Off Limits (2 page)

The glint in his sultry green eyes was now a warning rather than a tease.

Her pulse thrummed at her fingertips as she clasped her bound hands. Every other part of her body was frozen. And waiting for his next move.

His lips curved up into a half smile. “You broke my heart ten years ago. Do you remember that?”

Kara swallowed down the knot forming in her throat. “I remember you had a crush on me. You were young and—”

“I’m not that boy anymore.” His hands inched up to mid-thigh.

Her body quivered in response. More heat surged down her center and moistened her panties. If he only knew what he did to her.

What he’d always done to her.

It had been a sin to think of him this way when she’d been married. Was it sinful now? To want Clint’s younger brother so badly that her knees wobbled, her heart ached, and her cheeks flushed?

He had become her best friend over the past few years. Always, always, her ultimate fantasy.

Clint was right to divorce her. What other choice did he have when her mind and heart were always elsewhere? It was as if Austin had planted a seed inside her on her wedding day and it had grown into an insatiable monster.

Damn. Her marriage never had a chance. Well, that and her ex-husband had been cheating on her since day one.

Definitely no chance there.

“You’re right,” she said. “All I see is a man.”

Her shirt collar was getting uncomfortably snug around her neck, and her breasts felt swollen and achy under the close-fitting cotton fabric. She thanked God the room was too dim for him to notice how her nipples pebbled tight, anxious for his touch.

He moved closer, wedging his lean waist between her legs. “But I think you owe me for making me wait so long.”

Kara sucked in a breath. “Wait so long for what?”

Her mind was fuzzy and confused from his nearness. She’d never seen him this up close. The thin laugh lines that fanned his eyes and mouth were more distinct as he grinned at her. He pulled his bottom lip in to wet it. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

He was the most gorgeous man she’d ever known. And he was coming on to her.

Oh, God. What did a woman do when this happened? She’d been married for so long she’d forgotten what it felt like to be hit on. To be desired.

It didn’t help that she was handcuffed to a chair. Judging from how her captor wouldn’t stop smiling, he was enjoying her powerlessness. Her vulnerability, as he had put it.

Was he really still upset that she’d sent him away ten long years ago?

Of course not. He was playing with her. That had to be it. Why would he want her now? When all he dated were cute, chirpy twenty-somethings?

His hands eased up to grip her hips. His fingers were hot even through the denim. “Tell me, Kara, why I shouldn’t take you into the station and book you?”

“What? Why?” Her voice squeaked. He couldn’t be serious. He knew how she’d always followed the straight and narrow path, never getting into trouble with the law. Never even getting a speeding ticket. Heck, her whole life had been one huge boring yawn, from the day she’d turned in her first homework assignment a week early to the day she’d married the man
her parents
had loved.

Breaking into Clint’s house had been the only crime she’d ever committed.

When Austin didn’t answer her, she scrambled. “I only did it to retrieve the charm bracelet you gave me for my birthday two years ago. I missed wearing it, and Clint refused to hand it over. He said he threw it away, but I needed to find out for myself.”

Austin’s smile dissolved, and a familiar expression took its place. The one he showed whenever he found out Clint had intentionally or unintentionally done something to hurt her. She’d seen the clenched jaw and narrowed eyes more than she liked to admit.

“That son of bitch. Kara, I’ll buy you a new one, I promise. You don’t need to stoop to his level. You’re better than that.”

“It’s okay. You don’t—”

His lips closed over hers, making her gasp. The shock didn’t last long, though, as his firm warm lips manipulated and molded. A perfect fit. Yep, every single thing about him was perfect.

She kissed him back, unable to control the overwhelming need. His lips were powerful and hungry, but he maintained a tenderness she’d never thought existed in a kiss.

All her feelings for Austin poured out, like the gate to her heart was open wide and bleeding from her chest. It was both scary and thrilling, and she wasn’t sure if she should at least attempt to close it halfway. For her heart’s sake.

His tongue slipped between her lips, urging them to open for him. And she did so without question. Her body had been denied too long. She indulged in his essence. The taste of his velvety tongue was more decadent than the darkest chocolate. He tasted smooth and minty. Fresh breath. He was always so fresh and clean.

She dared to meet his movements with her own, drawing him in farther. She wanted to savor him, make this kiss last forever.

But he had other plans. He drew his mouth down her jaw line, to the sensitive column of her throat. A groan rumbled from somewhere in his chest. “Your shirt,” he murmured and deftly worked the buttons loose.

One. Two. Three. All of them. Within seconds.

He peeled her blouse back and continued kissing and licking her feverish skin. Her heart throbbed an almost painful beat and she panted. Desire battled with her lack of confidence.

Her bra was fairly new, thank God, but what would he think of a thirty-eight year old woman’s breasts when he was used to someone firmer, younger?

Not that she was horribly gross. She liked her breasts, the soft feel of them, the full roundness. But they weren’t what they used to be.

All thoughts evaporated as he kissed his way down the slope of her breast, then licked at her pebbled nipple through the black lace of her bra.

“Oh, wow.” She moved to touch him
anywhere,
but she’d forgotten she was restrained by the damn handcuffs. “Austin, please.”

“Stop squirming, Kara. I’ve waited too long for this.” His brows drew together as he closed his lips around her nipple and sucked it into his mouth.

Hot moisture seared her nerve endings, sending sparks of pleasure shooting to her core. He sucked her in so tight, pain mixed with pleasure.

“Ah, God.” Her pussy ached for him, and the seam of her jeans pressing against her femininity didn’t help much. She wriggled against the strain, attempting to soothe some of her need.

