Cat of a Different Color: Halle Pumas, Book 3 by Dana Marie Bell Page A

monkey-lovin’ and some graphic language.
     
    Enjoy the following excerpt for Felicity Stripped Bare :
    Still…in the minutes that had followed, holding her close, feeling their heartbeats slow to one synchronized beat, there had been a quiet fulfillment in that. It was unexpected, and that was warning enough to stay the hell away, but the memory of her little sighs and the way her body fit against his, teased at Daniel and he knew he wouldn’t.
     
    Which was how he ended up driving to Home Depot with her two days later. When he’d shown up at her door, her body language had been a billboard of rejection. He’d reexamined the showerhead and looked for signs of water damage in the immediate area then checked the pipes in the other units.
    She’d kept her distance and her silence, curled up on that ratty sofa in the main room of the flat, her head buried in a book.
    Finally he’d walked up to her, ignoring the hostility that rolled off her as she slapped the book shut and hugged it to her chest.
    “Was it so bad?” he’d asked. “When we kissed? Was it so damn bad?”
    He watched her blush deepen and his need grew, to hear her say the kiss had affected her also. That the memory, the hunger for more, also kept her up late at night.
    She’d stared back at him with those large gray eyes, her thoughts well hidden beneath their silvery depths. He wanted to know those secrets she kept hidden away.
    “It was just a kiss.”
    He shook his head. “It was more than that. Could be more. Sometimes life gives us opportunities, Felicity. Why not take them?” Now if that wasn’t the lamest speech he’d ever uttered. A couple nights of tossing and turning, and stroking himself to release, this is what he came up with?
    Yet what else he could have said? Certainly not anything that might even hint at the feelings congealed in his throat. Not that there was emotion involved here except attraction.
    He watched as she gave his words some thought, then a slow, tentative smile came across her face, and she hugged the book closer. That smile curled up in his chest. Nested there. Daniel had a sudden urge to sprint for the door.
     
    During the drive Felicity was silent, content to stare out the window at the old buildings that lined St. Clair Ave. West. She loved the vibrancy of the neighborhood with its mix of trendy bars, boutiques and old-fashioned fruit stands and butcher shops. It was home. She’d put down roots here. Finally.
    Besides, window-shopping gave her something to do, since Daniel didn’t seem inclined to make conversation over the music spilling from the radio. Instead he nodded his head and tapped the steering wheel to the selection of songs, while singing snatches off-key. And under his breath, thankfully.
    She was supposedly tagging along to pick out a showerhead of preference. But it felt like a date. Felicity started nibbling on her hangnail collection. “Why not?” he’d asked. And her belly had slithered down to her ankles and wrapped itself around them, while her next heartbeat played hide and seek.
    He was the candy in the jar that had been moved down to eye-level and he was telling her to reach right in and grab a handful…of his licorice.
    Felicity had never grabbed for anything in her life. It had always been a struggle just to keep up. Yet things had changed in the last year—she’d finally found the strength to leave Stuart and then the tutoring had come through. So…
    She glanced sideways at Daniel’s profile, softened by the sensuality of his mouth and thick sweep of lashes and thought, why not, indeed?
    Then she started thinking about his gumballs.
     
    When they arrived at Home Depot, Daniel parked the truck before hopping out and quickly making his way to her side of the cab to see her out. Felicity took his hand and was rewarded with a current of awareness that shot up her spine and smacked her in the back of her head.
    After that, she kept some distance between them as they walked towards