Diamonds Can Be Deadly by Merline Lovelace Page B

moment.
    â€œYes, we did.”
    â€œToo bad we screwed everything up.”
    â€œMaybe not everything. Best I recall, there were one or two things we did pretty well.”
    She looked up and saw his mouth curve in a grin, but didn’t realize his intent until he slid a palm around her nape.
    â€œHold on, Scott! This is not a good idea. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re on an op here.”
    â€œI haven’t forgotten, Red. This is just for old time’s sake.”
    His lips brushed hers once, twice.
    Jordan knew she should pull away. Her head was whirling with everything he’d told her. And they still hadn’t discussed coordinating their actions on what was now a joint mission. Neither of them had any business indulging in a maudlin bout of nostalgia, however brief.
    Which didn’t explain why she shifted position and angled her mouth to his. Or why heat streaked through every inch of her body.

CHAPTER 8
    O ne kiss. That was all Jordan had intended. A taste of warm, wet mouth. A brief dance of tongues and teeth. Before she quite knew how it had happened, the kiss had morphed into a scene right out of From Here To Eternity.
    She remembered slicking her hands over TJ’s bare shoulders and back. And his low growl when he took her down with him onto the hard-packed sand. The next thing she knew, they were doing one heck of an imitation of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr sprawled in wild abandon while waves broke over them.
    â€œTJ!” she gasped as his mouth blazed a hot trail from her mouth to her throat. “This is insane!”
    â€œYeah, I know.”
    The surf rushed in, climbing higher onto the shore. Eddies foamed over Jordan’s legs. Her dress swirled up to her thighs. Feeling ridiculous and aroused and in imminent danger of drowning, she voiced no objection when TJ scooped her up and carried her to higher ground.
    Into the shadows, she noted with the minuscule corner of her brain still functioning. Hidden from anyone who might decide to stroll along the bluffs above the beach. The agent in her approved of his instinctive caution even as the female in her urged him to hurry.
    Her hazy worry that the break in mouth-to-mouth contact would snap them back to sanity disappeared when TJ stooped. Balancing her on one knee, he groped for the shirt she hadn’t noticed lying in the shadows and spread it into a makeshift beach blanket.
    The contrast between the warm, dry cotton under her back and the cool, sleek body that covered hers jolted every one of Jordan’s nerve endings. Breathing in his salty scent, she closed her eyes to the dark silhouette of the palms rustling far above them.
    She wasn’t as successful at closing her mind to the tiny voice inside her head. It kept whispering to her. Reminding her. This was TJ. The man she’d tumbled into love with once before. The man who’d walked away from her.
    A tug on the elasticized bodice of her dress silenced the nagging whispers. The bodice camedown. A moment later, the sodden skirt came up. Both ends met in a tangle around her waist.
    â€œI’d almost forgotten how beautiful you are.”
    His voice was low and rough, his callused palm prickly against her skin as he traced the curve of her breasts and waist and hips.
    â€œYou’re not so bad yourself.”
    She laid her palms against the smooth curve of skin and sinew. The feel of him tightened the muscles low in her belly. Her womb clenched and a liquid heat rushed through her veins, firing a hunger she hadn’t felt in so long she’d forgotten its potency.
    To hell with it. She’d sort everything out later. Right now, she wanted exactly what TJ was offering.
    â€œWe’ll play this different from last time,” she panted, fumbling for the snap on his jeans. “No hearts. No violins. No schmaltzy Sunday afternoons in the park. This is just sex, Scott. For old time’s sake.”
    He went still for a moment,