It was no use.

He moved to the other breast, but this time he pushed her bra down to reveal her naked flesh. Her cheeks burned as he took a moment to admire her. At least she hoped it was admiration.

From the heaviness of his eyes, she guessed it was a lustful gaze. She wished he would say something.

Then finally, the words, “So fucking beautiful,” stung the air and she released a pent up breath.

He molded her flesh in his large rough hands and brushed the pad of his thumb over her sensitive nipple. “I want to see all of you, Kara.”

She tried to speak, to say something, but her words stuck in her throat. Her entire body trembled at the thought of seeing all of
him
. She had a good feeling she wouldn’t be disappointed. She’d seen him in his swim trunks and the man had muscles upon lean muscle. Corded and gorgeous.

He ran his knuckle down her abdomen, and she held in a deep breath. Her ex-husband hadn’t liked her stomach. He’d complained she was too thick in the middle and didn’t look good in bikinis. He never touched her there.

So when Austin lowered his mouth and kissed a path to the top of her jeans, stopping to lick at her navel, she had to bite back a moan. Her skin was ultra sensitive and immediately prickled under his attention.

She had to wonder what he would do to her other neglected areas. She’d been divorced for six months and before that, Clint hadn’t made love to her for an entire year.

Don’t think of him, Kara
. It would only depress her, knowing she’d given him so much of her life.

What had she been missing?

Austin peeled open the top button to her jeans and unzipped. The
zip
seemed to echo throughout the generous living room. The only other sounds were her ragged breath and her pulse beating at her temples.

He slipped his fingers in the sides of her jeans. “Lift your ass, Kara. I’m going to make you forget all your worries.”

Holy shit. Like a robot obeying a command, she lifted her bottom, and he slid her jeans and panties down in one swoop, easily taking off her ankle socks and tennies in the process.

She shivered as the room-temperature air breezed against her skin. Exposed. She was exposed. And sitting on a hard chair in her ex-husband’s home. This was so unlike her.

What was she thinking?

Hell, she was thinking Austin was going to make her forget all her worries. She believed him. She trusted him. Like no other person in her life, she needed him.

“Ah, sugar.” His sultry green gaze swept over her, from her bare breasts, to the triangle of black hair covering her mound, to her rose painted toes.

She shook with both need and anxiety.

Finally, he met her eyes. “You’ve just shattered every fantasy I’ve ever had about you into a million pieces.”

“Is it that bad?” She wasn’t sure whether to be surprised that he’d fantasized about her or horrified that she’d mangled the fantasies.

“No, Kara.” He caressed her cheek and kissed her lips sweetly. “You’re that good. Don’t you know?”

“I know that I want you.” The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them.

“Mmm.” He bit into his bottom lip. “How much?”

Why stop now, Kara
? She’d been so good for so long. And something about Austin made her want to be really bad.

She cleared her throat. “Every time I see you walk into a room my thighs tremble and my heart races.”

He glanced away for a moment as if he’d been hit by surprising news. When his gaze returned, the determination was back in place. “Every time? For how long?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Since the divorce or before that?”

“I don’t want you to think less of me.”

His warm hands braced her cheeks. “Trust me, Kara, I won’t.”

“It started after the wedding.” She licked her dry lips. “And it’s grown.”

He blew out a short breath. “I had no idea. You’ve wanted me for that long?”

She nodded, hoping their friendship could survive this round of honesty.

He muttered a curse and stood. The briskness of his walk as he made his way to the coffee table was enough to put her on edge. He wanted her vulnerable. Well, here she was.

He snatched up something from the table, something tiny that had been lying by his gun, and strode back behind her. He quickly released the handcuffs, setting her free.

She rubbed her wrists and blinked away the tears burning her eyes. If there was a way to forget this entire evening, she’d do it in a heartbeat. Damn him for making her feel this way.

She reached for her jeans, but he clasped a hand over her forearm and yanked her to his steel hard chest. He was almost a foot taller than her five and half feet, but their bodies melded seamlessly. Deceitful butterflies fluttered in her belly.

He crushed his lips over hers. The previous tenderness was replaced by desperate raw hunger. His tongue didn’t wait for an invitation as he thrust it into her mouth. His hands kneaded into her hair and clung to her scalp.

She didn’t fight him. She wanted him. With a passion that stunned her. Her mind was not her own as she clawed at his T-shirt, trying to find some way to get it off him. She needed to feel his bare skin. To touch him finally. He pulled back briefly to help her, ripping the shirt over his head, then latching his lips back onto hers.

Her hands searched his chest, his stomach, his back. All the places she’d memorized with her eyes, she could now feel with her fingertips. And God, did he feel good.

His shoulders and chest were broad and muscled. They tapered nicely down to his lean waist. His abdomen clenched and bunched when she ran her fingers over his rippled muscle.

She sucked eagerly on his tongue, showing him she wanted more. This was so much better than any fantasy.

And yet so much scarier.

Her heart teetered on the edge of a sharp razorblade. But her body continued to drive forward. She worked on his jean buttons, popping them open as they strained against his thick erection.

There was no turning back. She reached inside the elastic waistband of his boxer briefs, but he caught her wrist before she could grip him.

He ripped away from the kiss and peered down at her. His eyes were dark, a storm breaking loose behind them. “You’re going to let me lead, understood?”

She nodded but couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”

“I’ve felt helpless seeing you with another man for the last ten goddamn years. And to know that you’ve wanted me too all that time makes me a little crazy. Can you understand that?”