing than the gripping need to feel him inside. Andrea wet her dry lips... and connected with his, they were that close.
"I'm sorry for that. But I'm not sorry that I'm on your mind and—"
"Under my skin."
"Am I?"
"Like a splinter to the bone. Gloating yet?"
As much as she should be, since it did give her the edge, she wasn't. Her purpose was changing with each of their encounters, until she wasn't even certain anymore what it was.
"Here's a news flash, Neil. It's pretty hard for me to gloat when beignets lose their flavor and I've been using triple coats of concealer to hide the circles under my eyes." She laughed softly, but her voice caught when he slid a hand over the swell of her breast. "At least I'm fitting into my jeans again and—"
"And since we seem to be feeling much of the same, can I hope for a change of heart? Exercise is one thing—although our exercise could be very enjoyable—but I'd much prefer to see you to safer and closer quarters. I was wrong to be such a jackass before, but you're wrong to let your pride get in the way of good sense."
"Back to that." She sighed. "I thought you'd gotten the message, Neil. Put yourself in my position—"
"You mean... like this?" In one smooth roll he had her on top of him, her hair a canopy over their faces. He took a long strand and traced her lips with it. "I like it both ways. How about you?"
"You're trying to manipulate me."
"Of course I am. And wouldn't you be just a tad disappointed if I didn't care enough to try to sway your mind to our mutual advantage?"
Andrea frowned as she considered his question. Her frown deepened with the silent acknowledgment that his blatant scheming gave her a thrill of feminine power. And yet he held the greater power, because deep inside she was still a small girl who prayed every night that someone, somewhere, would want her, funny teeth and all.
She'd tried so hard to be the best at whatever she did, to prove she was worthy of being wanted. It made her a little sick to think of how desperate she'd been to please, her need for affection blinding her to an old man's fumbling touches. Her words against his in front of a judge who turned out to be his golfing partner. Good-bye, Ivy League. Hello, community college, thanks to the state grant and job cleaning tables in the school cafeteria.
She'd learned the hard way to protect herself from being a victim of
He eased his knee away until she lay beneath his braced arms, then quickly swung a leg over her thighs and secured a mating position—all dominant male, hard and hunkered over a prone and soft female who was anything but soft inside. It was a familiar position, but the sensations it created were unfamiliar, bewitching. And threatening.
"I want to kiss you." He said it like an accusation.
"Just a kiss?" she asked.
"No."
"I didn't think so." A week ago he'd made her ache for more than a kiss. She still did. But now she ached for something else as well. She, with a foolish heart, was falling for this dark knight in tarnished armor, and disregarding the danger he clearly posed. But perhaps she posed a danger to him too. The odds weren't so scary when they were even.
"Is there a chance you'd be willing to settle for just a kiss?" She held her breath and waited.
He lowered his body to hers, and the hard male part of him nuzzled her closed legs, which begged to open for him, only for him. His powerful chest covered her breasts, which tingled and hurt with the need to be taken into the mouth that hovered over hers.
"Would I settle for just a kiss?" he repeated. "I would. And I will. Beggars can't be choosers, and I need to kiss you so bad, I'd even beg for that. Never begged a woman for nothing before. I can't work, Andrea. Can't sleep any better. Does that make you happy, since you didn't stick me with pins to cause insomnia or creative block?"
His unexpected answer was more arousing than the gripping need to feel him inside. Andrea wet her dry lips... and connected with his, they were that close.
"I'm sorry for that. But I'm not sorry that I'm on your mind and—"
"Under my skin."
"Am I?"
"Like a splinter to the bone. Gloating yet?"
As much as she should be, since it did give her the edge, she wasn't. Her purpose was changing with each of their encounters, until she wasn't even certain anymore what it was.
"Here's a news flash, Neil. It's pretty hard for me to gloat when beignets lose their flavor and I've been using triple coats of concealer to hide the circles under my eyes." She laughed softly, but her voice caught when he slid a hand over the swell of her breast. "At least I'm fitting into my jeans again and—"
"And since we seem to be feeling much of the same, can I hope for a change of heart? Exercise is one thing—although our exercise could be very enjoyable—but I'd much prefer to see you to safer and closer quarters. I was wrong to be such a jackass before, but you're wrong to let your pride get in the way of good sense."
"Back to that." She sighed. "I thought you'd gotten the message, Neil. Put yourself in my position—"
"You mean... like this?" In one smooth roll he had her on top of him, her hair a canopy over their faces. He took a long strand and traced her lips with it. "I like it both ways. How about you?"
"You're trying to manipulate me."
"Of course I am. And wouldn't you be just a tad disappointed if I didn't care enough to try to sway your mind to our mutual advantage?"
Andrea frowned as she considered his question. Her frown deepened with the silent acknowledgment that his blatant scheming gave her a thrill of feminine power. And yet he held the greater power, because deep inside she was still a small girl who prayed every night that someone, somewhere, would want her, funny teeth and all.
She'd tried so hard to be the best at whatever she did, to prove she was worthy of being wanted. It made her a little sick to think of how desperate she'd been to please, her need for affection blinding her to an old man's fumbling touches. Her words against his in front of a judge who turned out to be his golfing partner. Good-bye, Ivy League. Hello, community college, thanks to the state grant and job cleaning tables in the school cafeteria.
She'd learned the hard way to protect herself from being a victim of
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