“Good morning, Detective,” she said in a smooth-as-honey tone, sleep still evident in her eyes.
“Good morning. Did you sleep all right?”
Emma nodded. “Very comfortable, thank you.” Once the polite necessities were over she got right to the point. “Melissa’s feeling better this morning?”
He gave a brief nod.
“So, you like me,” she commented with an impish smile on her sleepy face.
She looked lost in his shirt, making the mistake of crossing her arms. Suddenly the hem was sliding higher than mid-thigh, giving Mike a better view of those shapely legs.
“Maybe just a little,” he replied, holding his hand up and making a gesture with two fingers showing her how much. “Do you like me?” He took a step up, then another. A burst of laughter escaped Emma, her cheeks coloring a becoming shade of rose. Mike had the sudden urge to run his hands through the wild hair falling around her shoulders, knowing that even as it appeared tangled it would be silky and full of life.
“Maybe just a little,” she said, mimicking his words and his gesture. “Now that we have that settled, what’s next?”
He took a step up, his eyes holding hers captive.
“You look kind of hungry, Detective.”
“I’m ravenous,” he said simply, taking another step, his eyes moving over her like she was the next best thing to chocolate. All at once he untied his robe, slipping it off and letting it fall to the floor behind him.
In turn Emma began to slowly unbutton her shirt, mildly surprising Mike.
“I think you’re going the wrong way. The kitchen is that way.” She indicated the direction with a sweep of her arm, her gaze running down his length. “I like the sexy, low-hanging pajama bottoms,” she said outrageously.
Mike ignored her last comment. “Maybe what I’m hungry for isn’t in the kitchen,” he explained in a teasing drawl, continuing his slow ascent.
With every step Emma undid another button.
His mouth began to water with anticipation, his gaze falling briefly to take in the narrow strip of honeyed flesh she exposed. No bigger than an inch but with enough power to send a strong man to his knees.
“I haven’t been able to get last night out of my mind. The way you responded. Your flushed beauty. I have a hankering to see it again.”
Holding her ground in spite of his obvious intentions, Emma asked huskily, “Really? And how do you plan to do that?” She undid the button between her breasts. The last button.
Now Mike was the one laughing, but it didn’t stop his progress as he took the last two steps to reach her. His gaze dropped to the triangle piece of lace that covered the heart of her, recalling the night before when he’d held and caressed her. And his finger had slipped inside her honeyed warmth until she’d come.
She didn’t back down or show the slightest inkling of doubt when he reached forward, slipping his hands inside the shirt at her waist and giving a sharp pull until she was flush against him. Her head fell back and her lips parted with pleasure when his hands continued around to caress the satiny half-moons of her naked buttocks.
“How about if I just show you?” he said hoarsely, before leaning down to give her mouth a tender kiss. He’d meant it to be a brief sampling but the taste of mint on her mouth held him captive.
When he broke the kiss, she murmured, “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed your toothbrush.”
The thought of her using something so personal of his, so intimate, fueled Mike’s need. He lost himself in a more thorough kiss, practically devouring her soft lips. Her moan of pleasure calmed his fears that he was hurting her. She wound her arms around his neck and held him even closer, the lower half of her body moving purposefully against his, and firing his blood. And fueling his hunger to gigantic proportions.
Yet as turned on as Mike was, he was clear-minded enough to realize the dangerous position they were in at the top of the stairs. With a growl of frustration he scooped Emma up in his arms and headed for his bedroom. Her mirrored cry of disappointment turned into a small whimper. Glancing down, Mike felt his heart slam in his ribs at the wider strip of smooth flesh revealed by his actions, the tempting curve of her full breasts.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but I want to do this right. Tumbling down a flight of steps isn’t in my plans.”
She smiled but remained silent.
When he reached the foot of his bed he gently lowered Emma to her feet, turning her in his embrace and kissing her hungrily, like he was never going to let her go. His hands again slipped inside her shirt pulling her to him, and keeping her close to his aroused body.
