by Lori Foster
Finally, with an uncertain laugh, Sam said, “Come again?”
Ariel cleared her throat. His tone of disbelief didn’t exactly bode well, but she’d made up her mind. “You know when I said I went to the bar to be sure?”
“Yeah, right. Sure there wasn’t anyone else—whatever the hell that means.”
“It means I wanted to be sure there wasn’t anyone else who appealed to me. But there isn’t. That’s the third bar I’ve been in this week.”
A thundercloud would appear passive next to his darkening expression. “You’ve been hanging out in bars?” His teeth actually clenched, fascinating her. “Do you have any idea what’s been happening around the area bars lately?”
She hadn’t, but judging by what he’d done tonight, she assumed some muggings were taking place. Because she didn’t want a lecture, she just shrugged.
His eyes turned red.
To pacify him, she pointed out her other visits. “I’ve also been to two nightclubs, the grocery, the park, and three concerts. Sorry, but there is no one else who appeals to me.” She drew a long breath and admitted the stark truth. “You’re the only one.”
At that moment, Sam looked to be choking on murderous intent.
“Say something.”
He didn’t, he just sat there, steam coming off his head while his face colored and his fists curled. Ariel honestly didn’t know if he fought the urge to take her or strangle her. Not that she was afraid of him. Never.
Sam protected people—he didn’t abuse them.
Because she and Pete had stopped by his house once, she knew where he lived. She pulled into the blacktop drive and turned off the car. She didn’t at first look at him, not when it felt like he was frying her with his gaze. When she finally worked up the nerve, she turned to him.
“Well?”
Through his teeth, he snarled, “Inside.”
Oh good. At least he wasn’t throwing her off his property already. She considered his grudging command a positive step. Slipping out of her car, she managed to hold her dress up, drop her keys into her purse, and close the door. Sam made no gentlemanly moves toward her, but then, he was badly beaten up.
She loved his old two-story house. It had a poured front porch complete with an overhang and wooden swing. The shrubbery was original and thick and outdated, but it made a nice contrast against the red brick. Enormous oaks lined the street and during the day, squirrels scurried everywhere.
At his father’s death, he’d inherited a large sum of money. She didn’t doubt that Sam could have afforded a posh, upscale home in an exclusive neighborhood. She was glad he hadn’t moved.
When she reached Sam’s side, he took her arm in an implacable grip and started her in a trot toward the front door. Some elderly neighbors in the house to the right hailed him, forcing him to stop.
“Evening Sam.”
Sam groaned, slowly turned and waved at the two people visible by their front porch light. “Booth, Hesper. What are you doing up this late?”
Ariel giggled. It was only eleven thirty.
“The dog had business to take care of. Her old bladder just gives her fits.”
Ariel’s giggle got caught in her throat. She looked in the yard and saw the most hideous creature she’d ever clapped eyes on. An obese bulldog squatted by a bush, turned to sniff, and then lumbered back to her owners, who praised her as if she’d created gold.
“Who’s your lady-friend?” Hesper asked with a nosiness reserved for the old or very young.
Sam leaned in close to Ariel’s ear. His hot breath teased her when he growled, “Stay here.” Then he moved away to the neighbor’s porch railing. They spoke quietly so Ariel couldn’t hear what was said.
Seconds later, both elders looked over at her with awe and horror. Ariel frowned. Just what had Sam told them? He returned, took her arm again and said, “Let’s go.”
“What did you say to them, Sam Watson?”
“Keep your voice down. This is a quiet neighborhood.”
His walkway could use a good sweeping, she decided as her toes kicked through scattered leaves. Even the porch was littered with leaves and acorns.
As if he knew her thoughts, he said, “A recent storm blew crap everywhere. I’ll get to it when I can.” Using a key, he unlocked the front door and held it open for her.
She stepped into the inky darkness, then felt his hands close gently but firmly on her upper arms. With bated breath, she waited for a kiss, but got bodily moved out of his way instead, so he could turn off an alarm. “Wait here.”
