A Most Shocking Revelation by Kristi Gold

they’d asked him to join their elite club. But they’d all been sworn to secrecy when it came to their missions. “Basically we shoot the breeze. Talk about our jobs and pastimes, that sort of thing.”
    Val sent him a full-fledged grin that would have knocked the floor out from under his feet if he hadn’t already been sitting on it. “Maybe plotting the seduction of unsuspecting women?”
    â€œYeah, that has come up in the past, but not for a while now. All of the guys in the group are presently attached. Except for me.”
    She pulled a throw pillow from the sofa and circled her arms around it. “I still have a hard time believing you haven’t found the right woman.”
    He hadn’t really been looking. Until now. “A lot of women are turned off by the demands of my job, or so I’ve been told.”
    â€œYour merciless teasing could also be a deterrent.”
    He tugged the pillow from her clutches and tossed it back on the couch. “I reserve that behavior only for you.”
    â€œShould I be flattered?”
    He pushed her hair away from her shoulders and nuzzled his face in her neck. “Yes, you should definitely be flattered, darlin’.”
    â€œYou’re a class-A scoundrel.”
    He brought his lips to her ear. “I try, sweetheart.”
    â€œThe consummate bad boy.”
    â€œBut I can be real good.”
    â€œBi—” She glanced away. “Never mind.”
    â€œOkay.” Gavin took her earlobe between his teeth, applying only light pressure. When she shivered and sighed, he wrapped an arm around her and asked, “Are you cold, Val?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œNeither am I.” He cupped her jaw in his palm. “In fact, I’m downright hot.”
    He proved that to her with a hot kiss, taking her mouth without pause, all the while warning himself to take it easy. But easy wouldn’t adequately describe the way she responded to him, meeting his tongue with sultry strokes that threatened his declining control.
    For a time he was content with just having one arm wrapped around her, his hand tangled in her hair. But that was short-lived when she leaned closer and rested her arm across his belly. He slid his palm up her arm and tugged the baggy shirt down her shoulder to give him better access. Leaving her mouth, he worked his way along her neck, then back up again. He wanted that damn shirt gone. He wanted a lot more than he probably should.
    Good sense told him to back off, but he couldn’t lay claim to any sense at the moment. He made his way back to her mouth, wanting her closer. Needing her closer. With little effort he lifted her onto his lap to straddle his thighs. He broke the kiss to look at her—hair mussed and flowing around her face, eyes hazy. She locked her gaze firmly into his when he slid the shirt off her shoulders and down her arms, leaving her wearing only the tight knit top. He saw no signs of protest in her expression, no fear or hesitation. Against better judgment, he scooted down and bent his knees, sending her directly against his erection. Right now he didn’t care. He wanted to be that close to her even if clothing provided a barrier he preferred to be gone.
    With one hand on her nape, he brought her lips back to his and kissed her while he worked his hands beneath the back of the skimpy tank. No bra as an obstacle, only the smooth texture of bare flesh against his palms. He curled his hands around her sides and moved them up then down. He broke the kiss to watch her face as he grew bolder, using his thumbs to stroke the sides of her breasts.
    She didn’t tell him to stop, didn’t push him away, and that gave him the courage to say, “I need to see you.”
    Gavin pulled his hands from beneath the top and clasped the thin straps. He slid them down slowly, giving her another chance to stop him, but she didn’t. She did keep her arms at her sides until Gavin