Feel the Heat by Desiree Holt Page B

get away.
    “Lauren, baby. Wake up.”
    Someone was shaking her and she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe—
    “Come on, Lauren. It’s okay.”
    The voice was warm and familiar, the sound of it piercing the fog of her brain. She forced her eyes open and found herself looking directly into Troy’s eyes.
    “Troy?” She blinked. “What—How—” She looked at herself and realized she’d wound the top bedsheet around herself, trapping her body in its folds. She tried to unwind herself from it but only made it worse. She realized she was shivering yet her body was covered with a thin sheen of perspiration and she had trouble catching her breath.
    Another damn nightmare.
    She hadn’t had them for a long time. Hoped, in fact, that they were finally a thing of the past.
    Apparently not.
    “Easy, baby.” Troy’s hands were steady on her shoulders. “Jesus, Lauren, you scared the crap out of me. Take a deep breath and let me help you.”
    Lauren’s stomach was pitching like the deck of a ship in a storm, but she did her best to remain still while Troy carefully undid the sheet that she’d somehow wrapped around herself like a mummy. When the air cooled by the fan overhead hit her bare skin, goose bumps popped out everywhere.
    “Everything’s okay,” Troy murmured as he eased her back down onto her pillow. “Let’s get you warmed up.”
    “Are you sure no one can get into the house?” That had always been her greatest fear. It was the reason for all the deadbolts and the safety locks on the windows. For the alarm system, which until Mark looked at it she hadn’t realized was inadequate.
    “Positive. The house is safer than a bank vault.”
    Sliding back in beside her, he pulled the covers up and curled his body around hers, wrapping her in his warmth.
    “Bad dream?” he asked, stroking her hair, holding her tightly against his body.
    “Yes.” Bits and pieces of it came back to her. “It was terrible.”
    “Tell me about it.” His hand moved from her hair to caress her body, a soothing rather than a sexual touch.
    “I’d rather just forget it.” A shudder sliced over her as the memory of it came back sharp and vivid.
    “I think you’d feel better if you got it off your mind. Come on, Lauren. Let it loose.”
    Eyes closed, her head pressed against his shoulder, her hands resting on his chest, she gave him the bits and pieces of the dream that had nearly—and almost literally—strangled her. His hand never stopped stroking her, touching her, giving her a contact point of safety. Settling her nerves.
    “You know I’ll never let that happen,” he assured her.
    “I do.” And she meant it. “But what if you’re not here? What if—“
    But he pressed two fingers against her mouth. “No what-ifs. I will be here with you. Count on it. I think what you need to do is something to take your mind off the dream. Think you can manage that?”
    The tension eased from her body replaced by a slowly rising need.
    She smiled, “Maybe. What do you suggest?”
    “How about this for starters?”
    He rolled her to her back and bent his head over her, his kiss a gentle touch, his tongue tracing the outline of her mouth. The light caress sent tremors of anticipation racing over her skin. He kept the kiss light and gentle, teasing and tempting, until her arms came up to wrap around his neck. When she opened her mouth slightly his tongue swept in possessively, licking and tasting and coaxing.
    He explored every inch of her mouth before moving to her cheek and then that tender spot behind her ear. His mouth trailed down her neck with little nips and licks, while one warm palm cradled a breast. Using his thumb and forefinger, he lightly squeezed the already hardened nipple, drawing another soft sound of pleasure from her. She arched into his touch, eyes closed, feeling desire spread slowly through her, flooding her pussy.
    He took his time, working the one breast until she whimpered for more, then paying as much