However, Emma needed no persuasion. She willingly melded against his length, her soft moans of pleasure echoing through his bedroom.
His hands began to roam over her satiny skin with purpose, smoothing up and down her back before exploring the sensuous curve of her hips. Her flesh was soft as a rose petal, and just as fragrant, begging Mike to taste her. When his mouth left hers she cried out with protest but he didn’t go far. He ran his tongue along the arch of her throat and over her collarbone, nipping her tenderly as he went along.
She began to tremble wildly in his arms, mewling softly. Clutching him to her, she strained against his hard-on until he nearly sank to the floor in weakness. He nudged the shirt aside so he could continue his erotic journey, tasting her, following the line of her collarbone with his lips as his hands searched for pleasure points that left her whimpering and gasping with pleasure.
Her hands fell to his pajama bottoms, her fingers confident in their quest to undo the drawstring. The material parted slightly, but instead of slipping her hands inside as Mike silently yearned for her to do, she was content to tease and explore him from the outside. The muscles in his legs quivered when her trailing fingers raked up and down his hard cock. He felt a hotness in his loins that signaled how easy it would be for her to send him over the edge.
“Emma, sweet Emma!” He pushed his erection against her teasing fingers, silently pleading with her for more. “You’re going to tease me into spoiling the moment for us if you’re not careful,” he rasped in a hoarse tone.
“Really?” she gasped with pleasure, the light in her smoky eyes revealing her desire. “No willpower, Detective?” she asked huskily, trembling uncontrollably.
“Two can play at that game, sweetheart,” he warned raggedly, looking deeply into her eyes. As he held her gaze his hands slid up to her collarbone, beneath the shirt, slowly moving the material until it glided over her shoulders and down her arms, landing in a heap at their feet. His fingers went to the triangle of lace between her legs and without hesitation gave a sharp tug.
Emma gasped, her eyes rounding when she glanced down to see the thong hanging in Mike’s hands.
For the first time she was completely naked before him.
Mike was certain he was seeing perfection. His warm gaze traveled over her hungrily, taking his time in a visual caress that almost did him in. She was no slim-hipped maiden blushing with embarrassment, but a shapely woman with enough curves to fill his hands and satisfy his every need, with enough confidence in her sexuality to stand completely nude before him, taunting him with her rose-tipped breasts and slender waist, the sensuous flare of her hips and thighs.
The hair covering her wet pussy.
She surprised him by saying softly, “I believe it’s your turn, Detective.”
A grin played upon his mouth. “I believe I undressed you,” he pointed out in a sexy voice, leaving no doubt to what his meaning was.
Emma reached forward, her fingers taking hold of the waistband of his pajamas. “If you insist,” she breathed gently, not showing the least bit hesitation. “I think I can handle this.” She slowly began to peel his pajama bottoms from him.
Mike wasn’t sure he could handle it. Their gazes clung. When Emma dropped to her knees before him to complete the task he felt her warm breath upon his torrid flesh, and closed his eyes tightly trying to think of something
else. Yet nothing came to mind other than the wicked thought of her loving him with her sweet mouth, again. He prayed for inner strength, and patience.
His very salvation.
“Damn…” He let go weakly, his eyes bolting open when he felt the unexpected. Before rising to her feet, Emma had leaned forward, giving his throbbing shaft a lingering sweep of her tongue.
“You have a nice body,” she whispered with obvious pleasure, rising gracefully before him.
Mike grabbed her shoulders, the blood pounding in his veins. He lowered his mouth to hers, devouring its softness. Swallowing her moans of hunger and acceptance, answering the trust of her eager little tongue with his.
One hand slid down her taut stomach to the swell of her hips, exploring her thighs and then moving up slowly. Emma stiffened slightly when his fingers tested her willingness and gently slipped between the damp folds protecting her clit. She was wet and warm, and swollen like a berry.
“Did I hurt you?” He pulled back slightly, waiting for her response.
