Playing with Fire by Amy O'Neill

around her waist and
lifted her so she was sitting on his lap. After taking her face in
his hands, he kissed her like he had never kissed any other woman.
Slowly, deliberately, he made love to her mouth.
    When he finally stopped, she let out a
whimper. Her lips were plump and red from being thoroughly kissed.
She moved slightly on his lap then froze. His arousal was
obvious.
    To his surprise, she didn’t scurry off
like he thought she would. Instead, she wet her lips with the tip
of her tongue and wrapped her arms around his neck. Noelle
repositioned herself she so was straddling him.
    He watched as she trepidatiously moved
her hands down the sides of his neck, across his chest, and down
his abdomen. He was amazed that his t-shirt didn’t burst into
flames as his skin burned for her to really touch him. He marveled
at how even a light touch felt as if he were being branded as
hers.
    Trent did his best to sit still as she
moved her hands over the mounds of his biceps and across his tanned
forearms, then back up to his shoulders. Their breathing was all he
could hear and everything else around them faded away.
    Noelle laced her fingers in the hair
at the nape of his neck and gave it a gentle, teasing tug. She
leaned forward and kissed him. He allowed her to set the
tempo.
    Her confidence seemed to grow as time
went on. Trent kept his hands at her waist, but used his thumbs to
gently rub along her hips. When he hardened further, she snuggled
down and let out a groan.
    “I know I should stop but this feels
really good.”
    It took a moment for him to clear his
throat. “It feels better than good. You are making it very hard to
behave.”
    She nipped at his ear, her voice soft
and sexy as silk on skin. “Oh, I can tell it’s hard
alright.”
    Trent groaned and flexed his fingers
on her waist to tighten what little grip be has left on his
self-control. “You little minx.”
    He took a deep breath and lifted her
up off his lap, only to lay her down next to him. “I think we
better simmer down before it goes farther than I think either of us
is ready for.”
    It took a moment, but she finally
nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”
    “You know that’s the second time
you’ve said that today and I like it.”
    Noelle batted at his arm. “Alright,
deflate the ego already!”
    Trent brushed the hair off her cheek
and gave her a light peck. “You really are bossy. You’re lucky I
like you so much.”
    She blushed. Her reply was a whisper.
“I like you too.”
    Before he could go all mushy he kissed
her once more then got up and helped her to her feet. “We’d better
get going. What do you think about meeting my friends
tomorrow?”
    “I can’t wait. As long as we get some
time alone again.”
    “Oh don’t worry about that. Alone time
is mandatory now.”
    An hour later, after another mini
make-out session in his car, Trent said goodbye to Noelle at her
door. He whistled to himself as he walked back to his
Corvette.
    His life had definitely taken an
unexpected turn in the last ten days, but he intended to enjoy the
journey as long as he could - and as long as Noelle was willing to
take it with him.

CHAPTER NINE
     
    Noelle tossed and turned in bed then
stared at the alarm clock. She’d repeated the process more than a
dozen times in the last hour.
    Could Trent really be right? Would it
be as simple as calling into the Batesville PD and saying she was
okay? Would it suffice? Or would Lenny track her down and hold up
to his word?
    It would be just her luck that the one
time Lenny actually followed through on something he said would be
the time it involved threatening her life.
    And then there was Trent. She felt
like she was rushing in, but just like a raft racing over the
rapids, she couldn’t seem to stop herself. It was exhilarating and
scary and challenging and satisfying all bundled into one sexy
package of a man.
    But what if he wasn’t what he seemed
either? Since the first time she’d seen Lenny in a