Careless (3 page)

His hot breath felt like a caress on her sensitized skin when he
said, “God help me, I can’t remember the last time I wanted a woman this much.”

Tori allowed her eyes to drift closed, knowing it was the only way
she had a prayer of surviving this night without saying or doing something
she’d regret tomorrow. He made her feel things she had no right to feel, made
her want to say things she’d never said before. She wasn’t the type of woman
who expected flowers or poetry from the man in her life. She was a straight
shooter, and she expected any man who parked his boots under her bed to adhere
to the same code.  

Her family and music were her life, in that order. Her friends were
a close third. Give her a noisy, crowded honky-tonk that played King George on
a Saturday night, and she was a happy woman. Her needs were simple, and she
sure as hell didn’t need a cop with a God complex trying to complicate things.

Sex, this was just about great sex. She repeated it over and over
again like a mantra. Praying her subconscious would eventually get the message
and quash all those crazy thoughts of breakfasts in bed and late nights curled
up on the couch watching an old movie in his arms. She didn’t want or need a
relationship with a man like Mike. She liked her men wild and a little crazy,
not guarded and suspicious.   

Mike slid her shorts over her hips and turned her into his arms.
“Let me look at you.”

The appreciation in his eyes helped to restore some of her usual
bravado, making her believe that maybe, just maybe, she could slip between his
sheets while keeping her protective armor safely intact.

His eyes devoured her, burning through the black demi bra and thong
decorated with tiny red hearts.

Tori expected him to laugh when he caught a glimpse of her lingerie.
Hearts and cute little cupids weren’t usually her thing, but every once in a
while she liked to surprise people by doing or saying the one thing they least
expected. “What? No smart-ass remarks?”

He traced the black lace with his fingertip. “Honey, I’m not
thinkin’ about this.” His finger grazed the swell of her breast. “I’m itchin’
to get my hands on these.”

She lowered her head and watched the sensual play of his fingers
drawing figure eights on her sun-kissed skin. It wasn’t supposed to be like
this. He was supposed to be a self-absorbed lover who only cared about his
needs. He wasn’t supposed to touch her reverently, like she’d blessed him just by
walking into his life.

“Aren’t you gonna take that off?” she asked, when his fingers paused
over the little rhinestone encrusted closure at the front of her bra.

“Relax,” he whispered before licking his lips. “I want to enjoy
every single second of this.”

She wanted to scream at him to just get it over with already. She
knew the anticipation of feeling his hands and mouth on her, imagining him
stretching her, filling her, taking her to the brink of crazy and back again,
was escalating this fantasy to something reality couldn’t possibly touch.

Just when she thought he was ready to take it to the next level, he
did the unthinkable. He threaded his hands through her hair, cupped the back of
her head, and made sweet, slow love to her with his mouth until she was a
whimpering mass of need that’d lost the ability to support her own weight.

When he finally pulled away, his eyes were glazed, and he looked as
stunned as she felt. “Jesus, girl, what the hell are you tryin’ to do to me?”

Tori knew she definitely wasn’t the culprit, not tonight. She
enjoyed using her sex appeal to taunt men as much as the next girl, but she
couldn’t have engaged in that dance with Mike even if she’d wanted to. He was leading,
and for the first time in her life, she was happy, no, make that ecstatic, to
follow. 

Trying to restore some sense of balance to the equation, she reached
for the hem of his T-shirt and hauled it over his head.
Bad idea.
If she
thought seeing this man shirtless was going to help her equilibrium, she was
delusional. No man had the right to look this good. “Damn,” she whispered,
gliding her hands over his massive chest. “You don’t play fair.”

“I’m not playin’, baby.”

The way he said
baby
made the thrill bumps rise on her skin
again. No man had ever been able to arouse her with sweet endearments or deep,
probing kisses before. She was almost afraid of what might happen when they
finally made their way to his bedroom.

“Mike, please, I want…” She reached for his belt buckle, stopping
herself just short of begging him to make love to her. She wasn’t that
desperate, was she? Who was she kidding? She’d been that desperate ever since
he walked into his father’s house with another stunning brunette on his arm
tonight. Fortunately, within minutes of talking to his date, Tori realized it
was Mike’s twin, Jay, the woman had her eye on, which left the playing field
wide open for Tori to make her move.

“You wanna know what I want?” he asked, reaching for her hands. “I
want to lay you down on my bed and lick and kiss every inch of your incredible
body. I want to make you cry out my name when you…” Instead of finishing his
thought, he tipped her head back as his mouth came down on the smooth column of
her neck.

Tori let her hands fall limply to her sides as his tongue worked its
magic. She felt the heat flow through her, pooling in her erogenous zones as
though that had been his target all along. “Oh God, Mike… I…” She didn’t know
what to say, how to say it. The only thing she knew for sure is that she’d be
content to surrender her body to his expert touch a day past forever.

He picked her up and carried her down the narrow hallway toward the
master bedroom as he continued to nip and taste her warm flesh in a crazy,
random sequence that had her panting and digging her short nails into his
shoulders.

She watched him as he set her down on the king-sized bed and peeled
his jeans off to reveal black boxer briefs. Every inch of his body was as
impressive as his well-developed chest, not that she was surprised. Lieutenant
Mike Cooper would inspire sculptors to create a work of art that would rival
Michelangelo’s
David.

“Should I be glad you decided to let loose and have a few drinks
tonight?” She stretched her arms over her head and tried not to react as he
stripped the rest of his clothes off. Drooling would definitely not be
appropriate, but damn, she was sorely tempted.

