Dangerous Flirt (17 page)

“Open your mouth, Beth.”

Her nipples hardened at his growled command and, ignoring all the reasons
why she shouldn't, she opened for him.

He deepened the kiss and his hands swept down her sides, coming to rest against the outside of her thighs. The silken lining of her black sheath dress felt so cool as it slid against her bare legs when he inched it higher and higher, until it bunched around her waist.

The contrasting texture of his rough hands and the delicate lace of her panties against
her hip teased her desire. She buried her fingers in his thick hair, wanting to touch him everywhere at once. It was happening too fast and not fast enough. Lust overrode her need for control. She wanted what only he could give. God, she didn't think she could live another moment without it.

Desperate for more, she pulled back from his hungry mouth. “Hank.”

He squeezed her hips. “No talking
unless it's you telling me exactly how you want me to make you come.”

Grabbing a handful of his button-up shirt in each fist, she looked him straight in the eye.

There was no going back.

Not for her. Not for him.

Not this time.

Buttons flew across the room when she yanked it open and exposed his muscular chest. His nipples hardened in the cool air conditioning.

“You want me to make you come?”

“Yes.” The ache deep within her intensified. Her sensitive skin craved his touch, yearned for him.

“Say it.”

Her mouth went dry, but his words had the opposite effect on her quickly dampening pussy. She didn't think she could say the words and give up that control. Then he leaned forward and nipped at the base of her neck. Her knees buckled and she would have sunk to the floor if his hands weren't
holding her hips so firmly.

“I want you to make me come, hard.”

His hands curved around to her ass, cupping each globe in his palms. “I don't know if you're ready for that. You seem more like a slow-and-soft kind of girl.”

“I'm more than ready.” She wound her arms around his neck.

He lifted her up to her tiptoes, his strong hands on her ass. Using a foot, he nudged her legs farther apart.
The cool air brushed against her panties, taunting her heated clit.

“You want this?”

She shouldn't, not like this and not with him. Losing control with him would have fatal results for her heart, but her body overruled her head. “Yes.”

“You want me to fuck you?”

His words vibrated against her neck. “Yes.”

“Let go and I will.”

“I…” Let go? She never let go.

Raising his head, Hank's gaze
burned into her. “Just. Let. Yourself. Go.”

And she did.

Shedding her iron self-control felt like peeling off a dress that was a size too small. All the pinching and constriction she'd grown used to and accepted as a fact of life disappeared. For the first time in years, she sucked in a full breath of freedom. There was no backup plan and no watching from a distance.

Her skin tingled everywhere
Hank touched, but it wasn't him who’d made this happen. She had. The mixture of lust, power and joy opened her up to a whole new world of possibilities and hopes. Swearing to herself she'd never go back again, Beth closed her eyes and sealed the promise with a kiss.

Her lips busy with his, she spread her fingers wide and ran them across his broad shoulders. His woodsy cologne teased her as she
continued her exploration. She followed the curve of his biceps, tensing under her touch, nudging his shirt down his arms until the dark material covered his long fingers and then fell from them.

Pulling her mouth away was a necessary small torture so she could taste more of him. His short beard tickled her lips as she trailed kisses down to his throat. She paused at the pulse hammering there,
relishing that both of their hearts raced in anticipation. A quick nip elicited a harsh groan from him.

Pushing her back gently, he framed her face with his hands, forcing her to make eye contact.

“God, I've waited so long for you, Beth.”

“I'm right here.”

Something indefinable lurked in his eyes, a pain she eased the only way she knew how. Leaning forward, she kissed him again, teasing open
his mouth with her tongue. For a moment he didn't move, then his hands seemed to be everywhere at once.

Hank disposed of her suit jacket in a quick move that would have made a stripper jealous. It dropped down beside her briefcase, followed a moment later by her dress and red-lace bra. She stepped out from the dress’s confining circle, not wanting to be trapped anymore. His head dropped to her
breasts and licked a line of fire across their top curves. Using his hands to mold the small orbs, he pushed them upward and sucked one dark-brown nipple into his hot mouth.