Left alone, Ariel tried to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When the lights blinked on, she squinted. “Why don’t you have a wall switch by the front door?”
“The light’s out and I haven’t had a chance to change it yet. I’ve been working overtime on the bar muggings. Let’s go to the kitchen. I have a feeling it might be the safest room.”
“Why?” She trailed behind him.
He gave her a long look. “No place to get laid.”
Refusing to let him derail her, Ariel grinned at his sarcastic wit. “There’s always the countertop. Or the table. Maybe even the floor—”
His rough palm covered her mouth. “That’s enough out of you.” She mumbled against his palm and he lifted his hand. “What?”
“Tell me what you said to your neighbors.”
His mouth curved in a sinful smile. “Sure. I told them you were a prostitute who’d ratted out her pimp, and I had to keep you close so he didn’t kill you.”
“Oh.” He expected her to be insulted, so she asked instead, “Have you ever been with a prostitute?”
“No.” He didn’t bother to hide his indignation at all. “Now behave for a minute so I can think.”
While his back was turned, Ariel pulled out a chair, sat down and lifted her skirt to examine her scraped, bruised knees. They hurt, but Sam was in much worse shape than she so she tried not to complain.
“Now about this…what the hell?” He’d turned with a scowl on his face, only to pull up with a different type of anger. “You said you weren’t hurt,” he accused.
“Just a little. Nothing serious.”
Muttering under his breath, Sam whipped off several paper towels, folded them, and doused them beneath cold water. He came to her and knelt down. “Hold still.”
Despite his order, she jumped when the icy towel touched her raw scrapes. “Sorry.”
“Damn.” He dabbed at both knees, removing small bits of dried blood, gravel, and dirt.
Before Ariel could figure out what he intended, he flipped her skirt up higher. “Sam!”
When she tried to shove her skirt back down, he caught both her hands in one of his and held them up and against her breasts, almost shoving her out of her chair. “Shush. I want to see if you’re hurt anywhere else.”
She had to brace her feet apart to keep from toppling over. “This is outrageous!”
Blue eyes lit like the hottest flame, he glanced up at her. “You sitting on my face was outrageous. This is just concern.”
Ariel gulped.
“Now be quiet.”
Mortified, her mouth snapped shut. She had sat on his face. At the time, she’d been so worried about protecting him she hadn’t paid much attention.
He found one large bluish bruise on her thigh. “How’d this happen?”
Ariel peered down at the mark. With both their heads bent, her blond curls brushed up against his silky black hair. “I don’t know. Maybe when I jumped on that guy’s back and we all crashed into the stairs.”
“Anything else?”
Since he was on his knees in front of her, more caring than insulting, she showed him her elbow. It was raw and stung every time she flexed her arm. His mouth flattened in displeasure. “I ought to turn you over my knee for that damn stunt. Look at you. You’re a mess.”
So much for caring.
“Let me get some ice; then I’ll fetch my first aid kit.”
“I don’t n
eed you to doctor me.”
He had his back to her, digging in his freezer. “Tough. My house, my rules, so I’m doing it anyway.” Within minutes, he had ice crushed inside a damp dish towel and he pressed the freezing compress to her thigh. Ariel almost came out of her seat. The cold prickled so badly she tried to shove it away.
“Leave it,” he ordered, keeping it firmly in place until she subsided. He took her hand and put it over the compress so that she had to hold it. His commanding gaze bore into hers. “I want to see it there when I get back, you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
His eyes narrowed. “A show of respect from you at this late date is beyond suspect, so stow it.” Then softly, with exasperation, “I’ll be right back. Sit tight.”
Ariel leaned out of her seat to watch him trot from the kitchen, into the hall, and up the short flight of stairs to his bathroom. Once he was out of sight, she lifted the ice away and fell back in her chair.
None of this was what she’d expected. Not that she’d known what to expect, but worry over a few paltry bruises…She heard him returning and quickly replaced the ice pack, wincing at the bitter cold.
