Incandescent by Madeline Sloane Page B

caging her. “Since the moment I
met you,” he confessed, and then kissed her.
    Her mouth blossomed and her tongue danced
with his. She tasted champagne and wedding cake.
    “Tell me you want me, too, Anna,” he cajoled,
his hands dropping to her hips, holding her against him.
    Anna felt breathless with need for him. “I
do,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.
    Slipping a hand under her short skirt, he
stroked the back of her thigh. “Where’s your room?”
    Instead of answering, she reached behind her
and turned a knob. The door swung open and she and Aaron stumbled
into the dark room.
    “You’re not getting away this time,” she
said. She pulled him with her as she backed to the bed and sat.
Aaron sank to his knees, his arms wrapped around her waist, his
cheek pressed to her breasts.
    Light spilled in through the open door,
illuminating her but leaving Aaron in the shadows. “I can’t see
you,” she whispered. She arched over him, reaching for the small
lamp on the nightstand. She cupped the sides of his face and
studied him in the soft, warm glow. She traced the arching black
eyebrows, the sharp cheekbones, the full upper lip. Her thumb
rubbed his bottom lip before dropping to his cleft chin. “Are you a
demon?” she wondered aloud. “How can someone look so frightening
and so gorgeous at the same time?”
    A frown creased his forehead. “Are you afraid
of me?”
    Instead of answering, Anna sought his mouth,
licking his lips and taunting his tongue with hers.
    She drew back. “Should I be?”
    “Never,” he promised. “I’m the good guy,
remember?”
    She slid her hands down his shoulders and
around his back. She touched the outline of hard steel beneath his
shirt. She froze. “What is that?”
    “It’s alright. The safety’s on,” he assured
her, pulling the handgun from its shoulder holster and placing it
on the floor next to the bed.
    “You brought a gun in here? Did you have it
at the wedding? I should ask if you’re afraid of me.” She looked
into his eyes and saw secrets. “I hope you brought more protection
than a gun,” she added wickedly.
    He tangled a hand into her hair and dragged
her mouth to his.
    The room became hot, her clothes stifling.
She leaned out of his embrace and reached under his shirt, her
fingers sliding over warm muscle. With eyes pinning his, she tugged
his shirt until the buttons opened and it slid off his shoulders.
She flung it into a corner of the room. She reached for the hem of
her shirt. Both it and her tank top landed atop the small heap of
clothes.
    Anna sank onto the quilted bed, pulling Aaron
into her arms, her creamy white breasts a contrast to his dark skin
and black hair. Sinuous, she moved against him, gasping when his
lips finally closed around a taut nipple. She caught his wrist and
placed his hand between her thighs. He pushed her skirt to her
waist and tugged her panties down, tossing them aside. It was her
turn to moan.
    “You are so soft,” he whispered against her
fevered neck.
    Her questing hands stroked his ribs before
heading lower, forging a path through dark hair before unsnapping
his pants and lowering the zipper. With a wicked grin, she rolled
him over. She lowered her head and her tongue darted around,
swirling and stroking as she inched his pants down his hips. He
groaned aloud. “Stop. Don’t move,” he warned.
    “Not this time, mister,” she growled, hiking
her skirt and straddling him.
    He bought several seconds of sanity sliding a
hand between them. “Just a moment,” he whispered, his voice husky
with desire. He moved his free hand into his back pocket for his
wallet and a condom. He tossed the wallet aside, then ripped the
small foil packet open with his teeth. He grinned and said, “I’m
going to need two hands for this.”
    Anna plucked it from him “I’ll help,” she
offered, sitting back on her heels and giggling as she fitted it in
place and rolled it down.
    “I’ve never done that before,” she