Read Online Total Rush by Deirdre Martin - Free Book Online Page B

“You know what for. I love them.”
    â€œI’m glad. You have no idea how hard it was finding a pink wildebeest.” Outwardly he was cracking jokes, but inside, he felt pure relief. It had been a gamble: Either she’d love it, or she’d think he was a nut. Lucky for him, it was the former. “Does this mean I’m forgiven for my deception?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Gemma teased. “One of my neighbors was pretty upset.”
    Sean frowned. “Croppy, right?”
    â€œYes! How did you know?”
    â€œThe woman’s a professional ball buster. Take off those orthopedic shoes of hers and you’ll find cloven hooves.”
    Gemma laughed.
    â€œI like making you laugh. C’mere.”
    As smoothly as he could, he took her face in his hands and, with the care of an artist, brushed his lips over hers once, then twice. Teasing kisses, nothing too forceful, just a taste of what could come should Gemma desire more. “More?”
    Gemma’s smile was demure yet seductive. “Yes, please.”
    â€œFDNY at your service, miss,” he breathed, crushing his mouth down on hers as his arms drew her in tight. Through the soft crush of her breasts against his chest, he could feel her heart beating as fast as his own. He pressed on, feasting on the sweetness of her mouth. What was it about this woman that bewitched him so?
    â€œStop.”
    Stunned, Sean lifted his burning lips from Gemma’s, and cleared his throat. “Stop?”
    â€œYes.” Gemma gazed up into his face sheepishly. “I can’t do this with them”—her voice dropped down to a whisper as her eyes slid quickly to his birds—“watching.”
    â€œYou’re kidding.”
    â€œI’m not. Their little eyes are glued to us.” She gave a small shudder. “It’s avian voyeurism!”
    â€œI’ll cover their cages. Or”—his thumb traced the plump curve of her lower lip, shocking even himself—“We can go into the other room.”
    Gemma hesitated. She was attracted to this man—very attracted. But she wasn’t the sort to sleep with someone on the first date. Then again, this wasn’t really a date, right? And she was a grown woman. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to fully take in all she was feeling. “Can we go downstairs to my place?” she murmured.
    â€œOf course.”
    She opened her eyes to look up into his. There she saw the deep, perfect blue of a Caribbean sea in which she longed to drown. Life without risk was no life at all. And since she was the one who was always telling others to have faith, it was time to practice what she preached.
    She took his hand.
    â€œFollow me,” she said.
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    Gemma led Sean into her apartment. Since they were at her place, at her suggestion, she was now the one responsible for seduction. She went to light the candles scattered around her living room, hoping she appeared nonchalant, even serene. Part of her wanted to be the one in control: to show him how beguiling she could be, how powerfully she could enchant using the untapped magic of the senses. But another part wanted to be the one who surrendered, to be guided by this man to the place where she could soar free of the confines of her body, experiencing the past, present, and future in the simplicity of a single kiss.
    Candles lit, she turned back to Sean, expecting to find him where she’d left him, standing near the front door. But he wasn’t there. Instead, he was standing in the doorway of her bedroom, right hand held out to hers in unmistakable invitation.
    â€œWhat are you doing there?” Gemma asked coyly as she walked toward him, kicking off her shoes along the way. Sean did the same.
    â€œChecking to see if you’d gotten that new smoke detector.”
    â€œI thought you were getting one for me.”
    â€œOnly if you’re a good girl.”
    â€œI’d