She shivered. “God no! You’ll hurt me if you don’t continue. I want you, Mike. I want you inside me so badly I can’t…”
His savage kiss cut her off; the picture her words conjured up fired the lustful emotions in him until he’d reacted out of control. She arched against him; the feel of her dampness and heat against his pulsing flesh the final straw. With barely controlled restraint, he gently eased her down onto the bed, following her there and covering her body with his.
Emma welcomed him with an eager show, wrapping her arms around him, parting her thighs and arching against his throbbing hardness. She returned his ardent kisses, explored wherever she could reach him with her tongue and open mouth. Murmured heated words against his ear that were meant to enflame him even more.
His hand curled around her breast, bringing the tempting fruit to his mouth as the need to taste a taut nipple overcame him. She cried out when his mouth closed around her, his tongue continuing the torture once he had her stiff nipple inside. Her hands fell to his head, her fingers threading through his thick hair.
“Mike!” she gasped, then again when one hand trailed down her body to the spot between her legs.
He slipped a finger inside; the wet heat of her muscles closed around him, holding him imprisoned.
“What, sweetheart? Tell me what pleases you.”
“Oh, Mike…” Emma began to thrash her head against the pillow, her hips moving uncontrollably when he teased and explored her hungry flesh with tender strokes, gliding over the nub of her desire until she was twisting beneath him. “Please…”
Mike moved to her other breast, loving it with the same amount of attention and zeal he’d given the first. She had beautiful breasts. She was beautiful. Nothing else mattered.
He was going to love Emma the way she deserved to be loved.
Because he loved her.
Chapter 21
Tears slipped through Emma’s closed lids as Mike made love to her in a tender, loving way. Taking his time and seeing to her every need, as well as his own, loving every square inch of her as though she was a goddess. Someone he cherished. As if he loved her.
She didn’t know how much more she could take as his mouth moved over her aching breasts in a scorching path, firing the hunger in her a thousand times over with his teasing tongue and gentle teeth. Her fingers clutched his head, torn between pulling him away and holding him closer. Never had she experienced such shattering pleasure, not even in her wildest dreams. His touch sent currents of desire licking through her, forcing her to match his urgency with her own lusty demands.
Man against woman, flesh against flesh, her breasts tingled against Mike’s hair-roughened chest. He seemed to take great pleasure in torturing her hungry, aching flesh, teasing her until she was squirming with need. His hands were everywhere at once, finding the pleasure points that nearly drove Emma mad. Suddenly he moved, seeking a different pleasure.
“Mike!” she gasped. His roaming mouth deserted her swollen breasts, searing a trail along her rib cage to her stomach and heading for the spot his fingers were tenderly exploring. She wasn’t certain she would be able to stand that particular torture again, even while half of her yearned for it.
“Mike…” She squirmed beneath him, but not because she wanted to escape what he was doing to her, but because his skilled touch sent her to even higher levels of ecstasy. She moaned in sweet agony when his mouth replaced his probing finger.
“Mike!”
The exquisite feeling of his warm, raspy tongue sliding inside her was more than Emma could bear. She shuddered as a sweeping sensation exploded through her body, signaling the end was fast approaching. She tensed. “Mike, please, I need you now.”
Whether it was the desperation in her tone or the fact he sensed her close release, Mike crawled up her body until he was poised at the brink of her womanhood. Emma’s hands fell to his taut buttocks, urging him inside. Urging him home. Her body was quivering beneath him, her breathing ragged.
Their eyes met, glazed with desire.
“What are you waiting for?” she gasped with bewilderment, feeling control slipping away as an explosion of liquid fire consumed her. She strained toward Mike’s powerful erection, feeling the pulsing tip of him at the gates. Teasing and waiting, but for what? Why didn’t he take her?
As the first wave of a powerful climax overwhelmed Emma, he thrust forward, intensifying the effect as his hard flesh brushed against the pleasure spot his tongue had manipulated. Her scream was lost on his lips, her hands clenching his buttocks the same time her legs wound around his hips. Another wave and another hit Emma, leaving her body jerking in uncontrollable pleasure beneath him.