He eyed her when he reentered, his expression stern. “I hope you learned a few things tonight.”
“Yeah, that you’re surly when you’re hurt and that you don’t like women coming on to you.”
He moistened a gauze pad with antiseptic and again knelt in front of her. “Wrong. I’m not all that hurt and I love when women come on to me. I just don’t like little girls flirting when they don’t know what they’re getting into.”
Seething, Ariel said, “If you don’t stop accusing me of being a child, I’m going to—” She screeched when the antiseptic hit her scrapes, burning like a brand. Her legs stiffened and her hands gripped the sides of her seat.
“Sorry.” For once, his voice was gentle, caring. Sam leaned forward and blew his warm breath over her knees.
A new ache filled her, one of overwhelming sexual hunger. She’d wanted him since the first time she saw him. She remembered that moment in vivid detail. Pete had taken her with him to his family’s regular Sunday get-together. A storm had knocked a thick elm over in his middle brother’s backyard, damaging a fence. Sam was there, shirtless, sweaty, tanned, and so sexy she’d stood dumbfounded for several moments while he swung an ax, cutting up the fallen tree alongside his brother, Gil. The muscles in his strong back had flexed with each movement. His biceps bunched and knotted. His hands were big, lean, his strength undeniable.
“Ariel? You didn’t faint on me, did you?”
Taking a breath, she opened her eyes and locked gazes with him. He had one hand on her thigh, holding the ice pack there, the other gently touching her chin. The breath sighed out of her. “I want you so much.”
He lurched back as if she’d kicked him, jerking to his feet in a rush. “You look besotted, damn it. Knock it off.”
She couldn’t reply, could only stare at him with all the love and hunger she felt plain in her eyes. Please, she silently pleaded, and got a wary frown from him in return.
“Here’s a new rule. You have to be quiet while I finish this up. Understand?”
She stared.
“Answer me, damn it.”
“Yes, all right.”
He moved back to her cautiously. “Give me your elbow.”
This time she bit her lip when he swabbed the remaining cuts and scrapes. She didn’t want to be a wimp in front of him. She didn’t want him to feel sorry for her.
He finished off by applying ointment and some bandages. Then he backed up. “All done. Now.”
“Now what?”
“About this…wanting me business.”
There was nothing she could do but wait and see what he had to say.
Sam floundered, but finally bit out, “Wanna tell me why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want me?”
Amazingly enough, when she came to her feet Sam backed up. Silly man. “Why wouldn’t any woman want you?”
“Ariel…”
She took two steps toward him. He took one more back, then planted his feet and refused to budge.
“You’re smart and dedicated and heroic and…” She shrugged, inching closer, more determined than she’d ever been about anything in her life. “You really are so damned sexy.”
She’d gotten close enough to touch him. Lifting one hand, she reached for his shoulder.
He snagged her wrist, his warm, strong fingers wrapping around the delicate bones. “Don’t curse. You’re too young for that.”
Enough was enough. She’d warned him, but he persisted in throwing her age in her face. With a smile of warning, she grabbed his neck with her free hand and went on tiptoe to reach his mouth.
“Ariel—” He tried to lean back, to turn his face away. But she’d backed him to the counter and there wasn’t much room for him to maneuver. She knew he didn’t want to hurt her and that gave her an advantage in their wrestling match.
Her mouth landed on his throat first and she licked the salty taste of his skin, groaned, and bit his chin.
“Goddammit…” He sounded very uncertain, pained, and he grabbed her other wrist. “You little—”
Her mouth smashed up against his. They both froze, but only for a second. Slowly, deliciously, with a purr of excitement, Ariel licked his lips. Her heart threatened to break through her ribs, it drummed so madly.
He brought her arms behind her back, but that only pressed her breasts to his chest, and since her dress hung open, she could feel his heartbeat, as wild as hers. She caught his bottom lip in her teeth and nibbled, all the while breathing hard with excitement, expectation.
