traced the contours of her bra and then, when she arched into his touch, cupped her fully, cradling her erect nipples in the crooks of his thumbs so he could rub, gently at first and then with increasing pressure as she moaned her pleasure.
Lust stampeded through him and their kiss went wetter, turning carnal. He was dying to strip her naked, wanted to be naked himself, skin on skin, so he could kiss every inch of her, lick his way into her secret moistness, and—
Jack froze as the rules—and the mistakes that had helped him craft them—came crashing in on him. His eyes flew open and he stilled within the kiss, withdrawing his tongue but not breaking the connection of their lips.
Oh, holy hell. What was he doing? This wasn’t date ten, wasn’t date three. It wasn’t even a date. It was… Damn it, he didn’t know what it was, except that this wasn’t him. It wasn’t the way he did things, wasn’t the way he wanted to live his life.
He didn’t know when or if she opened her eyes, didn’t know what she was thinking or feeling; he knew only that his hands were on her breasts, her taste in his mouth and things had gone way too far for his peace of mind.
Although she must have felt the tension in his body, her lips curved against his and lingered for a soft, chaste kissbefore she drew away, and there was a husky, aroused rasp in her voice when she said, “See what I mean, Detective? Fireworks.”
Yeah. There was no question about that.
Clearing his throat, he dropped his hands from her breasts to her hips, where he smoothed down her shirt for a moment, knowing he had to let go, but not quite ready to stop touching her. Needing to, though, he pushed away from the railing, bringing their bodies once more flush before he took a big step back, away from her.
The night air was very cool on his body, chilling the places that were warm from her touch. “That was… Wow.”
She laughed. “I’ll take that and send it back in your direction because it was ‘wow’ for me, too.” She paused, and there was a new, more searching note in her voice as she said, “So, what do you say? Just a few days, no harm, no foul, all fun, completely off the books and only when we’re safely inside the perimeter here, so you don’t need to be watching either of our backs. Come on…what can it hurt?”
But that was the thing, wasn’t it? Because going into something knowing it was temporary didn’t necessarily stop it from hurting.
“I can’t.” He almost looked around to see who had said that, but he didn’t because he knew the words had come from him. And he knew they were the right ones, no matter how much it sucked to turn her down. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it, not like this. You’re amazing. But this…it isn’t me.”
There was a weighty pause before she said, “Is it because of the job? Because you’re protecting me?”
“No, I’m protecting me, and it doesn’t have anythingto do with the job. I…I just don’t do casual, Tori. I’m not wired that way. The couple of times I’ve tried to keep it light, I’ve gotten in too deep anyway. And with those ladies, I didn’t start out feeling half of what I’m feeling right now.”
“We could…” She trailed off, though, and sighed. “Well, damn.”
“Exactly. We can make all the inner promises we want, but whatever’s between us, whatever that was just now, it’s not something we’re going to be able to negotiate with. I don’t know about you, but just now I wasn’t thinking about anything but what I wanted to do to you, what I wanted us to do together.” Even saying it like that brought new heat thudding in his veins.
In the starlight, he could barely make out the curve of lips gone moist and full with their kisses. “When you put it that way, it’s hard to be offended.”
“Don’t be. Please.”
“I’m not. Really, I’m not. Disappointed, yes. Turned on and looking at a long, restless night? Definitely. But I’ve got a
Lust stampeded through him and their kiss went wetter, turning carnal. He was dying to strip her naked, wanted to be naked himself, skin on skin, so he could kiss every inch of her, lick his way into her secret moistness, and—
Jack froze as the rules—and the mistakes that had helped him craft them—came crashing in on him. His eyes flew open and he stilled within the kiss, withdrawing his tongue but not breaking the connection of their lips.
Oh, holy hell. What was he doing? This wasn’t date ten, wasn’t date three. It wasn’t even a date. It was… Damn it, he didn’t know what it was, except that this wasn’t him. It wasn’t the way he did things, wasn’t the way he wanted to live his life.
He didn’t know when or if she opened her eyes, didn’t know what she was thinking or feeling; he knew only that his hands were on her breasts, her taste in his mouth and things had gone way too far for his peace of mind.
Although she must have felt the tension in his body, her lips curved against his and lingered for a soft, chaste kissbefore she drew away, and there was a husky, aroused rasp in her voice when she said, “See what I mean, Detective? Fireworks.”
Yeah. There was no question about that.
Clearing his throat, he dropped his hands from her breasts to her hips, where he smoothed down her shirt for a moment, knowing he had to let go, but not quite ready to stop touching her. Needing to, though, he pushed away from the railing, bringing their bodies once more flush before he took a big step back, away from her.
The night air was very cool on his body, chilling the places that were warm from her touch. “That was… Wow.”
She laughed. “I’ll take that and send it back in your direction because it was ‘wow’ for me, too.” She paused, and there was a new, more searching note in her voice as she said, “So, what do you say? Just a few days, no harm, no foul, all fun, completely off the books and only when we’re safely inside the perimeter here, so you don’t need to be watching either of our backs. Come on…what can it hurt?”
But that was the thing, wasn’t it? Because going into something knowing it was temporary didn’t necessarily stop it from hurting.
“I can’t.” He almost looked around to see who had said that, but he didn’t because he knew the words had come from him. And he knew they were the right ones, no matter how much it sucked to turn her down. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it, not like this. You’re amazing. But this…it isn’t me.”
There was a weighty pause before she said, “Is it because of the job? Because you’re protecting me?”
“No, I’m protecting me, and it doesn’t have anythingto do with the job. I…I just don’t do casual, Tori. I’m not wired that way. The couple of times I’ve tried to keep it light, I’ve gotten in too deep anyway. And with those ladies, I didn’t start out feeling half of what I’m feeling right now.”
“We could…” She trailed off, though, and sighed. “Well, damn.”
“Exactly. We can make all the inner promises we want, but whatever’s between us, whatever that was just now, it’s not something we’re going to be able to negotiate with. I don’t know about you, but just now I wasn’t thinking about anything but what I wanted to do to you, what I wanted us to do together.” Even saying it like that brought new heat thudding in his veins.
In the starlight, he could barely make out the curve of lips gone moist and full with their kisses. “When you put it that way, it’s hard to be offended.”
“Don’t be. Please.”
“I’m not. Really, I’m not. Disappointed, yes. Turned on and looking at a long, restless night? Definitely. But I’ve got a
Similar Books
