room to loom over her. One word cracked through her regret with the snap of a whip. "Why?"
Whatever she said was bound to reveal too much. "I had to tell the clinic doctor something she'd accept."
Thunderclouds developed in his eyes, reminding her of a tropical storm building on the ocean's horizon. "Tess."
"I know it was a dangerous thing to do, but I didn't want to bother you anymore." The hurried excuse sounded lamer stated aloud.
His finger swept over her mouth, erasing her half-truth. "But, that's not all, is it? You deliberately led me to believe you were involved with someone."
If her knees weren't shaking so badly from that one light touch she would have bolted from the accusation. "Dan, I'm sorry."
Her backside bumped against the cupboard when he trapped her by placing both hands flat on the counter. His heat seeped through her kimono, scorching her skin in ever-widening circles from two separate fronts. "'Sorry' doesn't tell me why you created a man to hide behind, Tess," he said, his voice low, rough. "Who the hell are you hiding from?"
Desire, desperately close to the surface whenever he was near, flared and released the words. "You...me...us."
Something tangible shifted in the air between them. Tess had taken a step off an emotional cliff, like a lemming seeking destruction, and she wasn't sure she'd survive the crash waiting for her on the rocks below.
"And we'd be a bad thing together, wouldn't we?"
His agreement shouldn't have hurt, but it did. "Terrible."
His head lowered until his lips were less than a promise away. "Then tell me, Tess, why 'terrible' feels so right because I'll be damned if I can figure it out."
Without waiting for a response he closed the infinitesimal distance between them, the emotional storm she saw in his eyes breaking on her lips in a hard, scorching kiss. There was demand in his kiss, a question. Weeks of restraint crackled between them, his or hers, she couldn't tell. Didn't care. All her fantasies had culminated in this one, primitive assault of his mouth.
An eternity later, Dan's fingers drifted through her hair, softening the caress, his palms cool against her hot cheeks. The world around her disappeared, until her only points of reference were Dan's hands and mouth, his scent, his breath mingling with hers.
There was nothing terrible about the way he plundered one corner of her mouth and slowly – God, ever so excruciatingly slowly – worked his way to the other side, little nips he soothed with his tongue. Each touch fanned the fire in her belly, setting off another series of goose bumps under her skin, until she shivered under the heat.
Sweet mercy, she wanted to make love to this man! His kiss, alone, held so much, promised everything. A tangle of emotions and feelings washed over her again and again, a cleansing tide, until she eagerly awaited the next wave. Anticipated it with delight. Expectation. Yearning.
Suddenly, kisses weren't enough. Her love-starved body screamed for more points of contact. A voice at the back of her mind whispered urgent messages that propelled her to touch the silky curls on Dan's chest, to draw closer so she could taste his warm skin.
He jerked back. "Whoa!"
Stunned by his abrupt withdrawal, Tess stared. "What's wrong?"
"If you don't want me," he said, a pained look on his face, "just say so. Pouring coffee into my pocket is a bit drastic."
"But, I didn't—"
She bit back the denial when she saw the empty mug in her limp hand, the dark stain spreading down the front of his jeans clearly defining his arousal. With a cry of horror at what she’d done, she brushed past him to pull an ice pack from the freezer. When she spun around she ran directly into Dan, crashed back against the open freezer dislodging stacks of TV dinners and pot pies which fell over her shoulders, bounced off his bare chest, and then scattered to the floor.
His hands closed on her arms. "What are you doing, Tess?"
How he could sound so nonchalant when
Whatever she said was bound to reveal too much. "I had to tell the clinic doctor something she'd accept."
Thunderclouds developed in his eyes, reminding her of a tropical storm building on the ocean's horizon. "Tess."
"I know it was a dangerous thing to do, but I didn't want to bother you anymore." The hurried excuse sounded lamer stated aloud.
His finger swept over her mouth, erasing her half-truth. "But, that's not all, is it? You deliberately led me to believe you were involved with someone."
If her knees weren't shaking so badly from that one light touch she would have bolted from the accusation. "Dan, I'm sorry."
Her backside bumped against the cupboard when he trapped her by placing both hands flat on the counter. His heat seeped through her kimono, scorching her skin in ever-widening circles from two separate fronts. "'Sorry' doesn't tell me why you created a man to hide behind, Tess," he said, his voice low, rough. "Who the hell are you hiding from?"
Desire, desperately close to the surface whenever he was near, flared and released the words. "You...me...us."
Something tangible shifted in the air between them. Tess had taken a step off an emotional cliff, like a lemming seeking destruction, and she wasn't sure she'd survive the crash waiting for her on the rocks below.
"And we'd be a bad thing together, wouldn't we?"
His agreement shouldn't have hurt, but it did. "Terrible."
His head lowered until his lips were less than a promise away. "Then tell me, Tess, why 'terrible' feels so right because I'll be damned if I can figure it out."
Without waiting for a response he closed the infinitesimal distance between them, the emotional storm she saw in his eyes breaking on her lips in a hard, scorching kiss. There was demand in his kiss, a question. Weeks of restraint crackled between them, his or hers, she couldn't tell. Didn't care. All her fantasies had culminated in this one, primitive assault of his mouth.
An eternity later, Dan's fingers drifted through her hair, softening the caress, his palms cool against her hot cheeks. The world around her disappeared, until her only points of reference were Dan's hands and mouth, his scent, his breath mingling with hers.
There was nothing terrible about the way he plundered one corner of her mouth and slowly – God, ever so excruciatingly slowly – worked his way to the other side, little nips he soothed with his tongue. Each touch fanned the fire in her belly, setting off another series of goose bumps under her skin, until she shivered under the heat.
Sweet mercy, she wanted to make love to this man! His kiss, alone, held so much, promised everything. A tangle of emotions and feelings washed over her again and again, a cleansing tide, until she eagerly awaited the next wave. Anticipated it with delight. Expectation. Yearning.
Suddenly, kisses weren't enough. Her love-starved body screamed for more points of contact. A voice at the back of her mind whispered urgent messages that propelled her to touch the silky curls on Dan's chest, to draw closer so she could taste his warm skin.
He jerked back. "Whoa!"
Stunned by his abrupt withdrawal, Tess stared. "What's wrong?"
"If you don't want me," he said, a pained look on his face, "just say so. Pouring coffee into my pocket is a bit drastic."
"But, I didn't—"
She bit back the denial when she saw the empty mug in her limp hand, the dark stain spreading down the front of his jeans clearly defining his arousal. With a cry of horror at what she’d done, she brushed past him to pull an ice pack from the freezer. When she spun around she ran directly into Dan, crashed back against the open freezer dislodging stacks of TV dinners and pot pies which fell over her shoulders, bounced off his bare chest, and then scattered to the floor.
His hands closed on her arms. "What are you doing, Tess?"
How he could sound so nonchalant when
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