“Baby, this has nothin’ to do with the liquor.” His eyes feasted on
her near-naked body before he said, “This was inevitable… we both know that. We
just have to scratch this itch before it drives us both crazy.”

That’s all this was to him, satisfying an urge, scratching an itch,
as he so eloquently put it. Any romanticized notion she’d had about being different
or special flew out the window as his harsh reminder brought her crashing back
down to earth.

Mike silently cursed himself for being so insensitive. He’d wanted
to remind her that this was just sex, nothing more, but he hadn’t intended to hurt
her feelings. The truth was, he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
He’d had sex plenty of times, but touching a woman had never made him feel like
this.

Tori Warner, this sexy, sassy little package with the raspy voice
and bedroom eyes, scared him more than any gun-wielding maniac he’d ever
encountered. On the job, he knew exactly what to do, how to diffuse any
situation, but surrendering to the need that had been building in him since
he’d laid eyes on her was a whole different kind of danger.  

She released the clasp on her bra and raised her finger to beckon
him closer.

“Sweet Jesus,” he whispered. He hadn’t intended to say that aloud at
the mere sight of her full breasts, but he couldn’t help himself. No silicone
infused, bottle blond model or actress he’d dated in the past had ever been
able to bring him to his knees with the mere promise of taking him on that
elusive journey to ecstasy.

She tipped her legs open and licked her lips as her eyes traveled
the length of his body.

His cell phone chose that moment to buzz and he muttered a curse. It
could be the station. There could be a break in one of his cases, but his
suspect would have to wait because this couldn’t.

“Aren’t you gonna get that?” she asked, hooking her thumbs inside of
her lace thong before sliding it down her legs.

He was speechless as he watched her bare herself to him. “No.” His
voice was little more than a broken rasp as he crawled over her. “I don’t care
who it is or what they want. The only thing that matters right now is this…
you.”

She moaned and lifted her shoulders off the bed, hinting as to what
she expected.

Mike licked and kissed her breasts like a man on a mission, which he
supposed he was. His mission was to give her more pleasure than she’d ever
experienced in another man’s arms. More pleasure than she could ever hope to
experience again. This may be little more than a one-night stand, but he
intended to make sure it was one that would live on in her memory forever. He
didn’t know why it was so important to him that he stand out amongst the myriad
of men decorating her arm in those glossy magazines, but it suddenly felt
imperative that he carve out a place in her heart that belonged to him and only
him.

Tori threaded her hands through his hair, holding his head captive
against her breasts. “Yesss… God, I never thought this would be enough to…
Mike…”

That was his objective, to hear the sound of his name on her lips as
she came apart in his arms. Nothing had ever sounded sweeter, and he knew he’d
be hearing that echo every time his head hit the pillow for weeks, maybe months.

“I need you,” she whispered, pushing against his shoulders. “Please…
now…”

He was just getting started. There was so much he wanted to do to
her, with her, for her… “Relax.”

“No!” She groaned. “I can’t relax. Not until you… please…”

Mike loved that he was making her as crazy as she was making him.
There were no words, and he knew they didn’t need them as long as their bodies
could convey everything they were thinking and feeling.

He reached into his nightstand and grabbed a foil packet.

She watched him tear it open with his teeth, reaching for him as
soon as the latex barrier was in place.

He came down on top of her, careful to brace his weight on his
forearms. For the first time, he thought about the fact that she was probably
the smallest woman he’d ever been with. It was easy to forget that she was such
a little bit of a thing, since her smart mouth more than made up for her
physical stature.

“Kiss me,” she whispered.

There was nothing he wanted more than to experience that elemental
connection with her as he filled her, claimed her, made her
his
. She
tasted sweet, like liqueur, and he found he couldn’t get enough. It was easier
than it should have been for him to breach that barrier and he knew it was
because she was so aroused that her body was making it easy for them to come
together. 

She gripped his shoulders and held him tight as she tore her mouth
away from his. “Oh my God…”

He wanted to shut his mind off and let his body take over, but he
wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. “You okay, baby?”

“It’s not supposed to feel like this.”

He pulled back, trying to get a read on her expression. If he was
hurting her, he wouldn’t hesitate to pull out, but he knew it would take every
ounce of his self-control to do the
right
thing, because he’d never
wanted anything more than he wanted to make love to her in that moment. “Tell
me what you need me to do.”

“Make love to me,” she whispered. Their eyes locked and he knew she was
asking him to let go of the pretence that this was just about sex. She wanted him
to take that leap of faith with her.

He stopped thinking about black or white, right or wrong, and just
let go, surrendering to the need that was gripping him in a fierce fist,
refusing to allow him to retreat until he’d pushed past the boundaries of
control that had been dictating his life for the past thirty years. She was
right there with him, urging him on with her soft pleas until his need for her
stole his breath and infiltrated every pore of his body.

With strength he didn’t know such a tiny body could possess, she
pulled him down on top of her, wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around
his waist, as she coaxed him to give her everything she needed.

There were inexplicable words bouncing around in his head, words
that had no place invading his mind space on a one-night stand. Words like
love…
mine… forever.

“Oh God…”

His name was a cry on her lips as he pounded past reason straight
into oblivion. “Jesus, Tori, baby… I…” There was no way he could let it end
like this. “Please…” Just as he was bartering with his body to give him a few
more minutes, her release gripped him so hard he lost his sense of where her
body ended and his began.

He threw his head back and released a guttural moan he was sure his
neighbors could have heard. Good thing he was at the end of the hall. His only next-door
neighbor was his twin brother, Jay.