The moment his teeth grazed the hard nubs, Beth's legs gave out on her and she collapsed against the hotel door. Tension built inside her as his hand snaked down her flat belly. His hungry mouth released her breast and traveled
back up to her mouth.

One hand slid lower, snuck under the elastic of her lace panties and a single finger sank between her wet lips. Her back arched in reaction to his touch, so pleasurable it nearly broke her. Eyes clenched shut, ribbons of color danced across her mind's eye, their hues becoming more vibrant as he stroked her clit and dipped first one, then two, then three fingers inside her
sensitive pussy.

Trying to anchor herself to reality, she reached for him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, but instead of bringing her back to the real world, the feel of his skin increased her need. It pushed her forward and brightened the colors behind her eyelids until they were nearly neon in intensity. The vibration built deep inside her, ratcheting up with each stroke of his fingers
in and out. The corner of the hard, plastic fire escape sign on the hotel door dug into her shoulder blade, but urgent need nearly blinded her to any sensation but his touch. His fingers twisted within her slick folds, pushing her closer to release until the colors exploded and her orgasm overtook her.

Panting, Beth rested her head against his shoulder. She should be sated, but instead a fresh
energy buzzed through her and she hungered for more of Hank inside her than just his fingers.

“Fuck me, Hank.”

“Anything you want.”

After how fast he got rid of her clothes, she wasn't surprised to see him divest himself of his pants in the blink of an eye. Then his lips captured hers and all rational thought fled, replaced by want and need.

S
liding his rock-hard cock inside her wetness, Hank drove deep into her pussy. She embraced his dick, massaging it with every stroke, and within moments he was on the edge of coming. Long, lean legs wrapped around his waist and her round ass filled his hands as he urged her body to slow down so they could make it last. The tips of her mocha-colored nipples rubbed against his
chest. Her luscious lips on his throat made him want to forget his attempts to draw out the pleasure.

Her heels dug into the small of his back as she arched back, grinding her pussy against his cock. Fuck. If she kept that up, there was no way he would last another five minutes.

“Slow down, baby. I want to enjoy you.”

“I thought you were.” Her movements slowed but didn't stop and she swerved
her hips in one direction then the other in a carnal figure eight.

“Oh God, Beth, not for much longer if you keep doing that.”

Her unguarded laughter, so sweet and sexy at the same time, nearly sent him over the edge. He'd thought he had it bad for her before, when he didn't know what he was missing. Now that he did, there was no way he'd let her go. Shit, he was a fool for taking so long to
realize it.

Hating himself, but knowing he had to do it, he withdrew. He grasped her narrow waist and pushed her against the door. Damn, she was beautiful. Her brown hair, going in all directions, brushed against her shoulders, hiding her long and delicate neck.

“Hank?”

“Shhhhh.” He slid his hands up from her waist, inching them across her warm brown skin and up to her tits. High and round,
they filled his palms as if his hands were made for holding them. “Let me touch you.”

Rolling her nipples between his fingers elicited a low moan from her parted lips. Encouraged, he tugged them gently and dipped his head down to circle one nipple with his tongue before sucking it into his mouth. He'd never heard sweeter music than her groan.

Wanting to touch her everywhere at once, he forced
himself away from her nipples. His tongue glided downward, stopping an inch higher than the start of her trim bush. She shivered under his hands when he kissed her there, his hands skimming across her hips, pulling her lower body closer to his needy mouth.

Bringing his thumbs to her wet lips, he spread them wide, exposing her clit. He flicked it with his tongue, tasting her, memorizing the moment.
Using his last vestige of patience, he savored her essence, not wanting this to end but knowing he wouldn't make it much longer before he had to bury himself within her welcoming pussy once more.

As if she understood his quandary, Beth pushed his head away. “Fuck me now, Hank. I need to feel you inside me.”

He wanted nothing more, but they couldn't. “I don't have a condom.”

A shadow appeared
in the depths of her eyes for a moment, before she blinked it away. “You don't have to worry.”

“You're on the Pill?”