And then he exploded. From one second to the next he’d been held immobile by her brazenness. But it wasn’t in Sam’s nature to be docile, to let anyone else take the lead.
Ariel found herself plastered against him from groin to breasts while his mouth opened over hers in ravenous demand. His tongue thrust in and he groaned low in his throat, the vibrating sound thrilling her.
He slanted his head and drew her even closer, still holding her hands behind her, straining her shoulders, almost lifting her off her feet. Her head was pressed back, leaving her mouth open and vulnerable to his. His whiskers scratched her chin, his erection pressed into her soft belly, and he tasted so good she didn’t ever want him to stop.
But he did. She was limp in his arms, merely accepting the onslaught of his kiss, unable to do anything else with the controlling way he held her. With a visible effort, he raised his head a mere inch and stared down at her. An incandescent hunger burned so brightly in his eyes, it almost frightened her.
He looked at her mouth, breathed hard for a moment, then growled low in warning, “You shouldn’t push me, little girl.”
The way he said that, it wasn’t an insult so much as an endearment. Getting enough breath to speak wasn’t easy. “You…You kept ignoring me.”
His hands tightened on her wrists, making her wince. He immediately loosened his hold, but didn’t release her. Every muscle in his big body was bunched. His eyes were bright, his cheekbones flushed, his mouth hard. “You were my baby brother’s girlfriend.”
“No, just a friend,” she gently reminded him.
“He still cares about you.”
“Not anymore. He’s seeing someone else.”
“You’re only twenty-four-fucking-years old.”
He sounded desperate, giving her hope. “I’m a grown woman, Sam. I know what I want. And I want you.”
His head dropped forward, almost touching her shoulder. She could feel his angry, hot breath against her throat, sending chills down her spine, building her sexual excitement to a fever pitch.
Necessary arguments crowded her brain. She had to convince him. “Sam? Look at it this way. It’s only sex, and you’re known for wanting sex.”
His head jerked up. “What the hell does that mean?”
“You have a reputat
ion.”
“Several actually.” His eyes narrowed. “Which reputation are we talking about?”
She wanted to shrug, to act cavalier. It was well beyond her. “For mind-blowing sex.”
For three heartbeats he didn’t move; then he gave a rough guffaw. “I hate to break it to you babe, but I only give run-of-the-mill sex.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“No? Who you been talking to? Besides me?”
That made her smile. Sam was prone to bragging. She’d heard him once when she’d come to visit Pete. He and his two brothers were in the backyard and didn’t hear her approach. Sam and Gil had been teasing Pete, accusing him of being a virgin, which Pete vehemently denied with a red face. Gil offered advice, but Sam told Pete he should come to a pro if he wanted to learn how to make a lady squeal in pleasure.
The graphic details she’d heard then had held her immobile in fascination. Even Gil and Pete had looked awed.
When Pete mentioned Ariel, Sam had froze up and changed the subject.
“Your family goes on and on about what a lady’s man you are.”
“Yeah, well they have to sing my praises because they’re family. Ask any lady, and she’ll tell you I’m a pig.”
“A cop.”
“No, I meant in bed.”
Ariel shook her head. “I’m not buying it, Sam. Especially not after that kiss.” Her voice went husky. “That almost did it for me right there.”
“Don’t.” He tightened up again, and then, slowly, a new light entered his eyes, one of challenge and determination. “So you want to get laid by the best, is that it?”
A trick question, if ever she heard one. “I want you.”
He looked down at her mouth. “I think you need to learn a few lessons.”
A shiver of alarm slipped up her spine. “A lesson?”
“On why you shouldn’t taunt bad-ass cops with ugly attitudes.”
“You do not have an ugly attitude.” She couldn’t really deny the bad-ass part. But she hated for him to downplay all he did for the community and his family. “You’re a good man—”
“And you assume I’m a good man in bed. Is that it? You want to use me to get your jollies?”
