Read Online Parallel Desire by Deidre Knight - Free Book Online

She gave his shoulder a small shake. "Ever think of that?"
    He eyed her as if she were a crazy woman. "We don't have that kind of technology. You've been watching too much human media."
    "The time you came from and our time are different, parallel universes but not the same—you understand that fact."
    "Your point?"
    "Well, in this timeline, universe, dimension, whatever you want to call it"—she captured the folder, sniffing it distastefully, as if it were emitting some sort of poisonous gas—"we've developed new formulas for all sorts of security precautions."
    He tilted his head, just studying her. "You're messing with me."
    "Maybe," she demurred, "or maybe not. But if I were you, lusting after this folder like you are, I sure wouldn't bet on it."
    Before she could blink, his boxy, mitt-like hands were grappling her down onto the bed beside him. "Give me the folder," he cursed, pushing her onto the thin mattress. "Shelby, I fucking mean it. Give it over now."
    She found herself wedged beneath his hip, his enormous body half atop her own. He pulled and jerked at the folder furiously, wrestling to get it out of her grasp; finally she simply let go, an action he clearly hadn't anticipated since it ricocheted backward, slicing him in the forehead. He cursed in low Refarian but, oddly enough, made no effort to move from his position over her. Instead, he braced his hands about both sides of her head, wincing and breathing heavily against her face. With a slow and deliberate gesture he pressed his nose against her cheek and inhaled her scent, the first of the Refarian mating rituals, and it sent a shockwave of sensation and reaction throughout her entire body.
    He dragged in another long inhalation, trembling as he held her scent within his lungs, then slowly released the breath with a groan of pleasure and arousal. She couldn't help it; she just couldn't help herself at all—she arched back into the pillow beneath her head and returned the gesture, dragging the very scent of Jake Tierny deep into her being. Spirals of need and intensity crested through her, creating sudden wetness between her legs.
    "Again." He growled forcefully, pushing his forehead against hers. "Take me again, Shelby."
    "Just your scent, Jake. Just—"
    A rumbling sound of lust and anticipation escaped his lips. "Scent me again, damn it."
    She nodded, dragging at the air between them for a simple breath, much less to inhale the essence of the man. With sharp awareness, she realized that she'd slipped one hand about his neck, was clinging to him. With even more awareness, she felt a sudden hardness press into her thigh right as Jake's pupils dilated, growing large and dark within his brilliant green eyes. Move your hand away, girl. Go on, now .
    And she really did mean to let Jake go; she truly did. But the thing was, feeling him against her, the smell of him infusing all of her senses, well, she just couldn't be the one to do the letting go. Thankfully Jake did that duty for the both of them. He lifted into a push-up, hoisting himself off of her, but then—their gazes locking, his tongue licking his lips—something snapped.
    "Aw, damn it," he swore, and planted a hard, wet kiss against her lips.
    D esire curled deep within Jake's belly, tightening with the same urgency that his groin had. Shelby Tyler's delicate, lithe body was the sweetest thing he'd felt beneath his own in such a long time. Too long. But this—this moment with Shelby—it felt like the old days before Hope, when he'd prowled and lusted for women, endlessly needing sex. Only those had been human women, he reminded himself, sliding one flat palm underneath Shelby's bottom. Just thinking of Hope sent a cascade of guilt rushing through his spirit; it was ridiculous, but he felt like he was cheating on her when he'd barely done more than scent Shelby. Still, he couldn't help remembering the thousands of times he'd become intoxicated from Hope's unique aroma,