Hit 'N' Run (Under Suspicion #1) by Lori Power Page A

invitation before his tongue took command. His other palm slid down the span of her back to settle just above the curve her hip, urging her towards him. His lower body hardened in response to her proximity when her arms came up to twine around his neck. With dueling tongues, their lips meshed. His breathing became laboured, as though he were running a marathon. Moving his mouth along her jawline to her earlobe, he gently nipping and tugging his way down the length of her neck to settle at her pulse point.
    “Ahh,” she breathed, and he vibrated with longing. She was like putty, all melted longing, and he had a need to take her right there on the swing. “Mitch.”
    Smiling into the soft part of her neck, he said, “Is this what it takes for you to say my name correctly?”
    Her body stiffened, her head coming up, and Mitch moved his lips quickly to reclaim hers. The kiss deepened and he demanded more. To his surprise, she didn’t fight against the building passion. Instead, she enhanced the fire, returning his kiss, moving her hands to either side of his face, pulling him closer, her own fever adding fuel, blazing a trail across his cheek to his neck.
    One of her hands came down between them to unbutton his cotton shirt, sliding her hand inside across his taut nipple.
    “Lorna. I want you so badly,” he said, his own hand coming to rest on the outside of her dress. Her breasts seemed to strain against the thin barrier of the fabric.
    Mitch was only vaguely aware of splashing and singing sailing down on them from the open window until Lorna stiffened in his arms, pushing away from him. Sitting up straight, she adjusted her dress and ran a shaky hand through her hair. “What am I doing? W-we doing? I can’t do this. Not here. Not now. Not ever. Not with you.”
    Not with me? “What?”
    She pushed him back farther from her, creating distance. He registered the void, a deep hole. Something precious had been taken from him. Her hand twitched and she smoothed her hair into place. Her eyes, previously unfocused, turned to him with a penetrating stare, burning with golden flecks. “You have to go, Mitch. It’s getting late.”
    Trying to recapture the moment, he said. “It’s not a school day tomorrow, Mom. Can’t we stay up a little later?” He leaned forward, reaching for her to draw her back in, but she resisted, palms outstretched. She pulled away, widening the gulf.
    “I can’t. Not with you.”
    There it was again. “Why not with me? What’s the problem with me? Why was there always a problem with me?”
    She blinked a couple of times, owlishly. Shaking her head, she started to get up, but he reached for her arm, tugging her back down. “No, tell me, Lorna. What’s the problem with me?”
    With sparks in her eyes, her mouth thinned. “Why did you come here? What do you want from me? I have a child, a business, and a life. You can see I don’t do casual. You know that. That’s why it didn’t work. What do you want?”
    Emotions high, his temper replaced his passion and popped like a cork from the bottle. All the hurt he had carried around with him these last five years exploded. Wounds, which began and ended with Lorna. “What kind of bullshit is this? Why didn’t it work before? I want to know why you left me—strike that, I deserve to know.”
    He breathed deeply, gulping for air and paused to run a hand under his cap, shaking his head. “Maybe I need some closure after all these years. I didn’t initiate things, I let you have your space. I kept my distance when you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me, but then there was McNabs—and damn it, I need to know why the girl who seduced me at grad ran away. I want to know why I couldn’t find or contact you. I thought we had something special and then you just up and fuck off like our being together meant nothing at all. And you have the nerve to tell me you don’t do casual. For your information, I didn’t consider us casual. I’m