Hot Licks by Jennifer Dellerman

concerned, he let it go. “We had to reinforce it. The floor is actually two feet higher then the rest of the attic, the ceiling four feet so we could add in some side windows for a cross breeze.”
    Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Cross breeze?” At his nod, she swiveled on her heel and made her way to the outside wall where several pairs of windows could, indeed, be slid open to let in fresh air. “Holy smokes.
    The top ones don’t open, do they?”
    “No, but they’re both thermal and solar.” he smiled at her look of look of bafflement. “They’re thick, made of bullet resistant glass and have a thin ceramic coating on the outside that traps the heat and pushes it to recharge the batteries we attached to them. It ended up being a smart idea because those batteries run a good portion of the house.”
    “Wow.”
    Rome shrugged, and Gwen found herself mesmerized by the way the white material of his shirt stretched over the muscles in his shoulder and the startling contrast it made to the darkness of his skin. Desire, briefly tamped down by the wonder of the solarium, flared back to life, exacerbated by the soft lighting, beautiful surroundings and earthy scents that bombarded her senses. Despite the storm raging outside she felt cocooned in an oasis, entrenched in a world where only she and Rome existed.
    He must have sensed the change in her because he cocked his head slightly, his eyes narrowing in concentration, his nostrils flaring. Between those slitted eyelids, his gaze became heated and focused. On her.
    Having all that masculine attention riveted on her was enough to send her nerves into a panicked jitter. She licked lips suddenly gone dry. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
    He slowly closed the distance between them, as if any quicker movement might cause her to fly away. He needn’t worry. Her feet seemed glued to the floor. “It’s my pleasure.”
    The drop in his tone, the husky sound that emerged from his throat caused another shiver to wash over her. “I should be getting back now.” Unfortunately her body wasn’t listening, and with each disappearing inch of space between them, she was finding it harder to make herself move.
    “Okay.” His easy acceptance only increased her unease, and she knew why when he added, “How about a thank you kiss?”
    Alarms shrieked in her head. No. Don’t do it. It’s a bad idea. Very bad idea , her brain yelled. She opened her mouth to deny him, but what popped out on a breathy whisper was, “Okay.”
    His features seemed to draw tight at her acquiescence and a flare of triumph lit his eyes right before his head lowered.
    The kiss wasn’t a soft brushing of his lips with hers.
    Not a tantalizing stroke of mouth against mouth. It was a devouring, as if he’d waited his whole life for this one moment. She felt the same and her lips parted instantly, allowing his tongue to stab deep into her mouth. The taste of him, hot and spicy with a dash of sin, was a carnal seduction. His hands reached around to cup the curve of her ass and pull her hips into alignment with his, settling her aching core against the hard length of his erection. On a wordless murmur of relief, she rocked into him.
    “Gwen.” At the raw hunger in his voice, her stomach seized. No one had ever said her name with such passion, such fierce need. As if she were essential to his very being.
    Trailing kisses down her jaw, he pressed his mouth to her neck, teasing and stoking her desire with clever lips and the slick glide of his tongue. She felt the edge of his teeth, a rasping tease that only made her hotter. Wetter.
    One leg rose to wrap around his waist, opening herself to the shallow thrusting of his hips. She clenched the material of his shirt with one hand while the other snaked around his neck to hold on tight as the world spun about her.
    She jerked at the warm touch of his hand on the bare skin of her back, under her shirt, her body screaming yes, yes as he undid her bra