She blinked again. “No need to worry about babies with me.” She claimed his mouth, her tongue wanting entrance and her body demanding so much more.

He picked her up, raising her high enough to straddle him. Flipping around so it was his back against the door, he leaned against
the wood. Hands gripping her hips, he moved her up and down on his standing cock. So good. She felt so good against him and around him.

Beth braced herself on his shoulders and undulated. He couldn’t wait; he already had played on the edge for too long. Already his balls were tight, ready to spill.

The slap of their bodies meeting filled his ears and a musky scent surrounded them. Her body,
so warm and smooth underneath his palms, pushed him to go faster but he wanted to draw it out a little bit longer, just a little bit longer. He could make it last. Hold her longer. Bring her closer. Make her his. But then her body stiffened and her wetness squeezed his cock as she came. Her orgasm milked his cock and he gave in.

As they stood, bodies locked together, Hank realized he'd never
felt so alive. Damn. Maybe a trip to the Little Elvis Wedding Chapel wasn't out of the question.

He searched his mind for doubts and found none. This was right. He'd known it for years. Now he just had to convince her.

“Beth… Honey, you and me, we fit. You've got to see it now.”

She stiffened in his arms, but not in ecstasy this time. Something was different in how she held herself as she lowered
her feet to the ground and stepped away from him. There was no mistaking the guarded look behind her thick eyelashes.

His stomach knotted.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Her carefully worded question, delivered so softly, threw him. Was it the job? Not every woman wanted to be with a man in law enforcement. “Are you asking about the job?”

Her thick hair waved around her as she
shook her head. “Personally.”

He hesitated. He didn't understand why, but he could tell a lot rode on his answer. Maybe everything.

Swallowing, he tried to get his tongue to stop sticking to the roof of his mouth. If he’d had any idea what she wanted to hear, he would have blurted it out in a heartbeat. But he didn't, which left him with the truth. Pulling her into his arms, he stroked her hair.

“Us, together. Happy. A small house on a plot of land.” The picture formed in his head so quickly, he must have been dreaming of it subconsciously for years. “A grove of trees as a windbreak around the house, one with a treehouse and a tire swing. Lots of open space for our kids to run.”

Her shoulders convulsed against him. Hell, it must be the job.

“I promise, I'll be home every night. It's
Dry Creek. It’s not like we've got a huge crime rate.”

She twisted out of his grasp, her head lowered.

“Beth, what is it?”

When she brought her teary gaze up to his, he held his breath, steadying himself as if for a physical blow.

“I can't give you that.”

“What do you mean?”

She laughed, the sound harsh and torn. “This is the ultimate case of not being able to have your cake and eat it too.”

“Beth…” His voice cracked, a poor imitation of the damage being done to his heart. She didn’t move, didn’t say a word, and Hank’s chest hurt as if it were splitting down the middle.

Then, her brown eyes softened around the edges.

His shoulders relaxed and his heart rate came back to normal. “So we'll work through this, whatever it is.”

Sighing, a look of forlorn kindness on her face, she brushed
his hair back from his forehead and brushed his cheek with a kiss. “No, we won’t.”

Her hand slid from his and she slipped into her dress.

Before he could utter a word, the door thumped against his back. He ignored it, but the knock came again.

“Uh, Beth, are you in there? It's me, Phil.” His words were muffled by the closed door, but the underlying desperation came through loud and clear.

In an instant, Hank was on full alert. What the hell? How had he found her here and why was he following her?

Beth slid her arms into her suit jacket. “What do you want, Phil?”

“It's about what we talked about at the coffee shop. You're right, I need to come clean, but please don't make me yell it through the door.”

An itchy sensation danced down his spine, but he looked through the peephole
and shucked on his pants. The fisheye view of Phil Harris showed him sweating and shifting his weight from foot to foot. Good so far, but still Hank couldn't shake the unease. Leaving the security lock on, he inched open the door. Damn, he'd be a shitload more comfortable if he hadn't had to leave his gun in Dry Creek. Eyeballing Harris through the slit, his body tensed, waiting for an unseen attacker.