“That’s what I was waiting for,” he said in a low growl, wrenching his mouth from hers.
He didn’t move. Just lay there between her thighs until the spasms gradually changed into tiny tremors.
“I wanted to feel your orgasm when it hit,” he admitted in a ragged voice, kissing Emma between words. “Even now your muscles are caressing me, drawing me toward my own release.”
She was too exhausted to speak, barely managing to lean forward enough to give his chin a gentle bite. She clenched her muscles tighter around his throbbing penis, whimpering when his hips finally began to move. Each thrust was drawn out in a long, slow sweep of his hard flesh joining hers, sinking deeply inside her body, and caressing her womb. And it was Mike’s undoing when she leaned forward, twirling her tongue around his nipple and tugging at the small, taut nub with a careful love bite.
His low grunt pleased Emma immensely and she attacked his other nipple. He picked up speed, his movements almost wild as his need escalated out of control. Her hips left the bed each time to meet his downward thrust, her hands learning his hard, muscular body in an excited search as they moved in exquisite harmony with one another.
The turbulence of his passion swirled all around Emma, the recently banked fire surging through her blood once again, more than matching her need to his. Mike began to thrust without control, wild in a way that revealed his hunger, his power. She tightened her muscles around his pounding flesh knowing it would give him pleasure. He grunted low, clutching Emma to him. The force of his powerful climax was pure and explosive, ending with a final deep plunge as he collapsed against her, shuddering.
* * * *
“I love you.”
A thrill shot through Emma at Mike’s unexpected confession, yet something in his tone warned her to be cautious. He hadn’t exactly said it as though he was happy about it. He rolled, pulling her with him so that she ended up curled against his side. He kept his arm around her and she placed hers over his damp chest. Tilting her face slightly, she peered at him expectantly, and with worry.
“But?” she finally asked, not certain she wanted to know his answer. She doubted telling him she loved him too would have any effect on him now.
His heavy sigh sounded anything but encouraging. “It hasn’t exactly come at a g
ood time.”
“Love usually happens when you least expect it,” Emma agreed, feeling a dull pain creeping inside her heart. Mike’s tone indicated he didn’t know which way to turn so she decided to set him at ease.
“Look, Mike, I know how you feel. I don’t want you to feel that just because we’ve, ah, made love a couple of times that you owe me any commitments or anything. I’m a big girl and I don’t break that easy. It’s okay if you want to keep it strictly sexual between us…”
What in the world was she saying? Her blabbering was a clear indication she was nervous and not handling the situation very well. She took in Mike’s shocked expression, her first warning that she’d gone too far. His brows were arched with obvious disbelief and he was looking at her as if she’d suddenly sprouted horns. Lowering her eyes couldn’t undo the damage but it gave her time to pull herself together.
“Is that what you think I want?” His voice held a sharp edge to it, gaining her attention again. “You’re crazy if you think I’d treat you with such little respect, Emma. I’ve tried not to let my feelings get involved with anyone. At least until Melissa is grown and out of the house. But you’re different. Not because I’m some horny divorcee who can’t keep it in his pants. I just don’t want to hurt you.”
“I never insinuated…”
“Didn’t you? You’re the first woman I’ve ever made love to in this bed. I’m not going to insult your intelligence by saying I haven’t had my fair share of sexual encounters, but that’s all they were. The couple of serious affairs I had turned sour fast when I brought them home to meet Melissa and they realized we came as a package.”
“Mike, I didn’t mean it that…”
He didn’t let her finish. “Could you live with that arrangement? Come to think of it maybe it’s not such a bad idea. A sexual relationship with no-strings attached; what more could a man ask for?”
He sounded bitter.
How could things have gotten so mixed up so fast? Emma could understand his anger but if he’d only let her finish. “Let me explain…”
PASSIONATE ENCOUNTERS Page 19
